MobilityWire

Alternative mobile communications company, Talkster (www.talki.me), today announced its mobile application, talki™, won Technology Marketing Corporation’s (TMC) 2008 Communications Solutions Product of the Year Award. Talkster’s talki™ mobile application gives consumers affordable alternatives to traditional long distance and international calling, plus text and picture messaging without the hefty SMS and MMS charges. Since introducing its award-winning consumer communications services in 2007, Talkster has saved callers millions in international calling fees.

The Communications Solutions Product of the Year Award recognizes Talkster’s vision, leadership and attention to detail which are the hallmarks of the prestigious award. Talkster has been awarded TMC’s Communications Solutions Product of the Year Award for the last three years; having won for its innovation in voice over instant messaging (VoIM) technologies in 2006 and for its innovative Free World Dialing™ ad-supported calling service in 2007.

“Talkster has been recognized with our 2008 Product of the Year Award for its excellence in the advancement of voice and data communications,” said Rich Tehrani, TMC President and Group Editor-in-Chief. “Talkster has proven it is a company committed to quality and excellence in solutions that benefit consumers worldwide. Especially key in this trying economy are solutions like talki that leverage mobile technology to save consumers money. With this award TMC is honoring the innovations of Talkster’s team for the third year running as the company continues to successfully evolve its alternative communications offerings to meet the needs of consumers and VNOs around the globe.”

talki is a new lightweight software application from Talkster, available as a download or accessible through a mobile browser. It offers free or low-cost international calling, plus text and picture messaging, all in one convenient and easy to use mobile app. Talkster incorporated its award-winning Free World Dialing service into talki so people in 37 countries can place long distance calls at the same rate they pay for local calls, meaning no more expensive international mobile phone charges. For calling to countries where Free World Dialing is not yet supported, calling can still be done at rates 80 percent to 90 percent less than typical mobile calling rates. What’s more, the talki mobile app offers consumers unlimited global text messaging without SMS charges and global picture messaging without MMS charges.

Also available as a white labeled service, talki allows VNOs to deliver new voice, text and multimedia services to mobile subscribers without relying on carrier infrastructure. With talki, VNO’s can easily deliver new communications services, such as free or low-cost international calling or unlimited text and picture messaging, opening up new opportunities for revenue and marketing, independent of carrier capabilities and without the need for capex investments. The talki white label service includes a complete portal with tools for managing subscribers, subscription packages, advertising campaigns and monitoring usage statistics. Plus, Talkster’s mobile billing system gives VNOs an easy way to offer their customers the ability to purchase calling and messaging credits directly from their mobile phones via SMS or PayPal.

The 2008 Communications Solutions Product of the Year Award winners can be found on the INTERNET TELEPHONY and Customer Interaction Solutions Web site.

About Talkster
Talkster is revolutionizing communications with award-winning ad-supported and software-based technologies. Through its Free World DialingTM service and talkiTM mobile application Talkster is giving consumers highly affordable alternatives to long distance and international calling, plus text and picture messaging. Talkster’s talki white label application allows companies to create new opportunities for revenue and marketing by offering customers compelling services delivered through a branded mobile interface. From your mobile phone visit http://free.talkster.com to start using Free World Dialing, and http://m.talki.me to download talki. For more information visit Talkster at www.Talkster.com.

About TMC
Technology Marketing Corporation (TMC) is a global integrated media company helping our clients build communities in print, in person and online. TMC publishes Customer Interaction Solutions, INTERNET TELEPHONY, Unified Communications, and NGN Magazine. TMCnet, TMC’s Web site, is the leading source of news and articles for the communications and technology industries. TMCnet is read by two to three million unique visitors each month worldwide, according to Webtrends. TMCnet is ranked as 2,921 in Quantcast’s Top U.S. Sites placing TMCnet in the top .03% most visited Web sites in the US. In addition, TMC produces ITEXPO, 4GWE Conference, Digium|Asterisk World and Communications Developer Conference.
TMC’s Green Blog has been ranked on the “100 Best Blogs for Those Who Want to Change the World”. TMC also recently launched new industry-specific Web sites: IT.TMCnet.com, Cable.TMCnet.com, Robotics.TMCnet.com, Satellite.TMCnet.com, Green.TMCnet.com. New services offered by TMCnet include the Tech Jobs site, TMCnet iPhone News and Facebook connections. For more information about TMC, visit www.tmcnet.com.

Talkster (www.Talkster.com), the company delivering brands and publishers instant mobile content delivery services including text, video, calling and web, announced today it will be exhibiting and conducting business development meetings at World Telemedia 2009 (WT09), in Malta, April 26-28.

About World Telemedia 2009
Held on the beautiful island of Malta, World Telemedia 2009 is the only European event for premium content and services companies focused on linking the power of the media and marketing with network billing collection and delivery. As many markets enter a period of economic uncertainty, WT09 focuses on areas that represent a genuine opportunity for service providers and media groups alike and showcases the content, services and applications that consumers will continue to demand.

Talkster at World Telemedia 2009
Talkster executives will join leading telemedia players at WT09 to conduct business development meetings and demonstrate the ways brands and publishers can create new revenue streams using talki, Talkster’s mobile application.

With talki, companies can deliver mobile content and advertising to their customers’ existing phones with no SMS opt-in issues and zero cost to push new content updates, along with value added communications services such as texting, picture messaging and worldwide calling.

Talkster will be exhibiting at WT09. To schedule a meeting with Talkster executives at WT09 email partners@talkster.com or call +44 (0) 871 2400112.

