As announced last September, Verizon has just launched the Chocolate flip phone, for those of you who prefer flip mobile phones. The new chocolate flip phone will have most of the features of the VX-8500 Chocolate into a thinner clamshell form factor. Compared to the 8500, the 8600 has a lower-resolution display, but retains all other key features, including:All Digital Phone 1.3 Megapixel Camera/Camcorder with flash Bluetooth® CapableMicroSD Memory Port V CAST Music and Video - Demo Speakerphone Voice Dialing Color Screen TTY Compatible [Read]

Sprint has launched the Samsung M500, a slim Power Vision phone, with advanced features including a MicroSD external memory card, Bluetooth, Themes and GPS , for tech connected power Users, mobile Professionals and Mobile Families who need the speed of the Power Vision Network to access information while on the go. Main features:Digital Dual-BandUp to 3 hours continuous digital talk time.3.66" x 1.81" x 0.65" (size comparison)3.0 oz1.3MP Camera and Video CamcorderGPS EnabledBluetooth® Wireless Technology  [Read]

Orb Networks a privately held company plans to offer Web videos from YouTube.com on mobile phones with a new software launch this week, well before the wildly popular Web site makes its own cell phone service available.  (Note: Recently YouTube announced plans to launch mobile phone services.More than 400,000 people have already downloaded Orb's previous software program that allows them to view their own digital media stored on a home computer, like photos, videos and music, on a mobile phone or wireless device.This week, Orb will offer users a program that lets them view, search and create media channels from the Internet and direct it onto cell phones and laptops from sites like YouTube or Google Video.  [Read]

Third Screen Media, the leading provider of mobile advertising software and services, today announced that actor and romance novel cover model Fabio has officially hit the third screen thanks to a mobile advertising campaign launched by Unilever’s I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!® brand on November 9. With the assistance of Mindshare Interaction, Unilever launched the I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!® campaign on Third Screen Media’s TSM|Network to reach the brand’s target audience on mobile handsets across the US. The I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!® mobile initiative features a WAP site that closely mirrors the brand’s Kitchen of Love online counterpart, featuring Fabio. The site enables users to download video content, send Fabio-grams to friends and view recipes provided by Unilever.“The mobile environment we created for the brand not only enables consumers to interact with our brand in new and exciting ways, but also allows users to learn about the brand on their own time and importantly, at their own discretion” said Ryu Yokoi, Unilever Associate Brand Manager.  [Read]

 enabled products are now in the hands of one billion consumers worldwide said the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) today. Citing shipment information from ABI Research, the trade association announced that the installed base of Bluetooth devices reached one billion in early November. Weekly shipments of the wireless devices continue at a pace of 12 million per week.“To put this number in perspective, one billion is greater than the number of PC users in the world and equal to the number of mobile phones shipped this year,” said Michael Foley, Ph.D., executive director, Bluetooth SIG. “Reaching the one billion milestone is a huge win for the Bluetooth industry and we want to congratulate and thank our 6,000 member companies whose innovation and products got us here.   [Read]

Boost Mobile has launced loopt, is a Palo Alto-based startup that has built a revolutionary "social mapping" service to change the way people use mobile phones to keep in touch with their friends. loopt uses GPS (and other location technology) to show you where your friends are by automatically updating maps on your mobile handset. loopt also lets you send messages to nearby friends or receive automatic alerts when they're nearby so that you never miss an opportunity to meet. With loopt, mobile subscribers put themselves on the map. Recently, Helio launched a similar feature in their new Drift handset called Buddy Beacon. [Read]

Traffic.com has launched a mobile site containing its live traffic information for 50 metropolitan areas in the US.  Traffic.com offers numerous other traffic services, however, this is the first time they have offered the information directly to mobile phones. The free site is accessible at http://mobi.traffic.com/. Registered members of the main Traffic.com can view their personalized reports on the mobile site (after logging in). Traffic.com® is a leading provider of accurate, real-time traffic information in the United States, based on the quality of its traffic data and the extent of its geographic coverage. Traffic.com offers detailed traffic information, including specific speeds, travel times and delay times. [Read]

