CTIA 2007 -- Sprint Nextel has just taken the music plunge, on song prices. In like fashion to Apple's famous Music store -- iTunes, they have lowered the price of over-the-air music downloads -- via the Sprint Music Store to .99 cents per song. This now matches the digital music leader Apple, and provides competition to ATT's up-and-coming iPhone launch. Sprint Music Store downloads were previously priced at $2.50 per song. This announcement comes in tandem with Sprint's release of the Samsung UpStage mobile phone-mp3 player. This also happened on the same day that as AT&T announced they would offer Free 'Napster To Go' on select handsets. Like before, the price is consistent across the 1.4 milliion songs in their music catalog. This also includes the bonus feature of allowing another copy of the song downloaded to a Windows personal computer.

To date Sprint customers have downloaded over 15 million songs.

Posted by mobilemodo at 09:36 PM | Permalink Posted to Mobile Music | News | Sprint Nextel

3GSM World Congress -- It has been announced that the Motorola W205 -- a new consumer focused mobile handset will be released with only basic features. It doesn't quite go as low end as the FONE, but the features appear to be circa 2003, not 2007.

Features Include:
Quad band GSM frequency
128×128 65k color CSTN display screen
Speakerphone External
Memory for 750 SMS messages

Motorola says they will begin shipping the W205 phone during 1Q, 2007. Exact pricing has not been announced, but it should be a low entry point. Motorola has also announced in the W series line -- the W510/W215.

Posted by mobilemodo at 05:36 PM | Permalink Posted to 3GSM | Motorola | News

T-Mobile USA has announced Q4 results -- eclipsing the 25 million subscriber milestone for the first time. The carrier is by far the smallest of the four national wireless telecoms by a long shot, but is adding customers at a fast mobile clip. Cingular, the nation's largest carrier, recently announced they have surpassed the 60 million+ subscriber mark.

T-Mobile released the customer milestone new along with the big Q4 2006 earnings statement. Several interesting metrics were included:

1) 900k net new customers in Q4; nearly 800k of those were post paid
2) 1.6 million BlackBerry and Sidekick users -- data centric
3) Churn has remained the same versus the year ago period

Posted by mobilemodo at 09:21 AM | Permalink Posted to News | T-Mobile

Motorola has signed an agreement with Texas Instruments for chips to power future mobile phones. Previously Motorola has relied on silicon from Freescale, a company that Motorola spun off in 2003. Motorola has been a little slow in getting advanced 3G phones to the market -- but won't be left behind in 2007. From a financial perspective, this agreement won't help the bottom line much in 2007 -- Motorola handsets based on the new Texas Instruments chips will begin shipping in 2008.

TI's embedded chips will help launch both 3G and WiMAX (802.16e) data connectivity to major telecom players like Sprint Nextel. Motorola, along with Intel is one of the early adopters of next generation WiMAX and expects to begin shipping a new line of 802.16e mobile devices next year when Sprint is heavily rolling out 4G. Motorola Labs division is the force behind this recent announcement, continuing to push innovation in the wireless space.

Posted by mobilemodo at 09:02 AM | Permalink Posted to Motorola | News

Sprint has officially announced the next smartphone release -- dubbed the Motorola Q. The Moto Q had been limited exclusively to Verizon Wireless (CDMA carrier) since it was launched in May of 2006. Sprint plans to start shipping the phone to its direct business channels in late January -- and expects to have "The Q" in retail channels starting in February.

The Motorola Q by Sprint features:
Slim Design: 4.6H x 2.5W x 0.45D inches (thick as a pencil)
Windows Mobile 5.0
miniSD card slot bulit-in
EVDO 3G data speeds
1.3 megapixel camera (MP)
Bluetooth Wireless

See Also -- FCC Approves Moto Q, Verizon

Posted by mobilemodo at 07:40 PM | Permalink Posted to 3G | Motorola | News | Sprint Nextel

Sprint Nextel has just launched debuted the Sanyo SCP-7000, a slight twist on the existing SCP-2400. The 7000 is basically a ruggedized version of the 2400 -- which also includes swappable faceplates. Both the 7000/2400 phones are entry-level wireless units that focus on basic voice functions. Sprint Nextel has also launched another CDMA based Sanyo handset today, the M1. Unlike the basic voice-centric focus of the 7000, the Sanyo M1 is a high-end music phone.

Sanyo SCP-2400 features include:
Rugged Dura-Grip antislip handset coating
Push-to-talk (aka ReadyLink)
Speakerphone capable
128×160 pixel display screen w/65k colors
Parental control option
Sprint is now selling the SCP-7000 for $30 with a 2-year contract agreement with $150 in instant savings applied. The Sanyo SCP-2400 is still available and is now being priced at $20.

