Radio Companion(TM) for BlackBerry Smartphones

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Radio Companion(TM) for BlackBerry Smartphones From Mediaguide and Nobex Technologies Shows What Is Currently Playing on Radio Stations Across the U.S.
1st April 2008
http://money.cnn.com

Mediaguide and Nobex Technologies have launched a unique new entertainment application called Radio Companion(TM), which allows BlackBerry® smartphone users to keep track of what is currently playing on their favorite radio stations throughout the U.S.

This free, downloadable application -- which operates on such popular BlackBerry models as the BlackBerry® Pearl(TM), BlackBerry® Curve(TM) and BlackBerry® 8800 Series smartphones from Research In Motion (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 smartphone. 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 smartphone."

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.