Alltel Wireless today announced the addition of “texting” to its exclusive “My Circle” offer. Starting today, “My Circle” customers can send and receive unlimited text/video/picture messages to anyone in their “Circle,” as well as other Alltel Wireless customers, with its new “My Circle” message packs starting at $7.99 per month.

Customers with the new “My Circle” message packs receive unlimited messaging to their “Circle of Friends” as well as other Alltel Wireless customers. Customers can choose from several message packs including plans for $7.99 or $12.99 which provides users 400 or 1,000 additional text/video/picture messages, respectively, to communicate with consumers outside of their “Circle” or that are not Alltel customers.  

For customers seeking unlimited messaging, Alltel Wireless still offers the $19.99 All Access Pass that includes unlimited messaging and mobile web.  “My Circle” message packs can be added to any “My Circle” five, 10 or 20 calling plan. 

Now Alltel and non-Alltel customers have access to more than 25,000 hotspots developed through Alltel’s relationship with Boingo Wireless, the global market leader in Wi-Fi. So whether you are traveling across the country, waiting to catch a plane or checking out the latest paperback book release, Alltel Wireless can keep you connected.

Alltel Wi-Fi is available for purchase by anyone in the United States as a stand alone offer. Consumers can access unlimited Wi-Fi access for $19.99 per month or $3.99 per day with no contract commitment. In the past year, more than 15,000 additional hotspots have been added to Alltel’s nationwide service, which includes thousands of hotels, bookstores, coffee shops and fast food restaurants.

Travelers can also take advantage of Alltel’s premium Wi-Fi service, which provides Internet access in more than 100 of the nation’s airports and thousands of hotspots across Canada , Mexico and Europe. 

Verizon Wireless is the buying Alltel Corporation.  The companies has entered into an agreement which includes Atlantis Holdings LLC, an affiliate of private investment firm TPG Capital and GS Capital Partners, for Verizon Wireless to acquire Alltel Corporation in a cash merger.

Verizon Wireless will acquire the equity of Alltel for approximately $5.9 billion. Based on Alltel’s projected net debt at closing of $22.2 billion, the aggregate value of the transaction is $28.1 billion.  The merget is expected to be completed by the end of the year which is subject to obtaining regulatory approvals.

Once this transaction closes, customers of both companies will have access to an expanded range of products and services, including a premier lineup of basic and advanced devices and an expanded IN Network calling community.

Revenues were $2.3 billion, an 11 percent increase from the same period a year ago. The company reported a net loss of $125 million, due primarily to significant increases in interest costs and depreciation and amortization expense following the completion of the merger.

HTC is offering an  update for Alltel HTC Touch customers.  So why update the ROM on your device?

• The software upgrade offered provides several key enhancements for your HTC Touch:
• Adds EVDO Rev. A capability for faster download and upload speeds
• Improves Bluetooth performance, fixing connectivity issues with some headsets and other devices.
• Adds ability to receive video messages.

Note: EV-DO Rev. A is network dependent and may not be available in all areas.

For more information visit: http://www.htc.com/Alltel-HTC-Touch-Updates

The HTC Touch features a touch screen, 2MP camera with video, Windows Media Player, a MicroSD memory card slot, Bluetooth Wireless Technology and Windows Mobile 6.0 Professional.

Alltel today announced that the BlackBerry Curve 8330 smartphone from Research In Motion will be available in Alltel retail stores May 1. However, starting today, the BlackBerry Curve 8330 is available online for pre-order at shopalltel.com/curve.  This sleek, titanium-colored smartphone, will keep customers connected to the people and information that matter most, as well as provide them with added flexibility and freedom to manage their busy schedules.

The BlackBerry Curve 8330 smartphone, with RIM’s famous communications features, trackball navigation system and Alltel’s high-speed EVDO network, makes connectivity and productivity easy and provides customers with the ability to access personal or corporate e-mail services on the go.

The BlackBerry Curve 8330 is RIM’s smallest full-QWERTY smartphone and packs a powerful punch with a 2 MP camera that supports video recording, GPS capabilities such as Alltel Navigation and support for hi-speed USB, so large files can be transferred quickly and conveniently.

Alltel Wireless has partnered with Ontela to bring their customers PhotoCopter, a  service that finally unlocks the photos trapped inside their phones. PhotoCopter saves every camera phone picture customers snap to their home computers and favorite web photo albums. PhotoCopter automatically transfers the taken picture to the PC -- with no extra buttons to push.

The PhotoCopter service is exclusively available to Alltel customers with the Motorola V3m, V3a, V9m and ROKR for $2.99/month, providing customers with unlimited picture transfer to their PC, email address, and web photo albums including Photobucket, Flickr, Blogger, and Snapfish. 

The PhotoCopter service addresses a widespread problem for camera phone owners: it is often difficult to get pictures off of a camera phone. On a typical phone model, it requires 100 keystrokes to get ten pictures transferred to a PC.

Alltel Wireless, U.S. Celluar and Motorola, Inc. today announced that Motorola’s leading smartphone will be available in two color options, MOTO Q 9c in licorice and MOTO Q 9c lime, expected this summer. MOTO Q 9c and MOTO Q 9c lime provide on-the-go consumers with the tools and applications needed to keep up with their fast-paced professional and personal lives.

While Verizon Wireless and Motorola, Inc. also announced today the April availability of MOTO Q 9c, the newest addition to Verizon Wireless' MOTO Q family, that comes equipped with Verizon Wireless' popular VZ NavigatorSM service.

