SanDisk 2GB Mobile Phone Card

SanDisk Corporation introduced a 2GB microSD card - the largest capacity of the world's smallest removable flash memory card - to meet demand for a new generation of MP3 music phones, including the forthcoming Verizon Wireless Chocolate by LG mobile phone. Using the SanDisk microSD card, the Verizon Wireless phone can store up to 1,000 digital songs downloaded from the company's V CAST music service. The SanDisk microSD card, which is sold with an adapter that enables it to fit into a standard-size SD slot of other devices, will debut in the USA, exclusively at 1,900 Verizon Wireless stores for the next 60 days. Internationally, it will be sold by a variety of mobile retailers.

Mobile Maps Applications

Why are consumers paying for mobile phone-based utilities like MapQuest? One answer is that they are especially useful to mobile users. Since mobile phones are often used when meeting up with someone, getting directions (or finding out what the weather will be upon arrival) while away from home is obviously valuable.
Looking at the supply side, mobile carriers can charge for mobile versions of applications which are free on the web because they operate like cable companies. Just as the cable company controls access to individual channels, so too can mobile carriers restrict application distribution as they see fit. A walled garden has resulted, restricting exactly where users can go, but offering some clearly useful applications, at a price, along this restricted path.

Motorola Teams up with Shanda

Chinese online game operator Shanda Interactive Entertainment Ltd. signed a deal with Motorola Inc. to launch mobile versions of two online games, the companies announced Friday. The two mobile games -- "World of Legend" and "Magical Land" -- are not new games, but extensions of the PC version of the online games. They will be preloaded on a version of Motorola's E680 handset, the E680g. Users will be able to move game items, such as weapons and points, from their PCs to the mobile phone, the companies said. The E680g is a tri-band PDA (personal digital assistant) phone that uses a stylus for input and supports GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) networks. The handset weighs 133 grams and has a TFT (thin film transistor) LCD (liquid crystal display) screen with a resolution of 320 pixels by 240 pixels. The phone includes mobile versions of Microsoft Corp.'s Word, Excel and PowerPoint programs, as well as an SD (Secure Digital) memory card slot. Shanda, once China's top online game operator, has seen rivals The9 Ltd. and Netease.com Inc. overtake its position. The9 operates the Chinese version of "World of Warcraft" while Netease.com Inc. offers "Fantasy Westward Journey," currently the two most popular games in China.

Chocolate by LG

Chocolate by LG is a work of art -- both in looks and features -- with its sleek, ultra-thin minimalist style and silky-smooth slide design, users will be lured in by Chocolate's glowing red touch sensitive keypad. V CAST Music customers can browse, preview, download and play high-quality digital music from their phones over Verizon Wireless' broadband network or in the Verizon Wireless V CAST Music online store. With more than 1.3 million songs to choose from, Verizon Wireless customers can download the songs they love most, accessing their music collection anywhere they go.
"In a world where quality wireless service is a table-stake, Chocolate sets a new standard for wireless handsets," said John Stratton, Verizon Wireless vice president and chief marketing officer. "This is a lifestyle device that reflects the discerning taste of a customer who relies upon the Verizon Wireless network to stay connected, but wants a device that speaks to the innovation and personalization that can be achieved with music."

Vodafone BlackBerry 7130v

Powered by a medium weight Intel XScale processor and with 64 MB of memory, the 7130 should handle your mobile phone and email needs with ease. The 120 gram device is styled in the newer BlackBerry way being much more narrow than its more traditional brethren.At 56mm wide, the 7120v's are a little long at 11.5mm, but not at all thick at 18mm. Into this tidy package, BlackBerry maker, Research In Motion (RIM) has packed a high-resolution 240x260 colour LCD display, supporting over 65,000 colours and a qwerty-style keyboard with 20 keys.The BlackBerry 7130v incorporates RIM's "SureType" keyboard technology, which merges a phone keypad with QWERTY keyboard to allow a narrower design and enable users to quickly and accurately type messages and dial phone numbers.Meanwhile, the display is controlled by an intelligent light sensor system which adjusts the backlighting on the screen to provide the best possible viewing experience whether you are indoors, outdoors in light or shade.

Mobile Music Will Surpass Online Music Downloads

Susan Kevorkian, program manager, Consumer Markets: Audio, said "Wireless OTA music services… brings the music industry new opportunities to reach consumers and drive revenue. Wireless music services… are expected to quickly gain traction during the forecast period. By the end of this year, the number of U.S. OTA customers will be approximately half that of online music service users, but may surpass them by the end of the forecast period.”
According to the IDC survey, a total of 22% of respondents indicated that they would buy at least one track from their service provider within the first three months of availability. Eight percent of respondents age 25-44 indicated they would buy four or more tracks. IDC analysts believe this 25-44 age group could be the core base of wireless over-the-air service users.
In order for wireless music services to reach critical mass, a variety of music-enabled devices need to first find their way into the hands of wireless subscribers. IDC expects music-enabled mobile phone shipments to reach nearly 60% of all handsets shipped in the U.S. by 2010.
OTA mobile music storefronts are emerging as one of the most important new channels for fans to discover, purchase, and enjoy full-track music and related content, says the report.

New Vodafone BlackBerry Models

Vodafone is launching two new BlackBerry handsets onto the Australian market adding the 8707v and 7130v to its 3G mobile network. One, a quad-band UMTS device will roam anywhere as it also supports 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS.The 8707v is Vodafone's first BlackBerry device that is UMTS-enabled to allow it to take advantage of international 3G roaming.

SMS Record Holder Ben Cook

Ben Cook, 18, regained his title by typing "the razor-toothed piranhas of the genera Serrasalmus and Pygocentrus are the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. In reality they seldom attack a human."He typed the message commonly used in professional competitions in 42.44 seconds.The message has 160 characters which is the maximum number of characters that can be sent in a text message.Cook was the record holder in 2004 with a time of 57.75 seconds until a woman from Singapore broke it with a time of 43.24 seconds.But as fast as he can send a message, Cook has the title back.He competed against 14 top qualifiers from Pueblo, Colorado Springs, Ft. Collins and Denver.

SMS Record Holder Ben Cook

Ben Cook, 18, regained his title by typing "the razor-toothed piranhas of the genera Serrasalmus and Pygocentrus are the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. In reality they seldom attack a human."He typed the message commonly used in professional competitions in 42.44 seconds.The message has 160 characters which is the maximum number of characters that can be sent in a text message.Cook was the record holder in 2004 with a time of 57.75 seconds until a woman from Singapore broke it with a time of 43.24 seconds.But as fast as he can send a message, Cook has the title back.He competed against 14 top qualifiers from Pueblo, Colorado Springs, Ft. Collins and Denver.

Jazz Ringtones

Blue Note Records, home to recordings by classic jazz artists such as Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Art Blakey and Chet Baker, has begun releasing select cuts from its trove of recordings for use on mobile phones. The move is part of an initiative by the label, a unit of Britain's EMI Music, called "The Best of Blue Tones," and marks the first time samples culled from the master recordings have been available for customizing mobile phone sounds.

World Cup Helps Mobile TV

The recently concluded World Cup proved to be a catalyst for the mobile TV efforts of 3 Italia, the Italian mobile media company that is part of Hutchison Whampoa's global collection of 3G carriers. According to 3 Italia's CEO, the company signed up over 111,000 subscribers in six weeks after the June 5th launch, which was timed to coincide with the start of the tournament. In contrast, it took South Korea's TU Media nearly one year to sign up 100,000 subscribers to its Digital Multimedia Broadcast (DMB) television system for mobile phones.
3 Italia's experience is worth watching given that Italy is the first European country to launch nationwide mobile TV services. The current mobile TV offer covers nearly all of Italy's largest cities and towns with nine TV channels that can be accessed via a 3 Italia mobile handset. The company aims to sign up some 500,000 users by the end of 2006 and predicts that Italian penetration of mobile TV services by all the operators should reach about 20% or 10 million people by 2010.
In the US, the mobile TV market should reach around 24 million users by 2010 according to IDC. The research firm estimates that video/TV services for mobile handsets would settle at around 10% penetration. This is compared to around 7 million US mobile data users who are pulling video content into their phones.
The huge spread in subscriber numbers between mobile video, mobile TV and other services (depending on how you define it) suggests that mobile video services remain an area that is still trying to find its footing in terms of consumer packagaing. Certainly, the Italians are plowing new ground through their deployment of an actual broadcast layer, Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld or DVB-H, the first large-scale deployment in Europe.

Verizon Lowers Music Download Fees

Based on the cost of Verizon Wireless phone plans, a song download that requires about 2 minutes of network airtime could cost about 16 cents, plus the $1.99 price of the song.
Customers who want to watch Verizon's mobile video service will still have to pay the $15 fee, the company said.
"What we're finding is that the $15 fee for music has been a barrier to people who clearly love music," Verizon Wireless spokesman Jeffrey Nelson said.
U.S. wireless carriers are aiming to boost revenue beyond phone calls with a slew of additional media services for cellphones, from short video snippets to Internet access.
But the new entertainment offerings have yet to contribute significantly to their results and operators are still experimenting with price and program models.