Continue reading "Sanyo SCP-7000 launched by Sprint" »

Posted by mobilemodo at 10:57 PM | Permalink Posted to News | Sanyo | Sprint Nextel

Verizon Wireless adds a cheaper PEBL look-alike phone to the lineup, dubbed the Motrola W315. The first preview of the W315 was shown earlier this year at the CTIA 2006 conference. From purely a design perspective, the W315 is eerily reminiscient of the more expensive Moto PEBL with an external antenna attached.

Motorola W315 features include:
Speakerphone
128×160 pixel screen with 65k colors
Iconic soft finish (PEBL looki)

Verizon Wireless is now selling the Motorola W315 for $30 with a 2-year service agreement. The blue W315 is shown, but other colors are available (like shown below).

Continue reading "Motorola W315 debuts at Verizon Wireless" »

Posted by mobilemodo at 09:09 PM | Permalink Posted to CDMA | Motorola | News | Verizon

Verizon Wireless has just launch debuted 2 more colors of the so very popular LG Chocolate VX8500 cool phone. The new colors are officially named cherry and mint, but most people have been referring to these new skin mods as red and green Chocolate (rojo y verde chocolatte). These handsets join the previously available black and white variants of Verizon's snazzy line of LG Chocolate phones. All of the colors retain the same featureset.

The red and green models go on sale Friday, November 24th 2006 -- also known as Black Friday in the marketing world. All four of the Chocolate phone colors will be repriced @ $99.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate and new Verizon service contract.

Posted by mobilemodo at 01:30 PM | Permalink Posted to LG | News | Verizon

Verizon Wireless has continued its adoption of Adobe Flash Lite by launching several new Flash powered Get It Now applications. New software includes an app from the Weather Channel and a game based on NBC's 'The Office'. Currently just four phones (LG V, Motorola RAZR V3c/m and the Samsung a950) are compatible with the mobile flash lite apps -- but that list is expected to increase significantly once apps developers see how beneficial these flashy new tools are to customers. Ironically, the flagship LG Chocolate phone is not yet compatible -- despite using Adobe Flash mobile to power its graphical user interface (UI).

Adobe Flash Lite features include:
Flash Player 7 support
Multi-Platform support
Dynamic XML data
Persistent data
Powerful and dynamic media
Text enhancement
Shape drawing ActionScript API
Action Script 2.0 support
Synchronized device sound
Compressed SWFs
Tighter device integration

Verizon Wireless customers with a compatible mobile handset can find the new applications in the Verizon Get It Now Store.

Continue reading "Verizon Wireless supports Flash applications" »

Posted by mobilemodo at 02:24 PM | Permalink Posted to Mobile Applications | News | Verizon

Sprint has finally launched the Motorola RAZR. In this case it is the famed Moto RAZR V3m. Sprint Nextel Corporation is the last major US wireless carrier to carry Motorola's flagship phone -- and has taken a beating from investors this year for not putting this phone in the lineup. Sprint is also launching the KRZR and SLVR models shortly -- along with a whole new line of cell phones for the 2006 holiday season.

Motorola RAZR V3m features include:

EV-DO broadband high-speed data
GPS capable via Telenav Navigator
Bluetooth Wireless (headset & network)
1.3 megapixel camera
microSD card slot
Speakerphone
Sprint TV, NFL Mobile, Sprint Music Store

Sprint is charging $49.99 for the RAZR V3m handset after a $90 mail-in rebate and 2-year service lock-in contract. It's available now in stores and on the sprint website.

See Also -- Sprint announces Motorola RED RAZR V3m

Posted by mobilemodo at 10:57 AM | Permalink Posted to 3G | CDMA | Motorola | News | Sprint Nextel

Sprint has become the 1st US based carrier to launch the Motorola RED RAZR V3m, an exclusive special edition of the Moto RAZR. This Sprint exclusive RED MOTORAZR is part of the (PRODUCT) RED initiative. The RED group is headlined by U2 frontman Mr. Bono and raises money for those in Africa affected by HIV/AIDS. Sprint will pony up $17 for each handset sold towards this effort.

Features of the RED colored MOTORAZR:
1.3 mega-pixel camera
EVDO highspeed data connectivity
Bluetooth Wireless Capable
microSD slot

Sprint expects to start shipping the RED RAZR V3m starting early next month -- early November 2006. The RED MOTORAZR will be available for $64.99 with a 2-year contract -- or $304.99 with no contract.

The RAZR product launch by Sprint will be the first to showcase the deal announced earlier this year to launch Motorola CDMA RAZR's on the Sprint Network.

