BlackBerry Connect for the Palm Treo 650 Smartphone offered by Movistar in Spain

By Sara Griffin

Telefonica Moviles Espana will now offer the BlackBerry Connect software for the Palm Treo 650 smartphone in Spain.

With BlackBerry Connect, movistar's enterprise and multinational customers will benefit from a wider range of devices compatible with BlackBerry services from movistar.

With this expansion of the "BlackBerry from movistar" portfolio, Treo 650 smartphone customers can now benefit from many popular features of the "push"-based BlackBerry architecture via BlackBerry Enterprise Server(TM). For corporate customers, BlackBerry Enterprise Server software tightly integrates with Microsoft(R) Exchange and IBM Lotus(R) Domino(R) and works with existing enterprise systems to enable secure, push-based wireless access to email and other corporate data.

"Demand for wireless email solutions is driven by the need for increased productivity amongst movistar's enterprise customers," said Luis Ezcurra, general director of market development and marketing for Telefonica Moviles Espana. "Movistar believes that working closely with Palm and RIM to provide the feature-rich Treo 650 with BlackBerry Connect functionality will address this demand, as enterprise customers are very interested in investing in solutions that support their business, operational and IT objectives."

MobiTV service for Windows Mobile powered phones and devices begins

By Brad Newnham

MobiTV has announced the availability of MobiTV service for Windows Mobile powered phones and devices.

MobiTV and Microsoft recently demonstrated the MobiTV service on Windows Mobile-powered devices, as well as on the Microsoft Windows Media platform for the launch of MobiTV's new PC service.

Windows Mobile 5.0 Smartphones feature full-screen viewing, a home-like electronic programming guide and much more.

MobiTV is available on devices including the Sprint 6700, Cingular 2125, Motorola Q and Palm's Treo 700w, consumers of MobiTV on Windows Mobile powered devices can access a broad range of channels from top-tier content providers.

"Windows Mobile enables people to have a single device that goes beyond email and can be customized to suit their active lifestyle," said James Pratt, lead product manager, Microsoft Corporation. "The combination of Windows Mobile and MobiTV delivers a rich multimedia experience empowering people to take their favorite entertainment with them wherever they go."

Red Dot: Best of the Best Award given to the Nokia 8800

By John Saria

Nokia's 8800 mobile phone has won the "best of the best" prize at the red dot design awards, the world's largest design competition. 

The 8800 beat off all competition to become the only mobile phone to receive this renowned design quality award. 

Out of 2,068 products submitted to the product design 2006 awards, only 36 received the coveted best of the best award for the best design in their category. In addition, 485 products were given the "red dot" seal of quality design and among the winners was the Nokia N90 that's renowned for adding a twist to the classic clamshell.

The Nokia 8800 was singled out for its innovative, high quality design as well as for its smooth deskstand.  It is the first mobile phone to use stainless steel and mineral glass in its sleekly sculpted body. Its features include a screen using more than 260,000 different colors to give striking clarity, and ringtones created by Ryuichi Sakamoto one of the world's leading composers.

  Dr. Peter Zec, President of Icsid and initiator of the red dot design award said, "Only products with outstanding design qualities are rewarded with a red dot best of the best award. With its innovative use of precious material, combined with extraordinary high quality usability and features, the Nokia 8800 really does represent design excellence."

Nokia Podcasting Application introduced

By Brad Newnham

Nokia has introduced the beta release of the Nokia Podcasting Application. They state that the new application makes it easy to discover and download podcasting content on the go.

Available for the Nokia N91 and other Nokia S60 3rd edition devices, the application enables people to find and download supported audio and video podcasts directly to your Nokia Nseries multimedia computer. The free application can be downloaded from www.nokia.com/podcasting.

"Podcasting is a rapidly growing communications medium with more and more people accessing and creating them every day. Many news agencies, for instance, already offer podcasts on a wide range of topics," says Tommi Mustonen, Director, Multimedia, Nokia. "We're adding our support by creating a mobile application that makes it easy to discover and search for podcasts, download podcasts over the air, and subscribe to automatic updates."

