iLounge

Irvine, CA - December 14, 2004—iLounge (http://www.ilounge.com), the world’s leading independent resource of information about Apple Computer’s iPod portable digital music players, today announced further expansions of its editorial coverage to appeal to an even broader audience. “With millions of new iPod owners joining the global iPod community this holiday season,” said Dennis Lloyd, Publisher of iLounge, “we wanted to offer our current and future readers an unbeatable set of gifts: free music, and even more of our acclaimed free information.”

To that end, iLounge has today launched iLounge Free Music, a section of its website that helps readers find free, legal downloads of iPod-compatible music. “Our Free Music section supplements paid music downloading services,” continued Lloyd. “We help every new iPod owner easily start their own digital music collection, and provide great tutorials on how to build and manage that collection.” iLounge Free Music links to some of the best free music hunting sites on the web, currently including 3Hive, *Sixeyes, gabba/POD, Quiet FM’s Jazz & Conversation, Stylus Magazine’s Stypod, and The Big Ticket.

iLounge has also announced an enhanced publishing schedule for its wildly popular Buyers’ Guide digital magazine, which reached more than 200,000 readers in its first month and a half of distribution. “From new iPod users to members of the trade and media, the response we received to our 2004 Buyers’ Guide was absolutely incredible,” said Jeremy Horwitz, Editor-in-Chief of iLounge and the Buyers’ Guide. “By avoiding the pitfalls of the print magazine business, we’ve already reached considerably more readers than any comparable publication - print or online - and our readers want more.” To satisfy reader demands, iLounge will publish three Buyers’ Guides in 2005 targeted at key purchasing seasons and the holidays, and plans further editorial expansion announcements for the near future.

“Since 2001, we have undertaken a unique commitment,” said Dennis Lloyd, “to offer current and prospective iPod owners a truly independent, consumer-focused source of objective information about both iPods and iPod accessories. We have grown to meet the needs of more than a million readers across the globe every month, and look forward to helping steer them towards the best possible iPod experiences.”

Since the very beginning of Apple’s iPod revolution, iLounge has been the leading independent provider of information on iPod digital audio players, accessories, and related software. Established online only days after the October 23, 2001 debut of the iPod, the iLounge.com web site hosts daily news updates, independent product reviews and editorial content, incredible discussion forums and photo galleries, software downloads and self-help pages, and reached an estimated 1.7 million readers in November, 2004. Named one of Time Magazine’s 50 top web sites in 2004, iLounge is located in Irvine, California and is not affiliated with Apple Computer or the manufacturers of any iPod accessories. The iLounge Buyers’ Guide is a downloadable digital magazine edition of the iLounge web site, available for free at ilounge.com/buyersguide/.

Contact Information:
Dennis Lloyd: dennisl (at) ilounge.com
Publisher, iLounge and the Buyers’ Guide

Jeremy Horwitz: jeremy (at) ilounge.com
Editor-in-Chief, iLounge and the Buyers’ Guide