Dec 31 2003 - 01:00 PM ET | Unique
A new service called ChildLocate aims to provide location based services for parents worried about their kids. Although the sercice is only available in the U.K. right now, it will expand into other Euro markets within the next 6 months....
Dec 29 2003 - 12:20 PM ET | In The News
The Boston Globe has a rather long piece on the possible mergers we'll see in 2004. The Cingular + AT&T Wireless deal we mentioned last week is included. Other possible mergers are: * Verizon Wireless + Sprint PCS * Cingular...
Dec 27 2003 - 05:26 PM ET | Nokia
Nokia is spending more money advertising the N-Gage--the Washington Post is reporting that the Nokia Sugar Bowl will be quite N-Gage-centric: bq. " Nokia is attempting to make sure that the 72,000 fans watching the Oklahoma-Louisiana State game live and...
MobileBurn has posted a review of the popular Shure QuiteSpot headset. The device recieved high marks for its sound quality (Shure knows a thing or two about microphones). It got knocked for lacking a button, a common feature that allows...
Dec 24 2003 - 08:25 PM ET | Push-to-talk
Walter Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal has posted a piece on walkie-talkie (also known as push-to-talk or PTT) phones. Earlier this year only Nextel offered the service in the US, now Nextel is competing with Verizon and Sprint PCS....
Dec 24 2003 - 08:18 PM ET | Camera
Scotland's second largest teaching union is advising that camera phones be banned from schools. The request cites possibilities of childen cheating on exams and paedophiles taking pictures of children. Both of the examples sound unfounded: * The only adults available...
Dec 23 2003 - 11:48 AM ET | In The News
A federal appeals court today ruled that cell phone companies are free to offer whatever deals they want to consumers, even if some customer end up with better deals than others. Most companies allow sales staff to add in extra...
Investors pushed AT&T Wireless [AWE] up more than 5% in the first 2 hours of trading today thanks to a rumor about a possible merger with Cingular. We first reported on this rumor back in November. The idea of an...
Dec 23 2003 - 11:16 AM ET | Sprint Nextel
Sprint PCS is shipping a limited number of the highly anticipated Sony Ericsson T608. To land your hand on this Bluetooth enabled handset, call 1-866-PCS-AUTO. The total after tax and shippings seems to come out to $221....
Dec 22 2003 - 06:37 PM ET | Review
PC Magazine has posted reviews of several Sony Ericsson products. They are as follows: T616, Bluetooth Car Kit HCB-30, Bluetooth Music Handsfree HBM-30, and the Bluetooth Headset HBH-35. You can purchase the Sony Ericsson T616 for $49.99 excluding $200 in...
Dec 22 2003 - 12:13 PM ET | In The News
ScienceDaily News has a piece on the latest technology out of the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), ink-jet printed displays. The technique uses modified ink-jet printers to create flat panel displays. Besides cutting costs, the technology is expected to work...
Dec 22 2003 - 11:58 AM ET | Cingular
Cingular Wireless has announced that during select regular season NCAA Basketball games, its users will be able to send their opinions to the CBS announcers. The program is being called, "Cingular Fan in the Stands" and will include a lot...
Dec 19 2003 - 10:55 AM ET | Sony Ericsson
Sony Ericsson announced today that its testing online gaming between mobiles. It looks to be open to all consumers, but certain carrier restrictions apply....
Dec 18 2003 - 03:31 PM ET | SMS
LG USA's Text In The City competition has concluded. The goal was to find the biggest flirt that uses text messages as their medium. The results? Four hyper-cheesy pickup lines that you're free to use if you dare. Male *...
Dec 18 2003 - 03:17 PM ET | Cingular
According to a survey commissioned by Cingular Wireless, cellular phones top electronic gift lists for teens. This is pretty telling as it puts wireless phones above DVD players and video game systems. Another surprising statistic is that the cool factor...
NTT DoCoMo has announced its latest offering, the FOMA 900i series. The entire series is shipping with a Macromedia Flash browser, a first for 3G handsets. Expect to see them early next year. The notables in the 5-phone series are:...
Dec 18 2003 - 01:14 PM ET | In The News
Apple Computer has updated QuickTime, its popular media application. QuickTime 6.5 adds improved support for 3GPP [search], the mobile multimedia standard. According to the company, QuickTime 6.5 enables users to share high-quality video, audio and text across the two predominant...