Eva Longoria, Jessica Simpson, and Paris Hilton help launch the T-Mobile Sidekick 3

By Sara Griffin

T-Mobile USA has unveiled the T-Mobile Sidekick 3. The T-Mobile Sidekick 3 is described as the  next generation of its iconic T-Mobile Sidekick device, at an exclusive, invite-only launch event last night at the Palladium in Hollywood.

An elite crowd of A-list stars such as Nicole Richie, Mischa Barton and Serena Williams got the first look at the sleeker 'ultimate communications device' -- a social lifeline that incorporates enhanced communications features to enable individuals to stay connected on their terms.

To kick off the hottest launch event of the year, T-Mobile brought to life an ultimate "Dream World", transforming an indoor space and creating an outdoor environment of fantasy with topiary animals, colorful light projections and even real grass and trees; where spontaneity, imaginations and fun ran wild in celebration of the T-Mobile Sidekick 3. Guests also were encouraged to bring in their old wireless devices and recycle them through the T-Mobile Get More, Give More recycling program. Net proceeds from the recycling program benefit T-Mobile Huddle Up, a nationwide community outreach program which helps kids from single-parent families in high-need, urban communities connect to positive people, places and programs.

For guests' aural pleasures, Scottish rockers The Futureheads opened a night of electrifying performances with headliners She Wants Revenge hitting the stage and bringing the house down with an exciting performance. A playground complete with swings, a slide and sandbox let celebrities such as Kristin Cavallari and Nick Cannon experience the carefree thrill of childhood again, while carnival games gave guests a chance to play and win prizes as they walked along the boardwalk. Rachel Bilson, Hilary and Haylie Duff admired the new T-Mobile Sidekick 3 while Jessica Simpson and Eva Longoria gossiped together. Best friends Mischa Barton and Nicole Richie danced the night away to DJ AM spinning on the turntables. Paris Hilton posed in the photo booth as Travis Barker, Snoop Dogg and Joaquin Phoenix lounged nearby under the watchful eyes of the girls swinging gracefully above the bar.

"Just in time for summer, the T-Mobile Sidekick 3 is an ideal device to kick-start fun summer plans and instantly connect to friends," said Chidam Chidambaram, vice president, Marketing, T-Mobile USA, Inc.

K610im is Sony Ericsson’s first GSM/UMTS phone to offer full support for i-mode

By John Saria

Sony Ericsson has announced it’s first GSM/UMTS phone to offer full support for i-mode, the K610im.

The operator service that delivers a richer experience for handling iMail, browsing the Internet and viewing content. Wrapped in desirable Carbon Black casing, this elegantly designed phone is all about quality, from the feel of the keypad to the sharp, crisp image display. K610im is a modern classic true to its Sony Ericsson heritage – a highly desirable 3G handset that is accessible to a wide audience.

"We are extremely pleased that a leading brand vendor such as Sony Ericsson is to offer market leading handsets with full support for i-mode services. Sony Ericsson has achieved an excellent integration of the i-mode service portfolio and the result is a compelling consumer offering." said Mr. Takeshi Natsuno, Senior Vice President, Managing Director, Multimedia Services, NTT DoCoMo, Inc.

World's first globally adopted open mobile Linux platform to be created

By Dave Lampert

Motorola, NEC, NTT DoCoMo, Panasonic Mobile Communications, Samsung Electronics, and Vodafone have announced that they intend to establish the world's first global, open Linux-based software platform for mobile devices.

A world-class Linux-based platform aims to provide key benefits for the mobile industry including lower development costs, increased flexibility, and a richer mobile ecosystem -- all of which contribute to the group's ultimate objective of creating compelling, differentiated and enhanced consumer experiences.

To help guide these efforts, the companies are also announcing their intent to form an independent foundation. The founder companies' objective is to realize the development of the platform based on the contributions of all interested stakeholders through an open and transparent process. Focusing primarily on the joint development and marketing of an API specification, architecture, supporting source code-based reference implementation components and tools, the foundation intends to leverage the benefits of community-based and proprietary development.

