Geos Communications, Inc. (fka GCMI)

[B7$4]

"GCMI News" Geos Communications Expands Applications Portfolio with Acquisition of Shoot it!, LLC

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/geos-communications-expands-applications-portfolio-with-acquisition-of-shoot-it-llc-2010-03-09?reflink=MW_news_stmp

SOUTHLAKE, Texas, Mar 09, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Geos Communications(TM), Inc. /quotes/comstock/11k!gcmi (GCMI 0.18, +0.04, +28.57%) , a leading developer and distributor of mobile applications and services, today announced that it has acquired Shoot it!, LLC, a privately held postcard messaging application and technology development company based in Scottsdale, Arizona. The acquisition allows Geos to expand its product portfolio of innovative applications and technologies in the global mobile communications market. Shoot it! is a postcard messaging service that allows users to take a picture with their smartphone, create a personal message and send it off as a real paper postcard from anywhere in the world to any mailbox in North America, Western Europe or Asia within 24 hours. Terms of the transaction were disclosed in Geos' 8-K filing with the SEC on February 25, 2010.

Shoot it! enhances the experience of smartphones by allowing users to instantly share their photos with others around the world, while also giving the user a tangible alternative to SMS or MMS. This new postcard messaging service is a visual communication tool that combines old technology with new technology. Shoot it!'s smartphone application currently supports the iPhone(TM), BlackBerry(R) OS 4.6. and higher, Android(TM) and Windows(R) Mobile operating systems. Shoot it! will expand its offering by making the service accessible via the web beginning in the spring of 2010.

The Shoot it! smartphone application is currently available for download via traditional application retail channels such as the iTunes(R) App store, BlackBerry App World and Android Marketplace. It will be added immediately to Geos' Duo Guo mobile content distribution platform marking Shoot it!'s debut in China. Geos plans to further expand Shoot it!'s geographic reach by making the service available in South America later this year with additional markets to follow.

Effective immediately, Shoot it!'s CEO Steve Wilen, will join Geos Communications as VP Corporate Development, and Shoot it! Founder and Chairman Tom McDermott will continue to work with Geos as a consultant.

"Shoot it! represents an excellent addition to our product portfolio as we build our strategy to introduce new, device agnostic applications and technologies that appeal to mobile users worldwide," said Andy Berman, CEO of Geos Communications. "A highly innovative and engaging application, Shoot it! provides Geos with a new growing revenue stream and offers an attractive margin profile. We would like to welcome Steve to the Geos team, and we look forward to accelerating Shoot it!'s success."

"Combining our assets with Geos' distribution and marketing expertise offers significant opportunity to grow Shoot it!'s increasing popularity among the mobile communications market," said Mr. Wilen. "As we work to gain additional traction in the markets we currently serve, we will also look to expand our global footprint to emerging market opportunities, with a focus on broadening our reach throughout China's massive mobile technology market by leveraging Geos' Duo Guo distribution platform."

Mr. Wilen holds more than 25 years of corporate and entrepreneurial expertise. Mr. Wilen's experience includes IBP, Inc. where he launched a new product division, served in various senior level management positions at Carnation Company where he was ultimately the Company's Director of Planning, and founding a high speed canning operation in South Dakota, where he generated $20 million in revenue in the first year of operations. In the early 1990's Mr. Wilen developed and ran businesses in retail, hospitality and aviation. In 1998, Mr. Wilen joined AmazingMail where he served as Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer and successfully navigated the company through the dot-com boom as well as the dot-com bust.

Mr. McDermott has more than 20 years experience in the technology industry including six start-ups. Mr. McDermott has also spent a good deal of his professional career acting as a consultant teaching organizations how to efficiently leverage their data to successfully achieve their desired results. One of his start-up achievements was AmazingMail, the first web-based company that enabled people to upload their own photos to create and send real picture postcards to friends and family around the globe. Mr. McDermott was one of the three concept developers behind AmazingMail's patented print-n-mail-on-demand technology, and later led the integrated solutions group, Integrato, where he was responsible for product strategy and development, as well as the overall go-to market sales strategy. Mr. McDermott also brings a number of synergistic personal and professional relationships in the print, postal and mobile industry around the globe.