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WirelessDevNet.com Press Release
Starwave Mobile Brings Consumer Reports to Life On Cell Phones
North Hollywood, Calif.- December 12, 2005 - Starwave Mobile, a mobile publishing and licensing label from the Walt Disney Internet Group, today announced the launch of Consumer Reports? ShopSmart, the first mobile subscription service enabling consumers access to valuable comparison shopping information from their cell phones at critical point-of-sale locations. Consumer Reports? ShopSmart was jointly developed with Starwave Mobile and Consumer Reports, one of the most trusted and widely recognized sources for ratings, recommendations and advice on consumer products and services. Starwave Mobile obtained the U.S. mobile license for Consumer Reports in 2004.
Consumer Reports? ShopSmart has been specifically developed to meet the needs of today's consumer, providing shoppers with quick and useful information based on criteria most relevant to their needs to assist them in making informative buying decisions while at the store. The service delivers subscribers Consumer Reports' notable, independent, expert ratings, reviews and recommendations for thousands of popular consumer products through their mobile phones. Consumer Reports? ShopSmart also offers users 24-hour pricing information and store availability which is powered by Yahoo! Shopping.
"Because phones are with us 24/7, information applications that are true resources to mobile subscribers have a lot of potential and can appeal to a wide audience," said Larry Shapiro, executive vice president and general manager of Starwave Mobile. "ShopSmart is a great example: it is a mobile application arming today's sophisticated consumer with comparative reviews and data from Consumer Reports, the preeminent authority in unbiased ratings, as they are making their decisions in shopping aisles."
"Our goal has always been to inform consumers and improve their shopping experience, while empowering them to make smart buying decisions," said John Sateja, Vice President, Publishing, at Consumers Union, nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports and ConsumerReports.org. "By teaming with Starwave Mobile, we were able to leverage their already established mobile business infrastructure and carrier relationships to develop and distribute an innovative mobile application that improves and simplifies the consumer shopping experience."
ShopSmart allows products to be reviewed by price, ratings score, or the reliability of the brand, and subscribers can utilize the search engine to locate an exact product model. The service also offers a "Favorites" feature to store and then view at a later time. Subscribers can also choose from a selection of Consumer Reports' shopping tips and articles of interest, and also receive a detailed comprehensive rating report from ConsumerReports.org.
ShopSmart is currently available on major carriers. For more information, please visit www.consumerreports.org/shopsmart.
Launched by the Walt Disney Internet Group (WDIG) in 2004, Starwave Mobile is a mobile publishing business focused on content licenses from third-party companies and non-Disney brands from within The Walt Disney Company. The label is able to leverage WDIG's established content and operations teams and its global industry distribution relationships to a wide range of content beyond Disney-branded properties. Current licenses include such properties as Trivial Pursuit?, Consumer Reports?, Warren Miller Entertainment, Rubik's? Cube, and Don Bluth's Dragon's Lair.
About Starwave Mobile
Starwave Mobile is the unit of the Walt Disney Internet Group that licenses and publishes content from third-party companies and non-Disney brands from within The Walt Disney Company. It also develops original, non-Disney branded properties. The Walt Disney Internet Group (WDIG) provides strategic leadership and operational management for The Walt Disney Company's (NYSE:DIS) Internet properties including category leaders Disney.com, ESPN.com and ABCNEWS.com. Through relationships with some of the world's largest wireless carriers, WDIG also distributes content and services to wireless users under the Disney brand.
About Consumer Reports
Consumer Reports? is published by Consumers Union, an expert, independent nonprofit organization whose mission is to work for a fair, just, and safe marketplace for all consumers and to empower consumers to protect themselves. To achieve this mission, we test, inform, and protect. To maintain our independence and impartiality, CU accepts no outside advertising, no free test samples, and has no agenda other than the interests of consumers. CU supports itself through the sale of our information products and services, individual contributions, and a few noncommercial grants.
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