Sprint is backing up its promise to be the best value in wireless, by announcing the only full money-back satisfaction guarantee on service plans that exists in the wireless industry today.
Beginning tomorrow, the Sprint Free Guarantee gives any customer opening a new line of service the chance to try Sprint for 30 days. If a customer isn't completely satisfied, they can get reimbursed for the device purchase and activation fee, get the early termination fee waived, get a full refund for service plan monthly recurring charges incurred and get all associated taxes and Sprint surcharges associated with these charges waived. In addition, Sprint will waive the restocking fee for new customer exchanges as part of this policy.
Users of the new Google Nexus One Android phone now have the means to fully share and back-up their content with their PC thanks to a new PC software that allows the phone to interact with the PC.
Mobile phone software company FutureDial Incorporated announced today that its FutureDial Suite Smartphone Edition now supports the Android-based Google Nexus One, in addition to the Motorola DROID. The new PC software allows Nexus One users to easily share phonebook contacts, pictures, video, audio and music and text message files between the phone and the PC. The new software is the only product currently on the market that is fully compatible with all content types on the ANDROID handset, unlike other products which only offer partial support.
SouthernLINC Wireless and Motorola, Inc. today announced plans to launch Motorola i1, the world's first Push To Talk Android-Powered smartphone on the Integrated Digital Enhanced Network (iDEN).
Motorola i1 has the sleek look of a touch screen smartphone and the solid dependability that meets Military specifications for protection against dust, shock, vibration and blowing rain(1). This feature-rich, multitasking smartphone provides the immediacy of Push To Talk communication with the speed of Wi-Fi® and offers an optimized Web browsing and messaging experience.
"As we continue to expand our product portfolio, the upcoming launch of the Android-powered Motorola i1 marks a major milestone for SouthernLINC Wireless," said Bob Dawson, president and CEO of SouthernLINC Wireless. "We are excited to offer our customers a modern, touch screen phone that marries our premier Push To Talk two-way radio service with highly-desirable multimedia features and thousands of available applications and widgets for personal and business use."
Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung Mobile) is kicking off a nationwide in-school education and recycling program as part of its March to a Million pledge to collect one million mobile phones for recycling in 2010. Reaching an estimated seven million middle and high school students in approximately 9,500 schools across the U.S., the eco-focused program will educate teens about the importance and ease of mobile phone recycling.
Students will learn about the importance of mobile phone recycling and the impact that it can have, both environmentally and socially, and participate in activities that will allow them to educate their peers, parents and local communities. Each participating school has the opportunity to enter a sweepstakes to win either a VIP concert from the pop/rock band, Hey Monday, or one of fifty $1,000 “Green Grants” to put towards making their school more environmentally friendly3. The winner of the VIP concert will be announced in June.
Mobile data traffic from PC modems and routers is forecast to increase fourfold between 2010 and 2014, according to a new Research Brief from ABI Research. This year some 2,000 petabytes of data will be sent and received, a figure that will rise to about 8,000 petabytes in 2014.
The regional distribution of this traffic demand highlights global economic trends as well. Jeff Orr, Senior Analyst, Mobile Devices, comments: “Today, and for most of our forecast period, modems and routers in Western Europe will generate the highest levels of mobile data traffic, but by an ever-decreasing margin. In 2014, we expect the Asia-Pacific region to overtake Western Europe as the largest source of demand for this traffic.”
Nokia Beta Labs has released the above video introducing Nokia Bots which promises to take the hassle out of everyday tasks. Nokia Bots includes 4 bots, each designed to learn specific habits and automate certain processes in order to make your mobile life that little bit easier.
Nuance Communications, Inc. today announced the availability of Nuance TALKS 5.0 for Series 60 5th edition touchscreen phones. Nuance TALKS is Nuance’s leading assistive software that converts displayed text on a handset into highly-intelligible speech for blind or visually impaired mobile consumers.
