MILPITAS, Calif., Oct. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- iriver, the leading innovator in digital entertainment, raised the bar for portable music players today with the U.S. release of the U10 Series. The U10 is only 2.7" by 1.8" in size, yet features an ultra-bright 2.2" vivid color display and utilizes an intuitive direct-click interface for easy navigation.

The U10 series players are PlaysForSure-verified and support Windows Media Digital Rights Management (DRM) 10, the technology powering portable subscription-based music services such as Napster To Go, Rhapsody To Go and Yahoo! Music Unlimited.

"With a groundbreaking design and support of leading technologies such as Windows Media, iriver is once again pushing the boundaries of innovation with the U10 Series," said Kevin Unangst, director of Windows Digital Media at Microsoft Corp. "The U10's built-in PlayForSure compatibility provides consumers with a great device experience and the widest choice in music."

The U10 incorporates Macromedia Flash for its user interface and to provide content such as flash animation and games.

"The iriver U10 Series players are leading the way in the next generation of digital experiences built using the Flash Platform," said Al Ramadan, executive vice president and general manager of consumer mobile and devices, Macromedia. "Macromedia Flash has already made a definitive footprint in consumer electronics, and the release of the U10 is a terrific showcase of how Flash enables rich applications, games and digital experiences."

The U10 series has a unique direct-click interface that makes it easy for users to fly though their media collection to find the right song, video, photo or flash game. The U10 comes in 512 MB and 1 GB* capacities and features an FM tuner and integrated voice recorder.

"Consumers want a powerful device that is fully-loaded with features and trend-setting style," said Jonathan Sasse, president of iriver America. "We maximized the display of the U10, creating a device that takes flash players to the next level. The U10 combines premium jukebox features with an innovative multimedia experience on its large, vivid color display."

U10 Features: -- Plays music, video, photos and more -- Plays up to 34 hours of music** -- Ultra-bright, 2.2" vivid color display*** -- 512MB and 1GB versions available -- Supports subscription music services -- Direct click interface -- Digital FM tuner -- Up to 28 hours of rechargeable battery life + -- Supports MP3, Windows Media Audio (WMA) and OGG music files -- Supports MPEG4 simple profile QVGA (15fps) videos -- Plays Macromedia Flash Lite 1.1 games and animation -- Displays non-progressive JPEG images -- Integrated voice recorder -- Enhanced 3D audio (includes SRS WOW) -- Fast USB 2.0 transfers -- PlaysForSure verified (both Download and Subscription) Pricing and Availability

The U10 is available for pre-order now at the iriver eStore at http://www.iriveramerica.com/estore and will be at select stores in November. Suggested retail price for the U10 is US $199.99 for 512MB and $249.99 for 1GB of internal storage.

About iriver

iriver is the emerging global leader in delivering portable digital media devices. iriver provides consumers with the viewing, listening and recording flexibility to accommodate their active lifestyles by manufacturing award- winning hybrid products supporting existing and emerging formats, including MP3, WMA, OGG and Macromedia Flash Lite 1.1. Milpitas-based iriver America, Inc. can be found on the Web at http://www.iriveramerica.com/.

NOTE: iriver America is a registered trademark of iriver America, Inc. All other registered or unregistered trademarks are the sole property of their respective owners.

*1GB equals 1,000,000,000 bytes; 1 MB equals 1,000,0000 bytes, not all drive space available for file storage.

**Hours of music storage determined using Windows Media encoded at 64KBPS. *** Measured diagonally

+ Battery life rating based on continuous music playback at 50% volume of 128kbps MP3 music files.

Contact: Jan Tarzia of Thirdwire PR, +1-831-440-2404, or jan@thirdwirepr.com, for iriver.

CONTACT: Jan Tarzia of Thirdwire PR, +1-831-440-2404, or
jan@thirdwirepr.com, for iriver

Web site: http://www.iriveramerica.com/