Apple Stores to sell Polk Audio iPod, iTunes Tagging for HD Radio products throughout U.S.

Polk Audio today announced that its new I-Sonic( Entertainment System 2 and miDock Studio models will soon be available at more than 170 Apple Retail Store locations and the Apple Online Store.

Jim Minarik, President & CEO of Directed Electronics, commented in the press release, “Acceptance by Apple of Polk Audio’s iPod products validates the high quality and superior performance of this brand. As a growing number of consumers prefer more sophisticated electronic entertainment devices sold at Apple’s stores, we believe Polk’s products are well positioned to gain recognition rapidly in this market due to their cutting-edge innovative features and reliability. We are thrilled to have Apple as our new retail partner and look forward to a long-term and mutually beneficial relationship.”

Beginning in March 2008, Apple’s retail outlets throughout the U.S. will sell Polk Audio’s I-Sonic Entertainment System 2 (ES2), the world’s first product to feature iTunes Tagging for HD Radio, giving consumers the power to “bookmark” songs they hear on the radio.

The iTunes Tag button on the I-Sonic ES2’s front panel and remote control allows consumers to tag songs broadcast by HD Radio stations. The I-Sonic ES2 stores information about the tagged songs in its memory and transfers the tags to an iPod when docked. When the consumer connects the iPod to a computer, iTunes automatically presents the songs in a new tagged play-list for the consumer to preview, buy, and download. iTunes Tagging is compatible with iPod Classic, recent 30GB and 60GB iPod models, and current iPod Nano.

“The Apple Store is one of the most creative and consumer-oriented retail businesses today, which comes as no surprise given how brilliantly the parent company designs and markets its products,” commented Jim Herd, President of Polk Audio, in the press release. “It’s an honor to have one of our more advanced, high-performance products available through such a forward-thinking retail organization.”

Like traditional AM and FM stations, HD Radio programming is free, but that is where the similarity ends. HD Radio reception allows stations to broadcast up to three FM stations on a single digital frequency, with all three “multicasts” offering CD-like quality audio. A variety of data services with text-based information — artist name, weather alerts, school closings, traffic alerts, etc. — can be scrolled across the receiver’s display. Today, there are more than 1,500 HD Radio stations in the U.S.

The I-Sonic ES2 accepts almost all iPod models with dock connectors in its top-mounted dock, hidden beneath a sliding door. Music files on an Apple iPhone can be played when the iPhone is in airplane mode. S-Video and composite video outputs allow the user to connect a television or video monitor to the IES2 for viewing video content stored on a video iPod.

Source: Directed Electronics, Inc.