T-Mobile retail stores now carrying the Motorola PEBL

By John Saria

Motorola and T-Mobile have announced the nationwide availability of the Motorola PEBL at T-Mobile retail stores and select authorized dealers, in addition to its online availability at http://www.t-mobile.com/.

Shaped by nature and inspired by the feel of a stone worn smooth by water, the Motorola PEBL captures attention for its innovative form with rounded edges, a vertical external display and unique dual-hinge mechanism for effortless, one-handed opening. Coupled with T-Mobile's Get More(R) offering, the Motorola PEBL will enable consumers to experience the best of mobile style and service with access to the latest in imaging, messaging and more.*

*Network and/or SIM card dependent feature, not available in all areas. Airtime, data charges, and/or additional charges may apply.

"The Motorola PEBL is the next icon in our design portfolio, featuring a truly fresh oval shape with rich multimedia and connectivity features," said Jim Wicks, vice president, Consumer Design Experience, Motorola, Inc. "Simple and sophisticated, the PEBL emphasizes design to create a one-of-a-kind experience for T-Mobile customers."

Motorola V325 now available through Verizon Wireless

By Dave Lampert

Motorola and Verizon Wireless have announced the availability of the sleek Motorola V325.

The V325 is a one of a kind flip phone that places the latest in technology and style in the palm of your hand. Featuring a chic brushed metal and soft touch finish, the Motorola V325 boasts an integrated camera with self-portrait and color effects, high resolution color display and outstanding call performance. The phone also features 30 megabytes of onboard memory and is Get It Now(R)-enabled so customers can check out and download hundreds of ring tones, games, productivity tools and more.*

The Motorola V325 is the only device that currently offers Verizon Wireless' new Get It Now Location Based Services application, VZ Navigator(TM). With VZ Navigator, Verizon Wireless customers can see a map of their current location or an address in the U.S., locate places such as restaurants, gas stations, banks and other points-of-interest relative to their location, plus hear turn-by-turn navigation with audible voice directions to an address in the U.S. Using Global Positioning System (GPS) and Verizon Wireless' network, VZ Navigator securely communicates valuable location information to you across the wireless network based on the day of week, time of day and other privacy settings that you establish and manage right from your handset, with all the added conveniences of voice and data mobility at a fraction of the cost of alternative, expensive GPS devices.*

The Motorola V325 is available for $79.99 after $50 mail-in rebate and a two-year customer agreement. VZ Navigator is available in the getGOING shopping aisle of the Get It Now virtual store beginning today for $9.99 for unlimited monthly access, or $2.99 for 24-hour use. Customers can download the application directly to their Motorola V325.

* Network dependent feature, not available in all areas. Airtime, data charges, and/or additional charges may apply.

Rugged iPod nano and video cases offered by OtterBox

By Brad Newnham

Otter Products has released the, waterproof and drop-resistant, OtterBox for iPod video and OtterBox for iPod nano cases.

Now iPod video and nano users can take their iPods hiking, biking, to the gym, beach, on vacation and more! Suggested retail is $49.95 for the OtterBox for iPod video and $39.95 for the nano case.

Similar to others in the OtterBox for iPod line, the video and nano cases offer an interactive membrane for Click Wheel access and a hard screen cover to shield the display. Rubber lining inside the case cradles the iPod and a secure-close latch adds extra protection.

Cases also allow the use of any style headphone and when combined with waterproof headphones, they can even go swimming! Each case includes a belt clip for easy carrying and optional armbands are available for $14.95.

"The OtterBox for iPod allows iPod users to take their music, photos and movies anywhere without fear of damaging their valuable technology," said Curt Richardson, CEO of Otter Products, LLC. "These cases completely transform delicate iPods into rugged devices."

Wal-Mart stores now offering BRATZ MOBILE phones

By Jessica Kinsey

MGA Entertainment with Ztar Mobile are shipping the BRATZ MOBILE phones to select Wal-Mart locations nationwide. The BRATZ MOBILE phone is manufactured by Sony Ericsson and has a suggested retail price is $69.99.

BRATZ MOBILE phones let young girls easily stay in touch with parents and friends. They are completely customized with exclusive BRATZ wallpapers featuring JADE, CLOE, YASMIN and SASHA, voice ring tones by ROXXI and SASHA, screen savers and BRATZ custom skins featuring BRATZ doll favorites.

Features:

Easy to understand and affordable rate plan options

Easy to refill airtime minutes, via a credit card

No contracts or other commitments

Full featured Sony Ericsson T290 handset with color screen

Full voice services (Voice Mail, Caller ID, Call Waiting and Three-way Calling)

Text Messaging

Instant Messaging

Internet browsing

Parental control with ability to restrict calls only to those numbers a parent programs into the phone memory using a security PIN

Emergency calls to 911 always

"This is a great opportunity for BRATZ fans, as we believe BRATZ MOBILE phones will appeal to girls' emerging sense of fashion and friendship," said Isaac Larian, CEO of MGA Entertainment. "While our young consumers love staying in the loop with the latest gossip, the most important feature is that the BRATZ MOBILE phone works across the United States and it is an excellent and economical safety tool for parents."