Once established, the foundation aims to provide an API specification, architecture, references to open source code, new source code-based reference implementation components (to be developed and committed by foundation members) and specifications for referenced third party software. The foundation also plans to provide a test suite to assess and demonstrate product conformance to the platform specification.

While the initial foundation members plan to be primarily responsible for delivering the development of the first reference implementation of the mobile operating platform, they will also actively encourage membership participation of other companies committed to its development. More information about how others can join the foundation will be made available at a later date.

Motorola and T-Mobile announce the availability of the V195

By Brad Newnham

Motorola  and T-Mobile USA have announced the nationwide availability of the Motorola V195, exclusively from T-Mobile.

Whether traveling around the world or across town, the Motorola V195 is an ideal mobile phone with quad band "world phone" capabilities, Class 1 Bluetooth(R) wireless technology and speakerphone for hands-free communication.

With its classic clamshell design and compact size, the Motorola V195 has a soft-touch finish for a luxurious tactile feel. A 1.7-inch color screen, ergonomic keypad, loud, clear audio and a powerful battery ensures the Motorola V195 provides the essentials when it comes to mobile communication.

The V195 also supports AOL Instant Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger, which along with Class 1 Bluetooth capability and a speaker phone allows consumers to effortlessly stay in touch with friends and family.

"We are proud to add the Motorola V195 to our portfolio of flexible and user-friendly phones at an affordable price," said Kathleen Finato, Senior Director, North America Marketing, Mobile Devices, Motorola, Inc. "The Motorola V195 offers connectivity and effortless mobility with a rich and advanced feature set -- the perfect companion for a busy life."

Cingular 8125 and 2125 devices to offer Microsoft Direct Push Technology

By Sara Griffin

Cingular Wireless said they will offer its business customers access to corporate e-mail via Direct Push Technology, a feature of Microsoft(R) Windows Mobile(R) 5.0 with the Messaging and Security Feature Pack (MSFP) upgrade, beginning on June 19, 2006.

The solution initially will be available on two of the hottest wireless devices in the market today: the Cingular 8100 series Pocket PC and Cingular 2125 Smartphone. Direct Push Technology delivers an enhanced mobile experience to organizations that use Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 by pushing updates to e-mail, calendar items, contacts and tasks as they arrive directly from the Exchange Server to the devices. MSFP additionally enhances these Windows Mobile-powered Cingular Wireless devices by delivering improved device management and added security features for IT administrators, like over-the- air device password policy enforcement and remote wipe of the device in case of loss or theft.

Corporate customers will be able to access e-mail and other Microsoft Office Outlook(R)-related functions via new solution-specific rate plans. These rate plans will identify Direct Push Technology customers and qualify them for specialized customer service and technical support, a key part of the Cingular Wireless e-mail offering.

"Microsoft Direct Push Technology delivers a great wireless email capability that is seamlessly integrated with Exchange Server 2003. This greatly improves the ability of Cingular corporate customers to rapidly deploy wireless e-mail by simplifying the enterprise messaging architecture," said Michael Woodward, Executive Director of Mobile Professional Solutions, for Cingular Wireless. "We believe this important and powerful addition to Cingular's business solutions portfolio will lead to broader adoption of wireless e-mail in the enterprise sector and further extend Cingular's worldwide market share leadership in this space."

Chaperone service launched by Verizon Wireless

By Sara Griffin

Verizon Wireless has announced it is offering Chaperone services to help parents keep in touch with their children.  They say that Chaperone services gives parents new tools to help identify the whereabouts of their young children's LG Migo phones, while also providing a means of communication by allowing children to place calls to important contacts with the simple touch of a button on their funky green LG Migo phones.

Based on Global Positioning System (GPS) data, Chaperone is designed to supplement the parameters parents have already established with their children with two options, Chaperone Child Locator and Chaperone with Child Zone(SM). The availability of Chaperone with Child Zone marks the first time a wireless service allows parents to establish predetermined areas in which a child can travel with their Migo phone and automatically alert the parent about the location of the device when it enters or leaves the defined area.