Google's CEO Eric Schmidt stated recently that he sees a future where mobile phones will be free to users who accepts advertising on their handsets. Schmidt stated that as mobile phones become more like handheld computers and consumers spend as much as eight to 10 hours a day talking, texting and using the Web on these devices, advertising becomes a viable form of subsidy.Google is experimenting with delivering text, brand-image and video ads onto small-screen mobile phones. It is enjoying early success in its strategy to win phone network allies in Japan, where TV viewing and shopping on phones is advanced, he said.Google has no plans to directly give away phones itself, nor is he aware of any effort by partners such as phone makers Nokia or Motorola or mobile operators like Vodafone to make such a radical move. [Read]

Cingular, Samsung and Microsoft Corp. today unveiled the BlackJack, a robust, slim smart device packed with the power and functionality desired by business customers and consumers alike. With the BlackJack customers can get rich entertainment features, powerful business applications and the familiar look and feel of Windows Mobile® 5.0, turbo-charged by Cingular's 3G-enabled BroadbandConnect service in an ultra sleek design.The stylish and compact BlackJack will be available exclusively from Cingular in the U.S. in mid-November for as low as $199.99 (with a two-year activation and unlimited data plan). This ultra-thin 3G device features a fully integrated QWERTY keyboard with a large high-resolution QVGA color screen.Built to satisfy everyone from the music fan to the business user, BlackJack includes a bevy of cutting edge features: [Read]

Want to save money on your cell phone bill?  Then you may want to consider using Mobilemiser.  Mobilemiser is a website that promises to cut your cell phone bill in half. Using Mobilemiser, you can call anywhere [in North America] from 4.9 cents a minute, Mexico City is 6.9 cents a minute and London is 6.9 cents a minute. Here is how it works: You sign up for the service, which asks for your cell phone number and provider, your email address and the long distance numbers you call most often, assigned on your keypad by the numbers 1-8. You then dial 1-647-476-7070. You get a busy signal, so you don't pay for the call. You hang up. [Read]

Motorola, Inc. and Good Technology, Inc. today announced that the companies have signed a definitive agreement under which Motorola will acquire privately held Good Technology, a leader in enterprise mobile computing software and service. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.Good Technology, based in Santa Clara, is a strategic addition to Motorola’s Mobile Devices business. The acquisition will extend Motorola’s mobile computing capabilities and increase the company’s enterprise client base. Good Technology’s wireless messaging, data access and handheld security offerings provide intuitive and advanced productivity solutions for mobile professionals with enterprise-level device security and management.Motorola will build upon Good Technology’s customer and carrier relationships by maintaining its multi-device strategy. Good Technology’s software and service offerings have been chosen by more than 12,000 enterprises around the world.   [Read]

AeroMobile, the provider of mobile phone services to airlines, today announced Emirates as the world’s first airline to introduce in-flight mobile phone use for passengers.AeroMobile allows passengers the choice and convenience of safely using their own mobile phones in flight to stay in contact with family, friends and colleagues by phone and text messaging. AeroMobile, based in Crawley, West Sussex, has developed an aircraft system which controls the power output of all mobile phones down to the minimum level allowing their safe use onboard aircraft.(Last July, ASI Entertainment, applied for a patent for a new concept that allows cell phones to be operated in-flight.)   [Read]

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., today announced the introduction of a 1 Gigabyte (GB) subscriber identity module card solution, S-SIMTM that expands customer experience in multimedia intensive services.The 1 Gigabyte S-SIM card will be demonstrated at booth 3C 029 at Cartes 2006.The subscriber identity module (SIM) card is a smart card IC-based card used to identify users in GSM mobile environments. As multimedia features increase on hand-phones, high data capacity and high-speed transmission has been added to the encrypted SIM solution.Instead of carrying a separate memory card, Samsung's 1GB S-SIM incorporates a system-in-package (SiP) technology to carry high gigabit-density NAND flash memory without growing the area size of the conventional SIM card. The small form factor supports the compact size of multimedia phones.  [Read]

