WidSets, a mobile content consumption, creation and sharing service, now offers advertisers the opportunity to reach customers around the globe with a single mobile advertising campaign.

WidSets has joined the Nokia Media Network, a premium advertising network comprised of more than 100 leading mobile publishers, to enable advertising experiences.
 
The WidSets service, currently available in 56 languages and featuring more than 5,000 widgets from brands such as Wall Street Journal, Twitter and Foreca, now includes opportunities for advertisers that want to drive traffic to their own mobile content. By placing advertisements within the service, brands can reach customers around the globe with a single campaign.

Sprint and Google are committed to providing users with the most dynamic mobile experience possible. Both companies have actively advocated the importance of an open mobile ecosystem and understand that users should have more choice when it comes to selecting and accessing content on a mobile phone.

The company reported its first quarter 2008 consolidated net operating revenues for the quarter were $9.3 billion, an 8% decline compared to $10.1 billion reported in the first quarter of 2007 and a 5% decline compared to $9.8 billion in the fourth quarter.  The company reported a net loss of $505 million.

Research In Motion, RBC and Thomson Reuters, today announced plans to launch the BlackBerry Partners Fund, a US$150 million venture capital fund, to invest in mobile applications and services for the BlackBerry platform and other mobile platforms. The Fund is to be co-managed by JLA Ventures and RBC Venture Partners.

Agnostic to both stage and balance sheet, the BlackBerry Partners Fund will not restrict the development of mobile applications and services to any single mobile platform or any specific industry segment. The Fund will be designed to advance the industry by fostering development and driving the entrepreneurial spirit to create the most innovative mobile offerings for customers.

The Fund will consider all stages of development and is to be co-managed by JLA Ventures and RBC Venture Partners. To sign up to receive further information visit:   www.blackberrypartnersfund.com. 

Check out this GSM cell phone watch (U200i) which features:

• Touch screen
• Camera
• Bluetooth
• Speaker phone
• Vibration
• Video for incoming calls

The phone can be found at China Grabber for $234.99. 

The oversize wristwatch features a flip-top. Just pop it open, and it reveals a fully-functional multimedia mobile phone inside.

You can watch MP4 videos on the 1.5-inch color display, which also has touch screen capabilities. The U200i comes in stainless steel and a solid black case design.

Schmap, a publisher of digital travel guides for 200 destinations throughout the United States, Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand will launch this Monday a unique feature that auto generates maps when the iPhone is turned sideways (see Pre-Launch Preview information below to test it out). 

Schmap City Guides and Schmap Local Search are available on the popular Apple iPhone with a unique Rotate 'n Map feature. Just by turning your iPhone sideways to see places on a map; scroll a list and the map dynamically updates.

You can choose from 100 worldwide cites, then browse reviews and photos for sights and attractions, hotels, restaurants, bars, parks, theaters, galleries, museums and more.  Maps are just a turn away with the Rotate 'n Map feature.

To see an overview and videos of the Schmap iPhone application visit www.schmap.com/iphone. 

Verizon Wireless today announced the MOTO Q 9c will be available in the company’s online store and in Verizon Wireless business sales channels on May 9. Customers will be able to purchase the newest member of Verizon Wireless’ MOTO Q family at Verizon Wireless Communications Stores, including those in Circuit City, in the coming weeks.

The MOTO Q 9c is the perfect smartphone for business professionals and offers powerful capabilities, including access to more than 14 million points of interest with Verizon Wireless’ popular VZ NavigatorSM service. The phone will also offer the following features and capabilities:

• Windows Mobile 6 Standard – access to POP3 or IMAP4 e-mail accounts
• Documents To Go – read, edit and create Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents
• Full QWERTY keyboard with dedicated “hot keys” for shortcuts to popular applications

Best Buy has fiscal 2008 revenues of $40 billion, operating income of $2.2 billion, 150,000 employees and 1,314 stores providing over 48 million square feet of sales space in the United States, Canada and China. Best Buy plans to acquire a 50% stake in the new company for a cash consideration of BPS 1.1 billion, or $2.1 billion.

Verizon Wireless and Samsung Telecommunications America announced that the Samsung Glyde will be available on May 9, 2008, online and in Verizon Stores from coast to coast, including those in Circuit City.

The Glyde is a powerful and sleek multimedia and messaging phone that boasts a robust feature-set packaged in a compact, touch-screen device with a full QWERTY keyboard.

The Glyde features a 2.8” advanced touch-screen that offers a tactile response and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard that provides customers with an easy way to send text and instant messages.

This multimedia device comes equipped with a full lineup of Verizon Wireless’ hottest services including V CAST Music and Video. With V CAST Music, customers have access to more than 3 million songs from well-known and independent artists that can be purchased and downloaded directly over-the-air to the Glyde. V CAST Video gives customers access to content from the best names in news, sports and entertainment.

Other features include a 2.0 megapixel camera with flash, microSD card slot, which supports up to 8 GB of external memory, and Bluetooth stereo headset support.

A former employee of Toyota's Georgetown, Kentucky plant has sued the auto maker, one of Kentucky's largest employers, for accessing his personal cell phone records by using a technique called pretexting during an internal investigation at the Georgetown plant in 2005.

Although federal law requires that the owner of a cell phone must give permission before any third party accesses the owner's cell phone records, the employee, Charles W. Jones, Jr., has stated in court documents that he did not give Toyota permission to access his records.

The lawsuit, which was filed on February 8, is pending in Federal U.S. District Court Western District of Kentucky Louisville Division. Toyota has denied any wrongdoing and is currently attempting to dismiss the case according to documents it filed in court. Mr. Jones, Jr. seeks unspecified damages, including punitive damages, for violation of federal law, invasion of privacy, and for emotional distress caused by the investigation.

Nokia and Ikivo, a supplier of rich media application enabling solutions based on open standards, today announced the joint creation of a complete tool chain that simplifies and allows efficient collaboration between graphic designers and software engineers in the development of Java applications for mobile devices.

The new tool set integrates Nokia's Platform SDKs for Java, Adobe Illustrator, Ikivo Animator and Sun's NetBeans to enable user interface designers to add their GUI designs directly to an application project and avoid the time-consuming process of "translating" those designs into Java code.

Utilizing Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) to capture visual designs for optimized integration into software development projects, the new solution dramatically improves the productivity of mobile Java development, and reinforces the attractiveness of Java as an environment for creating compelling mobile applications with rich graphics and interactivity.

Visitors will watch the films through a pair of Myvu Crystal video display glasses connected to a Nokia N95 8GB handset, giving them a wide-screen viewing experience with enhanced picture and audio quality.