About Talkster
Talkster is revolutionizing communications with award-winning ad-supported and software-based technologies. Through its Free World DialingTM service and talkiTM mobile application Talkster is giving consumers highly affordable alternatives to long distance and international calling, plus text and picture messaging. Talkster’s talki white label application allows companies to create new opportunities for revenue and marketing by offering customers compelling services delivered through a branded mobile interface. From your mobile phone visit http://free.talkster.com to start using Free World Dialing, and http://m.talki.me to download talki. For more information visit Talkster at www.Talkster.com.

DialPlus, Inc., was awarded First Runner Up at the 6th annual NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge held at CTIA Wireless 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada earlier this month. The California-based DialPlus was awarded a $417,500 prize in cash, tools and map data licenses.

The NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge is the premier event in the location-based services (LBS) industry, inviting application developers to build innovative applications for mobile devices using dynamic positioning technology and NAVTEQ® maps. It is a world-wide competition conducted by NAVTEQ Network for Developers™ (NN4D), NAVTEQ’s global community and support program for LBS developers and business partners.

Fourteen companies advanced to the final judging in The Americas region and the finalists represented a broad spectrum of wireless applications. These were selected based on commercial feasibility, functionality, ease of use and design.

DialPlus enhances the standard phone call experience by automatically and simultaneously providing dynamic, contextually relevant visual information about the called or calling party before the call is answered, during the call and after the call is over. DialPlus makes it easy for users to engage in mobile social networking or to get information about a business they’re speaking with, such as directions, menus and reviews. DialPlus uses maps powered by NAVTEQ to show the location of businesses and enable driving directions. The plan is that DialPlus will ultimately also enable the location of individuals in addition to businesses.

“With a high number of registrations in The Americas region, this year marked one of our most competitive contests yet. DialPlus managed to stand out with their user-friendly social networking application by adding useful location-centric features to the core calling function on a mobile phone, something both users and mobile operators like,” commented Marc Naddell, vice president, Partner & Developer Programs, NAVTEQ. “We congratulate DialPlus on their First Runner-Up Award. It’s practical and fun applications like this that will help drive the adoption rate of LBS among mobile users.”

“We are honored to be selected by the judges as the First Runner-Up of the 2009 NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge for the Americas Region. This is a strong validation of the DialPlus product vision and the vast opportunities for LBS technologies and features it supports,” said Lisa LeVasseur, CEO of DialPlus. “The NAVTEQ team was extremely organized, professional and supportive throughout the entire process. The judging format provided valuable exposure to key contacts from both within and outside the mobile industry.”

The distinguished panel of judges included executives from AT&T, Best Buy Mobile, Chrysler, deCarta, Intel, IPG Emerging Media Lab, MetroPCS, Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Telefónica, Verizon and Yahoo!

DialPlus is initially targeting smartphones in the US market, primarily S60 for Symbian OS™, Windows Mobile/Smartphone, BlackBerry™, Android and iPhone.

About the NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge
First launched in 2003, the NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge is focused on driving the development and visibility of innovative navigation solutions for wireless devices. From wireless business applications to sports, travel and security, integrating the accuracy and richness of NAVTEQ digital map data facilitates the timely evolution of the next wave of LBS. Over 30% of past semi finalists have gone on to receive venture capital funding or launch commercially-distributed applications. For more information on this year’s competition, go to www.LBSChallenge.com.

NAVTEQ, NAVTEQ Network for Developers and Global LBS Challenge are trademarks of NAVTEQ in the U.S. and other countries. All rights reserved.

About DialPlus, Inc.:
Founded in 2007 by wireless industry veterans, San Diego, Calif. – based DialPlus, Inc. enriches and creates more effective communication by adding visual information to voice phone calls. Available for multiple platforms, DialPlus and can be downloaded from www.dialplus.net.

DialPlus, Inc., was awarded Runner Up award at the 4th annual AT&T Fast-Pitch Platinum Awards contest held at CTIA Wireless 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The California-based DialPlus, was awarded a $5,000 prize in the consumer applications contest.

This year’s Fast-Pitch program attracted more than 350 developer applications — the largest number in the program’s four-year history. Application developers were invited to present their applications in a five-minute, face-to-face pitch to a panel of judges who determined which application would make the cut for potential placement on AT&T’s wireless network. Judging was based on several factors, including: innovation and originality of the application; market appeal; interface design; and number of platforms and handsets supported.

DialPlus enhances the standard phone call experience by automatically and simultaneously providing dynamic, contextually relevant visual information about the called or calling party before the call is answered, during the call and after the call is over. DialPlus makes it easy for users to engage in mobile social networking or to get information about a business they’re speaking with, such as directions, menus and reviews.

“It is a great honor to be selected by the judges as the runner-up of the Fast-Pitch award. Being recognized for the innovation and consumer appeal of DialPlus by such an important player in the mobile industry is a significant achievement,” said Lisa LeVasseur, CEO of DialPlus.

AT&T was the first major wireless carrier to create a developer relations program and now has more than 20,000 developers registered in its program. AT&T offers its customers all of the world’s major mobile operating systems, working with developers to create applications and content for BlackBerry®, iPhone, Microsoft Windows Mobile, Java, Palm OS and Symbian.

All of AT&T’s mobile applications operate on its GSM network, the de facto world standard in mobile communications used by more than 88 percent of wireless users worldwide. GSM is inherently open, making it easy for developers and carriers to bring innovative applications to consumers.

For more information about the winners of the AT&T Fast-Pitch Platinum Awards contest or on AT&T’s developer program, please visit http://developer.att.com.

About DialPlus, Inc.:
Founded in 2007 by wireless industry veterans, San Diego, Calif. – based DialPlus, Inc. enriches and creates more effective communication by adding visual information to voice phone calls. Available for multiple platforms, DialPlus and can be downloaded from www.dialplus.net.