GSMA Selects CallSpark as Finalist for Mobile Innovation Grand Prix - Americas Tournament

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- CallSpark, Inc., "the call experience company," announced today that it has been selected by the GSMA as one of the top 10 finalists for the Mobile Innovation Grand Prix - Americas Tournament. Launched at DEMOfall 09 on Sept. 23, CallSpark is a new mobile technology that both simplifies and enhances the dialing experience.

Current dialers only allow you to search your on-device address book. If you need the number for a taxi, for Hertz or FedEx, or for a business contact, you need to launch another application. With CallSpark, you search and dial on- and off-device sources including your personal Gmail Contacts, your company's Salesforce.com database, and your own Facebook and Twitter contacts, as well as public directories like Yelp and WhitePages. It's that simple. CallSpark integrates these multiple search tasks into a single, easy-to-use, cloud-enhanced dialing solution, resulting in an elegant and far more useful dialing experience.

Taking advantage of smartphones' data capabilities, CallSpark can also transform traditional voice conversations into interactive experiences by pulling real-time data from the social and business cloud. In either business or personal phone calls, CallSpark delivers real-time content from social networks, location-based searching, reviews and listed public information before, during, and after the call. For example, call a friend and see their latest Facebook status information before the call, or call a merchant and see their location and user reviews.

"We are proud to be recognized by the GSMA for our innovations in mobile technology," said Wendell Brown, CEO and co-founder of CallSpark. "We're committed to continued investment in innovation, as we transform users' mobile experiences."

The GSMA, which represents the interests of the worldwide mobile communications industry, has partnered with Rutberg & Company, a U.S.-based investment bank that provides M&A advisory and private-capital-raising services to companies in the wireless and digital media industries, to host the Americas leg of the competition at the firm's Future:Mobile event, where the winners will be announced on Dec. 1, 2009. The Mobile Innovation Grand Prix competition was created by the GSMA to showcase promising entrepreneurs from small- and medium-sized companies who are bringing innovative new products and services to market. During the Americas leg, presentations from 10 finalists will be reviewed by a judging panel comprised of senior executives from mobile operators and venture capital firms. Two winners from the Americas leg will then move on to compete for the Mobile Innovation Grand Prix title, part of the GSMA's Global Mobile Awards, at the Mobile World Congress in February 2010.

"We are thrilled with the number of high-quality entries we received for this year's Mobile Innovation Grand Prix - Americas Tournament," said Bill Gajda, Chief Commercial Officer at the GSMA. "This event provides a rare opportunity for innovators to pitch new technologies to senior executives within the mobile operator, IT and venture capitalist communities."

The Future:Mobile 2009 event will take place at the Sofitel Hotel San Francisco on Dec. 1, 2009. For more information please visit: www.rutbergco.com/conferences/future-mobile-2009.

About CallSpark
Based in San Francisco, CA, CallSpark was founded in 2009. CallSpark is "the call experience company" igniting all your personal and business conversations with rich information and interactivity. CallSpark's keyword dialing allows users to type in keywords or the first few characters and get results in real time. Its proprietary CallRank(TM) service leverages the latest in location-based search. With real-time integrated data from Facebook to Salesforce.com, Twitter to WhitePages, every call is now richer, more efficient, and more fun. Get CallSpark and transform your mobile experience. For more information, visit www.callspark.com.

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