NotePage SMS, Paging and Messaging Blogs
05/31/2005 Spain to Text
Message Summer Heatwave Warnings |
The southern Spanish region of Andalucia is to send
mobile phone text messages to residents sensitive
to high temperatures warning them of any extremely
hot spell, regional health officials said.
The scheme particularly targets the elderly and the
infirm living alone, as well as to parents of children
aged under four, health authorities said, although
others can also ask for the service.
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05/30/2005 Cell phones
on planes worry US law enforcement |
Allowing airline passengers to use personal cell
phones during flights could help potential hijackers
coordinate an attack or trigger a bomb smuggled on
board, U.S. security officials have told regulators.
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05/30/2005 Cell Phone
Ring Becomes Hit U.K. Single |
A cell phone ring tone appeared set to top the British
singles chart Sunday, outselling the new single by
the band Coldplay by nearly four to one, a music retailer
said.
"Crazy Frog Axel F," a ring tone based on the sound
of a revving Swedish mo-ped, is the first tune being
used on mobile phones to cross into mainstream music
charts, said Gennaro Castaldo, a spokesman for HMV,
the British music retailing chain.
Coldplay had hoped to go straight to No. 1 on this
Sunday's British singles chart with its new song,
"Speed of Sound." But by Saturday, it appeared that
the ring tone - which is available for digital download
and as a compact disc single - would prevail, said
Castaldo.
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05/26/2005 Verizon Bundles
Wireless With In-Flight Calling |
Verizon Wireless Wednesday announced a bundle that
will allow its subscribers to inexpensively use the
in-flight Airfone Service.
The company said that subscribers can pay a $10 monthly
fee and then pay 10 cents a minute for making calls
while in flight.. Wireless subscribers who don't pay
the monthly fee can make calls for 69 cents a minute.
The standard price for Airfone service is a $3.99
set-up fee and $3.99 a minute.
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05/25/2005 Enticing Children
To Download Could Involve Penalties |
Watch MTV, Nickelodeon and other youth-focused TV
channels, and you'll see commercials hawk screen savers
of dancing frogs or the latest hip-hop hit ring tone
-- all ready to download on cell phones.
Sources estimate that 25 million Americans under age
18 have cell phones. That's a big market for content
providers.
A lawsuit filed last month might spark some changes.
In one of the first legal actions of its type, the
suit names as defendants content provider VeriSign
and three wireless carriers. The suit, in essence,
says the companies used shady means to entice kids
to unwittingly download a bunch of content on their
cell phone and thereby run up big bills for their
parents.
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05/24/2005 Concertgoers
Can Display Text Messages at Gigs |
Anyone who's been to a pop concert lately has noticed
that fans hold their mobile phones up in the air like
a previous generation did with cigarette lighters.
Beginning with the summer Clay Aiken tour, audiences
can do a lot more with their phone than just wave
it.
Boomerang Mobile Media founder and CEO Glenn Field
said that large screens in each venue on the tour
will offer audiences a way to display text messages
for all to see. There also will be a call-in number
for purchasing a variety of official merchandise.
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05/24/2005 Vendor Tries
To Bring E-Commerce To Cell Phones |
It's been a few years since the heady days when the
wireless Internet first brought a boom in "m-commerce"
businesses that launched with great fanfare, but attracted
few paying customers. Still, the idea has lived on,
and a few mobile commerce companies have managed to
hang on, awaiting advances in the speed, capacity
and capabilities of the wireless networks and phones.
Founded back in 2000, New York-based Scanbuy is now
leveraging the ubiquity of camera phones with its
ScanZoom application, which lets users scan bar codes
on items they see in stores, so they can comparison
shop for the best prices and read product reviews.
Fortune magazine recently included Scanbuy in its
list of 25 Breakout Companies, and Scanbuy just signed
a deal with Telefonica, the fourth largest mobile
operator in the world.
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05/24/2005 Jury Enforces
Patent On Prepaid Wireless Plans |
A jury ruled Friday that five companies violated
a sixth company's patent on systems to provide pre-paid
wireless services and ordered the violating companies
to pay $128 million in damages.
The decision came after a 12-week trial in U.S. federal
court, according to an Associated Press report. The
jury ruled in favor of Freedom Wireless, which it
claimed patented technology in 1994 that enables carriers
to offer pre-paid plans.
Such plans are more popular in other parts of the
world but are starting to gain momentum in the U.S.
The jury found that Boston Communications Group, which
provides pre-paid services, was liable for all the
damages, the Associated Press reported. In addition,
Cingular Wireless, AT&T Wireless, CMT Partners
and Western Wireless also must pay smaller amounts,
the jury rules.
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05/23/2005 T-Mobile's
Good, Bad On Its Map |
T-Mobile USA is letting its customers -- as well
as rivals -- know just how good its mobile phone coverage
really is.
While all wireless carriers give consumers online
and printed coverage maps that illustrate service
areas, T-Mobile takes this a step further.
It provides street-level, color-coded maps that show
where its signal strength is strongest, just so-so
or not good.
