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Penthera Launches Mobile TV Software; Penthera Viewer(TM) Provides New Revenue Opportunities for Mobile Broadcasters and Operators

Posted on: Wednesday, 5 April 2006, 12:00 CDT

Penthera Technologies, Inc., a software provider for mobile broadcast TV, radio and multimedia, today launched Penthera Viewer(TM), a mobile broadcast client software suite. Penthera Viewer 1.0 is the only commercially available software solution for Windows-based, DVB-H broadcast reception. The software enables users to enjoy mobile broadcast entertainment while also providing new, revenue-rich services for mobile broadcasters and operators based on mobile broadcast services and interactivity applications. As an initial deployment, Penthera Viewer will be available on Modeo's DVB-H-enabled, demonstration handsets.

"Penthera is focused on providing the most engaging, high-quality, easy-to-use viewing experience for end users, while enabling compelling new revenue opportunities for broadcasters and operators," said Sam Leinhardt, CEO of Penthera. "Penthera Viewer enables manufacturers, broadcasters and operators to launch their own mobile broadcast offerings and to create first-to-market applications from mobile devices such as embedded, live broadcast televoting and click-to-website eCommerce."

Penthera Viewer is one component in the end-to-end mobile broadcast software suite offered by Penthera. Designed for a wide range of mobile platforms, Penthera Viewer provides end users with a Virtual Set Top Box(TM) on their device -- a familiar paradigm easily understood by anyone who has used home digital cable, terrestrial or satellite services. Penthera Viewer comprises a platform-neutral middleware component and a graphical user interface (GUI) application for mobile devices that may be licensed together or separately. The software enables broadcast reception to a very broad potential market since it runs on devices from multiple vendors, using varying operating systems and form factors, including cell phones, PDAs, laptops, portable media players, gaming devices, and in-vehicle entertainment systems.

Revenue-Generating Services and Content

Penthera Viewer extends mobile TV past the rudimentary service-guide/channel-changing experience by enabling a variety of user-engaging revenue opportunities associated with advertising, interactivity applications, branding, metering and uniquely licensed content. For example, the 1.0 system supports interactive elements (e.g. click-to-web, -call, -SMS, -vote, -buy) embedded in the broadcast stream. These interactive elements create new service opportunities to increase carriers' average revenue per user (ARPU). They can be embedded in the broadcast stream or inserted in advertisements customized to fit the preferences of individual users or groups of users. Various subscription and pay-per-view business models can be created with Penthera Viewer 1.0 through digital rights management capability on a per-device, per-channel or per-program basis. The application is also designed to receive mediacasts for access to saved shows, songs, advertisements, etc. Advertising and programming can be captured, aggregated, and reported anonymously for all users.

"A friendly, intuitive user interface, along with compelling content and a high quality viewing experience are just some of the critical elements of a mobile broadcast service from an end user perspective. By enhancing the service with interactive applications, such as user-prompted eCommerce, televoting, SMS, and advertising, the value of the service to mobile operators, MVNOs, and others should increase significantly," said Michael Ramke, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development at Modeo. Modeo announced today a Modeo-compatible smartphone, and recently announced that it plans to deliver live mobile TV to the top 30 markets across the United States.

Multi-platform, Multi-vendor Flexibility

Penthera Viewer is unique because it enables more than just GSM or CDMA handsets to receive live broadcasts. Penthera Viewer is portable to a wide range of operating systems, platforms, broadcast RF bands (L-band, UHF), and DTV receiver components. The client honors the DVB-CBMS standards and is compatible with the Modeo air interface specification. The application also has a configurable UI for operator-specific branding or formatting, and is available in a library version for OEM/ODMs who prefer to implement their own customized user interface.

Penthera will be demonstrating Penthera Viewer at the upcoming CTIA Wireless 2006 conference in Las Vegas, April 5-7.

About Penthera (www.penthera.com)

Penthera is a privately held company providing a complete software solution for broadcast mobile video including middleware and application-level software for the broadcast head-end and on handheld devices. Founded in 2005, Penthera's executive team previously founded and operated Eizel Technologies, Inc., a Carnegie Mellon University spin-out which built mobile web and email connectivity software. Eizel was acquired by Nokia in 2003. Penthera is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Trademarks and Brands:

Penthera, Penthera Viewer, and Virtual Set Top Box are trademarks of Penthera Technologies, Inc. in the United States and other countries.

Other names, marks and brands may be claimed as the property of others.

(C) 2006. Penthera Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved

Source: Business Wire

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