Modtones begin U.S. tour on Verizon Wireless's get it nowT service
Animated cover band by Faith West Inc. rings handsets with MIDI versions of popular songs
Redwood City, CA (September 23, 2002) - The Modtones, America's first completely fake, all-ringtone cover band, have announced their first two mobile handset tour stops on the Verizon Wireless get it now tour. Starting with appearances on the Verizon Wireless Z800 and the Motorola T720 handsets, and more to be announced soon, the Modtones will create MIDI versions of popular songs such as "Big Poppa," "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "The Theme from James Bond (Dr. No)", to be used as ringtones on the supported handsets. Although the band isn't real, the ringtones are - and they're giving mobile phones the ability to rock, not just ring.
Modtones polyphonic ringtones, created by Faith West, are built on QUALCOMM's BREW platform and available through get it now, the service announced today by Verizon Wireless, the largest wireless service provider in the U.S. and the leader in mobile data. Faith West is the new U.S. subsidiary of Faith Inc, the company that pioneered the technology behind polyphonic ringtones in Japan.
All ringtones can be previewed on the handset for free. To download a ringtone, the customer purchases ringtone credits from get it now, which are good for one download each. Ringtone credits cost $1.49 for one, $6.49 for five or $9.99 for 10.
get it now phones are available through more than 1200 Verizon Wireless communications stores, at participating Radio Shack stores, or on the Web at www.verizonwireless.com. The Modtones will soon begin a promotion in honor of the release of ABKCO's Rolling Stones Remastered Series, says Cindy Lundin, Marketing VP for Faith West.
"We're offering an all-Rolling Stones set, including a free ringtone - so some might think we've changed the band's name to the ModStones," said Lundin. Customers can check out the new set in the ABKCO Rolling Stones Remastered Series section, called Stones Tones, on the Modtones Web site or in the mobile application, featuring MIDI ringtone versions of songs like Brown Sugar and Satisfaction.
The Modtones service is complemented by a Web site at www.modtones.com, which offers a rich search and discover experience. Modtones fans can browse or search through hundreds of ringtone titles in dozens of genres, and save their choices to a wishlist, a new feature launched today by Faith West. The wishlist is then accessed through the Modtones application on the phone.
Polyphonic ringtones play 16 sounds at the same time, drawing upon a wave table synthesizer embedded in the handset to mimic the sounds of guitars, drums, and dozens of other instruments. Customers with one of the supported handsets can download the Modtones application through get it now from their phone's main menu. They can check out the featured ringtones, browse the Modtones categories, and search by title or artist.
About Faith West Inc.
Faith West Inc. delivers mobile content to U.S. consumers and supports licensing of Faith Inc.'s software-based sound solutions for mobile phones, and other communications and electronic devices globally. Headquartered in Redwood City, CA, the company also provides licensees with authoring tools to create mobile content in the proprietary CMX multimedia format developed with QUALCOMM.
About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless is the nation's leading provider of wireless communications. The company has the largest nationwide wireless voice and data network and 30.3 million customers. Headquartered in Bedminster, NJ, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). Find more information on the Web at www.verizonwireless.com.
About BREW
QUALCOMM's BREW platform is a thin application execution environment that provides an open, standard platform for wireless devices. The BREW platform is part of a complete, end-to-end solution for wireless applications development and application distribution. The complete BREW solution includes the BREW Software Development Kit(tm) (SDK) for developers, the BREW applications platform and porting tools for device manufacturers, and the BREW Distribution System (BDS) that is controlled and managed by carriers enabling them to easily get applications from developers and take them to market. BREW is a product of the QUALCOMM Internet Services(QIS)division and QUALCOMM Wireless & Internet (QWI) group of QUALCOMM.
About ABKCO's The Rolling Stones Remastered Series
ABKCO's The Rolling Stones Remastered Series encompasses twenty-two albums by "the world's greatest rock 'n roll band," recorded in their prime between 1963 and 1970. Each of the 26 individual discs in this monumental series of hybrid SACDs is fully compatible with playback on standard CD players. Every effort has been made to ensure that the 327 tracks presented within the 22 releases meets today's highest audio standards. The Rolling Stones Remastered Series is, thus, the Stones collection for the ages. Find more information about ABKCO's The Rolling Stones Remastered Series at www.abkco.com
Modtones is a trademark of Faith, Inc.
All other trademarks and service marks are the property of their legal holders.
|
