Firefly Mobile Chooses PassAlong Networks to Power
Age Appropriate MP3 Store
Easy-to-Use MP3 Store Targets Youth Market, Features Age Appropriate Catalog
Franklin, Tenn. — November 5, 2007 — Firefly Mobile, the first pay-as-you-go service provider to design mobile phones especially for kids and tweens, announced a partnership with StoreBlocks™, the music distribution platform offered by music distribution developer PassAlong Networks. StoreBlocks powers an MP3 store for Firefly's flyPhone™ with an age-appropriate music catalog that targets tweens. The Firefly Mobile MP3 store will offer more than 2.1 million MP3s and will give buyers the most flexibility and interoperability available.
"Everyone is trying to crack the code of supplying music to cell phone markets," said Dave Jaworski, co-founder and CEO of PassAlong Networks. "We agree with Firefly Mobile's approach to convenience and interoperability and we believe that the phone will be an important music discovery tool in the Connected Consumer™ experience."
This model will emulate the most commonly used method for getting music onto cell phones today - side loading - a process that provides the most flexibility and interoperability. While a cell phone is a great tool to experience music, it is not the easiest place to store and manage a digital media library. Firefly and PassAlong want to provide an interconnected service between PC and mobile phone that makes it easy to connect the flyPhone™ with music.
"The youth market is going to figure this out before anyone else does," said Patrick Marry, CEO of Firefly Mobile. "We are listening to our customers and letting them determine our direction because they are the ones dictating the needs of the mobile music experience. To tweens music is a must have and we are thrilled to be able to include music in our store."
About Firefly Mobile
Firefly Mobile is dedicated to making everyday life easier by providing unique mobile products for niche markets.
The original Firefly Blue phone is winner of the 2007 Red Herring 100 Award, 2006 Consumer Electronic Association "Best of Innovations" Award, 2006 Kid Power Breakout Award and 2005 CTIA Wireless Widget Award for Coolest New Wireless Device. The company's products are targeted to children from ages 5-12 and are available at major retailers in the U.S. including Toys R Us, Target, Kmart, BarnesandNoble.com, and Walmart.com. Firefly Mobile presently manufactures cell phones for the U.S., Latin America, Europe and Australia. For more information, please visit www.fireflymobile.com.
About StoreBlocks™
A full-service music distribution platform, StoreBlocks offers online retail store-building tools to enable clients to provide their end-consumers with a library of 3 million licensed songs, including 2.1 million in raw MP3 format, allowing for interoperability across multiple platforms and devices. Its powerful music referral system, Passing-and-Points™, offers easy-to-use rewards programs and legal music sharing. StoreBlocks, which offers a range of store options for everyone from individuals and charities to large corporations, currently powers more than 130 stores including BreakthruRadio, Trans World's f.y.e. – for your entertainment online music store and Procter & Gamble's Julie's Jukebox, a digital music store on HomeMadeSimple.com. Features include turnkey templates, Web services, reporting systems, e-commerce engines and storefront showcases. StoreBlocks is a division of PassAlong Networks and can be found at http://www.StoreBlocks.com.
About PassAlong Networks
PassAlong Networks is a developer of digital media innovations and services designed to enhance the Connected Consumer™ ecosystem. PassAlong's B2B2C technology engine provides four key services for the digital media marketplace: StoreBlocks™ offers a variety of store–building tools to enable clients to provide their end–consumers with a library of nearly 3 million licensed songs and the powerful music referral system, Passing–and–Points™; freedomMP3™ provides interoperability for digital media files, including raw MP3 files, across multiple platforms and devices while promoting a balance of artist rights and media empowerment for both content creators and consumers; OnTour™ connects fans to detailed, accurate and relevant concert notifications; and Speakerheart™ enables artists to seamlessly upload, promote and sell their digital music. Founded in 2002, PassAlong Networks is privately held and based in Franklin, Tenn. For more information, visit http://www.passalongnetworks.com.
OnTour, StoreBlocks, freedomMP3, PassAlong, Connected Consumer, Passing-and-Points and Speakerheart are trademarks of PassAlong Networks. All other brands are trademarks of their respective owners.
All other brands are trademarks of their respective owners.
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