Gizmondo Launch Brings London's West End to a Standstill
Star-studded store opening and A-list launch party delights Londoners
LONDON, 21st March 2005 - Gizmondo Europe Ltd, subsidiary of Jacksonville, Florida-based Tiger Telematics Inc. (other OTC, TGTL), today heralded the weekend's high street launch of the Gizmondo handheld multi-entertainment device as a big success, and a positive start to its ongoing campaign to drive awareness of the host of features and functionality that the device brings to consumers.
The new handheld went on sale in the UK for the first time, with the champagne opening of the Gizmondo flagship store at 175 Regent Street on Saturday 19th amidst the glitz and glamour of A-list attendees.
Regent Street came to a near standstill as over 2000 fans swarmed the store to see Pharrell Williams, Dannii Minogue, Verne Troyer, Busta Rhymes and Lennox Lewis pop by the shop on it's opening day, and to get their hands on the first Gizmondos. The store's allocation of units was completely gone before the doors were finally shut again at 6pm to prepare for the evening event.
Tiger Telematics' CEO, Michael Carrender, addressed the gathered crowds at the store opening saying, "The handheld entertainment sector is an enormously exciting place to be right now, and we are delighted to be part of the revolution that it is undergoing. We believe that with the Gizmondo we have brought a strong player in the market to stand alongside more established brands, and this is just the beginning for us. We have some great content in the pipeline and enhancements to our already wide range of features that will secure our place as the only true multi-functional entertainment device on the market today."
The Gizmondo launch party later that evening at Piccadilly's Park Lane Hotel was one of the most star-studded events of the year. With performances from Sting, Jamiroquai, Pharrell Williams, Clipse and Busta Rhymes, the VIP guest list was overwhelmed with an A-list line up hosted by US comedian, Tom Green, and Aussie babe favourite, Dannii Minogue. In addition to over 2000 Gizmondo fans, the who's who of London's trend-setting fashion, music and film scenes converged and carried the party into the small hours of the morning.
Carl Freer, Co-founder and Managing Director of Gizmondo, says: "The event was more than a marketing exercise. We wanted it to be a time stamp indelibly marking Gizmondo's high street launch." He added, "The store has been a huge success. Turnout was amazing and we were completely cleared of stock we'd expected to last beyond the weekend. From here we have a very aggressive retail rollout campaign planned, and will be making more announcements over the coming weeks."
Photos of the event can be found at the Gizmondo website at www.gizmondo.com/175regentstreet/.
The Gizmondo device and its games are in retail stores now in the UK, and in North American and Continental Europe markets from Spring 2005.
About Tiger Telematics and Gizmondo
Gizmondo Europe Ltd. is an owned subsidiary of Tiger Telematics Inc (TGTL) and is the maker of Gizmondo, a next-generation mobile entertainment device. Launched in 2004, the gaming device includes built-in music, video, messaging and picture functions and GPS.
Tiger Telematics is a designer, developer and marketer of mobile telematics systems and services that combine global GPS functions and voice recognition technology to locate and track vehicles and people down to street level in countries throughout the world. The systems are designed to operate on GPS and are currently being marketed to GSM current and potential subscribers, primarily by the company's United Kingdom based subsidiaries.
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Except for historical matters contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking and are made pursuant to the safe harbour provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that these forward-looking statements reflect numerous assumptions and involve risks and uncertainties that may affect Tiger Telematics, Inc. and its subsidiary businesses and prospects and cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ are Tiger Telematics Inc.'s operating history; competition; low barriers to entry; reliance on strategic relationships; rapid technological changes; inability to complete transactions on favourable terms; the schedule and sell-through for new software release; consumer demand for video game hardware and software; the timing of the introduction of new generation competitive hardware systems, pricing changes by key vendors for hardware and software and the timing of any such changes, and the adequacy of supplies of new software product and those risks discussed in the Company's filings with the SEC.
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