Wireless Federation

T-Mobile has considerably rearranged its “pay monthly” price plans for the new HTC G1 Android Smartphone which will now be offered for as little as £20 per month (+ £100 for the phone) on a 18-month Combi contract. Initially, the phone was available only on Flext40 and Combi 35 for £31.50 but the Deutsche-Telekom owned company decided to give tough competition to iPhone and other competitors have cut the cost and applied drastic cost-cutting measures.

The mobile phone network operator has initiated a new Flext 30 monthly plan at the cost of £30 that provides you with £140 worth of calls and texts with free Internet, which means that you will pay only £540 for the whole duration of the contract. The most economical Combi 15 package offers the user with 100 minutes and 200 texts and the fact that you have to buy the phone bumps the price of the package to £460. In contrast, the 8GB iPhone 3G is only available for free on £45 tariffs at O2, bringing the total cost of ownership for the duration of the contract at £810. Till now, G1 phone is not available on PAYG.

Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News

The BlackBerry Storm smartphone is the perfect choice for both personal users and business customers looking for a state-of-the-art, multimedia device that makes a statement in the office and out on the town. Its unique and innovative SurePress™ touchscreen, which depresses ever so slightly when the screen is pressed, dramatically enhances the touch interface for both typing and navigation and gives users an experience they can actually feel. The stylish smartphone boasts exceptional performance, a stunning display and rich features including 3G (HSPA) network support, GPS, desktop-style web pages, advanced multimedia, a first class phone, camera and robust messaging capabilities - all designed to give users an incredibly fast and powerful mobile experience.

Vodafone Internet Caps
(cost per month) Included talk, TXT and more
(per month) Included data* BlackBerry Storm Contract
$69 $340 Unlimited BlackBerry email and internet Free^ 24-month
$79 $550 Unlimited BlackBerry email and internet Free^ 24-month
$99 $650 Unlimited BlackBerry email and internet Free^ 24-month
$119 $1,000 Unlimited BlackBerry email and internet Free^ 24-month
$149 $2,000 Unlimited BlackBerry email and internet Free^ 24-month

Russell Hewitt, CEO, Vodafone Australia comments, “Today we announce that we’re bringing the BlackBerry Storm to Australia with a sensational $0 offer with unlimited BlackBerry email and internet usage. BlackBerry Storm is the first device to come to fruition following an agreement between Vodafone, Verizon and RIM to develop and bring to market cutting edge smartphones on the BlackBerry platform.”

Hewitt continues, “Available exclusively through Vodafone, the BlackBerry Storm features a new ‘clickable’ touchscreen that will redefine expectations on performance from a touchscreen handset and become an instant hit with customers with its sexy design and ease of use. With the popularity of data-intensive services sky-rocketing, we’re enabling customers to make the most of Vodafone’s 3G network and RIM’s latest technology to enjoy the services they want at a price that is very affordable.”

Dany Bolduc, Regional Director, Asia Pacific, Research In Motion comments: “The BlackBerry Storm is a next-generation smartphone designed to meet the communications and multimedia needs of the most demanding customers. The new “clickable” SurePress touch-screen is a remarkable innovation that offers a revolutionary improvement to the touch interface. We are very excited to introduce the first touchscreen BlackBerry smartphone together with Vodafone in Australia.

Bolduc conclude, “With its robust communications capabilities, rich multimedia features and stylish design, the BlackBerry Storm helps customers make the most of their time with a chic and lifestyle-friendly smartphone.”

The introduction of the new BlackBerry Application Centre from Vodafone will also coincide with the release of the BlackBerry Storm smartphone, available in December. The new on-device Application Centre enables BlackBerry Storm customers to easily download applications over Vodafone’s 3G network. Some applications will be available free of charge, with others clearly priced and included on the customer’s monthly bill. A selection of applications is outlined below:

MusicStation
Have access to the latest tracks at your fingertips with Vodafone MusicStation. Get unlimited access to over 1 million music tracks for only $2.75 per week.

Vodafone Compass
Vodafone’s popular Compass service offers a complete navigation experience - whether driving or walking - enabling users to find their way quickly and easily using turn-by-turn GPS navigation.

Social networking applications
The BlackBerry Storm comes pre-loaded with a number of social networking and Instant Messaging applications. These include; Facebook, Flickr and a range of IM applications that can be used through the BlackBerry browser, including: Windows Live Messenger, AOL, Google Talk, Yahoo! Messenger and ICQ.

