PR releases

Top mobile IM application Palringo adds location information to new edition

Palringo, one of the most popular instant messaging applications for mobile phones, has added live location information to the latest version of its application - Palringo Local.

Accurate to the suburb or even street-level in a city, and to the closest named town in rural areas, Palringo users can opt to display their location alongside their status, for fun, personal, social, business or any other purpose.

Palringo Local goes live tomorrow [Tuesday October 21st] for Microsoft® Windows Mobile® users, and will be delivered as an automatic update for existing users. Roll-out will follow for other popular mobile device operating systems - including Symbian OS™-based phones, Java™, BlackBerry® and iPhone™ - completing before the end of 2008. Palringo Local for desktop/laptop editions of the Microsoft Windows® operating system also goes live from today and will be automatically updated.

Palringo enables vocal instant messaging and picture messaging, as well as text-based instant messaging. Knowing the location of contacts adds further richness to the experience and brings benefits in all sorts of scenarios. For example, it may help simply when meeting a friend, or in more sophisticated ways such as assessing whether a conversation will be cheaper to conduct via Palringo than by phone, if to call someone will clearly cause them to incur roaming charges. Palringo is extremely cost-effective to use, even from abroad.

Kerry Ritz, Palringo’s CEO, said: “Since the dawn of the mobile phone era, we’ve all listened into or been part of mobile phone conversations in which the two parties have asked each other where they are - or, with SMS, spent a message establishing those facts. Now, people won’t need to do that; provided someone wishes to ‘show’ the basic instinct to ‘know’, even if it doesn’t matter, is satisfied.”

“But there are also quite practical reasons for showing your location: if you’re part of a group all meeting in one place, like a sports team; or you want to know where your delivery drivers are without investing in expensive systems. Whatever your reason to show your location, now you can,” he explained.

Anyone using Palringo Local must specifically opt in to display their location; users can opt in and out at will. Even opted-in, users retain control over which contacts can see their location. Location may also be set manually.

The popular instant messaging services with which Palringo integrates are: AOL® Instant Messenger®, Google Talk™, Yahoo!® Messenger®, Gadu-Gadu, ICQ®, Jabber® and Windows Live. People can also use Palringo to contact their friends using iChat®, Apple’s IM application.

Palringo is free to download from www.palringo.com. There are no subscriptions or other hidden charges.

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Microsoft, Windows Mobile, Windows and Windows Live are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Symbian and all Symbian-based trademarks and logos are trademarks of Symbian Software Limited. Java™ and all Java-based trademarks and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. The BlackBerry and RIM families of related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Research In Motion Limited. iPhone and iChat are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. ICQ is a registered trademark of ICQ Inc., a division of America Online, Inc. JABBER is a registered trademark of Jabber Inc., and its use is licensed through the XMPP Standards Foundation. Other product or service names mentioned herein may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Notes 
To calculate location, Palringo Local uses a proprietary algorithm that picks up cell site (2G, 3G, etc) locations, Wi-Fi access points and other identifying signals. There is an element of triangulation in the calculations, but the algorithm makes a significant level of adjustment to identify the location accurately. The algorithm also ‘learns’ over time, through the addition of new location data that is added to the database.
About Palringo
Palringo makes instant messaging work on mobile. The Palringo service combines walkie-talkie style voice (vocal instant messaging) with the real-time text chat functionality of instant messaging and also enables picture-sharing within the context of a discussion. It supports both one-on-one and group discussions, and enables real-time dialogue that can incorporate users from across the globe, on any mobile network or connected PC. The Palringo service also supports connections to other popular instant messaging services. Palringo is a privately held company based in Newcastle, UK.