Two New Katana Phones from Sprint

In July, Sprint will launch two new thin devices. The Katana II is the successor to the Katana launched last year. It is very similar to the original device - same camera and Bluetooth support. It will be a little thinner and available in 3 colors - black, pink, and steel. It has the same camera and still does not have EV-DO, but it will have GPS. Based on it's price of $50 with service agreements and rebates, this is meant as a mid-level device. (SRP is $249.99)

For the high end, Sprint and Sanyo are releasing the Katana DLX. It will be available in silver, pink, and champagne. It will be similar to the Katana II externally, but on the inside, it will contain an EVDO chip offering access to Sprin't high speed Mobile Broadband network and PowerVision services. It will also have a MicroSD slot and will ship with a 128 MB card included. Other features include stereo Bluetooth support and GPS. The SRP is $329.99, but the phone will be available for $129.99 with service agreement and promotions.

Look for the Katana II on July 1st and the Katana DLX on July 15th.

Verizon Ready for iPhone

Verizon is looking to combat the launch of the iPhone by keeping it's retail stores open late on Friday, June 29th - the launch date of the iPhone. Verizon is also looking to lure music phone buyers by offering a free "Music Essentials Kit" to those who purchase the LG VX9400. The kit includes stereo headsets, a cable for transferring songs from a PC, and a 2 GB memory card capable of holding up to 1,000 songs.

T-Mobile's HotSpot @Home Goes Nationwide

T-Mobile's new offering combines the home phone and the mobile phone into One. Their new service allows users to make unlimited domestic calls from Home or from any T-Mobile HotSpot using a Wi-Fi network. The cool thing about the service is it automatically transfers you from a Wi-Fi network to a cellular network. For example, if you are on a call at home using the Wi-Fi network and decide to leave, you are automatically transferred to the T-Mobile's cellular network without dropping the call. The transfer works both ways, so if you are on a cellular call on your way home, the call will automatically transfer to the Wi-Fi network once you reach home.

With HotSpot @Home, you are not charged for minutes while using a Wi-Fi network, but the service does have a flat monthly free. Currently, the service costs an additional $10 per month for a single line and $20 per month for a family plan. To go along with the service, T-Mobile announced two new phones that will be compatible - the Samsung t409 and Nokia 6086. Both phones are available for $49.99 with service agreement. T-Mobile is also reselling Wi-Fi routers from D-Link and Linksys to provide a total package.

Sprint's Announces Another iPhone Killer

Sprint will add another device to it's music lineup on July 15th. The MUZIQ by LG will be the successor to the Fusic by LG. The MUZIQ by LG will be one of the first Sprint devices to support 4 GB microSD cards, giving it the same capacity as the iPhone 4 GB model. As is the trend with successor phones, the MUZIQ will be thinner than the Fusic and will not have the external antenna.

The phone will still support EV-DO, Sprint's high speed mobile broadband network, giving you access to Power Vision services, including over-the-air music downloads. It will also still have a 1.3 megapixels camera, FM transmitter, external music controls, and stereo Bluetooth. The MUZIQ measures 3.8"x1.94"x.61" and weighs 3.14 ounces.

The phone will be available for only $99 with service agreement and rebates, which is a lot less than the $499 price tag of the iPhone. You can register to become one of the first to purchase the MUZIQ by LG by going to www.sprint.com/music

Rate Plans for the iPhone Announced

Apple and AT&T finally released the much anticipated information about rate plans available for the iPhone when it launches this Friday. All the plans will include the following features: unlimited data, Visual Voicemail, 200 text messages, roll-over minutes and unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling. Visual Voicemail is a cool application that allows users to view their voicemail messages in the same way they view email messages, allowing you to go directly to a message without having to listen to all of them.

The plans start at $59.99 for 450 minutes, and include options for 900 minutes ($79.99) and 1350 minutes ($99.99). All charges are monthly rates and do not include any discounts on the cost of the iPhone - $499 for the 4 GB model and $599 for the 8 GB model. There is also a one-time activation fee of $36.