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Korea based leading telecom systems and mobile phone provider, and TVA Sistema de Televisao S.A, an innovative communication service provider in Brazil, signed a contract on Wednesday (November 1st, 2006) to commercialize Mobile WiMAX platform in the city of Curitiba, Brazil.TVA plans to commercialize Mobile WiMAX services in Curitiba first, Parana State in south of Brazil, from 1st half of 2007. Access will be extended to other Brazilian cities over next years.According to the contract, Samsung will supply base stations and other system hardware and Mobile WiMAX modems initially and in the near future provide PCMCIA cards and terminals for service portability.  [Read]

 today announced the launch of its third exclusive mobile device, the Drift™and custom-built services that harness advanced GPS technology, GPS-enabled Google Maps™ for mobile and Buddy Beacon™. The new device and services continue Helio's innovative model of utilizing mobile to let people stay in touch with their friends in new and unique ways.The Drift: This sleek and compact slider packs exceptional power and optimized access to the high speed 3G network into a slim, elegant shape. Produced by Samsung and exclusively available to Helio members, the Drift launches in two colors: gunmetal black and frost white. The Drift features a 2.12 inch high-resolution QVGA display, stereo Bluetooth®, 128MB internal memory expandable via microSD™, 2.0 megapixel camera with 4x digital zoom and flash for shooting photos and video, MP3, MPEG-4 and VOD support for a wide variety of entertainment options. Drift is also complete with GPS capabilities to support innovative new Helio services in addition to existing custom services like Helio On Top (H.O.T.). With Drift, blogging, downloading music videos, playing games, and streaming video is faster and easier than before.  [Read]

Sundance Institute, a champion for independent filmmakers for over 25 years, announced today that it is joining forces with the GSM Association (GSMA), whose members serve more than 2 billion mobile phone customers across the globe, to create the Sundance Film Festival: Global Short Film Project, a groundbreaking pilot project that will showcase and extend the reach of the independent short film genre to mobile users worldwide.Unveiled at a press conference at the Museum of Television & Radio in New York, the organizers of the Sundance Film Festival in conjunction with the GSMA, have commissioned six independent filmmakers to create five short films, crafted exclusively for mobile distribution. All of the filmmakers participating in the project have screened films at the annual Sundance Film Festival.  [Read]

Sprint Nextel has launched the Motorola i880 on its iDEN Nextel network. The Motorola i880 is ideal for those looking for the Push-To-Talk experience, interested in playing music and looking for a productivity tool that allows you to stay connected.Highlights2.0 Megapixel CameraMP3 Player with Front Stereo SpeakersKey Features Walkie-Talkie ServicesColor display (262K colors)SpeakerphoneMultimedia Messaging ServiceWeb and Email CapableRing Tones   [Read]

Yahoo! Inc. today announced the beta launch of its graphical advertising platform for its Mobile Web service in the United States. The first advertisements on this beta platform will go live later this week. This launch follows the October 2006 beta introduction of search advertisements, which together provide a comprehensive solution to enable Yahoo! advertisers to reach millions of consumers on their mobile devices via major wireless carriers in the U.S. This launch demonstrates Yahoo!'s continued focus on extending our leadership in graphical advertising and in mobile services.(Note Last month we reported that Yahoo! announced the beta launch of sponsored search results on the company's Mobile Web service in the United States and United Kingdom.)The beta platform will support graphical advertisements across Yahoo!'s Mobile Web service.   [Read]

Sony Ericsson today announced it has reached agreement in principle for acquiring the Swedish software company UIQ Technology AB, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Symbian Ltd. UIQ Technology, which uses Symbian OS™, licenses the UIQ user interface and application development platform to mobile phone vendors worldwide.Sony Ericsson is already a licensee of UIQ Technology, and has been working closely with the company on UIQ version 3.0, which is included in Sony Ericsson’s P990 smartphone, M600 messaging phone and W950 Walkman® phone.Following completion of the acquisition, UIQ Technology will operate as a separate business subsidiary of Sony Ericsson under its current management team.    [Read]

Sundance Institute, a champion for independent filmmakers for over 25 years, announced today that it is joining forces with the GSM Association (GSMA), whose members serve more than 2 billion mobile phone customers across the globe, to create the Sundance Film Festival: Global Short Film Project, a groundbreaking pilot project that will showcase and extend the reach of the independent short film genre to mobile users worldwide.Unveiled at a press conference at the Museum of Television & Radio in New York, the organizers of the Sundance Film Festival in conjunction with the GSMA, have commissioned six independent filmmakers to create five short films, crafted exclusively for mobile distribution. All of the filmmakers participating in the project have screened films at the annual Sundance Film Festival.  [Read]