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Make that 1,219,543 MVNOs and counting. If your wondering an MVNO is a wireless provider that customizes a handset and service offering for a specific target market but leases bandwidth from a major provider (Verizon, Cingular, Sprint)… and typically offer a limited number of handsets, such as Mobile ESPN and Rivo. Bango will enable readers to easily obtain and pay for popular ringtones, wallpapers and horoscopes - right from their mobile phone from magazines such as Cosmopolitan, CosmoGIRL! and Seventeen.

By using the Bango Service, Hearst is the first major publishing house in the United States to use the mobile internet to deliver the familiar ‘browse and buy’ shopping experience.

Readers of Cosmopolitan, for example, text “cosmo” to 26766, and using Bango’s technology receive back a link to the mobile site. From there, they can ‘browse and buy’ from a range of mobile consumables plus content such as fashion and beauty tips designed specifically for readers.

“The user experience is truly mobile because the entire process takes place on the handset - no PC is required,” said Anil Malhotra, Bango vice president of alliances. “Access is initiated by sending a text message, and once the site appears on the phone, it is optimized for the users’ device. Bango detects which network the user is on and presents the optimal one-click payment method to make paying for content as easy as possible.”

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