The Apple iPhone launches today.  After months of hype, consumers are finally getting their hands on the newest cell phone on the market.  Apple is banking on another hit like its runaway hit, the "iPod".  There is much debate as to whether or not the Apple iPhone will be a hit.

So far it looks like it will.  Egar customers were camped out at Apple and AT&T stores across the country.  In New York, lines snaked around the block as customers camped out with their chairs. Earlier indications also looked great for the iPhone.  Last March AT&T announced they received about 1 million inquiries about iPhone. 

Before Apple announced the iPhone there was much debate on the Internet via bloggers whether or not Apple would enter the cell phone market.  Some people even went as far as posting spec ads for the iPhone.

Today T-Mobile USA is rolling out HotSpot@Home nationwide.  HotSpot@Home is a service that T-Mobile hopes will eliminate landline telephones at home.

The service allows subscribers to make mobile calls via the cellphone network or a Wi-Fi network, easily switching from one to the other without breaking off the connection. By allowing phones to use both networks, T-Mobile hopes to provide better coverage within buildings, which can be a problem. In addition, there would be no extra charge with certain voice plans for calls initiated via Wi-Fi.

The cost of the service is as follows:

• Unlimited calling plan: For unlimited calls made over Wi-Fi, users must pay $20 a month for a single line or $30 a month for a family plan. This would be on top of a current calling plan.

Alltel Wireless today announced that it is the first carrier to launch MyEconoday, an application providing Alltel customers immediate access to up-to-date economic indicator reports, as well as dates and times of economic and corporate events.

MyEconoday for Alltel delivers the information automatically to the corresponding date and time in a user’s Outlook or BlackBerry calendar. These events become a part of customers’ daily schedule, making it easier than ever before to stay informed of market activity.

Alltel’s MyEconoday provides users with two options to gain access to key market-moving information. Subscribers can sync their Alltel mobile devices to their Outlook calendar or have the information delivered wirelessly to their BlackBerry calendar. Unique to MyEconoday is the ability to customize the received information delivered to an investor’s calendar. Simple online customization gives subscribers the ability to focus on those indicators and events of interest to them.

Sprint and LG Electronics  today announced the upcoming availability of a new music phone that provides customers with the ability to quickly and easily experience music on the go - MUZIQ by LG. The MUZIQ succeeds the Fusic music phone.  The MUZIQ comes packed with industry-leading features, including over-the-air song downloads, a 4GB microSD memory card slot and a built-in FM transmitter allowing customers to listen to their tunes wirelessly through any FM radio within 10 feet.

Operating on the Sprint Mobile Broadband network, MUZIQ by LG provides easy access to Sprint's exclusive multimedia content. A successor to last year's FUSIC by LG, MUZIQ by LG provides quick and easy access to Sprint-exclusive content, including:

• Sprint Music Store(SM), powered by Groove Mobile, which allows users to browse and wirelessly download full-length songs directly to their phone from a selection of more than 1.6 million songs.
  

Activating iPhone takes only minutes as iTunes guides the user through simple steps to choose their service plan, authorize their credit and activate their iPhone. Once iPhone is activated, users can then easily sync all of their phone numbers and other contact information, calendars, email accounts, web browser bookmarks, music, photos, podcasts, TV shows and movies just like they do when they sync their iPods with iTunes.

  AT&T and Apple today announced three simple, service plans for iPhone which start at $59.99 per month. All three plans include unlimited data, Visual Voicemail, 200 SMS text messages, roll-over minutes, unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling, and a specific number of voice minutes. With everything else already included, iPhone customers can easily choose the plan that's right for them based on the amount of voice minutes they plan to use each month. In addition, iPhone customers can choose from any of AT&T's standard service plans.

All iPhone plans include Visual Voicemail, an industry first, which allows consumers to see a listing of their voice mails, decide which messages to listen to, then go directly to those messages without listening to previous messages.

Nokia today announces the availability of Nokia Eseries business devices in the U.S. through a variety of channels, allowing both business and individual users to obtain enterprise-grade dual-mode devices - including the new Nokia E61i and Nokia E65 - in this market.

Nuance Communications, Inc. and Time Warner Inc. today announced that Nuance and Time Warner’s AOL LLC subsidiary have signed a definitive agreement whereby Nuance will acquire Tegic Communications Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of AOL LLC and a developer of embedded software for mobile devices.

Tegic developed the T9 interface in 1995 to simplify the typing of text messages on mobile phones. Rather than press 9-9-6-6-6-8-8 to spell the word "you," T9 users can type 9-6-8 and let the software predict which word they are trying to spell.

