A new application for the iPhone has created a new platform for advertisers and consumers contact. The iScratcher turns the mobile phone into a scratch-card, offering contests, sweepstakes, giveaway promotions and a number of different prizes.

The concept is relatively simple. Advertisers sponsor scratch-off games that display on mobile device screens. Players "scratch off" a game card by wiping the screen with a finger and reveal sponsor brand images and potential prizes like cash, products, coupons, promotional codes, lottery results, or content. Built-in GPS will then direct the consumer to the nearest store where prizes can be redeemed.

The initial release is available on internet-capable iPhones and iPod touches, but it will soon be available on Android Smartphones and other mobile platforms such as BlackBerry, as well as the Web. With iScratcher, advertisers can make promotions more attractive and available to everyone by offering the same promotion on the most popular technologies in addition to--or in place of--traditional cardboard tickets.

"iScratcher takes interactive mobile entertainment to a new level," said Titus Blair, MobileThunder's chief innovation officer. "Every game is engaging, and you want to play all day. Redeeming a prize will be a snap, with no paper tickets to forget or lose. This is the first prize-awarding app released to a mobile device that leverages touch and location technologies, allowing marketers capabilities never before imagined."

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