Toronto, ON – Sling Media, Inc., a digital lifestyle consumer electronics company, today announced Canadian availability of its new Emmy award-winning Slingbox™ family of products through key retailers. The Slingbox PRO, Slingbox AV and Slingbox TUNER, first introduced in September 2006, transform PCs, Macs, Windows Mobile and soon Palm OS smartphones into personal portable TVs. Slingbox owners can now watch and control their home analog or digital cable, satellite TV or even fully control a digital video recorder (DVR) from anywhere they can access the Internet. The new Slingbox products are available today from local Canadian retail partners including Best Buy, Future Shop and London Drugs starting at $179.99 CAD.
The latest Slingbox family is designed to meet the varied requirements of today’s TV households whether that’s basic analog cable support with the Slingbox TUNER, standard definition digital cable or satellite TV including DVR support through the Slingbox AV or support for analog cable, standard definition and high definition set top boxes and DVRs with the Slingbox PRO. With the three new Slingbox models, Sling Media has created a product that fits the needs of every consumer, no matter how basic or sophisticated their home TV setup.
“Just under a year ago the Slingbox arrived in Canada,” said Gregg Wilkes, vice president of sales for Sling Media. “We have been pleased by the reception it has received and are anxious for the Canadian consumer to experience the enhanced video quality and streamlined setup offered by this next generation of product. In addition, we are delighted to be announcing expanded platform support, including the very popular Mac OS, Windows Mobile and shortly the Palm OS, giving customers a wide variety of displays to utilize for watching their home TV.”
With today’s announcement Sling Media is also formally making its highly acclaimed SlingPlayer Mobile software available for purchase from the company’s Canadian web site, . SlingPlayer Mobile delivers the same great customer experience that Slingbox customers have come to know and love, now on a wide variety of Windows Mobile smartphones and handheld computers using standard network connections including 3G cellular and WiFi. SlingPlayer Mobile is available as a free 30 day trial or can be purchased for $34.99 CAD. SlingPlayer Mobile is compatible with a wide variety of mobile devices including the Motorola Q and Treo 700 smartphones that utilize Microsoft’s Windows Mobile software and within the next several weeks, the company will also provide support for Treo smartphones running the Palm OS, including the Treo 700p.
Customers looking for the best possible way to connect their Slingbox to their home Internet connection should their TV and router reside in separate rooms will find the new SlingLink™ Turbo 4-Port the ideal solution. Not only can customers easily connect their Slingbox to their home network, but if there are additional home entertainment devices like a video game console or a networked DVR that also need a network connection the SlingLink Turbo 4-Port can connect up to four separate devices giving customers a seamless networking solution. The SlingLink 4-Port is available for U.S. customers today and will be available from Sling Media’s Canadian web site in April.
Pricing & Availability
Sling Media has enhanced the performance, increased the feature set and segmented the new Slingbox models for specific customer needs, adding new hardware and software features specific to each market segment. The new crop of Slingbox products is giving customers more power, functionality and choice for their money. The Slingbox TUNER carries an MSRP of $179.99 CAD. The Slingbox AV carries an MSRP of $199.99. The Slingbox PRO retails for $299.99 CAD and the HD Connect cable designed exclusively for the Slingbox PRO and required for connecting the Slingbox PRO to an HD component set-top box, is available for $59.99 CAD. The SlingLink Turbo 4-Port will be available for $179.99 CAD.
About Sling Media
Sling Media, Inc. is a digital lifestyle products company creating a family of consumer electronics solutions that are a natural extension of today’s digital way of life. The first member of the Sling Media family is the award-winning Slingbox™, a device that allows consumers to access their living room television experience at any time, from any location, using a variety of different displays including laptops and desktop PCs, PDAs and smartphones. The Slingbox is now available in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Brazil through traditional retail channels and local service providers. For more information on Sling Media or the Slingbox, visit www.slingmedia.com.
About Keating Technologies
Keating Technologies, headquartered in Markham (north-east Toronto), Ontario, is a 2000, 2001 and 2002 winner of Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies Program. As Canada’s leading branch outsourcing service to the high technology industry, the Company has been responsible for bringing more than $1 billion in technology products and services to Canadian enterprise businesses and consumers. Keating provides Total Market Management® services including sales, marketing, merchandising and customer support through its offices in Vancouver, Markham and Montreal. Since its inception in 1987, Keating has represented and continues to represent leading edge technology organizations requiring high-performance, cost-effective market capture within the Canadian marketplace. For additional information go to www.keating.com.