QUALCOMM, Inc. : Qualcomm Helps Enable Wireless Whole Home Audio for the Mass Market; Announces Commercial Availability of AllPlay Smart Media Platform

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Qualcomm today announced the commercial availability of the AllPlay(TM) smart media platform, a wireless whole-home audio solution developed by Qualcomm Connected Experiences, Inc., incorporating Qualcomm Atheros wireless technologies. The AllPlay smart audio module makes it easy to develop and offer consumers products with seamless streaming of high-quality local and cloud-based content - with high performance Wi-Fi connectivity - across multiple brands and platforms. A broad array of audio equipment manufacturers and streaming music services - including Altec Lansing, iHeartRadio, Panasonic Corporation and Rhapsody- have committed to the commercial release of AllPlay-powered products this year.

Initially focused on delivering high-quality multi-room audio, AllPlay is built upon the AllJoyn(TM) framework developed as an open source project by Qualcomm Innovation Center, Inc. AllJoyn helps developers address the need for secure, universal interoperability among devices and apps in support of the ever-developing Internet of Everything. The AllPlay platform is designed for use by audio equipment and accessories manufacturers, cloud music services and app developers. The AllPlay smart audio module offers industry-leading Wi-Fi solutions for superior connectivity, important for delivering multiple streams of high-resolution audio wirelessly around the home.

"Consumers don't just buy one brand of audio equipment and in the past have had to swap components from various brands in and out of their stereo systems using wires and standard hardware connectors to achieve interoperability. But we live in a mobile and wireless world - AllPlay brings interoperability and freedom of component choice into the 21st Century," said Rob Chandhok, President of Qualcomm Interactive Platforms.

"AllPlay allows us to bring the seamless whole home audio experience to the consumer mass market," said Yukio Hirose, Vice President, Panasonic Consumer Products Company. "This week at the Consumer Electronics Show, we will launch our first AllPlay-enabled products for consumers and plan to unveil even more AllPlay-enabled products in the future."

"AllPlay is representative of the rapid evolution of the wireless home audio market," said Ike S. Franco, Managing Partner of Infinity Group, owners of the Altec Lansing brand. "The addition of this technology to the line of Altec Lansing wireless speakers continues the Altec mission of providing best in class sound quality at an affordable price."

"Mobile is increasingly becoming our customers' platform of choice for enjoying music wherever they are," said Brian McGarvey, VP, Business Development, Rhapsody. "Using the AllPlay Click SDK, we are able to make it even easier for our customers to transition between high-quality mobile streaming and whole home listening through AllPlay enabled smart audio devices directly from our Android and iOS apps that they know and love."

"iHeartRadio is committed to providing an innovative, easy-to-use digital service that is available everywhere listeners want to access it," said Brian Lakamp, President of Digital for Clear Channel Media and Entertainment. "With the increasing popularity of connected devices, it is important to deliver technologies that allow users to seamlessly access the content and brands they love across those devices, making Qualcomm's AllPlay smart media platform a perfect fit."

The AllPlay smart media platform consists of:

    --  AllPlay smart audio module - Compact design includes a Qualcomm Atheros
        - 2x2 dual-band Wi-Fi SoC, flexible I/Os including USB, I2S, I2C and
        S/PDIF, on- and off-board antennas, support for multiple
        digital-to-analog converters, and global regulatory certification.  The
        smart audio module is a turnkey component that can help save equipment
        manufacturers time and resources as they create whole home audio
        products.
    --  AllPlay media player software package - Supports a broad suite of lossy,
        lossless and uncompressed audio codec (MP3, AAC, AAC+, FLAC, WAV, ALAC,
        PCM), including high-resolution 192 khz/24 bit output.  The software
        package supports Party Mode playback across up to 10 zones/speakers,
        multi-source to multi-sink streaming, shared/social play lists;
        cross-platform Wi-Fi network configuration and Direct Mode streaming,
        over-the-air firmware updates, current support for DLNA- ensuring a
        comprehensive whole home audio user experience.
    --  Flexible controller apps and SDKs - Cross-platform compatibility (iOS
        and Android), speaker grouping with capability for individual volume
        controls for each set of speakers (Party and Multi-Zone modes), and the
        ability to stream content from handsets, tablets and local media
        sources.
    --  AllPlay Click SDK - Enables music services and software developers to
        easily incorporate AllPlay functionality into their iOS and Android
        apps.

Lenco, Medion, Musaic and Panasonic are demonstrating AllPlay-powered speakers and audio adapters at CES 2014. In addition, doubleTwist with Magic Radio, iHeartRadio, Rhapsody/Napster and SomaFM streaming on the AllPlay smart media platform will also be demonstrated. OEM and content partners who are planning to support the platform include Altec Lansing, Aupeo, Grooveshark, and TuneIn.

About Qualcomm Incorporated
Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) is the world leader in 3G, 4G and next-generation wireless technologies. Qualcomm Incorporated includes Qualcomm's licensing business, QTL, and the vast majority of its patent portfolio. Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, operates, along with its subsidiaries, substantially all of Qualcomm's engineering, research and development functions, and substantially all of its products and services businesses, including its semiconductor business, QMC. For more than 25 years, Qualcomm ideas and inventions have driven the evolution of digital communications, linking people everywhere more closely to information, entertainment and each other. For more information, visit Qualcomm's website, OnQ blog, Twitter and Facebook pages.

Qualcomm is a trademark of Qualcomm Incorporated, registered in the United States and other countries. Qualcomm AllPlay is a product of Qualcomm Connected Experiences, Inc. AllPlay is a trademark of Qualcomm Connected Experiences, Inc. Wi-Fi is a registered trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance. iOS is a trademark or registered trademark of Cisco in the U.S. and other countries and is used under license. Android is a trademark of Google Inc. All Qualcomm Incorporated trademarks are used with permission. Other product and brand names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Qualcomm Contacts:
Keri Danielski, Qualcomm Interactive Platforms
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Emily Kilpatrick, Corporate Communications
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Warren Kneeshaw, Investor Relations
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SOURCE Qualcomm Incorporated