SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 27, 2000--Leading online retailer Amazon.com (Nasdaq:AMZN) today announced that it will be the exclusive retailer -- online or off -- for what promises to be one of the hottest Internet appliances yet -- Ceiva.
Ceiva is the first-ever Internet-connected digital picture frame, which enables people to receive photos to a picture frame directly over a phone line. Amazon.com was selected by Ceiva to be the exclusive retailer of its revolutionary product.
The Ceiva frame looks and feels like a traditional wooden picture frame, but what it does is anything but traditional. Once activated, it automatically calls the Ceiva service every night and downloads new images sent by friends and family. There's no keyboard, no mouse, and no PC operating system to struggle with -- just a bright, clear color screen displaying up to 10 new photos every morning. Destined to be this year's hottest Mother's Day and Father's Day gift, Ceiva will retail at Amazon.com for $284.99, which includes a free dial-up connection for one year. After a year, the connection is priced at $3 a month.
"Our customers have told us that they look to Amazon.com to discover what's new and what's hot in consumer electronics," said Carl Gish, general manager of Amazon.com's Electronics store. "As the exclusive retailer of Ceiva, we give our customers just what they are looking for -- access to the latest and greatest products first."
"Because Ceiva is a product that appeals to all types of electronics shoppers, we wanted to team with a retailer that could help us reach a large and diverse group of consumer electronics shoppers," said Paul Yanover, cofounder of The Idea Grove, backer of Ceiva. "With more than 17 million customers, ranging from the enthusiast to the hobbyist, it was quite easy to see that Amazon.com was a perfect match for us."
"The Internet element is what makes Ceiva so powerful and appealing, so who better to retail our product than the most customer-centric online retailer in the world, Amazon.com," said Dean Schiller, cofounder of Ceiva Logic. "The net appliance category is rapidly becoming a competitive space, but we are proud to say that Ceiva is the first of its kind and the first to market."
Industry analysts and manufacturers consistently recognize Amazon.com Electronics as the best consumer electronics site. Gomez Advisors (in their Spring 2000 Scorecard) gave Amazon.com the nod again this quarter as "the number one consumer electronics site overall." Additionally, manufacturers such as Ceiva and ReplayTV --which gave Amazon.com the exclusive retail rights at launch --reinforce that Amazon.com is an ideal place to introduce new products.
Amazon.com Electronics features a full range of popular electronics products and brands: everything from the latest digital camcorders to computer peripherals to televisions. To help customers choose from this large selection, Amazon.com Electronics provides detailed buying guides and expert product reviews. These, combined with reviews and ratings from customers who have bought and used the products, make it easy for shoppers to choose the right products for their needs.
Ceiva at a Glance
Ceiva operates by simply plugging an electrical cord and phone line into a socket and phone jack. To activate Ceiva, an online account is set up with a user name, password, and a buddy list that tells Ceiva from whom it can receive digital images. Authorized senders can then upload their photos from a PC to Ceiva's Web site, and each night the receiving frame automatically checks for images, and downloads any new ones. Magically the picture frame comes to life, featuring 10 images from family and loved ones near and far.
About Amazon.com, Inc.
Amazon.com (Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries) is the Internet's No. 1 music, No. 1 DVD and video, and No. 1 book retailer. Amazon.com (Nasdaq:AMZN) opened its virtual doors on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth's Biggest Selection, along with online auctions and free electronic greeting cards. Amazon.com lists more than 18 million unique items in categories including books, CDs, toys, electronics, videos, DVDs, home improvement products, software, and video games. Through Amazon.com zShops, any business or individual can sell virtually anything to Amazon.com's more than 17 million customers, and with Amazon.com Payments, any seller can accept credit card transactions, avoiding the hassles of offline payments. The company also participates in sothebys.amazon.com, the leading auction site for guaranteed art, jewelry, and collectibles, at www.sothebys.amazon.com.
Amazon.com seeks to be the world's most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they may want to buy online. Amazon.com's All Product Search scours the Web to help customers find merchandise that is not available at Amazon.com, Amazon.com Auctions, or Amazon.com zShops, making Amazon.com the shopping destination to find anything. Amazon.com Anywhere is the leader in mobile e-commerce, providing access from anywhere in the world to Amazon.com through handheld wireless Internet devices that use the Wireless Application Protocol (www.amazon.com/phone/) and on personal digital assistants (PDAs).
Amazon.com operates two international Web sites: www.amazon.co.uk and www.amazon.de. It also operates the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com), the Web's comprehensive and authoritative source of information on more than 220,000 movies and entertainment programs and 800,000 cast and crew members dating from the birth of film in 1892 to 2003.
Amazon.com has invested in leading Internet retailers that are improving the lives of customers by making shopping easier and more convenient: Greenlight.com, the only company that offers car buyers the control of auto purchasing online with ongoing service and support from local dealerships, at www.greenlight.com; living.com, the leading online home products and services retailer, at www.living.com; drugstore.com, an online retail and information source for health, beauty, wellness, personal care and pharmacy, at www.drugstore.com; Pets.com, the online leader for pet products, expert information, and services, at www.pets.com; HomeGrocer.com, the first fully integrated Internet grocery-shopping and home-delivery service -- with operations in Seattle; Portland, Oregon; and Southern California -- at www.homegrocer.com; Gear.com, which offers brand-name sporting goods at prices from 20 to 90 percent off retail, at www.gear.com; and Ashford.com, the leading Internet retailer of luxury and premium products and the Web's No. 1 retailer of watches and jewelry, at www.ashford.com. Amazon.com also has a minority interest in Della.com, which brings together leading retailers with gift registry, expert advice, and personalized gift suggestions to help everyone give better gifts, at www.della.com; and NextCard, Inc., considered the industry's leading issuer of consumer credit on the Internet, at www.nextcard.com; and Audible, Inc., the leader in Internet-delivered spoken audio for PC-based listening or playback on AudibleReady(TM) portable digital audio devices, at www.audible.com.
This announcement contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, Amazon.com's limited operating history, anticipated losses, unpredictability of future revenues, potential fluctuations in quarterly operating results, seasonality, consumer trends, competition, risk of distribution center expansion, risks related to fourth quarter performance, risks of system interruption, management of potential growth, risks related to auction and zShops services, risks related to fraud and Amazon.com Payments, and risks of new business areas, international expansion, business combinations, and strategic alliances. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com's financial results is included in Amazon.com's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1998 and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 1999, June 30, 1999, and September 30, 1999.
About Ceiva Logic
Ceiva Logic is a Los Angeles-based company founded in August 1999, with Ceiva being its first product. Its mission is to produce and market both the Ceiva digital picture frame as well as its associated services. This will include the development of new products that are aimed at enhancing the digital photography experience. Ceiva Logic's partner is The Yucaipa Companies, which recently expanded its Internet and technology portfolio to include the entertainment and e-commerce site CheckOut.com (www.CheckOut.com), traditional and digital media distributor, Alliance Entertainment and Scour.net, with equity stakes in Talk City, the Web's leading chat community and GameSpy Industries, creators of innovative entertainment sites GameSpy.com and MP3Spy.com.
CONTACT: Amazon.com Lizzie Allen, 206/266-7180 or Ceiva Logic Kristen Wareham, 323/933-3399