Smartphone Experts (SPE) Announces the Second Annual Smartphone Round Robin

Market Wire, November, 2008

Smartphone Experts (SPE), an e-commerce platform and smartphone accessory development company, today announced its second annual Smartphone Round Robin is starting this week and will continue for the next month. During that time, community editors from the SPE community sites -- TreoCentral (Treo & Centro), CrackBerry.com (BlackBerry), WMExperts (Windows Mobile), The iPhone Blog (iPhone), and Android Central (Google Android) -- will be learning what it's like to live "on the other side of the fence" as they have their everyday smartphone swapped out for one of its competitors. The participants will be documenting their triumphs and struggles at a special Website set up for the event. Community members, as well as those interested in learning more about the various types of smartphone options that are available, will be able to participate and become eligible for prizes. Details are available at the Smartphone Round Robin website ( http://smartphoneroundrobin.com ).

"The use of smartphones has really taken off in the last year, and with the holidays coming up, we felt the timing was perfect to hold this year's Smartphone Round Robin," said Dieter Bohn, editor-in-chief for the Smartphone Experts community sites. "The list of things our community editors are being required to do this time around is comprehensive and will give readers and forum members a really good feel for how each of these hot smartphones behaves under a variety of circumstances. It will be especially interesting to see where the experts find themselves getting tripped up and how advice from forum members gets them back on track."

The five participants in the Smartphone Round Robin challenge are Jennifer Chappell from TreoCentral, Kevin Michaluk from CrackBerry.com, Rene Ritchie from The iPhone Blog, Dieter Bohn from WMExperts, and Casey Chan from Android Central.

The five smartphones that will be used this time around are: the T-Mobile G1, the BlackBerry Bold, the iPhone 3G, the Treo Pro, and the HTC Fuze. The list of things the editors must do are as follows:

1.   Use their assigned smartphone as their "main brain, which means
     they can't use any other smartphone or music device (such as an iPod)
     for one full week.
2.   Figure out how to get their personal information data onto their
     phone.
3.   Get their email working on the smartphone.
4.   Use their smartphone to get directions at least once.
5.   Use their smartphone with a Bluetooth headset.
6.   Install at least two 3rd-party applications (if possible) on their
     smartphone.
7.   Play a game.
8.   Browse the Internet.
9.   Add music to their smartphone and use it as their music device.
10.  Watch a video on their device.

It's not just the SPE community editors who will be participating. Registered members of the Smartphone Experts community sites who participate in a Round Robin forum will be automatically entered for a chance to win a smartphone from one of the Smartphone Experts sites and other runner up prizes:

--  Android Central, the T-Mobile G1, the BlueAnt Z9 Bluetooth Headset,
    and SPE Screen Protectors
--  CrackBerry.com, the BlackBerry Bold, Spare Battery, and Case-Mate
    Second Skin
--  The iPhone Blog, the iPhone 3G, Case-Mate Naked Case, and Motorola H9
    Bluetooth Headset
--  TreoCentral, the Treo Pro, Case-Mate Clear Armor, and Aliph Jawbone
    Bluetooth Headset (original)
--  WMExperts, the HTC Fuze and the Celio Redfly Mobile Companion
    

Full details on the contest can be found at the Smartphone Round Robin site ( http://smartphoneroundrobin.com ).

Sponsors of the Second Annual Smartphone Round Robin include: Celio Corp, the makers of the Redfly Mobile companion, Palm, Case-Mate and the Smartphone Outlet.

About Smartphone Experts

Founded in 2002, Smartphone Experts is a leading online retailer and manufacturer of smartphone accessories, powering a growing network of e-commerce stores that offer a wide selection of products, rapid fulfillment, and knowledgeable expert support. The company also operates several smartphone-centric online communities that provide everything from editorially independent news and reviews to discussion forums. Recently rated the fastest-growing retailer in the annual Inc 500 listing (ranking 37th overall), the company's online properties includes TreoCentral.com, PhoneDifferent.com, WMExperts.com, CrackBerry.com, SmartphoneOutlet.com, BlueShop.com, BBerry.com, and QDepot.com. More information is available at www.smartphoneexperts.com .

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For more information on the Smartphone Round Robin, contact: Dieter Bohn 888-599-8998 x122 Email Contact Annie Gladue Jedemi Communications for Smartphone Experts 415-302-8990 Email Contact