O2 has today announced the addition of Internet Radio to the O2 Joggler, bringing over 100 radio stations to the device for free. The service, delivered by the UK’s leading radio maker PURE, has now been switched on over-the-air. O2 has also reduced the price of the O2 Joggler to £99.99.

PURE, working in associated with OpenPeak, has adapted its radio and media portal, The Lounge, for the O2 Joggler delivering a selection of the most popular UK BBC and commercial radio stations. Situated at the heart of the home, the O2 Joggler is an ideal device to listen to the radio over and the addition of this feature represents a significant enhancement to the O2 Joggler.

‘Being able to add new features like Internet Radio is one of the great benefits of the O2 Joggler ensuring it remains up-to-date with the latest functions long after purchase,’ said Sally Cowdry, O2 Marketing Director. ‘We have focused on what customers have told us they want. With calendar, music & video player, photo viewer, news, sports and weather, and now Internet Radio, the O2 Joggler represents fantastic value for money and is the perfect gift this Christmas.’

The Lounge (www.thelounge.com) made its debut in 2008 as the bespoke radio and media portal for PURE’s Flow range of internet-connected products, the UK’s best selling range of DAB/ internet radios. PURE originally designed the portal as the online destination to provide easy and effective access to radio content and more for its connected radios and online users. The Lounge now provides over 12,000 streamed internet radio stations, thousands of podcasts, all BBC listen again content and a growing number of atmospheric ‘PURE Sounds’.

Colin Crawford, PURE’s director of marketing says: ‘We are extremely pleased to be offering a part of the Lounge experience to a wider audience through the O2 Joggler. The specially adapted version of the Lounge has a simple and accessible format for all the family.’

Opening up the O2 Joggler

Adding features such as Internet Radio is part of O2’s strategy to develop the O2 Joggler as a hub for the home with a wide range of features for everyone to enjoy. In a significant next step in the development of the O2 Joggler platform, O2 also today announces that it will upgrade the device’s software from Flash 8 to Flash 10, making it possible for developers to create applications for the device. A SDK will be made available to developers shortly via O2 Litmus, O2’s web and mobile application development community.

O2 will also be launching an application store for the O2 Joggler which is due to go live on the device by the end of the year. Initially featuring free applications, the store will be developed in due course to allow people to purchase a wide range of apps for their Joggler. These could include anything from internet shopping through to video recipes and takeaway food applications.

Sally Cowdry continued, ‘Driven from customer insight and understanding, the O2 Joggler was a pioneering device when it launched earlier this year. With these announcements today, we keep the device fresh and innovative and signal our intention to continue to grow this platform. The O2 Joggler represents a key part of our strategy of delivering products and services to help make lives easier.’

The O2 Joggler Application Store will also link into O2 Litmus where developers are able to test and get feedback on their applications from O2 customers. The O2 Joggler will become one of the platforms available to developers through O2 Litmus and the application development community will open up new opportunities for them in selling their applications.

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