Virgin Mobile USA Takes ‘TXT’
to the Next Level with Launch of 3jam ‘SMS
2.0’ Service
Application Allows Customers To Plan Events with Friends and Stay
Connected Through ‘Reply-All Text Messaging’
WARREN, N.J. & SAN FRANCISCO (Business Wire EON/PRWEB ) September 21, 2007 --
Virgin Mobile USA, with more than 4.8 million customers, today announced
the next innovation in one of the world’s most
popular mobile services, text messaging, with the launch of 3jam SMS
2.0. The new, free-to-join service debuts today and improves basic
text messaging by allowing friends and family to stay connected with
group communication, enabling customers to have multi-party text-message
conversations. The launch marks the first time a U.S. carrier is
introducing multi-party text messaging, thanks to a partnership with San
Francisco-based SMS services firm 3jam.
“At Virgin Mobile, we’re
dedicated to delivering services that fit our customer base, and this
new dimension for texting is certainly an ideal one for our customers
who want the simplicity and power of group texting,”
said Dominick Tolli, vice president, Mobile Data Services, Virgin Mobile
USA.
How it works
3jam SMS 2.0 enables Virgin Mobile customers to send a text
message to any number of friends simultaneously, have everyone know who
received the message, and allow subsequent replies to go to everyone
using SMS. The 3jam application is free and requires no subscription.
Standard text messaging rates apply. Virgin Mobile customers can sign up
on the menu of their WAP deck or at www.3jam.com/virgin.
The SMS recipients do not need to sign up.
“From a business perspective, our goal at
3jam is to help carriers like Virgin Mobile increase revenue from text
messaging, and we think that 3jam SMS 2.0 has that potential,”
said 3jam Founder and CEO Andy Jagoe.
SMS is by far the most popular non-voice service for mobile subscribers
in the U.S., and according to Pamela Clark Dickson of Informa Telecoms
and Media, in 2007 it will generate revenues of $60 billion for carriers
worldwide. According to Gartner Dataquest, the number of SMS messages
will top 1.8 trillion in 2010.
Nick Ingelbrecht, research analyst at Gartner says, “Nobody
could have predicted the phenomenal success of SMS, and the race is on
to find its successor. Without a doubt, new services are needed, but a
clear leader has yet to emerge from the messaging services currently
being deployed, such as mobile IM [instant
messaging], video messaging, mobile e-mail
and unified and integrated messaging.”
Consumers have shown interest in 3jam’s
off-deck service, which, since soft launching in September 2006, has
gained hundreds of thousands of monthly active users. These users have
discovered 3jam.com and have taken their “txt”
to the next level. Currently, 3jam is building a global service for
transiting, billing and clearing multi-party SMS messages, with many
additional features to be available soon. The service has grown virally
to date and was recently recognized as one of CNET Webware’s
Top 100 Services of 2007.
“Our firm has reviewed dozens of mobile 2.0
services, and 3jam stood out because of their ability to enhance
communications in a simple yet effective way. At the heart of mobile
devices, people want to communicate better, faster and more simply with
their friends and family,” said 3jam investor
Tim Chang, partner at Norwest Venture Partners, which, along with New
Enterprise Associates, led a four million dollar round of funding for
the company in July 2007.
About Virgin Mobile USA, LLC:
The nation's leading youth wireless provider, Virgin Mobile USA offers
more than 4.8 million customers control, flexibility and choice in
wireless service, rich data content and innovative products without
annual contracts. Voice pricing plans range from monthly options with
unlimited nights and weekends to by-the-minute offers, allowing
consumers to adjust how and what they pay according to their needs.
Virgin Mobile's full slate of smart, stylish and affordable handsets,
including the popular MarbL,
Slice
and Cyclops,
are available at top retailers in more than 35,000 locations nationwide
and online at www.virginmobileusa.com,
with Top-Up cards available at more than 130,000 locations.
Virgin Mobile USA’s national coverage is
powered by the nationwide Sprint PCS network. The company, which
launched in 2002, is a joint venture between Sir Richard Branson's
Virgin Group and Sprint Nextel. J.D.
Power and Associates has ranked Virgin Mobile highest in customer
satisfaction among wireless prepaid services for two years in a row, and
its own customers regularly report a greater than 90% satisfaction rate.
Virgin Mobile contributes 5% of profits from downloadable content to The
RE*Generation and provides postage-paid return envelopes in every new
package for customers to recycle old phones.
About 3jam, Inc.
3jam, Inc., was founded in 2005 to develop new and better ways to keep
people in touch with their friends and family. Available for any mobile
phone, the 3jam SMS 2.0 text messaging service makes it fun and easy for
people to coordinate and connect. 3jam is funded by New Enterprise
Associates and Norwest Venture Partners, with headquarters in Menlo
Park, Calif. For more information, visit www.3jam.com.
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