Taday Sling Media Inc. announced that its award-winning SlingPlayer Mobile software client is now compatible with Microsoft’s new Windows Mobile 6 operating system. SlingPlayer Mobile gives Slingbox owners the ability to watch and control their home TV from a network-enabled Windows Mobile powered device.

With today’s announcement SlingPlayer Mobile is now compatible with devices that run Windows Mobile 6 Standard and Professional editions, Windows Mobile 5.0 and Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition. SlingPlayer Mobile is available for download from Sling Media’s U.S., Canadian, and UK web sites, which can all be accessed from www.slingmedia.com.

SlingPlayer Mobile is available for U.S. customers from Sling Media’s web site at http://us.slingmedia.com/page/downloads.html. SlingPlayer Mobile is available for Canadian customers at http://ca.slingmedia.com/page/downloads.html. 

Verizon Wireless customers will soon have another option when they shop other than just cash or credit – they will be able to pay using their wireless phones. Obopay, the first comprehensive mobile payment service in the U.S., and Verizon Wireless plan to make Obopay’s services available to Verizon Wireless customers in the coming weeks.

Obopay is the first mobile payment offering for any major U.S. carrier, and it will allow Verizon Wireless customers to make purchases easily and directly from their mobile phones.

The Obopay service allows users to receive, send and spend money instantly and effortlessly via their mobile phones – whether shopping at their favorite store, going to the movies or dining with friends. Users can immediately access their mobile money using an Obopay prepaid MasterCard, which can be used at any ATM or retail outlet that accepts credit cards. With Obopay’s user-friendly features, users can also check their account balances, collect money owed from other mobile users, view transaction histories, and invite friends to use the service.

Local Solutions Network, Inc. (LSN) and Verizon Wireless have partnered with local TV affiliates in cities across the country, to offer Verizon Wireless customers in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and nearly 50 markets across the country access to the very latest in local news, weather and sports video – right on their V CAST-enabled phones.

The new V CAST Video channel, Local TV Video, offers Verizon Wireless’ customers with select V CAST-enabled phones easy access to news, weather and sports video stories from local television station affiliates. Local TV Video is the perfect resource for the on-the-go customer looking for immediate access to local information. For example, V CAST customers too busy to catch the evening news can stay abreast of the day’s local news headlines directly from their wireless phones.

Local TV Video is available today from Verizon Wireless on newer V CAST-capable handsets with news from local stations in nearly 50 markets from coast to coast. V CAST is the first true wireless broadband consumer multimedia service in the country and gives customers access to video content on-demand, including news, weather and sports updates, clips from popular TV programs, music videos, movie trailers, 3D games and more. 

AT&T Inc. and Psion Teklogix, which is a global provider of solutions for mobile computing, wireless data collection, imaging and radio-frequency identification (RFID), have announced that Psion Teklogix' WORKABOUT PRO is now available for use on AT&T's BroadbandConnect and EDGE networks. The WORKABOUT PRO is the first UMTS/HSDPA-enabled rugged device to be introduced in North America.

Under this alliance, sales teams from both AT&T and Psion Teklogix will sell the mobile computing device to customers throughout the U.S. Using the WORKABOUT PRO, mobile employees can collect and interact with data no matter where they are by leveraging the AT&T BroadbandConnect network, which is based on the global 3G standard and currently is available in more than 165 major metropolitan areas across the U.S.

Field forces and mobile staff can forgo timely visits to their corporate offices to download information or submit orders, because the solution allows them to transmit data while on the move. The joint solution helps companies increase worker productivity, achieve greater operational efficiency, and it provides enhanced flexibility to end users.

AT&T Inc. announced the launch of AT&T Video Share, the first-ever service in the U.S. that allows users to share live video over their wireless devices while participating in a voice call.

Sprint has launched the Mogul by HTC, the newest Windows Mobile device from Sprint. Operating on the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network, the Mogul by HTC is the first CDMA device in the U.S. with Microsoft Windows Mobile 6 Professional Edition and will also be the first handset from Sprint that will support EV-DO Rev. A data speeds via a free software upgrade that will be made available at a later date.

Building on the strength of its predecessor, the Sprint PCS Vision Smart Device PPC-6700, the Mogul by HTC offers the same innovative design with slide-out QWERTY keyboard, large touch screen and five-way navigation button but also delivers several enhancements:

Business 2.0 recently highlighted 25 Startups to Watch. Of the 25, 5 are players in the mobile market.

The mobile companies profiled includes Fon, loopt, mobio, tiny-radar and soonr.  They all offer unique products or services.  Only time shall tell to see how these companies will perform long term.  They are all well financed and are managed by motivated individuals.

There are many more companies offering a variety of cell phone services.  If you have every thought of a new cell phone service chances are someone is working on it.  We have a list of cell phone technology companies that we have kept updatd over the last year.