Thrrum MMS Search Brings Mobile Visual Search to Sprint Camera Phones

23half Inc., a pioneer of technologies that extend the functionality of camera phones, announced the availability of Thrrum MMS Search to Sprint wireless subscribers. Thrrum MMS Search enables camera phone users to find and browse information related to their physical environment using the Picture Messaging service integrated into their phones. Users can capture a picture of any text with their camera phone and send the picture as a picture message to m@thrrum.com. Relevant search results are then sent to the users' phones. The Thrrum MMS Search service is presently in beta and is available free of charge to Sprint wireless subscribers in the United States.

"The Thrrum MMS Search service was first introduced last month," said K. Gopalakrishnan, CEO of 23half. "Now, Thrrum MMS Search is also available to Sprint subscribers. Sprint subscribers can point their camera phone at a book, a product label or any printed material, take a picture and send a picture message to get relevant information right on their phone. With Thrrum, any text that you see around you becomes a hyperlink that can be "clicked" upon with your camera phone."

With more than 500 million camera phones sold annually, Gartner Research predicts camera phones sales to exceed 1 billion by 2010. Combined with ever increasing adoption of MMS usage, the connected camera in phones presents a new platform for innovation.

Thrrum MMS Search brings together visual recognition technologies and information search in the context of camera phones. Based on technology first demonstrated by 23half in 2005 in the "nThrum" technology demonstrator, Thrrum MMS Search presents a unique approach to hyperlinking the physical world with related information. The MMS Search technology is protected by an extensive suite of patents pending worldwide.

About 23half Inc.

23half Inc. is a Mountain View, CA based provider of wireless information services. 23half's contextual information services for camera phones, Thrrum Cameraphone Search and Thrrum MMS Search transform camera phones into visual information portals for the physical environment.