Arima Advances TV Handset Design

Arima Advances TV Handset Design Through Integration of SMS With Telegent Free-to-Air Mobile TV Feature

SMS-TV Feature Enables Consumers to Send and Receive Text Messages While Watching Live, Free TV on Their Handset; Drives Revenue for Operators

SUNNYVALE, CA and TAIPEI, TAIWAN--(Marketwire - May 19, 2009) - Telegent Systems, the company that makes television mobile, and Arima Communications Corp., a leading Taiwanese handset ODM company, today announced that Arima has enhanced its free-to-air TV handset design incorporating Telegent's mobile TV technology to enable consumers to send and receive SMS messages while watching live, free broadcast TV. The SMS-TV feature, which will be commercially available in handset designs this summer, is targeted towards consumers who want to chat with one another while watching their favorite programs as well as those who like to interact with participation TV programs through voting or polling. Additionally, the design enables operators to use free-to-air mobile TV to generate revenue from related phone services.

SMS-TV Feature Harnesses Growing Consumer Interest in Interactive TV Viewing

Arima's SMS-TV handset design addresses accelerating consumer interest in interacting with social networks while watching TV. A 2007 Parks Associates survey revealed that roughly one-half of broadband users age 18-24 use instant messaging while watching TV. "Text messaging is one of the top five most appealing features on a handset," said John Barrett, Director of Research at Parks Associates. "Integrating SMS with mobile TV enables a TV viewing experience that young consumers are already very familiar with."

For fans of participation TV programs, the SMS-TV feature provides a way to take the interactive TV viewing experience mobile. FremantleMedia, which produces programs such as Idols, the X Factor and Got Talent, reports that the Idols franchise has aired more than 129 series in 42 territories and generated more than three billion votes. The SMS-TV feature, by allowing consumers to send SMS messages while watching TV, provides an integrated platform for both viewing and interacting with favorite programs.

Delivers ARPU Value to Operators

For operators, Arima's SMS-TV feature opens the door for generating incremental SMS and data revenue from free-to-air mobile TV. "Free-to-air TV handsets are extremely popular with consumers in our core markets," said Stephen Hung, vice president of Arima. "In Latin America and other regions, operators are adding TV handsets to their portfolios to meet this demand and differentiate their offerings. If a consumer is watching soccer and can send an SMS to a friend about the game, this interactive action can drive revenue for the operator and increases the value of the free-to-air TV feature."

When activated, Arima's SMS-TV feature automatically scales the TV screen to accommodate an SMS message window beneath it to allow sending and receiving of SMS messages. The SMS-TV feature can be implemented in both low-cost and feature phone models.

"Arima has made a significant advancement in TV handset design with the SMS-TV feature," said Weijie Yun, president and chief executive officer of Telegent Systems, "particularly because the feature adds value to both consumers and operators."

Images of the Arima SMS-TV phone can be viewed at: http://www.telegent.com/news/graphics/arima_smstv.html.

About Telegent Systems

Telegent Systems is a leading fabless CMOS semiconductor company providing high performance, single-chip solutions enabling free-to-air and subscription mobile TV in mobile handsets, laptops and netbooks, and other portable devices. Telegent's solutions make television mobile, delivering both analog and digital broadcast reception with unparalleled sensitivity and picture quality in mobile and portable environments, ultra-low power consumption and the highest integration simplifying device design and manufacture. For more information, visit www.telegent.com.

About Arima Communications Corp.

Arima Communications was founded in August 1999 as a member of the Arima Group, specializing in the research, development, manufacturing and marketing of mobile communications products. The main products are multi-band GSM / GPRS, 3G/3.5G mobile phones and smart phones. Arima Communications' strategy is to integrate market research, product design, R&D, manufacturing, product certification, global logistics and after-sales service into a comprehensive solution for customers. For more information about the company, please visit www.arimacomm.com.tw.

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