Customers can pre-register to purchase the BlackBerry Storm smartphone at: www.vodafone.com.au. Pre-registered customers will be given the opportunity to purchase the BlackBerry Storm the w/c November 24, online. Customers that pre-register and buy a BlackBerry Storm online will receive a complimentary 8GB memory card.

About Wireless Federation

Wireless Federation is an industry research conglomerate headquartered in London, United Kingdom. The mandate of the Wireless Federation is to provide its members and customers industry knowledge that can further enhance their understanding of the wireless industry. Wireless Federation conducts bespoke research and produces boxed reports in collabaration with Industry Bodies, Telecom Operators for Issues that revolve around ARPU, CHURN and Loyalty.
They have been associated with more than 225 mobile operators globally to set their Pricing/ Tariff Strategies, Go-To-Market Strategies for Mobile Advertising, Mobile Payments, Cutting VAS among others amongst 59 countries globally.

For more information please visit www.wirelessfederation.com

Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News

MTN and Research In Motion (RIM)  have announced that the BlackBerry® Bold™ smartphone is now available from MTN dealers in South Africa.

The BlackBerry Bold supports tri-band HSDPA high-speed networks around the world and comes with integrated GPS and Wi-Fi®, as well as a rich set of communications and multimedia capabilities.

The powerful communications and multimedia features, stunning display, sophisticated user interface and newly designed full-QWERTY keyboard will make the BlackBerry Bold a ‘must have’ for both business professionals and power users in South Africa.

“The BlackBerry Bold exudes style and accomplishment with its glossy black exterior and satin chrome frame. Its stunning display, sophisticated user interface and newly designed full-QWERTY keyboard all combine to make it a phone that any power user would be proud to carry” says Pieter Verkade - MTN SA Chief Marketing Officer.

“The new BlackBerry Bold is a big step forward for business-grade smartphones. It wraps incredible speed, power and functionality together in a beautiful and confident design,” says Mark Guibert, Vice President of Corporate Marketing, RIM.

BlackBerry Bold smartphone features include:

* Dimensions: 114 x 66 x 15 mm. Approximate weight (including removable battery) 136 g.
* Elegant design with chic, glossy finish.
* HVGA (480×320 resolution at 217 ppi) colour LCD presents stunning image quality.
* Newly designed precision keyboard allows fast and accurate typing.
* Support for tri-band HSDPA and enterprise-grade Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g) networks, together with its next-generation 624 MHz mobile processor, makes short work of downloading email attachments, streaming video and rendering web pages.
* Integrated GPS, together with improved rendering capabilities and faster download speeds, supports location-based applications and services.
* Includes 128 MB Flash memory plus 1 GB on-board storage memory, as well as a microSD/SDHC memory card slot for up to 16GB of additional storage that is conveniently accessible from a side door.
* Newly enhanced, high performance browser and high-resolution, ultra-bright display give users an on-the-go web browsing experience with desktop-style depiction. The trackball mimics a mouse, making it easy to navigate sites in “Page View” or “Column View” or to point-and-click in order to zoom in on specific parts of a web page; different emulation settings allow users to choose between desktop-style HTML content or the mobile version of web pages. Attachments can also now be downloaded from within the browser and there is support for watching streaming videos (RTSP – real-time streaming protocol).
* Microsoft® Word, Excel or PowerPoint files can be edited directly on the handset using the preloaded DataViz® Documents to Go® suite.
* 2 megapixel camera with video recording capability, built-in flash and digital zoom.
* Numerous premium phone features including Speaker Independent Voice Recognition (SIVR) for Voice Activated Dialing (VAD), Bluetooth® 2.0, with support for hands-free headsets, stereo headsets, car kits (including car kits that adhere to the Bluetooth Remote SIM Access Profile) and other Bluetooth peripherals.
* For managing music and video, the BlackBerry® Desktop Manager software includes Roxio® Media Manager for BlackBerry® as well as Roxio Photosuite® 9 LE, which makes it easy to enhance pictures and create photo albums on the computer. For users that manage their collection with iTunes®, the new BlackBerry® Media Sync application provides a simple way to sync iTunes digital music collections with the smartphone*. Support for High Speed USB 2.0 allows files to be transferred quickly from a computer to the BlackBerry Bold smartphone.
* BlackBerry® Internet Service support that allows access to up to 10 supported personal and corporate email accounts, including most popular ISP email accounts.
* BlackBerry® Enterprise Server support for enterprise deployments, providing advanced security and IT management in IBM® Lotus® Domino®, Microsoft® Exchange, and Novell® GroupWise® environments.

