MSN Mobilizes Hotmail and Messenger for Verizon Wireless Customers

REDMOND, WA and BEDMINSTER, NJ — MSN and Verizon Wireless, the nation's leading wireless service provider, today announced that MSN® Mobile is now available to Verizon Wireless customers with select Get It Now®-enabled phones. The new MSN Mobile offering brings together mobile versions of MSN Hotmail® and MSN Messenger services in one easy and familiar application, keeping subscribers connected with the people and information that matter most via their mobile phone.

MSN Mobile enables subscribers to send e-mail and exchange instant messages (IMs) between phones, or phones and PCs. The service also brings some favorite MSN Messenger features to the wireless phone, enabling subscribers to send emoticons to their friends or IM with several friends at once.

"People want a consistent experience when communicating online, whether sitting at their PC or using their mobile phone," said Brian Arbogast, corporate vice president for the MSN Communications Platform. "Starting today customers can enjoy more graphical, rich MSN Mobile services on Verizon Wireless Get It Now phones to stay in touch with family and friends and access the information that matters most while on the go."

Verizon Wireless customers can download MSN Mobile from their wireless phones and enjoyed the enhanced features, including these:

• Personalized Hotmail and Messenger. Subscribers can access their MSN Hotmail inbox, compose e-mail online or offline, and set up personalized alerts* so they are notified about important incoming e-mail messages, even when they are offline. When using MSN Messenger, subscribers can access the friends and family they IM with on their PC and conduct simultaneous and multiparty IM conversations.
• Virtually always available. Subscribers don't need to maintain an active online data connection when they are expecting e-mail or an IM. MSN Mobile can be set up to send alerts to their phone when they have new e-mail messages or "wake up" their phone if someone is trying to reach them via IM. For IM, subscribers can log into MSN Messenger and then put their phone in sleep mode but still appear online to their contacts.
• Familiar MSN Experience. MSN Mobile offers an on-screen user interface that looks and feels like the MSN experience on a PC, making it easy for customers to download the application and immediately begin to use it. Common features with the PC version of MSN allow subscribers to use the same IM name on their phone and PC and share a single contact list, making it easy to send messages to friends, family and colleagues wherever they access Hotmail and Messenger. The availability of more than 60 standard emoticons for MSN Messenger makes it even more fun to express feelings and make an impression with MSN Mobile.

"MSN Mobile builds upon our relationship with Microsoft and is a welcomed addition to our Get It Now service," said Jim Straight, vice president of data and multimedia services for Verizon Wireless. "The new service not only gives our customers another way to stay connected from their mobile phones, it delivers a familiar MSN experience for them - whether it's checking their Hotmail e-mail account or chatting with friends on MSN Messenger."

Mobilizing MSN and Verizon Wireless Customers

Today, there are more than 187 million active MSN Hotmail customers and 135 million MSN Messenger customers worldwide. Microsoft Corp.'s aim is to mobilize these customers via rich and familiar offers from MSN Mobile, ultimately keeping them closer to the people and information that matter most, while they are on the go.

MSN Mobile is currently available on the LG VX6000, LG VX4400 and the LG VX4500 phones. Verizon Wireless customers can find MSN Mobile in the GetMESSAGING shopping aisle online. The MSN Mobile service for Get It Now phones is available for an introductory rate of $2.49 (U.S.) per month for the life of the subscription. Starting Oct. 26, service will be $2.99 per month.* More information can be found at http://vzw.msn.com/.  

Get It Now is Verizon Wireless' virtual store with more than 500 applications available for download, including games, ring tones, productivity tools and entertainment applications. Download charges for Get It Now applications vary and airtime charges apply when browsing, downloading and using certain applications. Customers need a Get It Now-enabled handset and Verizon Wireless digital service to access the Get It Now virtual store.

Get It Now phones are available in more than 1,200 Verizon Wireless Communications Stores, at participating Circuit City and RadioShack locations, and on the Web at www.verizonwireless.com. More information about Get It Now can be found at www.verizonwireless.com/getitnow.

About MSN
MSN attracts more than 350 million unique users worldwide per month. With localized versions available globally in 39 markets and 20 languages, MSN is a world leader in delivering Web services to consumers and online advertising opportunities to businesses worldwide. The most useful and innovative online service today, MSN brings consumers everything they need from the Web to make the most of their time online. MSN is located on the Web at www.msn.com. MSN worldwide sites are located at www.msn.com/worldwide.ashx.  

About MSN Mobile
MSN Mobile extends the MSN experience customers are familiar with to mobile devices, providing a convenient way to stay in touch with the people and information that matter most. MSN Mobile will deliver a range of experiences and solutions worldwide, including broad SMS and WAP services, rich client solutions with partners, and advanced experiences with Pocket MSN on Microsoft® Windows Mobile^™-based devices.

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless is the nation's leading provider of wireless communications. The company has the largest nationwide wireless voice and data network and 40.4 million customers. Headquartered in Bedminster, N.J., Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). Find more information on the Web at www.verizonwireless.com. To receive broadcast-quality video footage of Verizon Wireless operations, log onto www.thenewsmarket.com/verizonwireless.

About Get It Now
Get It Now from Verizon Wireless puts a virtual software store inside a wireless phone and lets customers download applications over the air and purchase them directly from their phones. Virtual shopping aisles, including getGAMES, getTONES, getGOING, getPIX, getFUN and getMESSAGING, are organized to help customers find what they want, when they want it.

About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

* Text alert and data airtime charges may apply.

Microsoft, MSN, Hotmail and Windows Mobile are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
Get It Now is a registered trademark of Verizon Wireless. Download charges for Get It Now applications vary and airtime charges apply when browsing, downloading and using certain applications. Customers need a Get It Now-enabled handset and Verizon Wireless digital service to access the Get It Now virtual store.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

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