Further proof that numbers are fun: According to the National Center for Health Statistics, cellphone-only users are Hispanic males between 25 and 29 years old, live with people they are not related to in a rented house under the poverty line somewhere in the...
As ringtone revenues descend and full-track mobile music services spin their tires, ringback tones are quietly gaining steam. But they may not be quiet much longer.Ringbacks-audio content that a caller hears instead of a traditional ring before the person being called answers the phone-first...
Comverse Inc. said it is teaming with Jamba to power an off-deck ringback tone service for T-Mobile Germany.The carrier will employ Comverse's Fun Broker, an off-deck service that allows content providers to sell ringback tones directly through their portals. The move allows T-Mobile to...
The worldwide mobile music market will more than double in the next few years, exploding from $13.7 billion this year to more than $32 billion by 2010, according to Gartner Inc.But splitting up all that cash won't be easy.While boilerplate agreements don't exist in...
Verizon Wireless landed the exclusive rights to distribute Led Zeppelin's songs over-the-air, with ringtones, ringback tones, alert tones and wallpapers available immediately and full-song downloads available starting Nov. 13. Users with Vcast Music-enabled phones can text ZEP to 8901 for information on how to...
A quick tip to all media companies looking to extend their brands to wireless: Yes, even mass-market phones now have many of the bells and whistles of a home PC, but that doesn't mean you have to use them.Today's wireless devices offer a host...
Cellular One customers will now be able to entertain callers with more exciting sounds than the traditional ring.The No. 11 carrier, Dobson Communications Corp., which is behind the Cellular One brand, signed a pair of deals with L.M. Ericsson for AnswerTunes, a ringback tones...
Editor's Note: Welcome to Reality Check, a feature for RCR Wireless News' new weekly e-mail service, Mobile Content and Culture. We've gathered a group of visionaries and veterans in the mobile content industry to give their insights into the marketplace. In the coming weeks...
The family of late reggae star Bob Marley said they will sue Verizon Wireless and Universal Music Group in response to an exclusive ringtone deal announced earlier this week.Verizon Wireless on Tuesday trumpeted an exclusive pact to offer ringtones and ringback tones from more...
Personalization refers to the way consumers use mobile content as kind of a bumper sticker, telling others who they are and what they think. It won't be long, though, before users will be placing those bumper stickers on your phone-not theirs.Ringback tones were the...
Editor's Note: Welcome to Reality Check, a feature for RCR Wireless News' new weekly e-mail service, Mobile Content and Culture. We've gathered a group of visionaries and veterans in the mobile content industry to give their insights into the marketplace. In the coming weeks...
Whether it's through a transistor radio, a Walkman or an iPod, on-the-go music has an impressive track record as a business model. But when it comes to revenues from full-track downloads, their may be little room on the dance floor for carriers. Mobile music...
Verizon Wireless is hoping to spur its full-track mobile music sales with a new music-identification application.The carrier launched Vcast Song ID, allowing users to play a tune into their phone to discover the name of the song as well as the musician. The free...
RealNetworks Inc. expanded its mobile entertainment business with the $9 million acquisition of Sony NetServices.A joint venture between Sony DADC and Sony Europe, Sony NetServices targets carriers in eight European markets with white-label music services. The company's technology powers on-demand music and video offerings...
RealNetworks Inc. expanded its mobile entertainment business with the $9 million acquisition of Sony NetServices.A joint venture between Sony DADC and Sony Europe, Sony NetServices targets carriers in eight European markets with white-label music services. The company's technology powers on-demand music and video offerings...
Alltel Corp. added "The Wafer"-a new, thin, bar-style handset from Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.-to its portfolio. The handset is $50 with a mail-in rebate and two-year contract, and is available to existing Alltel customers whose rate plan allows them to upgrade their handset.The Wafer...
ORLANDO, Fla.-What would a CTIA Wireless event be without lots of carrier news. Sure, the big operators typically garner the limelight, but smaller players were also in the house and making news of their own.Virgin Mobile USAVirgin Mobile USA L.L.C. said it plans to...
Editor's Note: In this monthly feature, RCR Wireless News talks to retail managers across the country to get a first-hand view of what's hot in wireless.While northeastern Ohio digs out from a mountain of lake-effect snow, Heather Griffiths, district manager for northern Ohio/Cleveland East...
Mobile virtual network operator Helio L.L.C. said last week that it expects to reach the 100,000-customer mark by early in the second quarter and launched a full-track music download service to compete with similar offerings from rival MVNOs and traditional operators.The company ended last...
Helio L.L.C. expects to reach the 100,000-customer mark by early in the second quarter, and its subscribers have been generating average revenue per user of more than $100 per month, the mobile virtual network operator said.The company ended 2006 with 70,000 customers, according to...
Alltel Corp. wireless customers who just can't get enough of personalizing their wireless phones now have a new option: ringback tones. The carrier introduced a ringback tone service, and will charge $1 per month for the offering. The fee includes one complimentary ringback tone;...
Full-track, over-the-air downloads have yet to gain any serious traction, and ringtones are so 2006. But when it comes to mobile music applications, U.S. carriers increasingly are looking to ringback tones to boost data revenues.Ringback tones-music clips that a caller hears instead of a...
Ringback tones continue to gain traction even as the U.S. ringtone market plateaus, according to new figures from M:Metrics.The market research firm found that the popularity of ringback tones-music clips that a caller hears instead of a traditional ring before the person being called...
Motorola Inc. is jumping into the mobile music business with an effort to sell wireless content from Warner Music Group Corp.The handset maker said it will offer preloaded and downloadable full-length tunes, ringtones, ringback tones, music videos and other goodies from the record label....