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05/23/2005 Creator of
Prepaid Wireless Tech Wins Suit |
A jury on Friday ordered a prepaid cellular phone
service company and four wireless carriers to pay
$128 million in damages to a firm that patented technology
and systems to provide prepaid service.
After a 12-week trial and four days of deliberations,
a U.S. District Court jury ruled in favor of Phoenix-based
Freedom Wireless Inc., which began patenting technology
in 1994 developed by inventors Douglas Fougnies and
Dan Harned.
Boston Communications Group Inc. was found liable
in all the damages total because the jury found it
used the patented technologies in providing prepaid
services that carriers offered their customers.
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05/23/2005 FCC Orders
911 Service for VoIP |
As expected, the Federal Communications Commission
( CC) issued an order Thursday requiring Internet
phone service companies to provide enhanced 911 (E911)
emergency calling capabilities to their customers
and delivered a 120-day deadline for compliance.
VoIP providers must, by default, deliver all 911 calls
to the customer's local emergency operator. Interconnected
VoIP providers also must provide emergency operators
with the call back number and location information
of their customers where the emergency operator is
capable of receiving it.
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05/20/2005 Mobile Phones
Can Now Receive Amber Alerts |
The Amber Alert system used by police to let the
public know when a child is missing is being expanded
to mobile phones.
The wireless industry announced Tuesday that subscribers
can receive text messages on their phones when an
alert is issued. The service is available in every
state and is free to subscribers of most major cellular
carriers.
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05/17/2005 Ericsson, Verizon
Wireless Tops In Customer Respect: Report |
Ericsson was rated the top networking manufacturer
by customers for customer respect, while Verizon Wireless
was rated the top telecommunications company, according
to a report released today by the Customer Respect
Group, a research and consulting firm.
The report measures customers' online experiences
when interacting with companies via the Internet.
It found that overall, networking and telecommunications
companies are rated higher by consumers than at any
time previously.
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05/16/2005 New GPS To
Be Built Into Cell Phones, PDAs, Study Says |
A new class of global positioning system (GPS) hardware
and software will soon be built into cell phones and
PDAs, lowering the cost of services such as driving
instructions, according to a study released Friday
by market research firm TRG.
The research firm, which focuses on in-car telematics,
noted that, currently, most in-car GPS systems are
in luxury vehicles because of costs. However, it pointed
to a new class of GPS systems called portable navigation
devices (PNDs), that it says will be far more affordable.
These systems will be built into cell phones and other
mobile devices like PDAs, the study said.
"These portable solutions offer almost the same functionality
as in-vehicle navigation systems, but at a fraction
of the price," Phil Magney, TRG's principal telematics
analyst, said in a statement.
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05/16/2005 Nextel Launches
National Hotspot Service |
U.S. wireless operator Nextel Friday rolled out a
service giving subscribers unlimited access to more
than 7000 hotspots in North America.
The company isn't developing the hotspots on its own
but, rather, is unleashing its WiFi HotSpot service
in partnership with Boingo Wireless, the company said
in a statement. Boingo has an extensive network of
hotspots worldwide, but Nextel users will only have
access to the vendor's North American hotspots, a
spokesperson said.
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05/13/2005 Cell Phone
Service Claims to Interpret your Dog's Bark |
Does it get any stranger than this? What an odd use
for text messaging:
"South Koreans hoping to communicate with man's
best friend could be getting help soon from their
cell phones. KTF Corp., a South Korean mobile phone
operator, said Thursday it will begin offering a service
that will enable dog owners to know whether their
pets are feeling happy or sad."
"The users must first connect to Internet with
their cell phones, and then register information of
their dogs such as the breed and age. The service
will then record the dog's bark."
"The owner will receive text messages telling them
how their pet is feeling, such as "I am happy" or
"I am frustrated."
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05/12/2005 Chicago Bans
Hand-Held Phones for Drivers |
Chicago officials voted Wednesday to ban drivers
from using hand-held cell phones starting this summer
and set fines of $50 and up for violators.
The City Council approved the ordinance without debating
it, angering some aldermen who worried about suburban
residents and visitors being targeted as they cross
the city line from jurisdictions that don't have bans.
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05/12/2005 Sprint Subscribers
Can Roam To New Countries |
Sprint announced Wednesday that it has added seven
countries to its list of foreign lands covered by
its cell phone service.
The firm maintains that it now leads the world in
the number of CDMA-available countries where subscribers
can use their cell phones, in this case with Sprint-activated
phones. In a statement, the firm said: "Those customers
equipped with a digital dual-band phone can roam in
more than 20 countries. Customers with a tri-mode
phone can now roam in more than 40 countries with
Sprint PCS International roaming."
The seven new countries added to its roaming plans
are Jamaica, Peru, Venezuela, Taiwan, Thailand, Brazil,
and Saipan.
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05/11/2005 Microsoft Phone
Software runs Hard Drives |
Microsoft Corp., on Tuesday released a new version
of its mobile phone software with the ability to run
miniature hard drives and new features like a walkie-talkie
style "push-to-talk."
The world's largest software maker has struggled in
the mobile phone world but sees a chance to unseat
entrenched rivals such as market leader Symbian Ltd.
with Windows Mobile 5.0.