-- The Launch of the Sprint RED RAZR is in line with other recent high profile RED (PRODUCT) launches such as GAP RED lineup and Apple's iPod nano (PRODUCT) RED which retails for $199 with $10 being cut out for charity.

Posted by mobilemodo at 03:10 PM | Permalink Posted to 3G | CDMA | News | Sprint Nextel

Sprint Nextel publicly announced results for the second quarter. August marks one year since the acquisition and merger with Nextel. Sprint added to the bottom line -- 210k new post-paid wireless customers, compared to over 1.5m by Cingular and 1.8m by Verizon during Q2. More importantly, the average revenue per customer slid 6% from a year ago due to Affiliate acquisitions.

In response to the quarterly results, Sprint Nextel's COO (Len Lauer) noted that the company plans to expand its offering of Motorola handsets in the fourth quarter to help the consumer product offering. Specifically, they will expand into the RAZR Family of Motorola phones -- both the Q and SLVR were mentioned.The KRZR K1c (FCC approved) may also be included in this rumor.

Posted by mobilemodo at 12:05 PM | Permalink Posted to News | Sprint Nextel

Sprint Nextel has announced that they will roll out EV-DO Revision A 1 quarter earlier than previously anticipated. The faster 3G technology ( owned by Qualcomm) was originally going to be rolled out starting in the first quarter of 2007. Sprint plans to have its entire network upgraded to EV-DO revision A by the third quarter of 2007 -- which currently covers over 200 million customers.

Just last week Sprint successfully completed their first EV-DO Revision A data connection on the Sprint Power Vision network in San Diego, California. Additionally, Sprint has been demonstrating next generation applications such as IP video telephony, high performance push-to-talk (walkie-talkie service on CDMA), multi-user video conferencing, real time gaming and video streaming of both content and live web cams simultaneously.

Revision A gives EV-DO a speed boost -- most noticeable when uploading:
Revision 0 --> Revision A
Max download: 2Mbps --> 3.1Mpbs
Avg download: 400-700kbps --> 450-800kbps
Max upload: 144kbps --> 1.8Mbps
Avg upload: 70-144kbbs --> 300-400kbbs

Posted by mobilemodo at 10:19 AM | Permalink Posted to 3G | News | Sprint Nextel

Verizon has officially announced its full second quarter (2Q 2006) statement this morning, including the performance of the Verizon Wireless division. Verizon Wireless is a joint venture between Verizon and Vodafone (UK). The rumors to date that Vodafone will be selling it's 45% stake in Verizon Wireless have been unfounded according to wireless industry insiders.

The big news for Verizon Wireless' 2nd Quarter 2006 is that data revenues went beyond the $1 billion revenue threshold in the recent quarter. Overall data cashflow made up a key 13% of wireless revenue.

Second Quarter (2Q/2006) metrics:
1.8 million net new customers (Total of 54.8 million customers)
Revenue up 18% from a year ago
Average revenue per user (ARPU) $50.34
Churn just 1.13% overall and .87% for postpaid retail customers.

In the battle for the top of the wireless industry -- Verizon is now stating:

Verizon Wireless believes, based on publicly available information, that it has the most retail customers of any wireless carrier, with 52.6 million retail customers of its total 54.8 million customers.

Posted by mobilemodo at 11:01 AM | Permalink Posted to News | Verizon

Sprint has launched the Samsung A420 on the PCS side of their network (CDMA). This entry-level handset has all the basic features (they call it elegant features) that make it easy to use without all the snazzy features the high-end handsets showcase. The phone's main menu has been simplified so it is much easier to learn how to use the phone for beginners.

Features of the Samsung A420:
Simple Navigation Menu
Speakerphone (handsfree operation)
SMS text messaging enabled
Voice-Activated Dialing
128×160 65K color display screen
Internal Antenna (hidden)

Sprint is now selling the A420 for $169.99 and is free ($0) after instant savings ($150) are applied in addition to a $19.99 web-only discount. A web-only discount and a 2-year service contract must be signed in order to get the phone for free.

Posted by mobilemodo at 10:38 AM | Permalink Posted to News | Samsung | Sprint Nextel

The LG Chocolate is a spectacular new phone from Verizon Wireless. The handset has officially launched, and the advertising machine has already hit the streets in full swing. The Chocolate is for the musically savvy handset connoisseur. It has an iconic design with easy function that some are now evening calling it a "fashion phone".

LG Chocolate Features:
QVGA screen
Verizon EV-DO high-speed
Stereo Bluetooth (audio over bluetooth)
microSD card slot
1.3 megapixel camera.

