BSD.L Regulatory News (BSD)

31 May 2006 07:01

Emblaze Ltd31 May 2006 Emblaze Mobile appointed as the preferred ODM supplier for Virgin Mobile's exclusive Lobster mobile phone range Ra'anana, 31 May 2006: Emblaze Ltd (LSE: BLZ) announces that its Group company,Emblaze Mobile (Emblaze or the Company), the handset design and manufacturinghouse have been appointed by Virgin Mobile to manage its exclusive Lobster mobile phone range. The news comes following a competitive three-week pitchagainst a number of industry rivals. The appointment will see Emblaze Mobile acting as a 'Virtual Manufacturer' forVirgin Mobile, sourcing, designing, customizing and supplying a range of products to form the Lobster phone range across all market segments. Laurence Alexander, chief executive of Emblaze Mobile, said: "As a leading supplier of advanced mobile handsets to European mobile network operators,Emblaze Mobile were able to leverage this experience and existing infrastructureto offer a premium service for Virgin Mobile. We look forward to continueworking with Virgin and taking the Lobster brand to a new level." Under the agreement, Emblaze Mobile will be tasked with proposing new productopportunities, managing the lobster product roadmap, product development, product testing and conformance, stock management and logistics. The company will facilitate the deal through its subsidiary European Telecom. Neil Lomax, Procurement Manager of Virgin Mobile said, "Emblaze Mobile andEuropean Telecom are ideal partners for us. They demonstrated a thorough understanding of our needs and the ability to source unrivalled products for the Lobster range. We are confident that Emblaze Mobile will help Virgin Mobile further reach the youth mobile market." Enquiries: EmblazeHagit Gal/ Doron Cohen + 972 9 7699339 / 301 Corfin CommunicationsHarry Chathli, Neil Thapar + 44 20 7929 8989 Virgin MobileJo Baker + 44 7941 233 300 Note to Editors: About Emblaze Emblaze Ltd is a group of companies sharing a common mission to provide telecomoperators with technologies, products and solutions for next generationservices: Emblaze Mobile, a new breed in handsets design and manufacturing;Emblaze VCON, is a leading provider of wireless video communicationstechnologies and conferencing solutions for operators and enterprise marketsover IP networks; Orca Interactive (LSE: ORCA), provider of InteractiveTelevision IPTV middleware for Video On Demand (VOD) and broadcast services,aimed at Telecom, cable and xDSL operators; Emblaze SmartContent, developer ofhighly advanced technology for Content-Push over wireless and IP networks tomobile devices and personal computers; emoze, a free global Push Email servicefor mobile devices that will push send your Emails and PIM data to you anywhereand to any device and Visual Defence (LSE: VDI), a provider of wireless and IPvideo solutions for military and homeland security markets. Emblaze Group is traded on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: BLZ) since 1996 andhas offices in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, China, Korea andIsrael. www.Emblaze.com About Emblaze Mobile Emblaze Mobile was founded in 2001. It is headquartered in London with operatingfacilities in Israel as well as design and production capabilities in Korea. Itis part of Emblaze group of companies which share a common mission to provideTelecom operators with technologies, products and solutions for next generationservices. Emblaze Mobile produces media-rich handsets with sophisticated voiceand data solutions that are individual, cool and stylish. Emblaze Mobile knowsthat its customers are sophisticated individuals who have busy lifestyles, andneed multimedia devices which are precisely tailored, simple, stylish andversatile to meet their different and constantly changing needs. Theseinnovative devices offer operators the ability to provide additional value-addedservices and a richer, even more intuitive, multimedia experience.www.emblazemobile.com About Virgin Mobile: Virgin Mobile Holdings (UK) plc, the UK's largest mobile virtual networkoperator, is majority owned by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group and usesT-Mobile's network. Since its launch in November 1999, Virgin Mobile hasattracted more than 5.6 million customers. In the UK, Virgin Mobile phones are available direct on 0845 6000 600; on theweb at www.virginmobile.com or on the high street at approximately 5,000 outletsincluding Virgin Mobile Stores within Virgin Megastores, The Carphone Warehouse,The Link, Dixons, Phones 4 U, Curry's, Comet, Tesco, Asda, John Lewis, Argos,TOMO, Woolworths, Toys R Us and Ryman plus hundreds of independents mobilephones dealers and available via Shop Direct, Littlewoods, Grattan and Empirehome shopping channels. Virgin Mobile Pay Monthly is currently available in selected Virgin MobileStores, The Carphone Warehouse and at www.virginmobile.com. Virgin Mobile employs approximately 1,400 staff at three sites, Trowbridge,London and Daventry, and has an outsourced customer service centre operated byapproximately 200 staff in Middlesbrough. Virgin Mobile's customers were found to be the most-satisfied mobile consumersin the pre-pay sector for two years running in 2005 and 2004, according to thesurveys by J.D. Power and Associates. Virgin Mobile is also featured in 'TheSunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For' list 2005 and is part of theFTSE4Good Index. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange