MICROSOFT
NAMES RECOTON'S STD HOLDING SUBSIDIARY OEM
SUPPLIER FOR XBOX VOICE RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY
Recoton
Corporation (NASDAQ: RCOT) today announced that
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has awarded
an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturing)
contract to STD Holding Limited, a manufacturing
subsidiary of Recoton, to develop and manufacture
a speech recognition-capable headset accessory
product, for use with the Xbox(TM) video game
system.
The unique voice
recognition and communication features of the
Xbox will enable users to operate and control
certain games using voice commands through the
headset, called the Xbox Communicator(TM), that
is being jointly developed by STD and Microsoft.
The Xbox is planned to launch on November 8,
2001, while the broadband online gaming service
will debut in the spring of 2002. Created under
contract between STD Holding Limited and
Microsoft, the voice recognition headset, called
the Xbox Communicator, will be marketed by
Microsoft as part of its Xbox branded peripheral
line of products.
The excitement
and buzz has been growing steadily for the Xbox
since its first public unveiling in January 2001
at the CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las
Vegas. Over 200 software publishers and
developers have announced their intent to develop
exciting new titles for Xbox.
In May 2001 at E3
(Electronic Entertainment Expo) held in Los
Angeles, California, InterAct Accessories Inc.,
the video game accessory marketing subsidiary of
Recoton, demonstrated numerous Xbox accessory
products that will be available at launch and
stated that many other unique products are also
in development. The announcement of this unique
product should further increase the excitement
about the Xbox.
Robert L.
Borchardt, Chairman, President and Chief
Executive Officer of Recoton, commented, "We
are honored that Microsoft has chosen STD to work
on this milestone product. We believe that this
agreement will showcase the expertise of STD in
developing and manufacturing innovative
peripherals for the video gaming industry. We
also believe that this agreement reflects the
solid relationship that STD has built over the
years with Microsoft through its work on previous
OEM contracts. We intend to continue to expand
our relationship with Microsoft to develop new
and unique products for the Xbox platform."
Todd Holmdahl,
General Manager, Xbox Hardware, said, "This
revolutionary voice recognition product will help
make the Xbox online gaming experience an
extremely positive one. We needed to work with
OEM suppliers that could match the hight quality
control level we hold ourselves to at Xbox,
andatch the high quality based on past
performance we knew that STD would meet those
standards."
In March 2001,
InterAct Accessories Inc., the marketing arm of
Recoton's video and computer gaming segment and
the marketing arm of STD, announced a world-wide
licensing agreement for the manufacturing and
distribution of third-party gaming accessories
for the highly anticipated Xbox platform.
InterAct is the
industry's leading third party distributor of
video and computer game accessories. InterAct is
a supplier to many major retailers because of its
extensive, high quality product lines,
competitive pricing, rapid deliveries and
superior dealer service.
Recoton
Corporation is a global leader in the development
and marketing of consumer electronic accessories,
audio products and gaming products. Recoton's
more than 4,000 products include highly
functional accessories for audio, video, car
audio, camcorder, multi-media/computer, home
office and cellular and standard telephone
products, as well as 900MHz wireless technology
products including headphones and speakers;
loudspeakers and car and marine audio products
including high fidelity loudspeakers, home
theater speakers and car audio speakers and
components; and accessories for video and
computer games.
The Company
products are marketed under three business
segments: Accessory, Audio and Gaming. Accessory
products are offered under the AAMP(R),
Ambico(R), Ampersand(R), AR(R)/Acoustic
Research(R), Discwasher(R), InterAct(R),
Jensen(R), Parsec(R), Peripheral(R), Recoton(R),
Rembrandt(R), Ross(TM), SoleControl(R),
SoundQuest and Stinger brand names. Audio
products are offered under the Advent(R),
AR(R)/Acoustic Research(R), HECO(TM), Jensen(R),
MacAudio(R), Magnat(R), NHT(R) (Now Hear This),
Phase Linear(R), Recoton(R), brand names. Gaming
products are offered under the Game Shark(R),
InterAct(R) and Performance(TM) brand names.
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