Verizon Wireless will be selling the LG Chocolate for $149 if you sign a 2-year service agreement contract -- or $249.99 with a 1-year contract. Retail launch should start August 7th, in the meantime you can order exclusively online from Verizon Wireless Store/Chocolate.

Posted by mobilemodo at 09:57 AM | Permalink Posted to LG | News | Verizon

The Motorola RAZR K1 (code-name "Canary" -- "KRZR" in rumors) has been approved by the FCC (code ID -- IHDT56GT1). It is not known when Motorola will officially announce the K1 or the slider code-named Capri, but since the normally secretive company did not extend the confidentiality period with the FCC on the K1, it is expected to be soon.

RAZR K1 features:
Quadband GSM with EDGE
Bluetooth Wireless
microSD card slot (under battery cover)
2 megapixel camera

With the FCC approval, it's likely that Motorola will officially announce the RAZR K1 (GSM) soon. While the K1 is a GSM phone, a variant called the RAZR K1c (CDMA) is expected to debut on Verizon Wireless.

[via Phonescoop]

Posted by mobilemodo at 02:49 PM | Permalink Posted to 3G | Motorola | News

Garmin has just announced they will expand their flagship Garmin Mobile service offering. Garmin Mobile 3.0 is currently available to Sprint Nextel mobile subscribers (CDMA and iDEN respectively) with a compatible phone. The mobile software upgrade adds more mapping points of interest (POI) -- such as restaurants, fuel prices, weather and live traffic reports. Traffic data is automatically calculated into routing so that it can direct you to follow an alternative path that will route you around possible delays. Gas pricing information is tracked by compiling recent credit card transactions in the area being recorded by OPIS, a petroleum pricing group.

Garmin Mobile will give you turn-by-turn directions to any address located in the United Statess and Puerto Rico. With the latest 3.0 software update you will have access to over 6 million points of interest. The current pricing is set @ $9.99 per month for unlimited usage.

Posted by mobilemodo at 09:47 AM | Permalink Posted to Mobile Applications | News | Software Update | Sprint Nextel

The highly anticipated arrival of the new Sprint Nextel hybrid iDen/CDMA phone is fast approaching.
Hybrid phones give Nextel Walkie-Talkie users access to the powerful, feature-rich Sprint CDMA network for cellular calls and data applications, all in one handset.

Continue reading "Sprint to launch hybrid CDMA/iDEN mobile" »

Posted by mobilemodo at 04:30 PM | Permalink Posted to CDMA | Motorola | News | Sprint Nextel

Disney Mobile has unveiled their service and is now available via their website. The mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) has been in the works for quite some time and is taking aim at the emerging market of selling kid-phones to parents. Many of the unique features of Disney Mobile are aimed to parents that want to keep close tabs on their kids, such as a GPS tracking service much like Verizon Wireless' new Chaperone program.

The Pantech DM-P100 is the sole launch handset with the LG DM-L200 to follow shortly. The P100 lists for $59.99 after $90 in instant savings. Rate plans for a single handset vary from $39.99 (400 minutes) to $169.99 (3500 minutes). That fee includes unlimited use of most parental control features and 5 free GPS lookups per month.

Posted by mobilemodo at 02:03 PM | Permalink Posted to Disney Mobile | News

T-Mobile USA is getting in the game with kidConnect -- much like the services launched by Disney Mobile and Verizon Wireless's Chaperone service. These products are all aimed to help parents manage communication costs, kidConnect is basically a new kind of service plan that doesn't allow any overage fees.

The kidConnect $19.99 a month plan includes:
50 whenever minutes
Unlimited in-network calling (which is also played up as unlimited calling between parent and child)
Unlimited weekend calling

Text messaging is included in this offer, and will convert 4 outgoing texts per whenever minute (incoming messages are free). Once the 50 whenever minutes are used, the phone is unable to place calls outside of the network unless it's the weekend or the call is to 911. kidConnect is compatible with any T-Mobile handset.

Continue reading "T-Mobile USA introduces kidConnect" »

Posted by mobilemodo at 01:47 PM | Permalink Posted to News | T-Mobile

Embarq, the former Sprint Local Telephone Division has just launched wireless service through a MVNO relationship with Sprint Nextel Corporation. The company will now provide bundled service packages of wireline, wireless and internet services.

Embarq is providing simplified service plans starting at 19.95 a month. Depending on what plan is chosen, Embarq customers will be able to have free calling between their wireless and home phones. There's also a feature where any 5 numbers can be called for free, even if they are on other carriers.

Embarq is launching with a limited number of wireless phones -- only a subset of what Sprint offers. Current entry-level devices withfrom UT Starcom and LG plus the PPC 6700 smartphone.

