Press Release – June 1, 2006
VOCEL JOINS FORCES WITH QUALCOMM TO MAKE "ONE TOUCH" PURCHASING ON MOBILE PHONES A REALITY
Groundbreaking Pilot Program Launched For Midwest Wireless Customers In Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota
New Technology Powered By VOCEL’s Interactive Commerce Accelerator and QUALCOMM’s BREW® Application Value Billing Capabilities
San Diego, CA -Mobile phone users will now be able to purchase all kinds of content including ringtones, wallpaper and games with just one click thanks to a groundbreaking new technology from VOCEL coupled with QUALCOMM's BREW solutions. The announcement was made at QUALCOMM'S BREW 2006 Conference. VOCEL's revolutionary Interactive Commerce Accelerator (INCA) patent-pending technology is powering a pilot program run by Midwest Wireless that goes live today and takes advantage of an extension of the BREW solution known as Application Value Billing (AVB). This capability allows Midwest Wireless subscribers in Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota to streamline the preview and purchase of wireless applications from the shopping catalog on the mobile phone and directly purchase content with a single click.
Beyond support of advanced content discovery for items such as wallpapers and ringtones, VOCEL's INCA technology simplifies the discovery of other useful services, including consumer surveys and finding accessories for your mobile phone. This is accomplished through proactively promoting compelling content to the consumer on the phone and eliminating the need to navigate multiple menus and layers. The BREW AVB capability simplifies the actual purchasing process for consumers by providing them with additional purchase opportunities within the context of content and applications on their phone. When used together, AVB and INCA facilitate a comprehensive, yet intuitive, experience for a wireless subscriber's data experience.
Because INCA resides on a consumer's mobile phone, users are invited to opt into the program, download the software and receive alerts about new ringtones, wallpapers and downloads that are of interest to them. Alerts are not pushed to users who do not wish to receive them. These new capabilities provide consumers with a number of benefits, including easy, one-click purchasing via the BREW AVB and mobile entertainment options catered to their specific wants and needs via INCA's automated and personalized content recommendation system.
Carl Washburn, CEO for VOCEL, said "VOCEL is excited to be working with QUALCOMM and Midwest Wireless on this exciting venture to provide cutting edge technology that offers subscribers easy access to compelling wireless applications. All the feedback we have had so far from all members of the wireless value chain tells us that this is a concept whose time has come. To effectively reach their consumers, operators must quickly move to personalized marketing with a greatly simplified content discovery experience.
"If you're not a patient, persistent techno-whiz, the many clicks required for searching, previewing, purchasing, and downloading digital content on your mobile phone can be frustrating. INCA automatically sends targeted new ringtones, wallpapers, and games to consumers for preview or purchase. For example, a user can choose to preview or purchase the hottest new hip-hop ringtones everyday, every week, or every month. Surveyed consumers have responded well to this idea, so long as they have control over the frequency and nature of messages."
Scott Bergs, Midwest Wireless' COO, added "We believe this technology has the potential to expand the market for application downloads to people who currently don't know what they would buy and/or don't have time to shop. INCA gives us control over which applications we promote to which subscribers and allows those subscribers to instantly make purchases without time consuming multiple clicks and screens. As the types of products and services being offered on mobile devices continues to expand, we have to make it easier for subscribers to understand the value of those products and services and to buy them. One click purchasing enables us to do just that for our increasingly busy, upwardly mobile community."
"QUALCOMM is committed to providing technology solutions that enable the entire wireless value chain of operators, device manufacturers, publishers and developers - and the BREW AVB extension adds a powerful tool enabling wireless commerce," said Mitch Oliver, vice president of product management for QUALCOMM Internet Services. "VOCEL's INCA technology is a visionary example of how wireless operators, publishers and developers can use BREW AVB to provide consumers a vastly improved shopping experience on their mobile devices."
The BREW solution drives the discovery and delivery of data services. BREW customers can benefit from several offerings which include: uiOne™ for rich, integrated and dynamic user experiences with fast access to high revenue services on wireless devices; deliveryOne™ for differentiated and tightly integrated, operator managed support and delivery of advanced wireless data content and services; and marketOne™ for a quick-to-market, hosted, scalable content delivery service that includes media titles, flexible management and monetization, content provider settlement and business intelligence services. QUALCOMM offers this comprehensive set of BREW offerings to meet the distinct needs of companies delivering mobile products and services around the world.
About VOCEL
VOCEL is the owner of patent-pending push technology for mobile phones and other wireless devices that bring exciting new capabilities into user's lives. VOCEL's push technology sends enhanced, full-color interactive messages to mobile phones for both consumer and enterprise applications. VOCEL applications are offered via Cingular, Sprint, Verizon, and other major carriers. VOCEL technology integrates voice, data, and messaging to improve the quality of your life!
For additional information, please visit VOCEL at www.VOCEL.com.
QUALCOMM and BREW are registered trademarks of QUALCOMM Incorporated. uiOne, deliveryOne, and marketOne are trademarks of QUALCOMM Incorporated.
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