Verizon Wireless CDM8945 Music Phone announced

By John Saria

Verizon Wireless and UTStarcom announced the availability of the Music on Demand (MOD) and Video on Demand (VOD)-capable handset CDM8945 Music Phone. The CDM8945 Music Phone features Verizon Wireless' newly launched V CAST Music service, which runs on Verizon Wireless' EV-DO broadband network, the most award-winning wireless broadband network in the nation, available to about 150 million people in 180 major metropolitan markets.

Using the Verizon Wireless CDM8945 Music Phone, V CAST Music customers can download music directly to the phone or transfer it from a Windows(R) XP PC. With additional memory of up to 256 MB available on an easily-accessible TransFlash(TM) card (not included), consumers can have instant access to large playlists of their favorite tunes from V CAST Music anywhere, anytime they carry their shiny, black CDM8945 handset. Songs purchased from V CAST Music from the PC cost $0.99 and may be transferred to the phone via USB cable. Song purchases made from the handset cost $1.99 for a copy sent immediately to the phone and a second sent to the PC for download.

The phone is also capable of streaming mobile video and 3D gaming, available through Verizon Wireless' V CAST service, the nation's first wireless broadband multimedia service. In addition, the phone features a built-in 330K pixel digital camera with flash that can take still images or capture video. Photos can be stored on the TransFlash card and downloaded directly to a PC with a card reader.

The distinctive-looking handset features dual color displays. Its 260K- color TFT LCD main screen measuring two inches, provides easy reading and a rich, full-color experience for optimal viewing of playlists, videos, games, photos, text messages and Web pages. Its one-inch 65K color CSTN outer display allows for easy viewing of incoming caller ID, analog or digital clocks, and message alerts.

"The CDM8945 Music Phone is as innovative as Verizon Wireless' new V CAST Music. This stylish handset will enable Verizon Wireless to make V CAST Music available to more of its existing and new, music-loving subscribers," said Philip Christopher, president of UTStarcom Personal Communications Division.

Sprint launches three new mobile chat services

By Jessica Kinsey

Sprint has announced that customers of Sprint now have three new ways to use their phones to meet, greet and chat with people across the street or across the globe. The new mobile chat services Jumbuck Island from Jumbuck Entertainment (ASX: JMB), The Lounges from AirG, and Webdate Mobile from Trilibis Mobile will be available for Sprint PCS Vision(SM) and Sprint Power Vision(SM) subscribers. Each service features an exclusive element available only through Sprint.

Jumbuck Island
Jumbuck Island is an innovative new 3D wireless chat service, exclusive to Sprint for the first three months. The first of its kind on wireless phones in the United States, Jumbuck Island brings elements from massively popular multiplayer PC games and Internet chatrooms into one service. Users of the service can customize their appearance and choose from different avatars to represent themselves. Once on the island, users can wander around the different areas, including beaches, cruise ships and waterfalls, and send public messages or chat with other users in private one-on-ones. Jumbuck Island is available for $3.99 per month.

The Lounges
The Lounges is the first segmented mobile community in North America, exclusive to Sprint for the first year. Created by AirG, The Lounges let Sprint users connect with other mobile users in any of three fun community chat lounges Sports, Latino, and Friends right on their mobile phone. The Sports Lounge is for all sports fans looking to chat about their favorite sports and teams. The Latino Lounge is a Spanish-language community where users can chat in Spanish, and the Friends Lounge is a general discussion community where users can make new friends, flirt and maybe even find a date. The Lounges include multiple features such as instant messaging, photo profiles, presence, user search, and public and private messaging with AirG's existing 7 million community users. The Lounges are free for the first month and $3.99 for additional months.

Webdate Mobile
Webdate Mobile, enabled by Trilibis, is the world's largest mobile dating service, which gives users anytime, anywhere access to one of the most popular online dating communities, including complete personals with photos, profile searches and browsing and anonymous messaging to other Webdate members. Webdate Mobile lets subscribers search for singles in their area, view members' photos and full profiles, check messages in the Webdate inbox and send messages to any of Webdate's 5 million members. Among the new features in the Sprint version are MyWebdate, which presents suggested matches based on one's profile preferences, and New Faces, which provides a quick view of new members to join in the user's locale. Webdate Mobile is available for $4.99 per month.

"As mobile chat services become more and more popular, customers are asking for more ways to use the services to stay connected and meet new people while on the go," said John Styers director of Data Services for Messaging and Imaging for Sprint. "These three new services from Jumbuck, AirG and Trilibis give Sprint customers unique ways to reach others locally or around the world, whether it's to find people with common interests or find a date. It's just one more way Sprint is bringing exclusive services to our customers."