Posted by mobilemodo at 10:43 AM | Permalink Posted to CDMA | Embarq Wireless | News | Sprint Nextel

Virgin Mobile USA will start swapping ads for airtime, similar to the concept Xero Mobile has been toutinng. This will be the first attempt to use ads by any of the major US Mobile carriers or MVNO's for that matter.

The Advertisements will be web-based streaming videos, SMS messages or questionnaires. It takes one 30-second video, two SMS messages or one minute anwering a questionnaire to get 1 minute of airtime. There is a maximum of 75 free minutes that can be earned towards an account each month. The advertiser lineup includes Microsoft’s Xbox, Pepsi-Cola, and the American Legacy Foundation.

Industry analysts still speculate -- Roger Entner with Ovum Research states: "The kinds of consumers willing to swap their time for airtime were not likely to be big spenders. If you’re too cheap to buy a minute of air time, how are you going to afford an Xbox?” Entner said. The people likely to earn minutes for free “are people who want to avoid costs at any cost.”

Nevertheless, Virgin's new dubbed "Sugarmama" is scheduled to be launched on June 14th.

Continue reading "Virgin Mobile launches ads for free airtime" »

Posted by mobilemodo at 10:19 AM | Permalink Posted to MVNO | Mobile Content | News | Virgin Mobile

The Sanyo SCP-2400 was announced by Sprint today. The 2400 may look like a conventional Sanyo flip-style phone, but the SCP-2400 has some cool parental control options that put the target age range somewhere between 8 and 12 years old. The parental controls make it really easy to program which calls you can send or recieve. Data services can also be restricted -- so parents can avoid surprise charges at the end of the month.

Sanyo 2400 features include:
1.1"×1.4" 65K color screen STN display
Ready Link CDMA push-to-talk
Voice dialing
Speakerphone capable

Sprint is charging $30 for the Sanyo SCP-2400 if you sign up for a new 2-year service agreement. It is scheduled to hit the stores in July.

Posted by mobilemodo at 11:21 PM | Permalink Posted to News | Sanyo | Sprint Nextel

Sprint Nextel has finally launched the BlackBerry 7130e, which is one of the latest 3G enabled handsets from RIM (Research In Motion). Verizon Wireless launched this handset exclusive back in November, 2005.

BlackBerry 7130e features:
EV-DO high-speed (Sprint Mobile Broadband) w/ tethered modem
Bluetooth Wireless
QWERTY keyboard w/ SureType predictive text
Speakerphone -- External
64MB memory built-in

The 7130e is now available through business channels and will be available on Sprint's online website soon. It is expected to be priced at $479 with $150 instant savings and $130 bonus savings for a final pricetag of $199 with discounts.

Sprint also announced that the BlackBerry 7250 (released in 2005) will now be an EV-DO capable device via a software update. The software upgrade is available to customers that purchased the BlackBerry device prior to May 1st.

Continue reading "BlackBerry 7130e launched by Sprint" »

Posted by mobilemodo at 11:03 AM | Permalink Posted to News | Sprint Nextel

Verizon Wireless has beat Sprint to the launch of the Palm Treo 700p. When Palm announced they would be releasing the Palm version of the Treo 700, Sprint said they would be the first CDMA carrier to launch the phone. Verizon did not appear to make any claims on launching the phone, but now is exclusively selling both the 700p (Palm OS) and the 700w (Windows OS).

Features of the Treo 700p include:
High Speed EV-DO data with Dial-up Networking
128MB memory -- 60MB user memory
SD card slot
1.3 megapixel digital camera
Bluetooth Wireless
320 × 320 touchscreen display with 65K colors
Palm 5.4.9 Operating System (OS)
Picture/Video Messaging

Verizon Wireless is now selling the 700p for $499 if you sign up for a 2-year service agreement ($549.99 with a 1-year). This currently can only be ordered online. Sprint is expected to launch the 700p by the end of May starting at a lower price of $399.

Posted by mobilemodo at 09:18 AM | Permalink Posted to News | Treo | Verizon

T-Mobile USA has now launched the Samsung t609 that was announced earlier this year. The t609 is a mid-priced clamshell style flip phone. T-Mobile is also stocking the entire T-Series lineup, the t309, t509, t609 and t809.

Samsung t609 features include:
Quad-band GSM + EDGE high-speed data
Bluetooth Wireless
1.3 megapixel camera
MP3 music player
External Speakerphone
Instant Messenger

T-Mobile is now selling the t609 for $150 with $50 in instant savings and a 1-year contract. The Samsung t609 is available in stores and on the web today.

