Time: 3:30
Date: December 11,2007
Sender Name: PR Newswire
COMMUNIQUE: PR Newswire: Third .mobi 'Premium Domain Name' Online Auction Shatters Existing Price Records
DUBLIN Ireland and WASHINGTON 11/12 (COM) =
- Excitement over Sedo-run auction generates record-breaking revenue, led by sale
of music.mobi for US$616,000 and games.mobi for US$401,500
dotMobi, the company behind the .mobi Internet domain for mobile phones,
closed its 2007 online auction series on December 5 with a record-breaking
auction that generated approximately US$2.3 million for the continued creation of
mobile content tools like dotMobi's popular
http://ready.mobi and
http://site.mobi tools and its forthcoming device database.
In this auction, dotMobi made 100 domain names available through Sedo.com; 95 of
those 100 names were sold, including music.mobi for US$616,000 and games.mobi for
US$401,500 - both surpassing former "price leader" flowers.mobi, which sold for
US$200,000 in 2006.
With bidders from more than 25 countries, the auction's most desired names, aside
from music.mobi and games.mobi, were sports.mobi (sold for US$101,000),
movies.mobi (US$82,000), juegos.mobi (US$61,000), game.mobi (US$61,000),
videos.mobi (US$51,000), sport.mobi (US$51,000) and photos.mobi (US$51,000).
"I'm pleased -- but not entirely surprised -- that the .mobi domains in this
auction did so well," said Trey Harvin, dotMobi's CEO. "Games and music are
becoming two of the 'killer apps' for the mobile web. Content providers know it's
important that their customers can find content at sites that are guaranteed to
work on the billions of web-enabled mobile phones around the world, which is the
promise of sites built on the .mobi domain."
"In the coming year, we will release names that will be ideal for business
verticals like the travel, entertainment and adult industries. The excitement
around the mobile possibilities for those industries is sure to generate strong
interest," Harvin said.
Tim Schumacher, CEO of Sedo, said, "This auction proved to be so popular that
Sedo experienced a rare event: traffic load issues. In accordance with our terms
and conditions, we extended the auction for an additional three hours to ensure
everyone had a fair chance to place bids. This auction again shows that the .mobi
domain has engaged everyone's interest in the possibilities of the mobile web."
The dotMobi "Premium Domain Name" list is a set of more than 5,000 commonly used
words that dotMobi set aside during its formation. dotMobi is the first domain
company to offer selected names directly to the market via an auction process
rather than a traditional "first come, first served" process.
About dotMobi
dotMobi (the informal name of mTLD Top Level Domain Ltd.), a consortium based in
Dublin, Ireland with offices in Washington, DC and Beijing, is leading the growth
of Internet use from mobile phones with the .mobi domain name. Unique among
domain name providers, dotMobi ensures that services and sites developed around
.mobi are optimized for use by mobile devices. On-the-go consumers can have
confidence that an Internet site or service will work on their mobile phones when
using a .mobi address.
dotMobi is backed by leading mobile operators, network & device manufacturers,
and internet content providers, including Ericsson, GSM Association, Hutchison 3,
Microsoft, Nokia, Orascom Telecom, Samsung Electronics, Syniverse, T-Mobile,
Telefonica Moviles, TIM, Visa and Vodafone. dotMobi is also a sponsor of W3C's
Mobile Web Initiative.
For more information on dotMobi domains and registration information, visit
http://dotmobi.mobi. Visit the dotMobi blog at
http://blog.mobi.
About Sedo
Sedo, an acronym for "Search Engine for Domain Offers," is the leading online
marketplace for buying and selling domain names and websites. Headquartered in
Cambridge, Mass., Sedo has assembled the world's largest database of domain names
for sale, with more than 9 million listings. The success of Sedo's model has
attracted a global membership base of more than 600,000 domain professionals.
Sedo is majority-owned by AdLINK Group (ISIN DE0005490155 / German WKN: 549015),
which is part of the German United Internet AG (ISIN DE0005089031/ WKN 508903).
Sedo offers regional versions of its site for the UK (Sedo.co.uk), France
(Sedo.fr), Germany (Sedo.de), and Spain (Sedo.com).
For additional information, please visit
www.sedo.com.
For more information, please contact:
Vance Hedderel
dotMobi
+1-703-485-5563
[email protected]
Danielle Siemon
A&R Edelman for dotMobi (US)
+1-650-762-2947
[email protected]
Sasha Manners
Edelman for dotMobi (Europe)
+44-20-7344-1504
[email protected]
Kate Donahue
Director of Marketing
Sedo
+1-617-499-7260
[email protected]
Web site:
http://www.dotmobi.mobi
Vance Hedderel of dotMobi, +1-703-485-5563,
[email protected]; or Danielle
Siemon of A&R Edelman for dotMobi (US), +1-650-762-2947,
[email protected]; or Sasha Manners of Edelman for dotMobi (Europe),
+44-20-7344-1504,
[email protected]; or Kate Donahue of Sedo, Director of
Marketing, +1-617-499-7260,
[email protected]/.