Verizon Wireless has introduced a wireless IM application that resembles its desktop counterparts. It's billed as the first graphic-based IM application with access to multiple services for mobiles. It works today with both MSN and AIM, and Yahoo! starting next...
Dec 16 2003 - 11:21 PM ET | Bargain, Danger
Amazon.com is selling the T-Mobile Color Sidekick for -$30 after rebates (service contract required). The popular mobile device that is made by Danger, but marketed by T-Mobile, runs $219.99 before the rebates. There is free shipping....
Dec 16 2003 - 10:43 PM ET | Camera
NewsFactor has a piece on the status of camera phones in locker rooms... No real surprise that people don't like illicitly taken naked photos being sent around....
Dec 16 2003 - 10:23 PM ET | Motorola
Nextel has launched the Motorola i530, a flip phone that can withstand war--literally. Billed by Motorola as the, "First Flip-style Phone in the U.S. that Meets Military Standards for Resistance to Dust, Shock, Vibration and Humidity", the phone is designed...
Dec 15 2003 - 09:02 AM ET | 3G
There are now more than 210,000 Hutchison 3G subscribers in Britain according to the company. In all markets, Hutchison has 660,000 3G subscribers. Despite the low numbers, 2.5 million new phones are on their way to the carrier. The company...
Dec 15 2003 - 08:35 AM ET | Unique
Sports Illustrated has a piece on Joe Horn--after scoring a touchtown yesterday, the New Orleans receiver was given a cell phone that was hidden in the goal post padding and placed a call. A 15 yard penalty was assessed for...
Dec 15 2003 - 01:17 AM ET | DoCoMo
NTT DoCoMo has announced that its today launching a trial of an e-wallet technology dubbed "i-mode FeliCa preview service." bq. "The phones will be used for public transport tolls, electronic money, personal identification and other trial services between December 17,...
Dec 15 2003 - 01:03 AM ET | Vodafone
Vodafone K.K. sent out a press release stating that customers who, "send more than 120 mails in the space of three hours from Vodafone PDC (2G) handsets will have mail sending access restricted for the next 21 hours." This is...
Dec 15 2003 - 12:58 AM ET | Unique
Toshiba announced that it created a hard drive the size of a nickle aimed directly at the mobile phone sector. The drive can hold as much as 3GB of information and will start shipping in 2005....
Dec 12 2003 - 12:37 PM ET | Camera
Hungary has taken a step to curb unwanted pictures being taken by mobile phones. According to the data protection ombudsman, if you want to take and send a picture of someone, you must first have their permission. The ruling came...
Verizon Wireless, the largest wireless carrier in the US, has announced it is shipping the Audiovox CDM-8900. Available today the phone is only the second model with a camera available from the carrier, a latecomer to the red-hot technology. As...
Jason O'Grady of the PowerPage has posted a series of articles detailing his new toy--the Sony Ericsson T630. We first mentioned this phone back in October. Apple added support for it just days later. It's the replacement for the popular...
Walter Mossberg's latest column in the Wall Street Journal is all about smart phones. He has been using both the Motorola MPx200 and the Samsung i600: bq. "Both phones worked OK. Their big flaw is that the Microsoft software is...
Sprint PCS has introduced its latest phone, the Samsung VI660. The phone is said to be the first with "Voice-Activated Status Updates" built-in. Users can use a keyword to hear the status signal strength and battery. Although highly touted, this...
Dec 10 2003 - 12:02 PM ET | Unique
Smart Mobs notes that another bone conduction cell phone has been announced. The technology transfers vibrations directly into your skull and then into your ear drum. It's popular for noisy environments that speakers do poorly in. We saw this same...
Dec 10 2003 - 11:47 AM ET | Motorola
Motorola announced iTAP 6.0, an update to its predictive text technology. The new version can now predict whole sentences, which really speeds up text input. The software adapts based on your past use. Look for iTAP 6.0 on Motorola phones...
Dec 10 2003 - 11:42 AM ET | Camera
Jack Vu was arrested in Seattle on felony charges for allegedly sliding a camera phone under a woman's skirt and snapping pictures. It's good to see a city moving in on the real problem, the people who misuse technology, not...
Dec 09 2003 - 12:04 PM ET | Unique
Sharp has announced that it created software that allows business documents (word processing files, spreadsheets and presentations) to be viewed on conventional mobile phones. The trick is a server must turn the document into a SVG before it gets to...