The BlackBerry Bold is available now from MTN dealers across South Africa. MTN subscribers can enjoy unlimited email and web browsing when using the BlackBerry Internet Service on the new MTN AnyTime packages from as little as R60 per month.

For more information log on to www.blackberry.com and www.mtn.co.za

About Wireless Federation

Wireless Federation is an industry research conglomerate headquartered in London, United Kingdom. The mandate of the Wireless Federation is to provide its members and customers industry knowledge that can further enhance their understanding of the wireless industry. Wireless Federation conducts bespoke research and produces boxed reports in collabaration with Industry Bodies, Telecom Operators for Issues that revolve around ARPU, CHURN and Loyalty.
They have been associated with more than 225 mobile operators globally to set their Pricing/ Tariff Strategies, Go-To-Market Strategies for Mobile Advertising, Mobile Payments, Cutting VAS among others amongst 59 countries globally.

For more information you can log on to www.wirelessfederation.com

Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News

Softbank Mobile, bags third position in the mobile market of Japan, by adding more net subscribers than its rivals in October for the 18th month in succession. The operator adds a net 118,400 new subscribers in October whereas number four player eMobile, gained 102,500 net new subscribers attributed to its wireless data cards that are being sold with low-end laptops such as Asustek Computer’s Eee PC. eMobile also posted solid sales of the recently launched Touch Diamond smartphone manufactured by HTC Corp- a device which is considered as rival to Apple’s iPhone 3G. NTT DoCoMo and KDDI Corp, trailed behind Softbank and eMobile in terms of net addition of new subscribers. In this period, NTT adds 32,700 and 46,700 subscribers fall in KDDI’s kitty.

Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News

This is in addition to announcing the availability of BlackBerry Professional Software and several new models and colours, including the BlackBerry Curve 8320 smartphone in gold, the BlackBerry Pearl 8110 smartphone in pink and blue and the BlackBerry Pearl 8120 in titanium.

Based on its distribution agreement with RIM, Alcatel-Lucent leveraged its strong local presence in the region and provided du with the end-to-end implementation, integration, launch and support services for delivering the BlackBerry solution to the UAE market. The launch of several new BlackBerry products is an additional proof point of Alcatel-Lucent’s strong local presence and relationship with du.

The BlackBerry Bold smartphone from du is a ‘must have’ for business professionals and power users, providing unprecedented functionality and performance in an intuitive smartphone that supports tri-band HSDPA high-speed networks around the world and comes with a rich set of multimedia capabilities and integrated GPS and Wi-Fi. Featuring a lustrous black exterior, satin chrome finished frame and stylish leatherette backplate together with a stunning display, sophisticated user interface and a newly designed hybrid English-Arabic QWERTY keyboard, the BlackBerry Bold is a symbol of both accomplishment and aspiration. With GPS support for BlackBerry Maps and other location-based applications and services, as well as improved rendering capabilities, faster download speeds and the ability to support simultaneous voice and data, the BlackBerry Bold smartphone has it all.

Farid Faraidooni, EVP Commercial, du, remarked, ‘With the launch of the BlackBerry Bold smartphone, we are providing our customers, who value high-end design and are passionate about the latest technology, with a state-of-the-art smartphone they can use to stay on top of information and keep connected to the people that matter most.’

Mark Guibert, Vice President of Corporate Marketing, RIM, commented, ‘The new BlackBerry Bold represents a tremendous step forward in business-grade smartphones and lives up to its name with incredible speed, power and functionality, all wrapped in a stylish and stunning design.’

In addition to the launch of the BlackBerry Bold, du is also launching:

• The BlackBerry Curve 8320 smartphone in a gold colored finish - this enhanced version of the BlackBerry Curve 8300 smartphone now comes with an hybrid English-Arabic keyboard and Wi-Fi support

• The BlackBerry Pearl 8110 smartphone in pink and blue with built in GPS

• The BlackBerry Pearl 8120 smartphone in a titanium colored finish with Wi-Fi support

In addition du has announced the availability of BlackBerry Professional Software, a new wireless solution for small and medium-sized organisations. BlackBerry Professional Software is based on the core functionality of the best-in-class BlackBerry Enterprise Server software, but it is streamlined and tailored to meet the needs of smaller organisations with up to 30 wireless users.