Posted by mobilemodo at 11:49 PM | Permalink Posted to News | Samsung | T-Mobile

After months of speculation about whether Palm would deliver the 700p, again we have another confirmation from TechWorld and the guys at treonauts, that the 700 will be officially announced by Palm tomorrow -- May 15th, 2006. The article, titled "Palm version of Treo 700 arrives," is an additional confirmation that the phone will be announced. CNET has stated that it will be released by both Verizon and Sprint for use on their nationwide high speed EV-DO networks. The 700p is now being referenced as only the second of four devices (700w, 700p, Hollywood, ??) to be released this year by Palm.

The spring launch of the Treo 700p will be just in time for Sprint's new spring Digitopia gala which will show how customers can be melded to the digital life.

Posted by mobilemodo at 11:15 PM | Permalink Posted to News | Rumors | Sprint Nextel | Treo | Verizon

Voce, a trendy niche luxury mobile virtual network operator has just started offering its flagship service in Los Angeles. The soft launch event was by invitation only and was limited to 500 people. Voce's target wireless market segment is set at affluent consumers that are only interested in voice services.

The membership fee is $1,000 with a monthly service plan that is $400. The service is ala carte with no binding contract and unlimited airtime. There is no data component thanks to Voce's exclusive voice only MVNO agreement with Cingular.

One of the key services that Voce is providing is a 24-hour concierge service that is included in the monthly service price. Two handset devices will be available at launch, the Moto RAZR V3 in colors white, black, or texturized black leather and the snazzy Nokia 8801. Customers will be able to swap out for a new handset every year at no extra cost, and the phones are fully insured for those accidental plunges into the neighborhood pool.

Posted by mobilemodo at 10:35 PM | Permalink Posted to Cingular | MVNO | News

Microsoft and Qualcomm have announced that they have entered into an agreement to work closely in porting Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system to Qualcomm's new chipset. Qualcomm has recently unveiled the MSM (Mobile Station Modem) 7000 Series chipset that combines a radio modem and an applications processor on the same chip. Combining the Engineering on these two features will allow consumers to use a phone that can maintain better battery life in a more compact handset enclosure.

The new mobile software is expected to be released during the second half of 2006, and will allow mobile phone manufacturers to come up with creative new devices and mobility applications.

Posted by mobilemodo at 10:59 PM | Permalink Posted to Mobile Applications | News

The FCC has just updated photos and specs of two new BlackBerry models yet to be released on their website. Both the Blackberry 7130c and 7130g are GSM/EDGE network compatible and will be headed for Cingular and T-Mobile. The basic design of the new BlackBerry units are slimmed down with a more rectangle shape than previously released handset models.

BlackBerry 7130 series features:
Quad-Band GSM with added EDGE
SureType keyboard support
64MB flash, 16MB RAM
Mini-USB port
Bluetooth Wireless 2.0 support

The maker of the Blackberry Unit, Research In Motion is now embroiled in another lawsuit -- this time around with Visto. The cards may not be in RIM's favor this time because Visto already settled a huge patent infringement suit earlier this year for a cool $600m.

Posted by mobilemodo at 11:53 PM | Permalink Posted to Cingular | News | Rumors | T-Mobile

Opera Software has just announced version 2 of the popular Opera Mini application for java capable cell phones. The free mobile web browser was launched worldwide in late January and has quickly gained popularity with thousands of downloads. Opera Mini 2 uses a proxy server to filter, pre-process and cache web pages to greatly increase speed and performance of the user browsing experience. This allows the mobile application to run on virtually all of the world's Java-enabled handsets, not limiting itself to only smartphones -- like what can be done with the full Opera Mobile Browser.

Opera Mini 2 new enhanced features:
SMS mobile commerce support
Bookmark shortcut key combo; quick dial
GUI Skins, with several new themes
Multiple search engine selection from the homepage
Content download, image fetch, direct to phone
Quick and smooth horizontal navigation panning -- backward and forward

The Opera Mini 2 mobile application is free for unlimited use by mobile users worldwide. The only catch is that you have to pay your wireless provider for any airtime used during your web-surfing sessions.

Posted by mobilemodo at 11:22 PM | Permalink Posted to Mobile Applications | News

As was expected, Cingular Wireless has launched the Motorola L2. This phone is still flying under the radar from normal consumer channels and is only available at this time for business and government employees. This frees up the SLVR as the primary option for wireless consumers. The Motorola L2 is basically a Moto SLVR L6 without all the bells and whistles, we like to call it SLVR-less. They have eliminated features that many businesses are now enacting corporate policies against -- cameras and music players.

Motorola L2 features include:
Bluetooth Wireless Support
Quad-band radio capable
Speakerphone Built-in
128 × 160, 65K Color CSTN screen display

Cingular is now selling the new Motorola L2 for $117 with a contract, if purchased through their Business to Business (B2B) sales channel.