Dec 09 2003 - 11:51 AM ET | Camera
According to the latest figures, camera phone sales are up an impressive 22% in the third quarter. Worldwide, 132.8 million camera phones were sold. Sales for the fourth quarter should continue the upward trend....
Dec 09 2003 - 11:26 AM ET | Sprint Nextel
MobiTV announced that it will carry the US Democratic presidential candidate debate tonight on channel 5. This will make the debate the first such event to be broadcast live to mobile phones. The debate starts at 7PM ET. If you...
LG Electronics is rumored to begin using the Symbian operating system for its upcoming smartphones. The company would not confirm the rumor, but no denial was given either....
Dec 09 2003 - 12:33 AM ET | In The News
The Observer notes some of the privacy risks that come with location based services on mobile phones. Select phones in the US already sport this feature--usually advertised for its use with 911 services. However, the technology has many more uses...
The San Francisco Chronicle published an article that details some of the problems consumers have had switching carriers: bq. "Lin [a wireless analyst with American Technology Research] estimated that there have been problems with roughly a quarter of the transfers...
Dec 08 2003 - 06:33 PM ET | Sprint Nextel
According to a report by Gizmodo, the Sony Ericsson T608's fate is still up for debate. The phone was supposed to be marketed by Sprint PCS, but Sony Ericsson cut the model from its line up before its debut. Lots...
Dec 08 2003 - 03:17 PM ET | Miscellaneous
According to a recent piece on Slate, personal cell phone jammers in the US will become more common place as more Americans become fed up with the constant jabbering. Jammers are legal to purchase, but illegal to use. We mentioned...
Research In Motion confirmed that it is working on an über device that will grace WiFi, WLAN and cellular networks. Yesterday we reported on NTT DoCoMo's 3G/WLAN device--multi-network handhelds are the next big thing. RIM declined to comment on when...
Dec 07 2003 - 12:58 PM ET | DoCoMo
NTT DoCoMo announced that it is testing a mobile phone that works on both 3G and W-LAN networks. bq. "With the new handset, users will be able to access the W-LAN — increasingly available in cafes and office buildings —...
Dec 06 2003 - 11:00 PM ET | Camera
Regional carrier ALLTEL has begun to offer picture messaging according to a release by the company. Axcess Picture Messaging is starting off free for the first month, but will cost $3.95 a month afterwards. That $3.95 will score unlimited picture...
Rob Pegoraro of the Washington Post reviewed the Motorola MPx200 and was quite impressed. Slated to be published tomorrow, the review praises the low cost of the smartphone and its ability to do a lot, but not too much. It...
Dec 05 2003 - 11:42 AM ET | Sprint Nextel
Sanyo's latest phone is now available from Sprint PCS, the VM4500. Like the other new phone from Sprint PCS, the Toshiba VM4050, the Sanyo VM4500 is video savvy. Customers that subscribe to Sprint PCS Vision are able to send 15-second...
Dec 05 2003 - 11:32 AM ET | Sprint Nextel
Toshiba has announced a new phone dubbed the VM4050 that among other things allows Sprint PCS Vision users to create and receive video messages. The messages can be up to 15 seconds in length. As you might assume, this phone...
Dec 04 2003 - 05:19 PM ET | Bargain
Motorola's fierce seller, the MPx200, has taken another price dip. Previously priced at $79.99, the smartphone is now $0 after rebates. Even better, it costs only $169 before rebates. To get the deal, you must sign a GSM contract with...
The FCC is busy asking questions to AT&T Wireless about some number-switch-snags. AT&T Wireless was the only national carrier that did not hire wireless savvy TSI to handle the tricky LNP process. You may remember that AT&T Wireless was the...
Dec 04 2003 - 04:46 PM ET | In The News
A bill in the US Senate aims to put a stop to the mobile industry's latest money making idea--a mobile phone number directory. Consumers have rapidly switched from home phones to cell phones, and do not miss public directories. The...
For various reasons worldwide shipments of cellular phones have surged, causing a squeeze on supply. Reasons for the brisk sales have varied from the Christmas season to improving economic conditions to cheaper hand sets. The latest estimates for sales this...
Dec 04 2003 - 08:55 AM ET | Miscellaneous
Anxiety over mobile phones, especially over camera phones is growing. At least one city wants to go as far as banning phones in its parks. Washington D.C. is looking to ban phones while driving, a move similar to what other...
