Vringo Announces Agreement with The Carphone Warehouse
NEW YORK, Jan 31, 2011 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) --
Vringo, Inc. (NYSE:VRNG), a provider of video ringtones and personalization solutions for mobile devices, today announced the signing of an agreement with The Carphone Warehouse, the U.K.'s largest independent mobile phone retailer, to offer the Vringo platform to Smartphone customers.
Under the agreement, The Carphone Warehouse will add the Vringo application to its *SparkXL app that will be offered with all Android Smartphones as part of The Carphone Warehouse's "Walkout Working" initiative. This agreement with Great Britain's largest independent phone retailer will introduce Vringo's platform to a wide audience together with the launch of its paid service with Orange (U.K.).
"The Carphone Warehouse's *SparkXL application offers a socially integrated and interactive application for Android Smartphone users. Our customers will be able to have everything they need -- from messaging and social media to news, weather and sports and entertainment alerts -- at their fingertips," said Tom Guy, Head of Digital Services. "We're very excited to be able to offer Vringo's advanced ringtone platform."
"For Vringo, inclusion in the *SparkXL program is more than a vote of confidence, it is the establishment of an important additional marketing channel being offered to us by the U.K.'s largest and most innovative independent mobile phone retailer," said Jon Medved, Vringo's Chief Executive Officer. "Anchored by our Orange (U.K.) launch underway this quarter, we have all of the pieces in place to provide unprecedented access to the Vringo platform for U.K. mobile phone subscribers."
Vringo's fully-hosted carrier platform is currently deployed for international partners in six markets with new launches anticipated in the next quarter. Vringo's scalable cloud-based distributed application architecture enables the carrier's subscribers to browse and download mobile videos, set them as video ringtones and instantly share them with friends. In addition to carrier partners, Vringo has content partnerships with major content providers including EMI, T-Pain, Tiesto, Muhammad Ali, Turner, Marvel, Discovery Mobile, RTL, Ingrooves and Agence France-Presse.
About The Carphone Warehouse
The Carphone Warehouse is the largest independent mobile phone retailer in Europe with over 2,000 stores operating across the continent. The company has over 800 stores in the U.K. and is committed to offering impartial and expert advice on the widest range of the latest product plus unbeatable, aftersales care.
About Vringo
Founded in 2006, Vringo (NYSE:VRNG) is bringing about the evolution of ringtones. With its award-winning video ringtone application and mobile software platform, Vringo transforms the basic act of making and receiving mobile phone calls into a highly visual, social experience. By installing Vringo's application, which is compatible with more than 200 handsets, users can create or take video, images and slideshows from virtually anywhere and make it into their personal call signature. Vringo's patented VringForward(TM) technology allows users to share video clips with friends with a simple call. Vringo has launched its service with various international mobile operators and dozens of content partners, and maintains a library of more than 5,000 video ringtones. For more information, visit http://ir.vringo.com.
For more information about how video ringtones work, visit www.vringo.com/p_video_ringtones.html.
The Vringo, Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=8289
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from the forward-looking statements. Vringo expressly disclaims any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements contained herein, whether as a results of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
This news release was distributed by GlobeNewswire, www.globenewswire.com
SOURCE: Vringo, Inc.
CONTACT: Vringo, Inc. Jonathan Medved CEO Email: jon@vringo.com Phone: +1 646-525-4319 x 2501 Investor Relations Firm: Crescendo Communications, LLC John J. Quirk / David K. Waldman Email: vrng@crescendo-ir.com Phone: +1 212-671-1020