Nuance TALKS 5.0 enables both blind and visually-impaired users to take full advantage of the many features found on popular Series 60 touchscreen mobile phones, including contact directories, caller ID, text messaging, access to Web browsers, and other applications like the popular Fring messaging application – all while retaining the original user interface. Until now, it has been challenging for the visually-impaired community to use touchscreen devices given the dynamic placement of icons, letters and numbers on virtual keypads, and existing screen readers for touchscreen phones override the original user interface for low-vision and fully-sighted users.
Nuance TALKS 5.0 features a new exploration mode that allows users to simply slide their finger across the screen to hear menus, applications, widgets, text, and more via Nuance’s robust text-to-speech capabilities.
Nokia has announced it has signed an agreement to acquire 100% of the outstanding shares of Novarra, Inc., a privately-held company based in Chicago, IL. Novarra is a provider of a mobile browser and service platform and has more than 100 employees. Novarra's mobile browser and services platform will be used by Nokia to deliver enhanced Internet experiences on Nokia mobile devices. Novarra has deployed their solution with leading mobile operator and internet services customers globally.
"Connecting the next billion consumers to the Internet will happen primarily on mobile devices," said Niklas Savander, Executive Vice President, Services, Nokia, "and delivering an optimized internet experience on our devices is core to our mission. By driving innovation in all segments of our portfolio, we are building one of the largest consumer audiences for web services and content. Novarra's Internet services technology delivered on the world's most widely-used mobile platform, Nokia's Series 40, will help us achieve this."
Nokia expects a new service offering utilizing the Novarra technology platform to be available later this year.
Sprint today announced the launch of 4G in the Lone Star state's biggest city: Houston. The next generation of wireless, also known as 4G, provides fast mobile downloads, streaming video and Web browsing at turbo-speed and delivers downloads that are faster than any wireless broadband service currently being offered by AT&T, Verizon or T-Mobile.
With today's launch, Sprint makes Texas the "biggest 4G state" in terms of the number of people who have access to the Sprint mobile network. In addition to Houston, the 4G network is currently operating in Abilene, Amarillo, Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Fort Worth, Killeen/Temple, Lubbock, Midland/Odessa, San Antonio, Waco and Wichita Falls. Nationwide, Sprint boasts 28 markets that have 4G capability today.
Verizon Wireless today announced that Push to Talk will be available for the BlackBerry Tour 9630 smartphone on March 30. It will be available for both BlackBerry Internet Service and BlackBerry Enterprise Server customers using the BlackBerry Tour smartphone.
Once Push to Talk is added to their service plans, customers can download the application from the Application Center or through VZStart on their handsets. The convenience key on the left side of the device will automatically become the Push to Talk button when the application is downloaded.
Cricket Communications, Inc. recently announced the availability of Cricket Broadband at 450 select Best Buy stores in Cricket markets.
Beginning Sunday, March 28, Best Buy customers can select Cricket Broadband’s unique all-inclusive $50 monthly Internet service plan. This industry leading product includes all fees and telecom taxes and provides unlimited high-speed wireless Internet access without a signed contract, credit check or concern of overage fees. With unlimited broadband access users can email, surf and download from their PC or Mac desktops or laptops from home or on-the-go anywhere within Cricket Broadband's coverage areas. The Cricket A600 modem will be available as a self-activated grab-and-go offering for $69.99 with no activation fee. In addition, $50.00 top-up cards will also be available for this product at Best Buy. Cricket Broadband works well with Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7 plus Mac OS 10.3.9 and higher.
A public awareness campaign in Michigan launches this week about Assurance Wireless by Virgin Mobile, a new cell phone service that makes wireless calling available at no cost to more than 835,600 eligible low-income households throughout Michigan.
Assurance Wireless, one of Sprint's prepaid brands, provides more free wireless minutes per month than other similar prepaid programs. Michigan residents may begin applying for Assurance Wireless today.
