Leading Brands Tap T9 Nav(tm) to Reach Consumers through Mobile

Posted Friday, July 4, 2008

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Leading Brands Tap T9 Nav(tm) to Reach Consumers through Mobile

Tiger Beer and The Times confirmed as advertising partners for Nuance's
mobile search and discovery solution

LONDON, July 04, 2008 - Nuance Communications, Inc. today announced that
companies will have a new advertising medium to target consumers more
easily via mobile thanks to Nuance's T9 Nav(tm) software, its
innovative search and discovery solution now available as part of a Beta
trial in the UK. Tiger Beer and Times Mobile, the mobile site of The
Times and The Sunday Times newspapers in the UK, have joined the trial
as keyword advertising sponsors. By sponsoring appropriate keywords
within T9 Nav, companies will be able to influence content choices,
drive traffic to specified Web sites and ultimately increase brand
affinity.

T9 Nav expands the Nuance smart keypad portfolio, joining Nuance's T9(r)
Text Input and XT9(r) Smart Input software, de facto standards for
mobile text input, which have already shipped on 3.5 billion handsets
worldwide. Where T9 and XT9 speed the creation of SMS and email
messages, T9 Nav uses predictive search technology to replace complex
menus and tedious device navigation on mobile phones, allowing users to
access features and content, on and off the device, by simply entering
keywords such as news, business, trains and cinema.

"We believe that by giving consumers access to localised information
about where they can buy our product such as bar names and restaurants,
we are likely to see an increased rate of sale. Through sponsored
keywords with T9 Nav such as 'bar' and 'restaurant' linking to our Night
Out mobile website, we're able to provide valuable information in real
time to our customers who are out and about directing them to outlets
stocking our product," expressed Gemma Adams, Brand Manager for Tiger
Beer UK.

T9 Nav is intuitive search and discovery software that simplifies a
user's search via mobile. With T9 Nav on their handsets, users are
literally just a few key presses away from available features and
content. Whether looking for a phone feature, news, a taxi or
directions to a favourite restaurant, users can more easily discover the
services that companies build and promote. Through innovative search
functionality, keywords will appear to users whilst they are looking for
other items on their handsets, allowing them to discover new content,
features and information. This mechanism allows advertisers to direct
content towards consumers through a simpler approach than that currently
used with Bluetooth marketing, short codes and barcodes.

Advertisers are increasingly looking towards the mobile device
experience as a vehicle through which they can reach and target their
customers intuitively and effectively, whilst operators and handset
vendors are looking for ways to participate in advertising-based revenue
streams. Juniper Research forecasts that almost 30 per cent of the
global mobile subscriber base, around 1.3 billion users, are expected to
be using local mobile search services by 2013 and that advertising
supported local search will be the key to driving this sector, though
effectiveness of advertising in this sector will vary widely according
to local conditions.

"T9 Nav will drive mobile advertising forward as the whole mobile
industry continues to grow. Its effortless keyword search not only
helps the mobile user, but also represents an exciting opportunity for
brands and the advertising industry as a whole," said William Clement,
EMEA Mobile Marketing Head, Nuance Communications.

The keywords provide a rapid way for brands to amplify their mobile
reach. Times Mobile for example will sponsor keywords like News, Sport,
Taxi and Jobs. T9 Nav allows direct access to the numerous Times
services and should increase awareness and usage.

The T9 Nav Beta is freely available to people with S60 phones that sign
up and participate in the T9 Nav Beta program. People should visit
t9nav.com to join and download to take advantage of the intuitive T9 Nav
experience.

About T9 Nav
T9 Nav is simple and powerful mobile discovery software that
significantly improves the mobile user experience by allowing users to
bypass button-driven menu systems which often require complex
combinations of key presses, offering a fast, direct and repeatable way
to access features and content on the phone. It intelligently adapts to
user behaviour over time, reordering and predicting frequently searched
terms using the industry-leading, patented algorithms from XT9/T9
software. Designed to complement a device's existing look and feel, T9
Nav does not change how the user interface or menu areas on the phone
look or perform, but works alongside these elements and by placing all
menu areas just a couple of clicks away from the idle screen. Already
available to device manufacturers as embedded software, this Beta
edition offers end users the first opportunity to download T9 Nav.

Available: Personal Edition of T9 Nav commercially available in last
quarter of 2008, in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, French and
English.

Where: Go now to t9nav.com to join the Beta program and download the
free beta software.

About Nuance Communications, Inc.
Nuance is a leading provider of speech, smart keypad and imaging
solutions for businesses and consumers around the world. Its
technologies, applications and services make the user experience more
compelling by transforming the way people interact with information and
how they create, share and use documents. . Every day, millions of
users and thousands of businesses experience Nuance's proven
applications. As the creator of T9(r) Text Input, it has shipped its
software on over 3.5 billion mobile handsets. For more information,
please visit nuance.com and nuance.com/mobileexperience

About Tiger (tm) Beer
Tiger Beer has won international praise and recognition for its
consistently high quality and distinctive taste and is enjoyed by beer
drinkers across five continents. Brewed in Singapore since 1932, the
success of Tiger's exceptional taste and style has now expanded to
breweries in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia, India,
Malaysia and China.

Tiger Beer, the flagship brand of Asia Pacific Breweries Ltd, is one of
the leading brands in Singapore and Indo-China. A lager beer made from
the finest malt barley, yeast and hops, Tiger is brewed according to
strict quality control and process management in breweries throughout
Asia. A total of no less than 250 quality control checks are in place
to ensure the smooth and consistent flavour that Tiger drinkers have
come to expect. Tiger scored a major achievement by winning the
prestigious 1998 Brewing Industry International Awards Gold Medal,
making it the best lager in the world. Asia Pacific Breweries, Tiger's
parent company, continues to be ranked as one of the 15 most valuable
Singapore brands in the Singapore Brand Awards. For further information
please visit: www.tigerbeer.co.uk.

About Times Mobile
Times Mobile is the mobile site of The Times and The Sunday Times. It
delivers the latest news, business, sports and entertainment coverage
from two of the world's best-known newspapers as well as breaking news
from Times Online, the News Site of the Year, live sports commentaries
and scores and a location-based Going Out Guide. Text Times to 86626 to
get Times Mobile on your phone, or go to
www.timesonline.co.uk/timesmobile for more information.