Company Press Release:

 

Virgin mobile strikes the right note with vJazz

 

For the first time ever in India, now access and download Free Unlimited music 24X7, with Virgin Mobile’s revolutionary new music phone!

 

M-A-Madhusudan-@-vJazz-laun.gif

New Delhi, April 28, 2009: Catering to Indian youth’s contemporary lifestyle needs, Virgin Mobile is set to redefine the music phone category in India with the launch of vJazz - a cool youth inspired snazzy wine red and black colour handset that carries vMusic, the user’s passport to free unlimited full-track music download for a whole year, a revolutionary first time offer in the country.  With vJazz, Virgin Mobile users can now choose from a wide array of upto 1,00,000 Bollywood, Regional and International chartbusters and download full songs for free for one whole year. The user does not end up paying for song, subscription or download charges. Virgin Mobile user can go musical with vJazz and open up to the latest musical revolution - whether it is the chance to pump it up with the latest Bollywood hit, go multi-lingual with his pick of regional collections, go spiritual with some devotional music for the soul or shake a leg to some popular tracks. The vJazz user will have it all with vMusic that comes packed with music from all genres.

 

The phone comes packed with a 1 GB SD Card, allowing the user ample memory space to save or listen to his/her favourite music, anytime, anywhere! This integrated music package is being made available at an affordable price of Rs 4,250/. The phone is loaded with other exciting features like Music player, Music keys, FM Radio, Video playback, 1.3 MP camera, 1000 SMS & 1000 phonebook storage space, loud speakers, bluetooth and a large screen. 

 

Text Box: vJazz – An exclusive blend of wine red & black colour handset priced at just Rs. 4250/ with attractive features that include: • One touch access to vMusic that allows free unlimited download of full music tracks for one whole year. No hidden charges • Upto 1,00,000 tracks across a wide genre of music to choose from • Video record and playback • Bluetooth • 1.3 MP Camera • Large 2.0” screen • 1GB SD card • Music player • Music keys • FM Radio • 1000 SMS storage space • Loud speakers • Access to Vbytes (Virgin Mobile data portal)   

The phone was launched in a hatke manner in Mumbai city in tune with Virgin Mobile’s brand philosophy of ‘Think Hatke’. The event was based on the theme of ‘Raining Music’, playing on the unlimited music download feature of the phone.

 

Delighted at the announcement, M.A. Madhusudan, Chief Executive Officer, Virgin Mobile India said, “Music is at the core of youth culture – Bollywood, Jazz, Hip-hop, Rock, Alternative – you name it, they know it! Our studies indicate that the existing phones in the market allow youth to carry a small collection of songs. They have a desire to refresh music regularly. However, their music consumption is hindered by the exorbitant cost of downloading full length songs, which is about Rs. 40-45 per song.”

He added, “With vJazz, youth can now refresh music 24/ 7 by accessing and downloading free unlimited full music tracks, anytime, anywhere with just one touch access to vMusic, the music client in the phone. The user can choose from a range of upto 1,00,000 songs which do not attract song download or subscription charges upto a year. vJazz is set to revolutionize the music phone category and set a precedent for others to follow.”

 

To add a spicy tadka to this delightful offering, Virgin Mobile, unlike others, lets one access the downloaded music tracks even after the subscription expires.

 

Virgin Mobile now offers a range of seven handsets with a blend of style, features and affordability from leading handset manufacturers. The handsets are priced between Rs. 1,499 and Rs. 4,250 and meet the lifestyle, budget and aspirations of the youth. Besides the bundled offers on handsets such as vKewl and vTrendy, Virgin Mobile has also introduced vDesire, vBond, vRage and vGlide into the market.

 

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

About Virgin Mobile

Virgin Mobile brand is India’s first national youth-focused mobile service. Virgin Mobile branded services are being offered to the Indian consumers by Tata Teleservices through a brand franchise with Virgin group. Virgin Mobile India facilitates Tata Teleservices with experience and expertise in designing, marketing and servicing of Virgin Mobile branded products for the youth segment. Virgin Mobile services are being supported from 14 offices across India and the current employee strength is more than 500 personnel. While Virgin Mobile branded service can be enjoyed by customers in over 3,20,000 cities, towns and villages across India, the focus on subscriber acquisition so far has been across top 240 cities and is set to extend to more cities by year end. Virgin Mobile branded handsets are available across 45, 000 outlets and its top up cards across 75,000 outlets nationally.

 

In the recently released SAARC Countries Mobile User Survey 2008, Virgin Mobile India has been ranked as No. 1 in Customer Satisfaction. On the overall satisfaction parameters Virgin Mobile scored over 95%. Taking the recent Goa Fest 2009 by storm, Virgin Mobile India bagged 7 Abby awards at India’s most prestigious National Advertising Awards festival! This included 4 silver and 3 bronze Abbys for innovative and distinctive campaigns across Print, Radio, Outdoor and Event. Virgin Mobile India earlier bagged the Silver ‘Effies’ for its creative ideas and market effectiveness of its clutter-breaking campaigns. It has also been rated 15th in the Buzziest Brands of the year Poll 2009 conducted by afaqs.com.  

 

 

About Virgin – The Group

Virgin, a leading branded venture capital organization, is one of the world's most recognized and respected brands.  Conceived in 1970 by Sir Richard Branson, the Virgin Group has gone on to grow very successful businesses in sectors ranging from mobile telephony to transportation, travel, financial services, leisure, music, holidays, publishing and retailing. Virgin has created more than 200 branded companies worldwide, employing approximately 50,000 people, in 29 countries. Its revenues around the world in 2007 exceeded £11.5 billion (approx. US$23 billion). 

 

About Tata Teleservices

Tata Teleservices Limited is one of India's leading private telecom service providers, having a pan-India presence. The company offers integrated telecom solutions to its customers under the Tata Indicom brand, and uses the latest technology platform(s) for its wireless network. With a customer base of nearly 35 million, Tata Teleservices Limited, along with Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Limited, covers over 320,000 towns and villages across all of India’s 22 telecom circles. In November 2008, Tata Teleservices entered into an agreement with Japanese telecom major NTT DOCOMO, as part of which the Japanese company acquired a 26% stake in TTSL for USD 2.7 billion. The transaction marks a key step in the strategic evolution of Tata Teleservices, as it moves towards a pan-India dual network presence. The company also recently announced a unique reverse equity swap strategic agreement between its fully-owned telecom tower subsidiary, Wireless TT Info-Services Limited, and Quippo Telecom Infrastructure Limited—with the combined entity kicking off operations with 18,000 towers, thereby becoming the largest independent entity in this space in the country. Tata Teleservices’ bouquet of telephony services includes mobile services, wireless desktop phones, public booth telephony and wireline services.