BERWYN, PA and SANTA CRUZ, CA (March 31,
2008) - BlackBerry® smartphone users can now keep track of what is playing
on their favorite radio stations throughout the U.S. in real time, thanks to a
unique new entertainment application called Radio Companion™.
This free,
downloadable application - which operates on such popular BlackBerry models as
Pearl, Curve and the 8800 series from Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM;
TSX: RIM) - was developed by mobile application developer, Nobex Technologies,
and is powered by Mediaguide, a top provider of airplay data drawn from
terrestrial and Internet radio, as well as major peer-to-peer
networks.
Through its proprietary fingerprinting technology and network
of remote monitoring stations, Mediaguide currently tracks the real-time airplay
of more than 2,700 terrestrial radio stations in every state in the U.S. This
allows Radio Companion users to see what is playing right now on any of their
favorite radio stations with just a few quick clicks on their BlackBerry. They
can then select the music track to have its details sent instantly to their
email account, with a direct link to click-through and purchase the song
online.
"The BlackBerry platform is ideal for this kind of entertainment
offering," said Steve Lubin, CEO of Mediaguide. "It is the mobile device of
choice for millions of Americans and has become a key access point for all types
of information and services. Bringing music-oriented applications into the
BlackBerry ecosystem is a natural evolution in how consumers are using this
device."
Radio Companion is fast to download and set up. Users simply
point their BlackBerry browser to
www.nobexrc.com and click the link to download. During the
brief set-up process, users are prompted to select their favorite radio stations
by scrolling through an alphabetical list of cities and then picking their
stations. This list includes more than 2,700 stations from all music formats and
genres throughout the country.
Once set-up is complete, users click on a
station name to see what is currently playing. Radio Companion displays the song
title and artist, as well as a thumbnail graphic of the album cover or artist
photo. They can also scroll backwards to view previous songs and artists on the
station's playlist.
"When you're tuned in live to a station but don't
know the name of the specific song that's playing, Radio Companion can tell you
in an instant," said Gadi Mazor, CEO of Nobex. "Some people listen to a
particular station to get introduced to new music. For them, Radio Companion is
a great tool for scrolling recent playlists to discover tracks they may want to
check out."
Lubin added that Radio Companion is also terrific for people
who have a strong personal connection to a radio station from their old home
town, such as their college station. "They can follow what's on the air, even
though they no longer live in the area," said Lubin.
Radio Companion does
not yet stream audio from radio stations directly to BlackBerry smartphones.
Nobex and Mediaguide anticipate adding this feature in late summer of
2008.
About Mediaguide:
Mediaguide, which was jointly formed in 2002
by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), has
developed, operates and licenses proprietary audio and video fingerprint
technology and monitors over 2,700 college, non-commercial and commercial radio
stations for music, advertisements and speech. The company provides the most
comprehensive, accurate, timely and reliable airplay data products for
advertisers, broadcasters and content owners. Learn more about Mediaguide at
www.mediaguide.com.
About Nobex Technologies:
Founded in 2007, Nobex Technologies is led
by Gadi Mazor, Ron Maor and Jamie Julius, the founders of Onset Technology, the
developer of METAmessage and a leading application developer for BlackBerry and
other smartphones. The Nobex team has robust technical skills, true
understanding of the user experience that makes or breaks adoption of products
by mobile users, and a large network of connections with device manufacturers
and mobile operators.
* The BlackBerry and RIM
families of related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties and
trademarks of Research In Motion Limited.