Tekrati Archives

Thumbplay today announced Hitwise, a leading online competitive intelligence service, found Thumbplay.com to be the leading online website in the Entertainment -- Mobile Phones category, and surpassing competitors such as Jamster, Yahoo! Mobile, and Qtones. According to the latest weekly Hitwise data, Thumbplay's market share has maintained consistent growth month over month, edging out leading carrier and non-carrier content providers.

Thumbplay.com considers the Hitwise ranking as a significant indication of its continued success and leadership position in the fast-growing mobile content market. According to Hitwise, the site has experienced an increase in market share of visits by 221 percent (week ending March 28, 2006 vs. week ending June 24, 2006), surpassing dozens of competitors as well as carrier sites such as Cingular and Verizon.

"In today's highly competitive market, we are extremely proud to see the recent growth that has made us the most popular online destination for mobile content," said Are Traasdahl, founder and CEO of Thumbplay. "Our focus has always been to provide an entirely customer-centric experience coupled with the best premium content available. From Hitwise's numbers, it is clear that our customers recognize this and continue to choose Thumbplay to satisfy their mobile entertainment needs."

The mobile content market is one of the fastest growing market segments in the U.S. and Europe. According to Alexander Resources, a research company, the revenues from digital content are forecasted to reach $15.1 billion by 2008, with mobile infotainment (personal data management, messaging services and content) revenue totaling $7.8 billion. The mobile penetration rate in the U.S. is currently at 69 percent and is forecasted to expand to 87 percent by the year 2010.

Thumbplay's web site at www.thumbplay.com provides consumers with premium mobile entertainment products and services, including ringtones, wallpapers, games, text alerts and animations. The site includes intuitive searching, browsing and discovery tools, and a simple purchasing and downloading process. Content can be purchased through both subscription and a la carte options, downloaded "over the air" directly to the consumer's handset and billed directly to the consumer's carrier bill.

Recently, Thumbplay announced a deal with Universal Music Group to distribute its full catalog of realtones from its global family of artists. Additionally, it inked a deal with Hands-On Mobile to distribute a selection of its library of mobile entertainment content including top gaming titles and other personalization applications.

» Story on Analyst Firm Website