"Mobile chat services are a natural extension of online communities," said Linda Barrabee, senior analyst, Yankee Group Wireless/Mobile US. "I expect to see that just as with other mobile services that have been at the intersection of online and mobile experiences, ubiquity drives greater demand."

""One of the future growth areas of wireless will be in social networking services, like mobile dating," said Abe Smilowitz, COO of Webdate. "Webdate is proud to work with Sprint to offer innovative mobile services that help people connect and get to know each other while on the go."

Treo 650 Smartphone launches in Colombia through Comcel

By Dave Lampert

Palm has announced that the Treo(TM) 650 smartphone is now available in the country through Comcel, a leading cellular operator in Colombia.

Palm has recently launched the Treo 650 smartphone throughout the region. The Treo 650 is an 'all-in-one' quad-band smartphone specially designed to operate with EDGE network operators (Enhanced Data for Global Evolution).(1)

Mobile DTV Alliance formed by Intel, Modeo, Motorola, Nokia and Texas Instruments

By Brad Newnham

Intel, Modeo, Motorola, Nokia and Texas Instruments have announced the formation of new organization created to promote the growth and evolution of Digital Video Broadcasting - Handheld (DVB-H), an open procedure standard for broadcast digital TV reception on mobile devices. The new organization is called the Mobile DTV Alliance.

As mobile video entertainment gains increased awareness and achieves greater availability, the Alliance will focus on promoting the best practices and open standards that deliver premium-quality broadcast television to mobile devices for the North American market.

An open procedure, industry-supported standard is expected to foster growth throughout the wireless market with more choices across the value chain from silicon, handsets, services and more. This should allow mobile DTV handsets and services to reach the mass market faster and at a lower cost to consumers.

Using mobile devices capable of decoding DVB-H signals, users will be able to receive live TV programming from the mobile TV function directly on their phone and other devices. In addition, users will benefit from on-demand and interactive programming that would utilize the cellular network, thereby increasing revenue opportunities for operators. The DVB-H standard benefits operators by preserving cellular network bandwidth for voice and other data services. Furthermore, mobile broadcast TV together with 2.5G and 3G networks offer an exceptional user experience and more efficient utilization of operators' spectrum and resources.

"The mobile TV market is heating up, with both trials and deployments accelerating over the next 12-18 months," said David Linsalata, Research Analyst for Mobile Markets at IDC. "The support of key industry players in promoting the advantages of the DVB-H standard will significantly aid mobile TV deployment efforts in North America."

indie911 mobile delivers cutting-edge programming to mobile devices

By Jessica Kinsey

indie911 has announced plans at MIDEMNET to launch "indie911 mobile" -- a subsidiary of indie911 focused on creating cutting-edge programming specifically for the small screen. The primary format of indie911's programming will take place on "PLUG" -- a mobile music and video channel comprising short, interstitials combining music videos, episodic television and movie shorts.

Geared toward younger, tech-savvy consumers, PLUG will be distributed directly to mobile devices with the ability to display original video and audio programming via cell phones, video iPods, and Sony's Play station handheld.

Since its initial launch as a streaming music network in March 2004, indie911 has quickly grown into one of the most trusted sources for independent music, animation and video, perhaps due to the company's loyal user base. Driven almost entirely by word of mouth, indie911.com now receives over 4 million monthly visitors.

"Most of the media content that reaches the eyes and ears of mass audiences is delivered by large corporations whose very structure often dictates its content," indie911's founder and CEO Justin Goldberg says. "indie911 caters to the creativity that thrives outside of the mainstream; the best artists and audiences usually do. It's an exciting time to be in this business and at MIDEMNET, where we hope to expand our distribution channels."

BenQ S75 and SL75 mobile phones to offer state-of-the-art audio software

By John Saria

The new BenQ S75 and SL75 Mobile phones will be delivered with state-of-the-art MPEG-4 HE-AAC v2 audio software from Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS. The state-of-the-art MPEG-4 HE-AAC v2 audio software from Fraunhofer Institute will enable almost unlimited mobile music experience to consumers.

MPEG-4 High Efficiency Advanced Audio Codec v2, based on substantial contributions by Fraunhofer IIS, is today's most efficient audio compression technology within the MPEG-4 multimedia standard. The very low bit-rate audio codec provides high quality in stereo at 32 kbit/s. These bitrates enable mobile operators to offer full-length, high-quality music on their streaming or download services. Thus consumers can enjoy the content immediately, without waiting for it to download from their computers.

"With Fraunhofer's MPEG-4 HE-AAC v2 implementation, BenQ Mobile products S75 and SL75 will offer consumers a quality listening experience on handheld devices. HE-AAC v2 compression technology is a perfect match for mobile entertainment services", said Stefan Geyersberger, Manager IP Licensing and New Business at Fraunhofer IIS.