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"Apple Quietly introduces the DeadPod

“The Grateful Dead” and Apple Partnership Fuses Art, Technology & Commerce

SAN JOSE, California—November 11, 2004—Apple® has introduced the DeadPod® Special Edition as part of a partnership between the former members of psychedelic stalwarts The Grateful Dead and Universal Music Group (UMG) to create innovative new products together for the new digital music era. The new DeadPod, featuring a 50GB storage capability specially tailored for those epic four-hour Grateful Dead shows, holds up to 7,000 songs and features a classy “JerryGray” brushed stainless steel enclosure with a stainless steel Click Wheel and custom laser engraving of the living original band member signatures: Mickey Hart, Philip Lesh, Bob Weir, William Kreutzmann, and Vincent Welnick.
“We have always admired, emulated, and encouraged those who sought to push the boundaries of music, rhythm, and life,” said Mickey Hart, the former Grateful Dead drummer. “The DeadPod and iTunes are the most complete integrations of these three ideals that music has seen in a very long time.”
“The Grateful Dead, The Dead, the Philip Lesh Quintet, and Ratdog stand among the greatest bands in the world and we are floored to be working with them,” said Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple. “We just want to make some innovative products together, and we hope Deadheads will love having their very own special edition DeadPod.”
“The audience deserves a more intimate online relationship with the band, and Apple has promised to help us do that,” said Dead frontman Lesh. Jill Lesh, Philip’s wife, added “with DeadPod and iTunes, Apple has created a crossroads of art, commerce and technology that feels legit for both musicians and fans.”
In accordance with the wishes of the former Grateful Dead members and estate representatives, the DeadPod is quietly being introduced in the shadows of the ballyhooed U2 iPod as the Irish band prepares to release their new album “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” in late November. Bob Weir, the former Grateful Dead rhythm guitarist and current rhythm guitarist for Bay Area folk-rock outfit “Ratdog”, could not be reached for comment. Lesh and Hart said Mr. Kreutzmann, Mr. Welnick, and Mr. Weir heartily endorsed the plan. Mr. Weir was originally scheduled to appear at the press event but was feeling under the weather.
The DeadPod features Apple’s patent-pending Click Wheel, up to 18 hours of battery life and “Shuffle Songs”, a command in the main menu that gives users instant access to one of the most exciting new ways to listen to their music library. Additionally, the DeadPod comes preloaded with the setlists of over 3,400 Grateful Dead concerts, and Philip Lesh Quintet and Ratdog setlists up to October 31, 2004.
All iPods work with Apple’s iTunes, providing music fans with the best digital jukebox on either a Mac® or Windows computer and access to the iTunes Music Store, the number one digital music service in the world. DeadPod customers will receive a voucher valid for eight free full-show downloads from “Terrapin Station”, a long-awaited digital repository of virtually every Grateful Dead show ever recorded, expected to come online in early December. The voucher will include select Philip Lesh Quintet and Ratdog shows but will not include downloads of Jerry Garcia-related projects.
iPod features Apple’s patent pending Auto-Sync technology that automatically downloads an entire digital music library onto iPod and keeps it up-to-date whenever it is plugged into a Mac or Windows computer using FireWire® or USB. Users can transfer two songs per second from their Mac or Windows computer and can conveniently charge iPod with either the included FireWire or USB cable.
The new 50GB DeadPod Special Edition is expected to be available mid-November for a suggested retail price of $420 (US) through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. The DeadPod includes earbud headphones, 1.2m 60-pin to FireWire cable, a 1.2m 60-pin to USB cable, and a CD with iTunes 9.3 for Mac and Windows computers. Optional accessories include the iPod Dock for $19 (US) and in-ear headphones for $59 (US).
All iPods require a Mac with a FireWire or USB 2.0 port and Mac OS® X version 10.1.5 or later (Mac OS X v10.2 or later recommended); or a Windows PC with a FireWire or USB 2.0 port, or FireWire or USB 2.0 card and Windows 2000 (with Service Pack 4 or later), XP Home or Professional.
All iPods include rechargeable batteries which have a limited number of charge cycles and may eventually need to be replaced. Battery life and number of charge cycles vary by use and settings. See www.apple.com/batteries for more information. Music capacity is based on four minutes per song and 128-Kbps AAC encoding.