Making wireless phone sales simple during the holiday season may seem like a no-brainer. But for customers, getting a wireless phone to tuck into someone else's stocking or under the Christmas tree may mean jumping through some hoops-or side-stepping postpaid service and its contractual...
Content provider BowChica Mobile is teaming with fluffertraX to offer ringtones from adult film soundtracks.The music clips, dubbed Porntones, are culled from the content library of fluffertraX, which operates an Internet radio station that plays music from adult movies. The tones are available online...
Italian teens are leading their U.S. and Western European counterparts in consuming user-generated content and social networking applications, according to new figures from M:Metrics.The market research firm found that 70 percent of 13- to 17-year-old Italian wireless consumers used their phones in October to...
SAN FRANCISCO-Hip-hop continues to rule the ringtone market, according to new charts from two top content providers.Mobile entertainment publisher Moderati said rapper Lil Jon's "Snap Yo Fingers" has been its top-selling independent-label ringtone over the past year, and fellow hip-hop artists Ying Yang Twins...
LOS ANGELES-Napster's mobile offering will make its European debut later this month.The digital music service said O2 Ireland will offer Napster's catalog of 3 million full-length songs, artist images and ringtones to its 1.6 million subscribers. The application includes search, browse, preview and recommendation...
MONTREAL-Oz Communications Inc. is hoping to cash in on the online social networking craze with an offering that allows users to wirelessly access sites such as MySpace, Facebook and YouTube.The Canadian developer of mobile messaging software said its new offering is designed to mirror...
LOS ANGELES-An original animated cartoon featured on Amp'd Mobile will reportedly be picked up and distributed by Comedy Central. "Lil Bush: Resident of the United States" features kid-versions of President George W. Bush and his leading political cronies, and skewers them mercilessly. In the...
U.S. movie theater chain Regal Entertainment Group said altercations related to cell-phone use during movies was one factor that prompted it to begin testing new devices that will summon ushers to deal with such disruptions. The pager-sized devices have four functions, including alerting theater...
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.-Nielsen Entertainment's mobile division has launched its RingScan service to monitor the U.S. ringtone market. The company said it will issue a weekly report of polyphonic, master and voice ringtone sales. The data also will begin appearing Dec. 9 in Billboard magazine.Nielsen...
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.-Nielsen Mobile announced a deal with Sprint Nextel Corp., the nation's No. 3 wireless carrier, to monitor the operator's weekly ringtone and full-length over-the-air song download sales data. Nielsen Mobile is a division of Nielsen Entertainment, which primarily provides TV viewership statistics."Sprint...
ST. LOUIS-MetroPCS Communications Inc. has tapped Amdocs Ltd.'s Qpass digital commerce platform to deliver mobile content. The carrier said it will use the technology to offer chat and voting services as well as ringtones and graphics. Qpass' platform will also support MetroPCS' customer-care efforts...
What goes better than ringtones and rap? Not much. Multi-platinum selling rap artist Chingy has gone the extra step and today can announce girlfriends' names when they call their friends' cell phones. Chingy has replaced the word ``girl'' in the chorus line of his...
ATLANTA-Cingular Wireless L.L.C. is hoping to spur mobile content sales with the launch of prepaid, redeemable cards. The operator is targeting holiday shoppers with "Tone Cards" that can be purchased over Cingular phones, through retail locations or through the carrier's Web site. A $10...
DALLAS-The next paradigm shift in the mobile handset market is enabling mobile multimedia for the masses in emerging markets, a massive opportunity about to materialize, according to Remi El-Ouazzane, worldwide director for Texas Instruments Inc.'s 2.5G technologies. And a "collision" of developments in high-end...
LONDON—Groove Mobile is hoping to take its wireless, full-track download service directly to European consumers. The mobile music technology developer said it will step up marketing and business development efforts in England, tapping Jason Binks as its new director of off-portal marketing. Binks’ resume...
BASINGSTOKE, England—The ringtone market will continue to expand thanks to strong growth in developing markets and the introduction of new personalization products, according to new figures from Juniper Research. The firm predicts a 22 percent rise in ringtone sales over the next three years...
InfoSpace Inc. reported a net loss for the third quarter and announced plans to halt investment in its direct-to-consumer content business, including its recently launched Moviso storefront. Instead, executives said, InfoSpace will refocus on bringing its success in online search into wireless. Shares of...
Digital networking company Plaxo Inc. stepped onto the wireless playground last week, inking a deal to allow Verizon Wireless subscribers to update contact information on their handsets over the air. The software developer unveiled Plaxo Mobile Plus, a service that takes information from popular...
Leap Wireless International Inc. said it will allow its Cricket customers to roam in Cricket markets across the country without paying an additional fee. The carrier also announced a new WAP-based wireless portal and a new rate plan that includes unlimited mobile Web data...
SAN DIEGO—Leap Wireless International Inc. announced it will allow its Cricket customers to roam in other Cricket markets without paying an additional fee. The carrier also said it is pushing data services for its customers with a new WAP-based wireless portal and a new...
BELLEVUE, Wash.—InfoSpace Inc. reported a net loss for the third quarter and announced plans to halt investment in its direct-to-consumer content business, including its recently launched Moviso storefront. Instead, executives said, InfoSpace will refocus on bringing its success in online search into wireless.Shares of...
IRVINE, Calif.—AskMeNow said it plans to add ringtones and wallpapers to its mobile answer service. The company said it will offer more than 5,000 ringtones and true tones from hip hop, country and hard rock artists, television and movie themes, and college fight songs....
NEW YORK—Mobile content retailer Thumbplay Inc. added to its bank account with a new funding round and line of credit. The distributor of ringtones and other content hauled in $10 million in a third round of financing round led by Bain Capital Ventures and...
This Halloween, mobile content provider Mixxer.com is offering free mobile content to wireless trick-or-treaters. The company is giving away spooky graphics and sounds, including ringtones from "Halloween," "The Exorcist," "The Addams Family," and "Tales from the Crypt." The company also is offering free Halloween-themed...
