AvatarLabs Announces Launch of App for iPhone and iPod Touch Based on DreamWorks Animation SKG Release 'Monsters vs. Aliens'

LOS ANGELES, March 24, 2009 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ ----AvatarLabs, one of Hollywood's leading online marketing agencies, specializing in the creation of online rich media, sites and original branded digital content, announced today the U.S. launch of the "Monsters vs. Aliens" iPhone and iPod Touch application on Apple's App Store in support of the upcoming theatrical release from DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. (Nasdaq: DWA). Rex Cook, Executive Creative Director/Founder, AvatarLabs, made the announcement.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090324/LA87507)

There are two versions of the app available now on the Apple App Store. The LITE version is a free download that allows users to learn more about the film, watch videos, view downloadable film stills and find show times at nearby theaters. There is also a special interactive sneak peek of one of the film's Monsters: B.O.B., the indestructible gelatinous mass hidden from the public eye by the government.

"'B.O.B.' is one of our favorite characters from the film," says Mr. Cook, "so we jumped at the chance to feature him in the app. He's funny and gelatinous, which makes him exciting to animate, and perfect to play with for kids of all ages."

Users can also purchase the FULL app to receive a B.O.B. Bundle suite of activities, including:

   --  A soundboard with over 30 B.O.B. Blurbs
--  More ways to play with B.O.B. - from swiping and poking to
"eye-popping" experiences
--  Containment Center-tainment featuring "B.O.B. Says" and
"Monster Match" (with unique character cards and additional
B.O.B. sound clips) and 4 levels of B.O.B.'s favorite game:
"52 Pickup"

The B.O.B. apps are designed to take advantage of Apple's innovative Multi-Touch user interface and accelerometer, including tapping, tilting and shaking the device.

The free "MONSTERS VS. ALIENS" B.O.B. app and the "MONSTERS VS. ALIENS" B.O.B. Bundle for sale at $1.99 are both available from Apple's App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at http://www.apple.com/iphone/appstore/

Other links:

Full App: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=307956523&mt=8

Lite App:

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=308050447&mt=8

"We are very excited to launch these apps," Cook adds, "Bringing DreamWorks Animation's 'Monsters vs. Aliens' to the iPhone and iPod Touch means people can interact with the brand and its most popular character, wherever they are. Not only will this create more goodwill towards the brand, but it will also act like viral marketing, with friends and family being introduced to the character via this very fun and interactive medium."

ABOUT "MONSTERS VS. ALIENS:"

"Monsters vs. Aliens" is the latest film from DreamWorks Animation and marks the company's first feature film to be produced in stereoscopic 3D technology. When California girl Susan Murphy is unwittingly clobbered by a meteor full of outer space gunk on her wedding day, she mysteriously grows to 49-feet-11-inches tall. Alerted to the threat of this new monster, the military jumps into action and Susan is captured and secreted away to a covert government compound. There, she is renamed Ginormica and placed in confinement with a ragtag group of other monsters: the brilliant but insect-headed Dr. Cockroach, Ph.D.; the macho half-ape, half-fish The Missing Link; the gelatinous and indestructible B.O.B.; and the 350-foot grub called Insectosaurus.

Their confinement is cut short, however, when a mysterious alien robot lands on Earth and begins storming the country. In a moment of desperation, The President is persuaded by General W.R. Monger to enlist the motley crew of Monsters to combat the Alien Robot and save the world from imminent destruction.

ABOUT AVATARLABS

Founded in 2001 by Executive Creative Director Rex Cook, AvatarLabs is one of Hollywood's most successful online marketing, mobile and gaming agencies. The company is the winner of two 2008 Digital Movie Advertising Creative Showcase Awards, a 2008 "OMMA" Award, and four 2008 W-3 Awards, adding to a plethora of previously-won industry awards and honors.

AvatarLabs was recently behind the online promotional campaign for "Watchmen" and is currently working on an upcoming iPhone campaign promoting "Terminator Salvation." In addition, the company was also involved in the online marketing behind such major hit films as "The Dark Knight," "Wall-E," "Slumdog Millionaire" and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." Please visit www.avatarlabs.com or call (818) 784-2200.

SOURCE AvatarLabs

http://www.avatarlabs.com

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Apple hit with lawsuit over iPhone as e-book reader

There's some speculation that the Kindle for iPhone app may have sparked the lawsuit.

(Credit: CNET)

Earlier this month Apple got hit with a lawsuit over an "exploding" iPod Touch. Now it appears to be getting hit with a suit over the exploding e-book market.

A couple of blogs, including Apple Insider, are reporting that a Swiss communications firm, Monec Holding, has filed suit in a Virginia district court. Monec accuses the iPhone maker of "patent infringement, unfair trade practices, monopolization, and tortious interference for allegedly treading on its January 2002 patent No. 6,335,678 titled 'Electronic device, preferably an electronic book.'"

We've never heard of Monec, but the mission statement on its rather austere Web site claims it's "a leading innovator for mobile, globally usable communication solutions...with user-friendly products and pioneering solutions, Monec provides companies and users with secure, wireless access solutions which offer highest degree of flexibility, functionality, speed and independence."

Apparently, last year Monec also sued HP for patent infringement.

Apple Insider says Monec's beef centers on "Apple's move to distribute digital book reading applications through the App Store, which it subsequently sees as an endorsement by the Cupertino-based company that its touch-screen handset can serve as a capable eBook reader."

