Vringo Update-Announces Global Partnership with Sony Ericsson

NEW YORK–Jan. 22, 2009—Vringo^TM, the next-generation ringtone pioneer, announced today that its free video ringtone application is being pre-linked on global shipments of Sony Ericsson’s Walkman™ phones and promoted via the manufacturer’s Fun & Downloads portal, introducing Vringo to millions of new users. New Sony Ericsson owners join a thriving community of Symbian, Java and Windows Mobile users who are already experiencing Vringo’s high-quality video ringtones and VringForward™ technology, which lets users send ringtones to friends just by calling.

This partnership with Sony Ericsson, which was established when Vringo took home a prize at last year’s Sony Ericsson Content Awards, is the latest step in Vringo’s continuing push toward global availability and monetization of video ringtones. Recently, Vringo announced partnership deals with mobile carriers in Turkey and France that enable users to download the Vringo application and access content, in some cases on a paid-subscription basis.

“Our partnership with Sony Ericsson is unprecedented,” said Vringo CEO Jon Medved. “In addition to being the first social video ringtone application to be downloadable directly from Sony Ericsson phones, we’re reaching millions of Walkman users—one of the most innovative, media-hungry audiences in the world.”

Vringo’s application, which is also available for a wide variety of Symbian, Java and Windows Mobile devices via www.vringo.com, lets users create or take video, images and slideshows from virtually anywhere, including Vringo’s 4,000-clips-and-counting video ringtone library or the Web, and make them into their personal call signatures.

To access Vringo, Walkman users can find the link prominently displayed in their phone’s Web browser. By clicking the link, users will download the Vringo application to their phones and can immediately begin sharing video ringtones with their phone contacts.

Location-based music

CrunchGear announced today that Sony Ericsson is patenting technology that would essentially allow your digital audio player to determine where you were located and then offer you up a list of downloadable tracks that have been tagged to that location.

The idea is that certain music works well in certain locations, like tagging “Ain’t That A Kick In The Head” to all the gas stations in my neighborhood and “Livin’ on a Prayer” to the local bank branch.

Apparently, "many people associate a physical location or a place to songs or pieces of music. In visiting or arriving at the place, they may remember the songs or the pieces of music and wish to hear them. They may also appreciate being supplied, automatically or after a request, information about the songs or pieces of music associated with the place.”

This is a nice idea, but even better would be someting akin to a Geo-Pandora, whereby the music player actually recommends songs to you as you move around the city by remembering your personal associations between place and music...could this be a new patent for some creative genius out there to start working on?