Key Ring, perhaps one of Dallas’ most under-hyped startups, just announced the launch of a new rewards program inside their platform. The company has added BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse Premier Rewards Program, enabling Key Ring users to enroll, check real-time point balances, receive coupons and locate restaurants all from within the mobile application.

With the addition, “Key Ring is currently being used via direct retail partnerships in over 4,000 locations and that number is rapidly increasing,” says CEO Chris Fagan.

The company’s loyalty platform is quickly become a force in the mobile commerce world. With over 4.5 million users and growing, Key Ring can offer retailers instant access to massive amounts of potential customers.

You can read more about the new program on the Key Ring blog or download the Key Ring app and give it whirl yourself.

Dallas’ own Key Ring had a good showing at the CTIA WIRELESS E-Tech Awards yesterday in  Orlando, Florida. The startup grabbed First Place in the Mobile Commerce category and also won Best Online Pick as the entry with the most online votes.

Key Ring founder Chris Fagan said in a blog post today that

“Best Online Pick was a significant accomplishment considering there were over 250 products and more than 16,000 votes!”

Key Ring is a mobile application that allows you to ditch all your physical loyalty/rewards cards and keep them in your phone. It is available for iPhone, Android, and Windows Phone 7.

Download Key Ring

See below for the official CTIA press release:

ORLANDO, Fla., March 23, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — International CTIA WIRELESS 2011® today announced the Emerging Technology (E-Tech) Awards winners in mobile applications, mobile consumer electronics, enterprise and vertical markets and network infrastructure. In addition to the 14 awards categories, industry peers voted for their favorite entries online and onsite via text during the show. International CTIA WIRELESS takes place March 22-24 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.

(Logo: https://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101207/DC13775LOGO)

The entry with the most online votes, “Best Online Pick,” was awarded to Keyring Rewards Card from Mobestream. And “Best in Show” went to Samsung Galaxy S 4G from Samsung Telecommunications Americas, which earned the most text votes onsite at the show in Orlando.

“CTIA congratulates this year’s E-Tech Awards winners,” said Robert Mesirow, CTIA vice president and show director. “The mobile industry is undergoing rapid innovation and the E-Tech Awards honor the latest products and services for a truly mobile life.”

Jon Fortt, technology reporter for CNBC, hosted the awards ceremony on the Exhibit Innovations Stage at International CTIA WIRELESS. Media and industry analysts judged the entries based on innovation, functionality, technological importance, implementation and overall “wow” factor. Many of the awards submissions are on display in the Emerging Technology Zone during International CTIA WIRELESS 2011, and all the submissions may be viewed at www.ctiashow.com/awards.

The 2011 CTIA E-Tech Awards winners are:

MOBILE APPLICATIONS

Health, Wellness & Fitness

• First: The Telcare Cellular-Enabled Blood Glucose Meter, Telcare, Inc.
• Second: WellDoc Diabetes Manager System, WellDoc
• Third: Alcatel-Lucent TeleHealth Manager, Alcatel-Lucent

Mobile Commerce

• First: Key Ring Reward Cards, Mobestream Media
• Second: BilltoMobile™, BilltoMobile
• Third: aisle411, aisle411

Productivity, Utility and Public Safety

• First: LogMeIn Ignition, LogMeIn, Inc.
• Second: SwiftKey Tablet, TouchType Ltd.
• Third: GadgetTrak, ActiveTrak

Social Networking/Content/Entertainment

• First: Viewdle SocialCamera, Viewdle
• Second: Muve Music from Cricket, Cricket Communications/Leap Wireless, Int.
• Third: Digimarc Discover, Digimarc

MOBILE CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

Accessories

• First: Novatel Wireless 4G MiFi Intelligent Mobile Hotspot, Novatel Wireless
• Second: Jabra STONE2, Jabra
• Third: Samsung 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot, Samsung Telecommunications America

Fashion & Lifestyle Products

• First: ZuniConnect Travel, ZuniDigital, Inc.
• Second: ZOMM, ZOMM, LLC

Phones/Smartphones

• First: Motorola ATRIX 4G, Motorola Mobility
• Second: LG Thrill ™ 4G, LG Mobile Phones
• Third: HTC ThunderBolt, HTC

