February 02, 2005
Cricket Launches V-ENABLE's musicmatch® Voice-Enabled Ringtone Application for Its Cricket ClicksTM Customers
San Diego - Continuing its commitment to make wireless data applications simple and easy to use, Cricket Communications, Inc., a leading provider of unlimited local and domestic long distance wireless services, announced that it is enhancing its Cricket ClicksTM suite of BREW-based mobile applications with the addition of V-ENABLE's musicmatch® voice-enabled ringtone application. By using V-ENABLE's patent-pending voice-recognition technology, Cricket ClicksTM customers can verbally ask for and receive ringtones from their favorite artists, instead of surfing through long menus online.
"As the first carrier to commercially launch this service, we are excited about its market potential and believe it will result in additional downloads," said Al Moschner, executive vice president and chief marketing officer. "With 13 percent of U.S. adult mobile users reporting that they have downloaded a standard ringtone in the last three months and eight percent claiming they have downloaded a polyphonic ringtone*, the market opportunity for this application is exciting. We believe that the musicmatch® application, with its voice-recognition technology, will appeal to a large number of our customers who will like the convenience of simply stating an artist's name to access a song rather than surfing through a long list of artists."
"Realizing that ringtones were swiftly becoming one of the most successful revenue sources for the wireless market with Strategy Analytics projecting the ringtone market to reach $4 billion by 2008, we looked to develop a ringtone application with a twist," said Fernando Corona, president & CEO of V-ENABLE. "We were pleased that Cricket saw the value in our musicmatch® voice-recognition application, which lets a mobile user simply say the name of an artist to get immediate access to a list of their downloadable ringtones. We are encouraged by the initial reception this application is receiving and are developing similar voice-recognition applications for carriers like Cricket in the future."
With just a few simple clicks, customers with a Cricket ClicksTM-enabled phone and an activated Cricket ClicksTM service account can easily navigate through the Cricket ClicksTM catalog and choose the musicmatch® application. The application will then be automatically downloaded to their phone, and the customer can select one of three credit packages, which include: 1 credit (song) for $2.99, 3 credits for $8.49, or 5 credits for $12.99. Upon selecting the credit package, the user can then simply say the name of the artist and immediately get back a variety of ringtones to preview and download.
In addition to musicmatch®, several other innovative wireless data applications are available through Cricket ClicksTM including wallpapers, games, entertainment, sports information, weather, entertainment guides, e-mail and other personal and business content. A full listing of Cricket ClicksTM applications can be found at www.mycricket.com.
Cricket ClicksTM is currently available in 25 Cricket® markets. The company anticipates that Cricket ClicksTM will be available in all of its 39 Cricket® markets this year.
About Cricket
Cricket is a simple and affordable wireless solution offering unlimited mobile services over our high-quality, all-digital network. Predictability, simplicity and value are the foundations of our business. As the pioneer of unlimited anytime minutes and no long-term contracts required, we offer an affordable alternative for those individuals and businesses looking for flat-rate wireless services. Operating in 39 markets in 20 states stretching from New York to California, Cricket® is available to customers in more than 840 different municipalities. For more information, please visit www.mycricket.com.
About V-Enable
V-Enable, Inc. is the global leader in developing, delivering, and enabling application developer and carrier multimodal software that brings a rich user experience for today's mobile user, based on the Company's patented veANYWAY™ technology. Our Multidimensional technology and Multimodality promises to accelerate the adoption of data, speech and video services for carriers worldwide using Java, Symbian and Brew Platforms. Client/Server Multimodal applications powered by V-Enable technology are available on Verizon, ALLTEL, and US Cellular. Offering standards-based solutions, V-Enable provides the application developer and carrier with maximum flexibility and extensibility of their application or network. The company, founded in 2001, is headquartered in San Diego, CA. V-Enable was founded by wireless experts from Nokia, Motorola, PacketVideo and Cisco. For more information,
visit www.v-enable.com
*Enpocket, U.S. Mobile Media Monitor, May 2004
Except for the historical information contained herein, this news release contains "forward-looking statements" reflecting management's current forecast of certain aspects of Leap's future. Some forward-looking statements can be identified by forward-looking words such as "believe," "think," "may," "could," "will," "estimate," "continue," "anticipate," "intend," "seek," "plan," "expect," "should," "would" and similar expressions. This news release is based on current information, which we have assessed but which by its nature is dynamic and subject to rapid and even abrupt changes. Our actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements due to risks and uncertainties associated with our business. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to:our ability to attract and retain customers in an extremely competitive marketplace;
our ability to attract, motivate and/or retain an experienced workforce;
changes in economic conditions that could adversely affect the market for wireless services;
failure of network systems to perform according to expectations;
global political unrest, including the threat or occurrence of war or acts of terrorism; and
other factors detailed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" included in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended September 30, 2004, and in our other SEC filings.
