ringbacks

My e-mail inbox is teeming with pitches offering self-serving “predictions” for 2009 that read more like best-case scenarios for those hoping to cash in on mobile. But here’s a forecast …

SAN FRANCISCO — Verizon Wireless stoked the white-hot social-networking fire, launching three offerings that allow subscribers to share content and stay in contact with their friends.The carrier yesterday unveiled SocialLife, …

Five years after 50 Cent’s “In Da Club” helped launch the multibillion-dollar ringtone phenomenon – and as CD sales continue to plummet – the music industry continues to look for …

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 …

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 …

Verizon Wireless put its Bob Marley content back online after a spokesman for the late reggae star’s estate blasted the carrier publicly.Marley’s family last month said it would sue the …

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 …

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 …

The U.S. ringtone market will dip 8 percent this year as the novelty fades and users learn to create their own mobile music clips, according to Broadcast Music Inc.BMI predicted …

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 …

Bring on the cast from Foster’s Home for Imaginary FriendsCartoon Network New Media announced the development of CallToons, a mobile application that allows cellphone users to select their favorite Cartoon …

Cartoon Network New Media fans have another reason to smile this Valentine’s Day. The network has announced the development of CallToons, a new mobile application that allows cellphone users 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 …

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 …

RealNetworks Inc. is buying itself a bigger space on the wireless entertainment playground with a $350 million acquisition of South Korean-based developer WiderThan Co. Ltd. The Seattle-based digital media company …

RealNetworks Inc. is buying itself a bigger space on the wireless entertainment playground with a $350 million acquisition of South Korean-based developer WiderThan Co. Ltd. The Seattle-based digital media company …

Just when you thought mobile music personalization applications couldn’t get any more disruptive, along come background tones. The latest-but surely not last-step in the evolution of such offerings, background tones …

WASHINGTON-Universal Studios is the latest mainstream media giant to go wireless in a big way, establishing a division dedicated to mobile content. Universal, which already has more than 60 licensing …

LAS VEGAS—Listen to Van Toffler for a few minutes and you’ll begin to wonder if the M in MTV stands for mobile. “We’re really moving into the wireless space, and …

SAN FRANCISCO-Men and women alike use ringtones, but there are big differences between the sexes when it comes to other mobile services. A new study from M:Metrics finds females are …

FORT MYERS, Fla.-Kentucky-based regional carrier Bluegrass Cellular Inc. has tapped InterOp Technologies Inc. to provide ringback services, the companies said Thursday. InterOp, which powers mobile data services for Tier 2 …

Verizon Wireless completed its nationwide rollout of ringback tones, launching service Thursday for users in Montana, Wyoming and New Mexico, the carrier said Friday. U.S. carriers have been scrambling to …

WOBURN, Mass.-Verizon Wireless continued to expand its ringback service, making the application available to users in New England. With the new service, subscribers in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode …

With the overwhelming array of wireless content and applications on the market, even the nation’s biggest carriers are struggling with what to offer and how to present it to the …

For U.S. carriers, the race to deploy ringback tones is on. Ringbacks-the clips of music a caller hears instead of a traditional ring before the person being called answers the …