Tablets/Netbooks/Embedded Wireless Devices

• First: MOTOROLA XOOM, Motorola Mobility
• Second: AT&T-connected Vitality GlowCaps, AT&T
• Third: T-Mobile® G-Slate™ with Google™ by LG, LG Mobile Phones

ENTERPRISE & VERTICAL MARKET

General Business

• First: TerreStar GENUS, TerreStar
• Second: Roambi ES3 v3.1, MeLLmo
• Third: Symantec Next Generation Network Protection, Symantec

Healthcare & Wellness

• First: Telcare’s Diabetes Disease Management Solution, Telcare, Inc.
• Second: Reflection, powered by Aframe Digital, Reflection Solutions
• Third: Bluetooth v4.0 with low energy technology, Bluetooth SIG

Mobile Marketing or Advertising

• First: Mobile Marketing Console (MMC), ZOS Communications
• Second: Appcelerator Titanium Commerce, Appcelerator
• Third: miSpot for Advertisers, GoldSpot Media

Green Telecom & Smart Energy Solutions, Applications and Hardware

• First: WYSIPS – What You See Is Photovoltaic Surface, WYSIPS SAS
• Second: LilyPad, Wireless NRG, LLC
• Third: E-2500 Fuel Cell System, ReliOn

INFRASTRUCTURE

In-Building Wireless/Wi-Fi/LAN

• First: Powerwave 4G MIMO Active Array Antenna, Powerwave Technologies
• Second: Powerwave LTE Picocell, Powerwave Technologies
• Third: ZTE Gecko, ZTE Corporation

Wide Area Network

• First: Alcatel-Lucent Light Radio, Alcatel-Lucent
• Second: Smart WLAN Connectivity, Nokia Siemens Networks
• Third: Nokia Siemens Networks Flexi Multiradio 10 Base Station, Nokia Siemens Networks

Mobestream Media, the company behind the highly successful mobile app Key Ring, has raised $1.75 million according to an SEC Form D filing uncovered by launchDFW and confirmed by founder Chris Fagan in an interview this morning.

Key Ring is an application that allows you to keep all of your loyalty and rewards cards, that usually take up space in your wallet or keychain, digitally on your mobile device. The app runs on both the iPhone and Android devices currently.

Mobestream was a member of Tech Wildcatters’ first class, where they received $25,000 in seed money and 12 weeks of mentorship before presenting their company in front of a number of angel investors and venture capitalists. Fagan, however, attributes their ability to raise the cash to a pre-existing relationship with the folks at Austin Ventures, the only investor in the round.

“We had initially spoken with Austin Ventures before entering the [Tech Wildcatters] program. We had built up a pretty large user base and they were really interested,” said Fagan.

The company actually ended up raising more money than they had initially anticipated, but will use the extra cash to accelerate hiring and continue their explosive growth. They’ve already made a few key hires, including Bobby Billman who is a former VP of Marketing at Samsung Mobile.

In addition to the hiring spree (check their open positions here) Key Ring will be using the money to quickly expand to other platforms including Windows Phone 7 and Blackberry.

The company has seen phenomenal growth, with well over a million users and corporate partners coming on board in droves. They’ve also introduced coupons and offers within the app and have delivered an astonishing 5 million of those over the past 6 weeks.

For us here at launchDFW, it’s exciting to see more companies being funded in the area. Congratulations to the Key Ring crew!

KeyRing, the mobile loyalty program app from Mobestream Media, just announced today that they’ve partnered with Mooyah Burgers & Fries to bring the Mooyah Moo Croo program to your smartphone.

From the KeyRing blog:

MOOYAH Burgers, Fries, and Shakes has partnered with Key Ring to develop an innovative solution to deliver and manage a loyalty reward program for smartphone users. Customers who sign up for the MOOYAH Moo Croo loyalty program via a quick and simple Key Ring Reward Card application for iphone and Android smart phones immediately receive a coupon, establishing an instant reward relationship between the customer and the restaurant.

Get step by step instructions on signing up and redeeming offers here.