Posted by mobilemodo at 11:09 PM | Permalink Posted to Cingular | Motorola | News

Sprint Nextel has launch released the UTStarcom CDM-120, an entry-level priced CDMA flip phone handset. This cellphone is also expected to be launched on Verizon Wireless very soon.

UTStartcom CDM-120 features include:
Crisp .7x.8 CSTN 65k color display
Built-in Speakerphone
4-way navigation key
Voice activated dialing
SMS Text messaging
Voice Activated Dialing and Voice Recorder

Sprint is now selling the CDM-120 for free when you sign up for a new service activation with $149.99 in instant savings. Not a bad deal for this nice little phone that they are using the catchy advert catch-phrase "Say Hello to a Good Buy" -- sleek design and loaded with features.

Posted by mobilemodo at 10:54 PM | Permalink Posted to CDMA | News | Sprint Nextel | UTStarcom(Audiovox)

Helio has now officially opened for business. The MVNO (Mobile virtual network operator) is a business partnership between SK Telecom & Earthlink. Helio is trying to pull Korean-like mobile technologies into the US market. The company goal is to have 3 million customers by 2009.

Helio will launch two handsets with similar features, the VK Mobile Kickflip and the Pantech Hero both with MySpace capable features. The network capabilities will support EV-DO broadband access and a built-in 2-megapixel camera.

The initial service pricing for Helio is rather pricey, with the cheapest average consumer plan costing a whopping $85 a month for 1000 minutes. This price does include the highly touted "unlimited data access" and messaging. A pay as you go plan without all the bells and whistles that runs $40 a month for 500 minutes of talktime.

Posted by mobilemodo at 10:43 PM | Permalink Posted to Helio Mobile | MVNO | News

RIM is once again the brunt of more patent infringement litigation -- this time its Visto's turn. Visto, a provider of push email services has filed a lawsuit against Research In Motion for patent infringement on technology they claim to own. The suit filed today comes on the heals of the victory that Visto had last week against Seven Networks.

Research In Motion has been no stranger to lawsuits in the recent past -- the company just settled a $600 million suit for patent infringement earlier this year. The company's popular BlackBerry platform sports millions of customers in the US.

“Based on Visto’s sweeping victory in court against Seven Networks on Friday, RIM must understand that there is no place in the mobile email space for this sort of behavior,” continued Bogosian [Visto’s Chairman, President and CEO]. “Under the law, which protects consumers from products that contain infringing technology, RIM should not be able to sell the BlackBerry system.”

Continue reading "Visto files lawsuit against RIM" »

Posted by mobilemodo at 12:10 PM | Permalink Posted to News

As part of a European phone launch event, Nokia today announced the first N73 mobile phone. This cellphone is an update to the popular N70 model. With an array of updated imaging and multimedia features, it is now being dubbed the "The Ultimate Challenge to the Digital Camera."

The feature-rich N73 sports:
3G or Quad-band GSM/EDGE
3.2 megapixel camera
S60 3rd Edition Software on Symbian OS
Flickr.com mobile software support

Nokia expects to release the N73 for shipment during July 2006(3Q). The company has also announced they will unveil a true multimedia version of the N-Series called the N93 -- also shown today.

Posted by mobilemodo at 10:05 PM | Permalink Posted to News | Nokia

With much anticipation, Nokia has announced the N93. The N-Series Nokia phones with the wide array of features are being dubbed "multimedia computers" rather than mobile handsets. The N93 has the capability to double as a computer and the 3rd screen -- just as mobile analysts have been predicting would happen for quite some time. The N-93 is a modern update to the N90, which was the first N-Series device to be shipped.

Nokia N93 handset model features:
3G (WCDMA 2100 MHz), EDGE + Tri-GSM (900/1800/1900 MHz), WLAN
QVGA screen for mobile tv fans
3.2 megapixel camera w/Carl Zeiss optics, 3x optical zoom
30 fps Video capture
S60 3rd Edition mobile Symbian OS software
Flickr software support integrated
miniSD card slot built-in
50MB internal memory

The Nokia N93 is expected to be released for shipment during July 2006 (Q3 release). The N93 model is not the only announcement today, also take a look at the N73 which was announced by Nokia today as well.

Posted by mobilemodo at 10:02 PM | Permalink Posted to News | Nokia

Cingular Wireless has reported first quarter earnings for 2006. The gross customer adds were flat when compared to 2005 Q1 results, but churn was down to the lowest level in company history. Cingular still remains the big dog in the US wireless carrier market with just shy of 56 million (55.8M officially reported) wireless subscribers. Cingular Wireless still holds the position of the largest carrier with Verizon nipping at their heels.