With more people needing assistance in this difficult economy, Assurance Wireless is providing additional relief to those who need it most. Qualifying Assurance Wireless customers1 in Michigan will be eligible to receive a free handset and 200 minutes of free wireless local and long-distance calling within the United States every month.
Google announced today the launch of Google Mobile App for BlackBerry Storm and Storm2. This version is tailored for BlackBerry touchscreen devices with all the useful features of Google Mobile. You can search using your voice instead of typing your query by holding the green button and speaking your query in English, Mandarin Chinese, or Japanese.
You can also use Google Mobile App to search your BlackBerry's email and contacts. To find an email, you can search for the name of the person who sent you an email, or a phrase from the body of the message. If you'd rather Google Mobile App not search your email and contacts, you can turn off Phone Search in the options screen. Information about your contacts and content from your emails is accessible only on your device; Google Mobile App does not send this data to Google.
The GSMA today announced that it is piloting a solution to address mobile messaging misuse caused by spam, which is a growing issue for consumers and mobile operators. The GSMA Spam Reporting Service will provide a worldwide clearinghouse of messaging threats and misuse which have been reported by mobile users. The GSMA Spam Reporting Service is in trials with leading operators including AT&T Mobility, Korea Telecom and SFR.
The GSMA Spam Reporting Service, which is operated on behalf of the GSMA by Cloudmark, Inc., will analyse SMS traffic and identify and aggregate reports of misuse submitted by mobile subscribers of participating networks via a short code. The short code '7726', which spells "SPAM" on most phones, will be used where local national numbering plans permit, in conjunction with an additional code '33700', a universally recognised simple code, to encourage consumers to report instances of SMS spam.
PureEnergy Solutions, Inc., the leader in wire-free power with its WildCharge technology, is planning to bring its wire-free charging solutions to customers of T-Mobile USA, Inc. through the introduction of the new myTouch Drop and Go Charging Pad, which is planned for distribution in select T-Mobile stores in the coming weeks.
The new myTouch Drop and Go Charging Pad provides a charging pad and an elegant replacement back that allows for wire-free charging for the T-Mobile® myTouch 3G. The charging accessory comes with three versatile PowerDiscs which allow a wide variety of mobile phones and Bluetooth® headsets to be charged in addition to the customized replacement back designed specifically for charging the myTouch 3G.
“Consumers are demanding a simple, reliable, and elegant wire-free charging system that works across the board, with multiple devices.
Digg has announced the launch of Digg's official app for the iPhone. The free app was designed to create a seamless browsing experience between Digg and the most popular content on the web, as chosen by the Digg community. The video above gives a detailed description of the features of the app.
Niko can be controlled by Twitter to follow simple commands such as forward, backward, turn right, left and turn around. Niko was created by Eric, a graduate of Computer Science from the University of Waterloo and Stephanie, a graduate of Maths Business.
The video above is of Niko, a robot built as an entry to PUSH’s Mod USA challenge. Niko is built from Lego and uses the N900 brain power and camera to operate, navigate and take pictures of everything it bumps into. (See video above).
Niko can be controlled by Twitter to follow simple commands such as forward, backward, turn right, left and turn around. Niko was created by Eric, a graduate of Computer Science from the University of Waterloo and Stephanie, a graduate of Maths Business.
From CTIA WIRELESS 2010, Verizon Wireless offers its customers some home-grown apps to help manage their lives while traveling. Running on the largest and most reliable wireless voice and 3G data network, applications in the Android Market give customers the freedom to do almost anything while on the go.
This week’s highlighted apps in the Verizon Channel in the Android Market include:
My Verizon – Customers can use this free app to access their Verizon Wireless accounts to get balances, usage numbers and payment information and to update features, services and Family SharePlan lines.
Visual Voice Mail – Instead of dialing in to voice mail, customers can use Visual Voice Mail ($2.99 monthly subscription) to access and manage voice mail messages by scrolling through their inboxes to pick the messages they need to listen to, delete or reply to. Customers can choose to respond to their voice mails immediately via text message or callback.
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