News Release: iPling's New iPhone App Revolutionizes Classified Advertising

SAN FRANCISCO February 1, 2010--iPling Inc., the company that brings you fun mobile services that instantly connect you to like-minded people, has released iPling Instant Classifieds, its second product for the U.S. market, as a downloadable iPhone application. Now available free in the iTunes App Store, iPling Instant Classifieds revolutionizes classified advertising by empowering you to post or browse location-aware classified ads instantly from your iPhone.

iPling Instant Classifieds offers many improvements over traditional print or online classified ads. For example, with iPling Instant Classifieds it’s easy to find nearby items and services for sale, rent, or barter. You can also search for events, people, jobs, and more in your vicinity. Because it operates through virtually any cellular phone, the service is available anytime, anywhere. You can post, browse, or delete ads instantly. Location-awareness means the most convenient, nearby ads are displayed first. Another benefit: the iPling system anonymizes buyers and sellers for your protection. Best of all, there’s no charge to use the service!

iPling Instant Classifieds has been available in Mexico since 2009 as ¡Anunciate al Instante! a text-message service that launched through a partnership with Telcel, the country’s largest carrier. “The potential in emerging markets is huge,” says iPling CEO Manuel Monroy. “We’re actively exploring several other large markets around the world. But although our main focus is developing markets, we also want to offer iPling Instant Classifieds in the U.S.”

Monroy noted that iPling is currently evaluating various go-to-market opportunities, including strategic partnerships similar to the agreement with Telcel or raising a round of venture capital.

Based in San Francisco and Mexico City, iPling was launched in January 2007 by a group of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs with a track record of innovation at leading companies including Andersen, Apple, Oracle, and Yahoo. The founders share the vision of creating fun, innovative mobile services that empower people to reach out and enrich their lives. The company’s first product, Find and Be Found, is a real-time, location-based mobile service that doesn’t just build your social network, but expands it. Find and Be Found was released the same day as the iPhone (June 29, 2007) and was quickly named one of the “Top 25 Web Apps for iPhone.”

iPling Instant Classifieds was developed in a technology partnership with Spime, Inc., a leading provider of location-enabling technologies based in Fremont, CA.