Amp'd Mobile Acquires NINJA Mobile's Mobile Development Division; Key Development Execs Join Amp'd to Build on BREW-Based User Interface, NINJA Mobile to Concentrate on Mobile Publishing.LOS ANGELES Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. & TORRANCE, Calif. -- Amp'd Mobile Amp'd Mobile was a mobile phone service launched in the United States in late 2005. The company was a Mobile Virtual Network Operator and operated on the Verizon Wireless CDMA EV-DO network. Its primary non-Venture Capital investors were MTV Networks and Universal Music Group. announced today its acquisition of NINJA Mobile's development division, which will become a part of Amp'd Mobile while NINJA focuses on expanding its mobile publishing Mobile publishing is the act of making something public through mobile phones. One advantage for publishers is the ease of adding the cost of downloading content to the users' phone bills. Mobile music revenues (mostly from ringtones) amounted to $400m in 2005. business. The acquisition includes NINJA's esteemed United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. and Japanese development teams and NINJA's "Rope Platform" technology. NINJA's Rope Platform is the base upon which the Amp'd community, blogging, dating, commerce, multiplayer gaming Two or more people playing a game and competing with each other via computer. Although traditional card games such as bridge and poker are played online, games with a large number of people (massively multiplayer) mix real players with simulated environments that turn the computer into a , location-based and additional server-driven applications, are being built. Prior to the deal, NINJA has been a core partner for the technical development of Amp'd Mobile's proprietary user interface (UI) and custom applications based on Qualcomm's BREW (Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless) An application development environment from Qualcomm for enhanced cellphone services (e-mail, games, etc.). BREW is directly supported in the CDMA chipsets from Qualcomm, and BREW-enabled applications work no matter (R) 3.1. Since Amp'd will focus exclusively on 3G content and EV-DO (EVolution-Data Only) A 3G high-speed digital data service provided by cellular carriers worldwide that use the CDMA technology, including Verizon and Sprint in the U.S. EV-DO works on EV-DO cellphones as well as laptops and portable devices that have EV-DO modems. , the company needed to create a new user interface to take full advantage of the wealth of unique music, lifestyle, entertainment, sports and gaming content that will be available. Now part of the Amp'd team, the NINJA development group, led by Kiyoto Hirai, NINJA co-founder and former CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. , will focus on producing more original and proprietary BREW(R) applications at Amp'd as the company gears up for launch later this year. NINJA Mobile is now a mobile publisher and content aggregator An organization that combines information such as news, sports scores, weather forecasts and reference materials from various sources and makes it available to its customers. See customer aggregator. and will continue to be led by Jeff Capdeville, co-founder and president. NINJA Mobile will remain a trusted developer and publisher for Amp'd Mobile, who will continue to outsource aspects of custom developed applications to NINJA. "I founded Amp'd Mobile to truly take advantage of the entertainment experience 3G can provide in the U.S.," said Peter Adderton, CEO and founder, Amp'd Mobile. "When starting the company it became apparent that we'd need to create our own user interface since what we're doing is so different. We're excited to have the team that helped create our UI on board with us full-time now and we look forward to continuing to push forward toward completion of our groundbreaking UI experience for consumers." "Amp'd Mobile represents one of the most exciting opportunities in the wireless industry today," said Kiyoto Hirai, former NINJA CEO and current senior director, BREW services, Amp'd Mobile. "My team in the U.S. and Japan has been working with Amp'd for the last year and we look forward to continuing to add a differentiating and compelling layer of custom BREW apps to ensure Amp'd is always a step ahead of the competition." "Personally, after working with this development team at NINJA -- led by Kiyoto -- over the past two years at two different companies, I know how they have raised the bar in terms of BREW development," said Seth Cummings, vice president of wireless content and internet services, Amp'd Mobile. "Their Japanese team becomes experienced with the next generation of BREW months before the U.S. and will help us maintain a competitive edge with cutting-edge features and applications." About NINJA Mobile NINJA Mobile publishes and distributes mobile solutions to a worldwide market. NINJA's entertainment group distributes Mobile Games, Video Content, MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) An enhanced transmission service that enables graphics, video clips and sound files to be transmitted via cellphones. Developed as part of the 3GPP project, MMS phones are generally backward compatible with SMS and EMS. Services, Wallpapers, Screensavers, Ring Tones, and BREW Java and Symbian applications. Its development arm was acquired by Amp'd Mobile in July 2005 and past credits include the Amp'd user interface, Kodak Mobile BREW solution, Boost Mobile custom games, surfline.com webcam and surf report feeds, and numerous custom BREW services built in Japan. About Amp'd Mobile Amp'd Mobile will be the first integrated mobile entertainment company for youth, young professionals and early adopters. By leveraging the power of broadband wireless See wireless broadband. (EVDO), Amp'd will offer traditional services such as voice and text within a completely fresh user interface designed specifically for the "mobile graduate" and third-generation (3G) technology. With a myriad of customizable options to meet each person's individual needs, Amp'd will bring a more relevant, personal experience to wireless lifestyle with unique music, video, community, entertainment, sports and gaming offerings divided into various channels for quick and easy access. Launching in late 2005, more information can be found at www.ampdmobile.com. |
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