Key figures from 1Q, 2006 release:
1.9% churn, postpaid(direct customers) churn 1.6%
1.7 million net customer adds
$9.0 billion in revenue, up over 9%
354 million in net income during quarter
Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) was $48.48 -- down 2.3%

The biggest news impacting Cingular during the 1st quarter was the merger announcement between parents Bell South and AT&T. They plan to re-brand Cingular under the AT&T wireless name once the merger is finalized.

Posted by mobilemodo at 11:56 PM | Permalink Posted to Cingular | News

The sales of mobile phone handsets around the world have grown 26% during the first quarter of 2006 when compared to 1Q 2005. An estimated 226.7 million mobile phones were sold during the 1st quarter according to the industry research firm IDC. Despite the big increase, Q1 2006 sales are slightly off 7% when compared to the 4th quarter of 2005.

Mobile market share figures and rankings for Q1, 2006:
1 - Nokia 33.1%
2 - Motorola 20.3%
3 - Samsung 12.8%
4 - LG 6.9%
5 - Sony Ericsson 5.9%

Motorola's new line of phones continue to put up strong numbers, and with the FCC approval of the Moto Q smartphone -- which provides some nice competition for the Treo 700 line, we expect to see gains in handset marketshare by Motorola over the coming quarters.

Posted by mobilemodo at 11:41 PM | Permalink Posted to LG | Motorola | News | Nokia | Samsung | Sony Ericsson

After a launch delay, the FCC has finally approved the new Motorola Q handset. The Moto Q was originally suppose to be released for sale during Q1 -- but it now appears that it will be a 2Q debut on Verizon Wireless's network. We did not find any new disclosures in the FCC filing for this smarthphone (dubbed the Blackberry killer) but phone specifications have now been made official.

Moto Q handset features:
High-speed EV-DO data -- CDMA Network
Windows Mobile 5.0 OS
1.3 megapixel camera
RAZR thin design, .45" thick
miniSD slot
Bluetooth Wireless

The Moto Q will directly compete with the Blackberry, but most notably on Verizon's network will go head-to-head with the Treo 700w, which has currently not been released by any other CDMA carriers (Sprint).

Posted by mobilemodo at 10:11 PM | Permalink Posted to CDMA | Motorola | News | Verizon

T-Mobile USA has launched the BlackBerry 8700g, which is just like the 8700c that Cingular launched in November, 2005. The BlackBerry 8700 Series is now the newest line of mobile handsets being released from Research In Motion. This handset features the standard QWERTY keyboard that usually comes with this style of smartphone.

BlackBerry 8700g includes:
Quadband GSM + EDGE
High-speed internet support
64 MB flash memory with 16 MB SDRAM
QVGA (320x240) color screen display
Intel XScale CPU power

Currently T-Mobile is selling the Blackberry 8700g for $299 with contract and $50 mail-in rebate.

Posted by mobilemodo at 11:14 PM | Permalink Posted to News | T-Mobile

Motorola's next rendition of the ROKR phone has just been approved by the FCC. The FCC documents disclose that they may include iTunes as part of the ROKR E2 featureset. When it was orginally announced, Motorola stated that the E2 had its own music player by built-in, but that it may also include support for different music or mp3 branded players -- based on wireless carrier's preference.

Motorola ROKR E2 includes:
QVGA screen display
SD card slot
Runs Motorola's new Linux bases OS
Bluetooth wireless
1.3 MP camera
The Motorola E2 is expected to be released for shipment late 2Q. No carrier partners have been announced for this phone yet, although we would presume Cingular would be at the top of the list.

Posted by mobilemodo at 11:36 AM | Permalink Posted to Motorola | News

Even though Sprint has voiced their intention to limit the number of MVNO partnership agreements, the largest cable companies in the US market are ready to launch their own company-branded mobile service on the Sprint Nextel nationwide network. The deal was originally unveiled last November, and involves the four cable companies Time Warner Cable, Comcast, Cox Communications and Brighthouse Networks. This announced partnership is a seperate initiative than the Sprint Enterprise Mobility subsidiary.

The deal Sprint Nextel has made in this joint effort will produce wireless products that feature special software -- cable customers controlling and programming their video recorders remotely, calling to landlines for free, and the ability to watch exclusive programming. Customers will also be able to merge their calendars, address books and voice mail accounts. Adding mobile wireless services to the current cable company offering will give a so-called quadruple play: cable, internet, wireline and wireless phone services.

Posted by mobilemodo at 10:11 PM | Permalink Posted to MVNO | News | Sprint Nextel