"We've made a heck of a lot of progress," Microsoft
Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said in an interview,
"I think we've learned a lot." The maker of the Windows
computer operating system launched a mobile phones
unit about five years ago.
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05/11/2005 City, State
Cell Phone Taxes on the Rise |
Cell phone users are being hit by new taxes as state
and local governments scramble to replace declining
tax revenue from traditional phones.
The new charges are adding $2 to $10 or more a month
to cell phone bills on top of existing federal and
state taxes and fees for emergency 911 communications.
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05/10/2005 Mobile Phone
Shipments Expected To Slow |
Worldwide mobile-phone shipments, which saw an unprecedented
increase last year, is expected to slow to a relative
snail's pace this year, a market research firm said.
Shipments last year increased by 34 percent in 2004
to 692 million units, as people replaced older phones
with devices featuring color screens and digital cameras,
International Data Corp. said. For the next five years,
however, shipments will slow quite a bit, because
of the lack of comparable dramatic enhancements.
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05/09/2005 Don't ground
the teen, confiscate the mobile phone |
Parents looking to grab a teenager's attention with
a stiff punishment should confiscate their mobile
phone.
A study by a top South Korean advertising firm shows
that a mobile is one of a Korean teenager's most prized
possessions.
Among 13- to 15-year-olds, 77.5 percent said a mobile
phone was a "must-have" item, while for those aged
16 to 18 the figure was 76.7 percent, the Cheil Communications
survey showed.
"Cell phones are the key to a teenager's social network,"
said Andy Joohyun Lee, senior researcher at Cheil
Communications' Brand Marketing Institute.
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05/06/2005 Verizon Connects
VoIP to 911 Systems |
Verizon announced Tuesday that it will offer a new
service for routing Voice over Internet Protocol services
directly to Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs).
"Working with VoIP companies and their vendors, we
have identified a means to route VoIP calls so that
they appear in emergency response centers much the
way wireline and wireless 911 calls do," said Michael
O'Connor, executive director of federal regulatory
affairs for Verizon.
Verizon's new E911 system directs a 911 caller to
the appropriate local government emergency response
center.
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05/05/2005 What's Next
For Telecom? More Deals |
Pundits have been saying for years that the telecommunications
industry is overcrowded and due for major consolidation,
so the pending mergers of MCI and Verizon, AT&T
and SBC, and Sprint and Nextel seem like the conclusion
of a natural and well-anticipated industry evolution.
But now that the biggest waves of consolidation in
the carrier space have washed over, there could be
a new set of breakers coming in. With fewer telecom
service providers on the market, some are predicting
sympathetic combinations among the companies who provide
their hardware.
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05/03/2005 MCI Accepts
Verizon's Raised $8.5 Billion Offer |
MCI Inc. on Monday accepted a raised $8.5 billion
bid from Verizon Communications Inc., saying its large
business customers might defect if it accepted a higher
bid from rival suitor Qwest Communications International
Inc.
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05/03/2005 World's First
Cell Phone TV Service Launched in Korea |
The world's first commercial service delivering broadcast
television to cell phones went into service in Korea
on Sunday, according to reports in China's People's
Daily Online.
The operator of the satellite-based service, TU Media
Corp, is a business unit of Korea's giant SK Telecom.
The service transmits multimedia broadcasting (DMB)
signals to subscriber cell phones, if those phones
are capable of receiving the signal. People's Daily
Online said that about 28,000 such devices are in
operation in Korea.
The company will start with seven video and 20 audio
channels, but will increase that to more than 40 total
channels. The service will be free in May for users
of compatible phones but the company said it will
charge about $13 a month after that.
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05/03/2005 Nextel Launches
Group Push-To-Talk Service |
Nextel Monday launched a new service that will enable
groups of users to hold push-to-talk conversations,
no matter where they are in Nextel's network.
The company said in a statement that its Group Connect
service can support conversations with as many as
21 participants. It claimed the service is easy to
access because users can create group conversations
simply by selecting a name from a contact list or
a list of recently-made calls without accessing a
separate application.
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05/02/2005 Nokia Phones
Target iPod, Defy Traditional Market Segments |
Gadget users craving multiple devices in a single,
small package got some treats this week in the form
of Nokia's announcement of its new line of Nseries
mobile phone handsets.
One includes a super-high-resolution camera, another
sports a powerful music player, and more are coming,
according to the company. The handsets will be expensive,
though, with price tags of up to about US$1,000.
What the new phones demonstrate, said John Jackson
of Yankee Group, is that the hardware barriers impeding
device convergence in consumer electronics are dropping.
A number of other challenges remain, though, for manufacturers
seeking a piece of this lucrative market.
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05/02/2005 Cinema Owners
Seek to Curb Phone Rage |
New Zealand cinema owners may use mobile phone jamming
technology to stop mid-movie calls, text messaging
— and cell phone rage among patrons, they said Friday.
The national Motion Pictures Exhibitors Association
said it's studying the legality of using mobile phone
jammers because of the disruption from the phones
during movie screenings.
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