FRAMINGHAM, Mass.-Nearly as many U.S. teens acquired their cell phones primarily for text messaging as for talking, according to a study from consultant firm IDC Corp. and text-messaging provider SMS.ac.The poll of 8,000 teens found that 36 percent of respondents bought their phones to...
NEW YORK-Flytxt, which provides mobile marketing technology and services, said it is partnering with HarperCollins Children's Books to launch the Meg Cabot Mobile Club, a cell-phone text messaging program to promote the "Princess Diaries" series, the "Ready or Not" sequel to "All American Girl"...
The battle for wireless customers between the industry's No. 1 operator Cingular Wireless L.L.C. and No. 2 Verizon Wireless is set to move into the rapidly expanding hybrid-plan market segment. Hybrid plans generally merge calling-minute buckets associated with lucrative postpaid plans with the no-contract...
Carriers and content providers increasingly are targeting younger users in a scramble to push revenue-generating content and applications into one of the few remaining growth market segments. But marketing to teens, "tweens" and even grade-schoolers can be a perilous endeavor. Last week, a group...
Eighty-four percent of teenagers own at least one of four devices, including a desktop computer, laptop computer, cell phone or Blackberry. In addition, 45 percent of teens have their own cell phones, said a new report. The findings were part of a survey on...
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.-Smartphones Technologies Inc. and Collegiate Images announced mobile content licensing agreements with more than 30 U.S. colleges and universities that allow Smartphones to offer exclusively licensed college sports content.According to the agreements, Smartphones will create officially licensed wallpapers, animated screensavers, mobile video clips,...
MIAMI-Prepaid wireless provider TracFone Wireless Inc. launched its NET10 service offering providing a flat-rate 10-cent-per-minute calling rate for all calls. The service is available with select Nokia Corp. and Motorola Inc. GSM handsets with airtime card expiration dates available in $30, $60, $180 and...
Revol Wireless announced it has acquired Ohio-based Northcoast PCS, including its CDMA network and spectrum, and has begun offering a youth-oriented, no-contract unlimited calling and messaging service in Cleveland, Dayton and Toledo. Terms of the sale were not announced. The Revol Wireless service includes...
MIAMI-Prepaid wireless provider TracFone Wireless Inc. launched its NET10 service offering providing a flat-rate 10-cent per minute calling rate for all calls.The service is available with select Nokia Corp. and Motorola Inc. GSM handsets with airtime card expiration dates available in $30, $60, $180...
OTTAWA-Canada's wireless carriers introduced intercarrier multimedia message services last week. The initiative enables customers with MMS-capable mobile phones, regardless of the customers' wireless service provider, to send and receive messages with rich content to and from MMS-capable phones of friends, family and colleagues. The...
OTTAWA-Canada's wireless carriers will introduce intercarrier multimedia message services July 1. The initiative will enable customers with MMS-capable mobile phones, regardless of the customers' wireless service providers, to instantly send and receive messages with rich content to and from MMS-capable phones of friends, family...
Bar-code scanning will be a common camera-phone feature in the near future, promises Olivier Attia, chief executive officer of Scanbuy Inc. Attia said that in the next 12 months he expects 50 million to 60 million camera phones to hit the market with his...
The legal chess battle between BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. and patent-holding company NTP Inc. continues, with new patent rulings from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office bolstering RIM's position in the case. The patent office rejected four of the five patents that...
SINGAPORE-Mobile 365 has inked deals to provide text messaging delivery and data services with six Asian operators since January, the company said. Using the CommunicAsia 2005 conference as a backdrop, the company announced partnerships with carriers such as Pakistan's Paktel GSM, Nepal Telecom, Vietnam's...
SINGAPORE-Mobile 365 has inked deals to provide text messaging delivery and data services with six Asian operators since January, the company said Wednesday.Using the CommunicAsia 2005 conference as a backdrop, the company announced partnerships with carriers such as Pakistan's Paktel GSM, Nepal Telecom, Vietnam's...
ESPOO, Finland-Finnish mobile virtual network operator Saunalahti selected Nokia to provide equipment for converged networks that will allow Saunalahti to offer services like Voice over Internet Protocol and multimedia to mobile and fixed telephony customers. Nokia said its gear will allow Saunalahti customers to...
BEDMINSTER, N.J.-A new multimedia messaging service interoperability agreement will allow Verizon Wireless and Leap Wireless International Inc. subscribers to exchange photos and video clips, the carriers said. The service is powered by wireless messaging company Mobile 365, which supports the CDMA2000 1x network standard...
LONDON-Following what it termed extensive customer research and feedback, Vodafone Group plc launched its Vodafone Simply service, which the carrier said provides customers with basic voice and text messaging services along with a simplified pricing scheme. Vodafone said the service would use a pair...
Verizon Wireless announced an agreement with Clear Channel Entertainment Properties to broadcast concert footage of Velvet Revolver, Avril Lavigne, the Moody Blues and other artists. The carrier added a channel to its Vcast service that will feature rotating performances from shows around the nation...
WASHINGTON-South Korea's National Emergency Management Agency said it will expand cell-broadcast disaster alerts to cover the whole country.NEMA said the initiative has enabled mobile-phone subscribers to get information on typhoons, tsunami and other disasters on a real-time basis with the support of wireless carriers...
Struggling to shore up decreasing revenues from voice usage, U.S. carriers agreed last October to a set of messaging guidelines they said would allow them to be MMS-interoperable by the end of 2004. While the target date is long past, it appears they're now...
Following what it termed extensive customer research and feedback, Vodafone Group plc launched its Vodafone Simply service, which the carrier said provides customers with basic voice and text messaging services along with a simplified pricing scheme.Vodafone said the service would use a pair of...
Hop-on.com Inc. reported plans to launch a prepaid mobile virtual network operator service using its low-cost handsets and airtime purchased from an unnamed "major" wireless operator. According to the company's Web site, the service, which is scheduled to launch June 15, uses a GSM...
Leap Wireless International Inc. launched its Travel Time roaming service allowing Cricket customers to use their phones outside of native calling areas on a prepaid basis. Customers can sign up for the service with a $5 Flex Bucket account with per-minute usage deducted at...