The forward-looking statements should be considered in the context of these risk factors. Investors and prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Leap and the Leap logo design are trademarks of Leap Wireless International, Inc. Cricket is a registered trademark of Cricket Communications, Inc. Cricket +1, Cricket +2, Cricket Unlimited, Cricket Multi Value Plan, and Cricket Clicks are trademarks of Cricket Communications, Inc.
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"As the first carrier to commercially launch this service, we are excited about its market potential and believe it will result in additional downloads," said Al Moschner, executive vice president and chief marketing officer. "With 13 percent of U.S. adult mobile users reporting that they have downloaded a standard ringtone in the last three months and eight percent claiming they have downloaded a polyphonic ringtone*, the market opportunity for this application is exciting. We believe that the musicmatch® application, with its voice-recognition technology, will appeal to a large number of our customers who will like the convenience of simply stating an artist's name to access a song rather than surfing through a long list of artists."
"Realizing that ringtones were swiftly becoming one of the most successful revenue sources for the wireless market with Strategy Analytics projecting the ringtone market to reach $4 billion by 2008, we looked to develop a ringtone application with a twist," said Fernando Corona, president & CEO of V-ENABLE. "We were pleased that Cricket saw the value in our musicmatch® voice-recognition application, which lets a mobile user simply say the name of an artist to get immediate access to a list of their downloadable ringtones. We are encouraged by the initial reception this application is receiving and are developing similar voice-recognition applications for carriers like Cricket in the future."
With just a few simple clicks, customers with a Cricket ClicksTM-enabled phone and an activated Cricket ClicksTM service account can easily navigate through the Cricket ClicksTM catalog and choose the musicmatch® application. The application will then be automatically downloaded to their phone, and the customer can select one of three credit packages, which include: 1 credit (song) for $2.99, 3 credits for $8.49, or 5 credits for $12.99. Upon selecting the credit package, the user can then simply say the name of the artist and immediately get back a variety of ringtones to preview and download.
In addition to musicmatch®, several other innovative wireless data applications are available through Cricket ClicksTM including wallpapers, games, entertainment, sports information, weather, entertainment guides, e-mail and other personal and business content. A full listing of Cricket ClicksTM applications can be found at www.mycricket.com.
Cricket ClicksTM is currently available in 25 Cricket® markets. The company anticipates that Cricket ClicksTM will be available in all of its 39 Cricket® markets this year.
About Cricket
Cricket is a simple and affordable wireless solution offering unlimited mobile services over our high-quality, all-digital network. Predictability, simplicity and value are the foundations of our business. As the pioneer of unlimited anytime minutes and no long-term contracts required, we offer an affordable alternative for those individuals and businesses looking for flat-rate wireless services. Operating in 39 markets in 20 states stretching from New York to California, Cricket® is available to customers in more than 840 different municipalities. For more information, please visit www.mycricket.com.
About V-Enable
V-Enable, Inc. is the global leader in developing, delivering, and enabling application developer and carrier multimodal software that brings a rich user experience for today's mobile user, based on the Company's patented veANYWAY™ technology. Our Multidimensional technology and Multimodality promises to accelerate the adoption of data, speech and video services for carriers worldwide using Java, Symbian and Brew Platforms. Client/Server Multimodal applications powered by V-Enable technology are available on Verizon, ALLTEL, and US Cellular. Offering standards-based solutions, V-Enable provides the application developer and carrier with maximum flexibility and extensibility of their application or network. The company, founded in 2001, is headquartered in San Diego, CA. V-Enable was founded by wireless experts from Nokia, Motorola, PacketVideo and Cisco. For more information,
visit www.v-enable.com
*Enpocket, U.S. Mobile Media Monitor, May 2004
Except for the historical information contained herein, this news release contains "forward-looking statements" reflecting management's current forecast of certain aspects of Leap's future. Some forward-looking statements can be identified by forward-looking words such as "believe," "think," "may," "could," "will," "estimate," "continue," "anticipate," "intend," "seek," "plan," "expect," "should," "would" and similar expressions. This news release is based on current information, which we have assessed but which by its nature is dynamic and subject to rapid and even abrupt changes. Our actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements due to risks and uncertainties associated with our business. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to:
The forward-looking statements should be considered in the context of these risk factors. Investors and prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Leap and the Leap logo design are trademarks of Leap Wireless International, Inc. Cricket is a registered trademark of Cricket Communications, Inc. Cricket +1, Cricket +2, Cricket Unlimited, Cricket Multi Value Plan, and Cricket Clicks are trademarks of Cricket Communications, Inc.
