Mobui Corporation, a mobile application development agency dedicated to mobilizing content companies at the speed of wowTM, today announced the launch of Mobui Audience Chat, a mobile group chat product that is the first chat application made specifically for television broadcasters and studios. Mobui Audience Chat enables television audiences to interact with the shows they are viewing by posting opinions, comments, or questions in chat rooms using their mobile phone.
Mobui has experience deploying interactive mobile applications for a variety of large consumer brands. They recently launched the "Watch and Discuss Live Chat" application with VH1 which allows television viewers to use their phone to chat in real time with friends, fans, and celebrities while watching popular programming.
"From Top Chef to I Love Money 2, many of today's popular television shows are using the mobile phone to transform their audience from passive viewers to active participants," said John Burry, Founder and CEO of Mobui. "Mobui's proven experience creating interactive mobile applications for clients, such as VH1, Nickelodeon, and TiVo, allows us to serve as a trusted advisor to major brands that want to rapidly engage their customers with new and interactive television viewing experiences."
"Television broadcasters and studios are searching for ways to attract new viewers and encourage people to get more engaged with programs live, when they air," said Berge Ayvazian, Chief Strategy Officer, Yankee Group. "Companies like Mobui, that are delivering these types of interactive mobile experiences, offer broadcasters a creative way to differentiate themselves and connect with their audience in real-time."
The launch of Mobui Audience Chat enables television broadcasters and studios to immediately deliver mobile group chat services with the launch of new television programs or to enhance existing shows. Television viewers can use the product to ask a question of a show's host or a reality show cast-off to gain a ‘behind the scenes' perspective on the show as they watch it. Chat room postings can also be broadcast on the television screen as the show airs.
Key features of the Mobui Audience Chat product include:
- Wide Mobile Device Support: The Mobui Audience Chat product currently runs on over 100 different phone models, including the iPhone as well as BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Java, and BREW powered devices.
- Show Chat Rooms: Broadcasters can offer a wide variety of branded chat rooms that match their on-air programming schedule, allowing users to instantly access the chat room of the show that is airing at any given time.
- Celebrity Chat Rooms: Broadcasters can host celebrity moderated chat rooms to allow the audience to interact with on-air talent when the celebrity's show is airing.
- User Defined Chat Rooms: Audience members can set up their own chat rooms and invite friends and other fans to join.
- Personalized User Profiles: Audience members can set up their profile, select an avatar, and easily create and manage friend and group lists.
- Send to a Friend Feature: The product offers SMS "send to a friend" functionality which allows users to invite others to download the application or to join a current chat room by way of text messaging.
The Mobui Audience Chat product is available today. For more information on this mobile application, please visit: http://www.mobui.com/products_mac.html. To learn more about the influence of the mobile phone on the emerging trend of interactive television, please download the free Mobui whitepaper, "Television's New Best Friend: The Mobile Phone", or read the recent post on the Mobui blog: "The Mobile Phone is Saving TV".
About Mobui
Mobui is a leading mobile application development agency that creates beautiful mobile experiences for today's leading consumer, media, and mobile industry brands - fast. Mobui speeds time-to-market by rapidly producing premium mobile websites and high-end mobile phone applications using their accelerated ‘speed of wow' development lifecycle and patented application development technology. Privately held and headquartered in Redmond, WA, Mobui is working with top brands, such as TiVo, Nickelodeon, and VH1, to deliver mobile brand experiences that soar beyond the ordinary to reset expectations for how mobile consumers experience content on their mobile phone. Additional information is available at +1 (888) 893-8953, wowme@mobui.com, and http://www.mobui.com.