NEW YORK, April 04, 2012 -- Aha by HARMAN™, the infotainment platform that makes Web content safe for drivers, has announced a partnership that will bring its highly personalized listening experience to drivers of Acura RLX vehicles beginning in model year 2013.

Aha, which lets drivers choose from tens of thousands of stations of Web-based content, will be part of an all-new audio system being offered in addition to Acura’s award winning ELS Surround® sound system and will be integrated via Bluetooth® smart phone pairing. Acura joins Honda and Subaru as one of the first automakers to embed Aha’s cutting-edge technology.

“Our vision to safely connect drivers to the latest Web content is being realized one leading automaker at a time,” said Robert Acker, HARMAN VP and General Manager of Aha. “Acura is known for using the latest technology to improve the driving experience, and Aha is proud to be chosen as the platform that will connect RLX drivers to the Web in a way that makes sense at 65 miles per hour. Aha continually adds new stations in the cloud, so Acura can be sure its customers will be getting up-to-date infotainment for the life of their vehicles.”

Aha is powering the Web-connected “fourth band” of radio, alongside terrestrial (AM/FM) and satellite radio. Aha users can choose from tens of thousands of audio stations, including web content like Internet radio, on-demand music, live news, podcasts, audio books, Facebook and Twitter newsfeeds, personalized points of interest information and much more. Aha delivers a unique infotainment experience by letting users prioritize the stations they want, and customize audio stations like “Hungry” and “Coffee” to suit their tastes. When Aha is connected to a compatible in-car entertainment system, the users’ top stations become radio preset buttons, so drivers can put down the phone and safely switch between stations just like traditional radio. When they arrive at their destination and exit the car, users can continue enjoying their content from the smart phone.

The Aha service is currently live in the US, Canada, and Western Europe. The group is working with multiple automotive and consumer electronics manufacturers on additional integrations that will launch throughout the year. +++ Aha representatives are available this week at the New York International Autoshow to demo the platform for press. Reporters who would like to schedule a live demo can email press@aharadio.com to book an appointment.

About HARMAN

HARMAN (www.harman.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets — supported by 15 leading brands, including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon® and Mark Levinson®. The Company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 13,400 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported net sales of $4.4 billion for the twelve months ending June 30, 2012. The Company's shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NYSE:HAR.

About Aha by HARMAN
Aha is an interactive service of HARMAN International Industries that makes Web content as easy and safe to use as radio. Aha uses the Harman Cloud Platform to organize content from the Web into personalized radio stations that consumers can listen to from anywhere — at home, on the go, or safely from the driver's seat. By the end of 2013, Aha will be installed into vehicles by more than 10 automotive manufacturers, which in total represent more than 50 percent of all cars sold in the USA/Canada and up to 30 percent in Europe, including Acura, Chrysler, Ford, Honda, Porsche and Subaru. The Aha platform and service was started in 2008 in Silicon Valley by a group of Web and multimedia veterans with a shared passion for delivering an "always on" audio experience to connect drivers to the content they really want. HARMAN, the company that designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets, acquired Aha in September 2010. For more information, visit www.aharadio.com or find Aha on Facebook and Twitter