flyPhone™: The Ultimate Tween Multi-Media Mobile Phone Partners with I-play to Deliver Casual Mobile Gaming Hits
CHICAGO, IL/ (October 24, 2007) I-play, the mobile publishing division of Oberon Media, the world's leading multi-platform casual games company, and Firefly Mobile the first pay as you go service provider and designer of mobile phones for kids, today jointly announced a partnership which will see several of I-play's most popular casual mobile games available on the first mobile phone created exclusively for tweens, the flyPhone, in time for its October debut on store shelves.
The flyPhone, designed especially for tweens, will come pre-loaded with a demo version of I-play's Jewel Quest II and more casual puzzle games from I-play will be available for purchase at Firefly's online store, the "flyStore."
David Gosen, President, I-play, commented: "flyPhone is a great product for tweens and we are excited to have this opportunity to bring some of our most popular games to tweens for this exciting and innovative platform."
I-play has adapted and pre-loaded the demo for Jewel Quest II on the flyPhone:
§ Jewel Quest II: Follow Rupert Pack as he picks-up a new treasure trail in search of the grandest Jewel Board ever! Join him as he explores the mysterious wilds of deepest Africa in search of jewels and his lost love. Sequel to the massively successful blockbuster Jewel Quest, the Quest franchise has now exceeded two million downloads.
The following games have been adapted to the flyPhone and are available to buy in the flyStore:
§ Jewel Quest: The game that had critics raving: "I-play's sparkling puzzler is one of 2005's absolute must-haves." 9.1/10 - IGN Wireless; "Jewel Quest is a terrific puzzle game that's highly addictive. Puzzle lovers should eat this mobile version up." 4/5 WGWorld.com.
§ My Dog 2: In the sequel to the critically acclaimed 'My Dog' franchise, players can raise their pets from puppies to dogs and watch them as they develop. My Dog II can be personalized by uploading photographs of you or your friends, to become characters in the game. This is the most advanced puppy mobile game on the market, with greater AI, 200 different moves and a higher level of realism in the canine behavior.
§ Skipping Stone: Probably one of the most critically acclaimed mobile games of all time, Skipping Stone is a classic 'one-thumb play' title. "If you don't smile while playing Skipping Stone, you must be dead on the inside.. ..This is not just pure gaming, it's pure entertainment, and it deserves to be enjoyed by everybody." 9.0 / 10 IGN Wireless "
§ HexicTM: From the creator of Tetris®, Alexei Pajitnov, and developed by Carbonated Games, Microsoft's in-house casual game development studio, Hexic challenges players to form clusters of like-colored tiles and clear them from the board. Bonus pieces and starflowers provide a score boost, but watch out for bombs - clear them before they explode or it's game over!
§ Fish Tycoon: the PC version has generated almost nine million downloads to date. In the mobile game create and care for different species of exotic fish, and then sell them to make money and improve your aquarium by purchasing stunning ornaments and materials.
§ Bubble Town: from the successful PC game comes this cute Arcade-Puzzler that's certain to brighten up your day!
§ Bricks of Egypt: from one of the most popular casual web games of 2006 that generated over 3.5 million downloads, this addictive mobile block breaker will have you hooked!
§ Bricks of Atlantis: also topping 3.5 million online downloads to date, this hugely addictive game has an astonishing 96 levels - so there's plenty to keep you coming back for more!
"Oberon's I-play brings an exciting collection of games that tweens can choose to personalize their phone. Parents can be assured that at Firefly Mobile's online store, tweens will find only age appropriate materials," says Patrick Marry, CEO of Firefly Mobile.
About the flyPhone
The flyPhone was designed from the ground up with tweens desires and needs in mind. The flyPhone is fully loaded with everything the connected tween needs: an MP3 player, video player, camera, mobile games and texting, and unprecedented capabilities to customize ringtones, wallpaper, photos and slideshows. The flyPhone is more than a phone, it also comes with flyKicks software that allows tweens to create their own ringtones, wall papers and slide shows to load to their phone and share with their friends! flyKicks is also the portal to the flyStore, which features the coolest games, music, ring tones, wallpapers and video from leading tween content suppliers parents trust.
The flyPhone has a MSRP of $124.99 and comes with flyKicks software, USB cable, instruction manual and stereo hands-free headset. Additionally, the flyPhone phone book holds up to 500 parent approved numbers (inbound and outbound). Minutes can be bought in bundles via www.fireflymobile.com or at retail through minute cards at rates as low as 10 cents a minute, offering parents an easy way to control costs. Best of all, there is never a contract to sign. The flyPhone is available at major retailers in the U.S. including Toys R Us, J&R Music World, BarnesandNoble.com, selected Target stores and Wal*Mart.com.
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 Target, Toys R Us, Kmart, BarnesandNoble.com, Ritz/Wolf Camera, as well as regional mobile phone operators. Firefly Mobile presently manufactures cell phones for the U.S., Latin America, Europe and Australia. For more information, please visit www.fireflymobile.com.
About I-play
I-play brings the best in mobile entertainment to an audience of over one billion people via a network of more than 120 carriers worldwide. I-play has been creating mobile games since 1998 and continues to spearhead the creation of mobile entertainment for the next generation.
I-play is a wholly owned subsidiary of Oberon Media, the world's leading casual games company. Oberon's Game Centre platform, is the industry standard and has been adopted by many of the world's largest corporations. The platform combines casual game content, merchandizing and features to fulfil each partner's specific needs. Oberon Media's publishing arm works with the industry's best, award-winning game developers to produce the top-selling casual games, which can be played in more than a dozen languages on PC, web-based, mobile and console platforms.
Founded in 2003, Oberon Media is headquartered in New York, with offices in North America, Europe and Asia.
For more information visit us at http://www.iplay.com/
I-play is a trademark and trading name of Digital Bridges Limited.
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