EXCELSIOR! VRINGO AND MARVEL TEAM UP TO LAUNCH SUPERHERO-THEMED VIDEO RINGTONES

Vringo [1]^TM, the next-generation ringtone pioneer, and Marvel Entertainment have announced a collaboration to create and distribute mobile videos and video ringtones based on Marvel's legendary library of Super Heroes. The project kicks off today with the U.S. launch of a storefront and Web-based editing platform [2] dedicated to letting fans purchase ready-made mobile clips and even create their own from the Marvel archives.

"It's a press release cliché to say you're excited, so I'll just say that teaming with a world-class entertainment company like Marvel feels like waking up and discovering that you have adamantium-laced bones," said Vringo CEO Jon Medved. "Marvel continues to break new ground in digital distribution, and we're proud to work with them on developing the world's first Super Hero video ringtone portal."

At launch, the storefeatures editable raw footage and pre-cut video ringtones from newer Marvel properties like the animated Wolverine & The X-Men,and classics like theme songs from the fan-favorite animated 1966 Marvel Super Heroes series, with new content coming each month. All Marvel fans with video-ready phones can use the store to view and send bite-sized Marvel videos to their devices. Fans with Vringo application-compatible phones [3] can take it to the next level, turning their clips into video ringtones and taking advantage of Vringo's VringForward^TM technology, which lets them choose which Super Hero (or villain) they want their friends to see when they call.

"With its studio tools and video ringtone application, Vringo has built one of the mobile industry's most innovative and exciting consumer engagement platforms," said John Dokes, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Marvel Entertainment. "It's a perfect match for our library of beloved characters."

Fans can visit http://vringo.marvel.com [2] to get their first mobile video free and additional clips will be priced at USD $2.00. The Vringo application is available for BlackBerry Bold, Symbian, Windows Mobile and J2ME devices, with support for additional platforms coming later this year.

Founded in 2006, Vringo is bringing about the evolution of ringtones. With its award-winning video ringtone application and Web platform, Vringo revolutionizes the traditional call signature, transforming the basic act of making and receiving mobile phone calls into a highly visual, social experience.
 
By installing Vringo’s application, which is compatible with more than 300 handsets, users can create or take video, images and slideshows from virtually anywhere, including Vringo’s library of 5,000-and-counting video ringtone clips or the Web, and make it into their personal call signature. In a first for the mobile industry, Vringo has introduced VringForward™, a technology that lets its users select which video ringtone their friends will see when they call.  Vringo’s WAP and Web solutions complement this technology by enabling a rich mobile video experience for nearly any handset with video capability.
 
Vringo is backed by Warburg Pincus and by private investors. The company has been heralded by The New York Times as “the next big thing in ringtones” and by USA Today as having “to be seen to be believed.” To witness the next generation of ringtones and see a list of supported handsets, please visit http://www.vringo.com [1].

About Marvel

Marvel Entertainment, Inc. is one of the world's most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of over 5,000 characters featured in a variety of media over seventy years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in licensing, entertainment (via Marvel Studios and Marvel Animation) and publishing (via Marvel Comics). Marvel's strategy is to leverage its franchises in a growing array of opportunities around the world, including feature films, consumer products, toys, video games, animated television, direct-to-DVD and online. For more information visit http://www.marvel.com [4].