Farid Faraidooni, EVP Commercial, du, said, ‘For our small and medium sized customers, BlackBerry Professional Software from du is a particularly compelling proposition. BlackBerry Professional Software from du offers significant advantages in productivity, management and security, in a cost-effective package that can be installed on an existing email server.’

For more info log on to www.du.ae

About Wireless Federation

Wireless Federation is an industry research conglomerate headquartered in London, United Kingdom. The mandate of the Wireless Federation is to provide its members and customers industry knowledge that can further enhance their understanding of the wireless industry. Wireless Federation conducts bespoke research and produces boxed reports in collabaration with Industry Bodies, Telecom Operators for Issues that revolve around ARPU, CHURN and Loyalty.
They have been associated with more than 225 mobile operators globally to set their Pricing/ Tariff Strategies, Go-To-Market Strategies for Mobile Advertising, Mobile Payments, Cutting VAS among others amongst 59 countries globally.

For more information you can log on to www.wirelessfederation.com

Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News

Idea Cellular is making an effort to pace up with the leading mobile giants Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar. Aditya Birla group has tied up with the world’s largest handset maker, Nokia to offer the N96 smartphone.  Handset will be available on Idea Networks from september.

Besides ‘N’ series, this partnership is extended to other mid and high-end range from the Finnish giant’s stable. The company said,  “Idea plans to introduce several attractive offers and innovative tariff plans, on various devices, starting with the N96, in early September, targeted at a varied cross-section of customers”. Idea Cellular MD Sanjeev Aga said “We are pleased to partner with Nokia in leading the industry to bring customers a complete suite of Idea communications, browsing, content and Internet services. This is a logical step for Idea to take, as it will further help augment our customer experience. These high-end Nokia handphones are known worldwide for their versatility and utility”. The alliance would offer consumers an option to choose from a wide range services from Idea Cellular on Nokia’s handsets, Idea Cellular MD Sanjeev Aga said.

Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News

HTC will now be manufacturing Palm’s latest Windows Mobile-based smartphone, the Treo Pro, sources reveal.

Taiwan based HTC’s experience in manufacturing the Windows Mobile smartphones is the reason behind it’s selection for  manufacturing the smartphone for Palm, which is expected to launch in September.

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American Airlines and Aircell together have launched a new mobile broadband service Gogo. Customers flying from American Airlines’ Boeing 767-200 aircraft will now be able to access the internet on flights between New York and San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles, and New York and Miami.
The Gogo service will be available for USD 12.95 on flights of more than three hours and for every paid session. Mobile phone and VoIP services are not available. The service will enable American Airlines passengers to surf the web, check emails, access IM, or a corporate VPN.
Additionally, once the aircraft has reached 10,000 feet, the passengers can turn on their Wi-Fi enabled devices s open their browsers and be directed to the Gogo portal page where they have to sign up and start surfing.

Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News

According to a recent report, it is seen that 65% of the total mobile phones in the Q2′08 were music enabled. On the other hand, wholly, the mobile phone sales declined in the second quarter, totaling 28 million units, off 13 percent year-over-year.

The report has estimated that the total Q2 sales approached $2.4 billion, down 2 percent since Q2 last year.
Motorola’s unit-sales share fell from 27 percent in Q1 to 21 percent, both LG and Samsung are closing in, with 20 percent unit-sales shares each.
Additionally the phones sold in Q2 were more feature rich in comparison to the one’s sold in the year prior. QWERTY keyboard handsets are experiencing an impressive year-over-year rise, accounting for 28 percent of handsets sold in Q2 2008, compared to just 12 percent a year earlier.
19% of the market share was held by the smartphones, up 9 percentage points over a year ago. Bluetooth enabled phones, 81 percent up from 69 percent last year.

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Treo smartphone introduced by Palm Inc which is based on Microsoft Corp software to battle with its rival BlackBerry. Vodafone Group Plc and O2 will be selling Treo Pro in Europe in September and Telstra in Australia said the company. Palm does not have an agreement in USA with a carrier to sell the phone. But the company said that the entreprise demand is growing for unlocked phones that can work on any network. However analyst says that Treo Pro’s price tag of $549 is high without the subsidies typically offered by carriers to lock in subscribers. Analyst further said that given the pricing and lack of carrier sponsorship in the U.S., we believe initial sales of the Treo Pro will be limited. Only 21 percent of Palm revenue came from international sales in its fiscal year 2008, analyst added.

Treo Pro is with Wi-FI that boosts Web Speeds in weak cell phone reception areas and also have GPS (Global Positioning System) that supports features such as direction.