"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 of Leap. "With 13 percent of . 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(a), the market opportunity for this application is exciting. We believe that the musicmatch(R) 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(R) 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 Clicks(TM)-enabled phone and an activated Cricket Clicks(TM) service account can easily navigate through the Cricket Clicks(TM) catalog and choose the musicmatch(R) 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 $, 3 credits for $, or 5 credits for $. 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(R), several other innovative wireless data applications are available through Cricket Clicks(TM) including wallpapers, games, entertainment, sports information, weather, entertainment guides, e-mail and other personal and business content. A full listing of Cricket Clicks(TM) applications can be found at .com.
Cricket Clicks(TM) is currently available in 25 Cricket(R) markets. Leap anticipates that Cricket Clicks(TM) will be available in all of its 39 Cricket(R) markets early this year.
About Leap
Leap, headquartered in San Diego, Calif., is a customer-focused company providing innovative mobile wireless services that are targeted to meet the needs of customers who are under-served by traditional communications companies. With a commitment to predictability, simplicity and value as the foundation of our business, Leap pioneered Cricket(R) service, a simple and affordable wireless alternative to traditional landline service. Cricket(R) service offers customers unlimited anytime minutes within the Cricket(R) calling area over a high-quality, all-digital CDMA network. Operating in 39 markets in 20 states stretching from New York to California, Cricket(R) service is available to customers in more than 840 different municipalities. For more information, please visit .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(TM) 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. V-Enable was founded by wireless experts from Nokia, Motorola, PacketVideo and Cisco. For more information, visit .com.
(a)Enpocket, . 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.
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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.