Dec 04 2003 - 08:49 AM ET | Camera
CVS/Pharmacy is planning on launching a service that allows its customers to print from their phones to KODAK picture maker kiosks. The service will be available in early 2004, making CVS the first national chain to provide printing from mobile...
According to C|Net, consumers are having a hard time justifying purchasing a new phone when they switch carriers. Quoting from the piece, "Consumer advocates are crying foul, saying carriers should be forced to find ways to guarantee interoperability of phones...
MobileBurn has posted a review of the Motorola MPx200, the smash hit smartphone. The review, written by Michael Oryl, on the whole is pretty positive. bq. "Up until this point I have not been a real fan of the MS...
Dec 02 2003 - 08:51 PM ET | Camera
CBS News has posted a hack job article about the dangers of camera phones. The piece is obviously tilted towards privacy activists and proves our July rant on the media accurate. The article fails to go into detail about the...
Dec 02 2003 - 04:30 PM ET | Smartphone
Reuters sees the future of mobile tech in smartphones: bq. "...Handheld computers and smartphones, even digital music players like the very popular Apple iPod, are getting ever more powerful, smaller, and can perform a dizzying array of functions. bq. These...
Dec 02 2003 - 04:24 PM ET | Miscellaneous
The News Factor Network has posted some tips to help keep your cell phone bill down. Nothing that striking, but it brings some good points: * Stick to a one year contract * Expect taxes to be 15-20% on top...
Dec 02 2003 - 04:18 PM ET | Data, Review
This is the first review we have seen of Sony Ericsson's new PCMCIA card that gives Windows powered laptops to access EDGE data networks. We first noted the device last month. It's interesting to note that the reviewer had better...
Dec 02 2003 - 07:45 AM ET | In The News
Airline America West has announced that it is starting to allow passengers to place cell phone calls after landing, while the plane is taxiing to the gate. Talking on the phone before a flight takes off is still a no-no....
Dec 02 2003 - 07:38 AM ET | DoCoMo, Rumor
NTT DoCoMo is rumored to be working on a line of Linux powered 3G phones. The phones are expected to be here as early as Q3 2004. Although details are still sketchy, NEC looks to be a possible supplier....
Dec 01 2003 - 11:07 PM ET | In The News
The UK has joined others in banning the use of mobile phones without a hands free device while driving. First time offenders will be fined £30 while multiple offenders can be fined as much as £1000....
Dec 01 2003 - 04:56 PM ET | Motorola
Phat Farm and Motorola have announced the Russell Simmons Phat Farm II Signature Motorola i733 Mobile Phone. Behind the lengthy title is a phone made for Nextel that sports the Phat Farm logo on the outside. Some of the notable...
Dec 01 2003 - 04:47 PM ET | Smartphone
Steven Bush, publisher of the popular PDA site Brighthand, has had a change of mind--buy a smartphone. Microsoft couldn't have paid for a better testimonial: bq. "For the past three years, I've been a two-piece guy. That is, I've been...
Last month we linked to two reviews on Nokia's latest smartphone, the Nokia 6600. Today, over at the PowerPage, there is an extensive review that is a must-read. There are tons of screenshots, something you don't see very often in...
According to a report by RCR Wireless News, Verizon and Nextel have benefited from local number portability. T-Mobile and Sprint PCS have had about no change in subscriber numbers, while Cingular and AT&T Wireless have dipped. AT&T Wireless' drop is...
Dec 01 2003 - 08:41 AM ET | Sprint Nextel
Sprint PCS announced a partnership with internet powerhouse Yahoo! concerning its photo service. Customers that subscribe to Sprint PCS's Vision service will be able to access their photos from photos.yahoo.com, and even create albums from their phones. The service costs...
Dec 01 2003 - 08:36 AM ET | T-Mobile
MobileTracker reader Philip Ibbitson let us know that T-Mobile subscribers can check their current usage statistics by calling #646# from their handset. It's quicker than checking your usage online, and unlike meters on the phone, it takes weekend/night minutes into...
Dec 01 2003 - 08:33 AM ET | Nokia
Nokia has announced several new game titles for its N-Gage portable gaming device / cell phone. According to a release by the company, the new games include: Ashen, Operation Shadow, Requiem of Hell, Sega Rally Championship, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon:...