The smartphones offer innovative features wrapped in a sleek design. Alltel and U.S. Cellular Wireless customers can choose their color preference, MOTO Q 9c in licorice with a silver sail band or MOTO Q 9c lime edged in tin silver. 

The QWERTY keyboard has been precisely engineered for fast and accurate typing and provides the ideal experience for frequent messaging.

Pandora Media, a personalized radio service online, and Alltel Wireless launched an marketing campaign where Pandora users in specific Alltel Wireless markets will be invited to submit their favorite hometown bands on Pandora's website (www.pandora.com).

On the homepage, an Alltel Wireless ad asks its customers and consumers nationwide to join a collaborative effort to create Alltel Wireless branded, local music stations across the country to promote distinct, regional music styles and the local artists who play them. Users can then share their personal stations, songs or favorite musical groups with others.

Pandora's registration process captures users' zip codes and makes it possible to engage in precise "geo-targeting," bringing Alltel Wireless' "My Circle" message to its best prospects. During the year-long campaign, Alltel Wireless will be the exclusive advertiser registered users in these geo-targets see, hear and connect with on the Pandora homepage.

Alltel Wireless announced today that the Samsung Muse is now available. The Samsung Muse enables music lovers to always have their favorite music tunes within reach. 

The midnight blue Muse is a sleek flip-phone providing customers with high-quality sound as well as the ability to store with up to 64MB of internal memory.  The Muse has a dedicated music key, which provides users with immediate access to an MP3 player, music library, ringtones, and a free trial offer to preview 20 popular satellite music channels on Alltel’s XM Radio Mobile service.  Additionally, the Muse features Alltel’s Axcess TV, GPS-based Axcess Mobile Guide, a 2.0 megapixel camera with video and stereo Bluetooth technology for customers wanting a total multimedia experience.

The Samsung Muse also supports Alltel’s new service, Axcess Voice2TXT. This innovative service is available on any Alltel Wireless text message capable phone. 

LG Electronics has announced the LG Glimmer (LG-AX830) which features a touch-screen for Alltel. The Glimmer is a slider handset with a 2.8-inch touchscreen and touch-based user interface. Pricing and availability information were not made available. The Alltell LG Glimmer features:

• Dimensions: 4"x2.05"x0.59"
• Weight: 4.48 oz
• 2 megapixel camera
• Bluetooth 1.2, USB connectivity
• 1900/800 MHz dual band CDMA connectivity, High Speed EVDO data
• 2.8" 262K color, 240×400 px touchscreen display
• 128MB of internal memory
• microSD memory card slot
• 800 mAh battery for 3.5 hrs talk and 7 days standby time

Alltel Wireless today announced it will offer Voicemail MAXTM, an application which enables customers to personalize outgoing voicemail greetings with the voices of Hollywood stars, comedians, celebrity impersonators, and top-selling music artists.

Developed by 9 Squared, a Zed Company and leading provider of mobile content in the U.S. , Voicemail MAX features content from Larry the Cable Guy, Steve Harvey, Orlando Jones, T.I., and popular voices from COMEDY CENTRAL'S "RENO 911!"

Voicemail MAX is available on select phones and provides access to over 500 audio clips recorded by premier voice talent. The application is available for download and preview at no additional cost via the phone’s main menu. One greeting may be purchased for $2.99, and customers can choose from a wide variety of content categories including Hip Hop Celebrities, Rock Stars, Sports, Business, Holiday , Cartoon, and many others.

Alltel has launched the LG Scoop, announced last month. The LG Scoop allows customers to take it easy on their thumbs with a messaging-friendly QWERTY keyboard and chat-style IM.

Offered in three colors including citrus orange, slate gray and turquoise blue, the LG Scoop has AOL Instant Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger pre-loaded, so there is never a missed message.

The phone also features a microSD expansion, music player, 1.3 MP camera with video capabilities and is Celltop-ready as well as Bluetooth capable.
    
The LG Scoop is the ideal phone to use Alltel’s new service, Axcess Voice2TXT, which converts incoming voicemails to text and sends them to the customer’s text inbox.

With the QWERTY keyboard, users of this phone will be able to easily and discretely respond to voicemails

Alltel Wireless and world renowned poet Dr. Maya Angelou are teaming up to celebrate Black History Month with the fourth annual “Words of Wisdom” essay contest.

Students at participating Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) nationwide are encouraged to submit their responses to the following question: “In remembering the past, what will you do to contribute to a brighter future?”

Ten Grand Prize winners will each receive a $5,000 scholarship to a participating HBCU institution of their choice as well as a trip to Little Rock , Ark. , to meet Dr. Maya Angelou and enjoy a private concert with R&B sensation Ruben Studdard. While in Little Rock , students and their guests will also enjoy tours of local landmarks, such as the William J. Clinton Presidential Center and the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion.

Alltel Wireless and Corrigo, a provider of on-demand service management software for maintenance, installation and repair organizations, today announced they will work together to provide small to mid-size business customers the ability to monitor field technicians and increase overall productivity.

With Corrigo’s WorkTrack Service Management system, service-based businesses can wirelessly dispatch work orders to employees in the field.  Those workers are then able to pick up and manage the orders using select mobile devices on the Alltel network. 

WorkTrack Service Management also provides businesses the ability to monitor field technicians’ time and provide efficient status reports with real-time reporting, resulting in reduced payroll and administrative costs. This application is equipped with GPS technology, which allows jobs to be dispatched to the most skilled technicians for particular jobs as well as monitor employees when they arrive to a job site.