According to Monec, that violates a patent it filed for a "lightweight" electronic device with a "touch-screen" LCD display having the "dimensions such that (...) approximately one page of a book can be illustrated at normal size, this display being integrated in a flat, frame-like housing."

It's unclear what exactly set off the lawsuit but there's some speculation that it may have been prompted by Amazon's Kindle for iPhone e-book reader software appearing in Apple's App Store--even though Apple has had other e-book reader applications in the App Store for a while.

Apple had no comment about the lawsuit. How about you?

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iPod man will keep president tuned in

BARACK Obama will be accompanied by his personal "body man" when he comes to London next week.

Reggie Love, the 26-year-old who does everything from getting the President sandwiches to loading his iPod will be at his elbow for virtually every minute of his three-day visit for the G20 summit.

The former university basketball star carries a bag which includes anything the president might need at short notice, including note pads, painkillers, a spare toothbrush, cold medication and breath freshener.

Mr Obama describes him as "the person who keeps me on schedule" and gave Mr Love the title "deputy political director" when he joined the White House staff after shadowing him throughout his election campaign

Also watching Mr Obama's every step will be the armed secret service bodyguards assigned to protect "Renegade", his code name. Twelve agents will accompany him on the plane, working eight-hour shifts to provide around-the-clock security.

More security personnel are already in London discussing his protection with Scotland Yard. They were said today to have vetoed a plan for Sarah Brown to entertain Michelle Obama on the Royal Train with the wives of the other G20 leaders.

Mr Obama's aides have spent several months planning the trip. Even though the president is here for the G20 economic summit it has all the trappings of a formal state visit.

The First Lady will have a team of eight accompanying her. They include a press officer and secretarial support as well as bodyguards.

Mr Obama will have at least 20 people in his close entourage. The most visible will be a military officer carrying the secret codes needed in the event of a nuclear crisis in a briefcase known as "the football".

The retinue on the flight to Stansted will also include his press secretary Robert Gibbs, Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, several assistants and his doctor.

The President will also be accompanied by his key economic and policy advisers for the G20 summit - including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Larry Summers, the head of the National Economic Council, and Christina Romer, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers.

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Two iPod Headphones Clash

Two iPod Headphones Clash

On the right red corner, weighing one ounce and priced at around $80 is Shure E2c Sound Isolating Earphones. On the left blue corner, weighing one ounce and priced at around $30 is the Apple In-Ear Headphones.

Let's get ready to rrrrrrrumble!

Which do you think is the best between these two iPod headphones?

For standard use, Apple iPod headphones seem to work fine. But the point will come wherein you will wonder, is there any iPod headphones out there that could offer me better sound, crisper, more booming base and has a surround sound quality?

This question will prompt you to Google for best iPod headphones in the market. After seeing the search results, you will be amazed that there are handful of iPod headphones out there that have features that may seem to read too technical for you.

We have tried a couple of those so called isolating Headphones and the aurally-probing ones and we come up with the Shure E2c Sound Isolating Earphones to see if it really is better than Apple in-Ear Headphones.

The one thing that we noticed that these two iPod headphones both share is the ability to lock in the sound. The person sitting next to you wouldn't know that your iPod nano, iPod mini, iPod video or iPod shuffle is actually on. He won't hear the treble or the bass sound that comes out in that light scratching sound (which are the cons of some low standard iPod headphones offered by third party manufacturers).

In fact, if you wear these two iPod headphones in public, you won't hear that a car is coming or that the person beside you is being mugged. So, with this feature, these iPod headphones should be better be used in-doors or when you are playing text-to-speech notes or recorded lectures, or any listening activity that requires your full attention and focus.

**Design wise

Apple In-Ear iPod headphones, aesthetically speaking, looks better than Shure E2c Sound Isolating iPod headphones. Apple In-Ear Headphones has the standard Apple white and Apple sleek design that most people has come to associate with beautiful and techie gadgets.

Shure E2c Sound Isolating iPod headphones look like two sets of mechanical bugs that are to buzz their way inside your ears.

**Fitting of earpieces

Shure E2c Sound Isolating iPod headphones fits better than Apple In-Ear headphones. Many users complain that Apple In-Ear iPod headphones do not fit their ears and always slip even if you choose the right size for you.

Shure E2c Sound Isolating iPod headphones come with a foam or flex earpieces to ensure that the earpieces stays in place even if you move around. Shure E2c Sound Isolating iPod headphones, however, seem not to have the right fit for people with small ears.

Putting on these two iPod headphones for the first time will give you a strange unfamiliar sensation in your ears, such as a small pressure and a feeling of not being in this world (since you won't hear any sound from the outside world). Don't worry, you will get used to it, eventually.

**Sound Quality

Shure E2c Sound Isolating iPod headphones produce high quality sound. You will hear the deep bass in perfect balance with the treble. White noise are blocked and you will hear every note that is plucked on the guitar and every sigh and breathing made by the singer.

The sound quality of Apple In-Ear iPod headphones is disappointing. It can isolate sound, true but the bass sound cracks, especially the deep ones. You would not want to listen with these iPod headphones with fast and upbeat music because it will sound like a crackle. Best for use with country or western music.

Shure E2c Sound Isolating iPod headphones' performance is far better than Apple In-Ear iPod headphones. But this good performance comes with a price, an extra $50. If your purpose for buying an isolating iPod headphones is to listen to iPod music with clearer lyrics, then the Apple In-Ear iPod headphones fit you perfectly (or if you're a transcriptionist or a student who listens and needs to understand the recorded spoken words). It is much cheaper and can do the job of isolating of sound just right.