The iPhone will be available this Friday at 6:00 PM (local time) at AT&T and Apple stores. At launch, the phone will not be available through distribution channels such as Best Buy and Radio Shack.

Did You Know: Consumer WiMax Survey

According to a survey, consumers are looking forward to using WiMAX for responding to e-mail, reading and watching live online news, enjoying mobile TV and downloading music on the go. These are the four top uses customers see for WiMAX in a recent survey commissioned by Motorola. In the survey, WiMAX was defined as a new, long-range wireless broadband technology that provides secure, high-speed Internet access, which can be used in a fixed or stationary setting. Nearly half of those who responded to the survey said they would likely use WiMAX to read or respond to e-mail; 31% would read or view real-time online media; 28% would enjoy mobile entertainment, such as mobile TV; and another 28% said they would use WiMAX to download and listen to music. They survey also found that 57% of respondents think its important that wireless broadband services be available wherever they are. Other uses consumers listed in the survey for wireless broadband would be to e-mail videos and photos to friends in other cities, and watching sports replays at events they were attending live. The survey of 601 U.S. Internet-using households was conducted by Centris through a national telephone survey in May of this year.

Source: www.wirelessweek.com

Family Phone Pack from Sprint

The Sanyo 3200 is now available from Sprint. This is an entry to mid level phone as it does not support access to Sprint's high speed Mobile Broadband Network (EVDO). However, it still has several other functions that make this perfect for a family pack. It comes in 3 different colors, offering personalization for different family members. The phones support GPS and are compatible with Sprint's Family Locater service allowing you to view the location of family members. There are also Parental Controls allowing parents to limit phone and web access. Other features include Bluetooth and VGA camera. The phone dimensions are 3.5"x1.8"x0.8" and weighs 3.4 ounces. The suggested retail price is $199.99, but it is available for $49.99 with service agreements and rebates.

Did You Know: Young Adults Text While Driving

A large percentage of young drivers in the United States say they both talk and send text messages on their cell phone while driving. A Zogby International poll found two-thirds of drivers between the ages of 18 and 24 send text messages while driving and almost all said they talk on their phone while driving. Of the overall population, only 16% of cellphone users said they send text messages while driving and 77% said they talk while driving.

New PowerSource Phone From Sprint

Sprint just launched its latest handset in the PowerSource lineup. PowerSource phones operate on the Sprint iDEN network for Push-To-Talk calls and the Sprint CDMA network for voice and data calls. Dubbed the "Motorola Deluxe", the ic902 is the first PowerSource phone to launch with EVDO Mobile Broadband support. The ic902 provides push-to-talk users access to high-tier applications such as Sprint TV and Sprint Music Store.

The phone comes with a 2 megapixels camera, bluetooth support, a microSD slot, MP3 player, speakerphone, and push-to-talk. The flip phone dimensions are 3.78"x1.97"x0.87" and it weighs 4.8 ounces. The SRP is $489.99, but the phone is available for as low as $299.99 with service agreement and rebates.

A New Way to Text Message

Wouldn't it be great if text messaging worked just like email, where you have the option to reply to all recipients in a group text message? Well, 3jam.com has created a great Reply-All Text Messaging tool for this. With 3jam.com you can send a message to multiple people and they will all have the option to reply to all. This works great for making plans and keeping everyone in the loop. 3jam.com offers the option to send a group message from their website, directly from the phone, or from a Reply-All Text Messaging application you can download directly to your phone. Both the website and the application allow you to set up friend groups, such as "baseball team" so you don't have to search for every team member. The best thing about it is if you send a group text message to 10 recipients from your phone, you get charged for 10 text messages; but sending the same message using 3jam, you get charged for only 1 text message, since 3jam is doing the message replicating.

3jam.com even offers a widget you can place on a webpage or myspace allowing readers to send a text to you directly from your page. For example, send me a text.

