Alltel ‘cells’ new user interface

Alltel Corp. is continuing its innovation game with the introduction of CellTop, a new user interface running initially on the carrier’s Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. SCH-U520 handset. Alltel said it plans to extend the UI to all of its new handsets by the end of the year.
The interface, which will be offered free to Alltel subscribers except for data charges while roaming, consists of a series of “cells” laid out in two vertical columns per screen, with a maximum of 10 cells. The user launches the UI with one click, then navigates with a series of side-to-side clicks to avoid excessive vertical scrolling. The technology runs on Qualcomm Inc.’s BREW uiOne platform and was developed in partnership with frog design; the content provider is Motricity.
Alltel said the offering makes it easier to access content such as news feeds, sports information, stock updates and ringtones. Other cells include a call log and a text messaging inbox. The data can be automatically or manually refreshed, and is free so long as the customer is within the Alltel network.
Some cells come pre-installed and others are available for download, so that a user can choose whether he wants, say, basketball or rodeo stats. Alltel compared the cells to “widgets” in the desktop computer environment and added that the UI is open to the developer community to create new cells. Alltel said it would roll out new cells in the coming months through its Axcess Shop, where users can download them.
Scott Moody, Alltel’s director of data services, told reporters during a demo of the technology that the company’s “mantra” for 2007 is “choice and control.”
The offering is the latest attempt by Alltel to upstage its larger competitors with new innovations. The company was the first major wireless carrier to introduce an unlimited calling offering to select numbers outside the carrier’s network; T-Mobile USA Inc. recently introduced a similar service.
In a separate announcement, Alltel also said that it would pay a quarterly dividend of 12.5 cents.