Zila Networks Raises the Social Standard with ‘Friends Around Me’ Mobile Application for the iPhone

FriendsAroundMe Users Chat Simultaneously with Groups of Friends, Meet New People, and Compete for Points, Rankings and Status.

(Vocus) April 14, 2010 -- Zila Networks, a VC funded mobile application developer, today announced the launch of its first mobile application, Friends Around Me, a fully featured, mobile only social network for the iPhone that changes the way people communicate and entire communities interact.

Key Friends Around Me benefits include:

  • Group Chats: Friends Around Me enables free group chat with multiple friends at once on your mobile phone, making it easy to connect, make plans, or gossip about your favorite TV shows, without having to balance different conversations. All chats, both individual and group, remain active to allow users to come back to the same conversation at a later date.
  • Open Profiles: Users are free to browse, rank photos, check status updates or send virtual gifts to anyone in the ‘Friends Around Me’ community. There are several easy and fun ways to connect with people, from sending a simple wink to a virtual gift. The app also allows you to see who has visited your profile, putting an end to internet lurking. Privacy options are available that restrict others from being able to locate, chat or rate your pictures.
  • Geo Location Search: Friends Around Me uses the iPhone’s GPS function to identify nearby users on an interactive Google map. You can also search by name to find existing friends in the global Friends Around Me community or add friends from your existing social networks, including Facebook and Twitter.
  • Social Gaming: Points are rewarded to users who log in at least once a day, share their Friends Around Me status update across Facebook and Twitter profiles or to those that receive a high rankings on their photos by others.
  • Virtual Gifts: Points give you a virtual Friends Around Me currency called “FAMES” that can be used to purchase virtual gifts to send to other users and, eventually, branded virtual gifts will also be available. The more FAMES you receive, the higher your personal rating climbs, allowing you to rise to the top of the local or global Friends Around Me community.

Quotes “The Friends Around Me iPhone app is more than a social application – it provides a simple, fun way for people to connect, keep in touch around the clock and encourages users to meet new friends by rewarding interaction through a point-based system. The app also provides brands with a unique platform to connect with engaged consumers through virtual-branded gifts opportunities.”

Technical Requirements

  • The Friends Around Me application is currently available to iPhone users in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian and German.

Relevant Links

About Zila

Zila Networks is a mobile application development company formed by a group of dynamic, talented, young people who are envisioning the future of social networking as a new way of moving users from virtual to real life experiences. Zila Networks is fully funded and based in Miami, Florida.

For more information, please contact:
Maria Katime, Text 100 Public Relations Tel: (212) 871-5183
Carmen Leander, Zila Networks, Tel: (786) 201-5758