Did You Know: Mobile Marketing

Spending on mobile advertising could reach $14.4 billion by 2011, accounting for one-fifth of global spending on Internet advertising, according to a report from Strategy Analytics Inc.

PPC 6800 (HTC Mogul) Coming to Sprint June 18th

The PPC 6800 (HTC Mogul) may be available from Sprint as early as June 18th via online sales. The retail launch is currently slated for July 16th. The phone will replace the currently available PPC 6700 (HTC Apache). The major differences are this device will be the first CDMA device to ship with Windows Mobile 6 and will be upgradeable to EVDO Rev A this fall. Other than that, it's 1/3 thinner, the camera increased from 1.3 mega pixels to 2 mega pixels, ROM doubled to 256 MB, battery life increased 20%, and the external antenna has been removed. The device comes with a 416 MHz processor and still supports Wi-Fi (both 802.11b and 802.11g). The suggested retail price is $549.99, but it will be available for $399.99 with service agreement and rebates.

Pros: Touch Screen, Windows Mobile 6, Wi-Fi, 2 MP camera, EVDO Rev A.
Cons: EVDO Rev A upgrade won't be available until the fall.

T-Mobile Announces HTC Wing Smartphone

T-Mobile launched their latest smartphone, the HTC Wing. The phone, that is currently available exclusively through T-Mobile, has a Qwerty keyboard that slides out, a 2 megapixel camera and comes loaded with Windows Mobile 6. Thirty percent smaller than it's predecessor, the T-Mobile MDA, also comes with a large 2.8 inch touch screen, Bluetooth, and a MicroSD slot. For data traffic, users will have to rely on Edge speeds until T-Mobile gets a 3G network or use Wi-Fi. The device has a suggested retail price of $499.99, but is avialable for $299.99 with discounts and rebates.

Pros: Touch Screen with a stylus, 2 megapixel camera, large 2.8 in. display, Windows Mobile 6
Cons: Restricted to 2G (EDGE) for mobile data.

Did You Know: Where Phones are Lost

SimplySwith found that most lost phones in the UK were lost in the toilet. According to the study, 855,000 phones are flushed down the toilet in the UK. For the other lost phones: 315,000 are lost in a taxi, 225,000 on the bus, 116,000 in the laundry, and 58,500 are lost to a dog.

Sprint to Launch the UpStage in Red

The popular music phone from Samsung and Sprint is expected to be available in RED sometime around June 18th. The combination phone is a phone on one side and an MP3 player on the other. The current model (available in Black) is on sale for $99.99.

Even with two sides with separate displays, the UpStage is still only 0.3 inches thick. It has a 1.3 megapixels camera/camcorder, Bluetooth, and a MicroSD slot. One thing that separates this music phone from the much anticipated iPhone is the ability to download music directly to the phone over-the-air (OTA) from Sprint's music store. To put music on the iPhone, you will have to download it to your PC and then sync the phone to the computer.

Pros: OTA music downloads, thin, and EV-DO
Cons: The phone does not have much internal memory, but it does have a MicroSD slot to store music and comes with a 64 MB card.

iPhone Coming June 29th

After months of speculation, the launch date for the much anticipated iPhone from Apple has finally been announced. June 29th is the date shown in new web and TV ads from Apple and AT&T.

Did You Know: Consumers Keep Phones Longer

Longer contracts are pushing American consumers to keep their handsets longer, according to a new study by J.D. Power and Associates. The average length of ownership of a particular handset has increased for the first time in five years, to 17.5 months from the 16.6 months reported in November 2006. The market analysis firm said that subscribers tend to hold onto their handsets due to the now-standard two-year contract and to avoid onerous service-termination fees when switching service, which may lead to lower renewal rates.

Get Prince's New Song for FREE

Prince is releasing "Guitar", his new single off of his upcoming album "Planet Earth". The single is available for download free via Verizon's Vcast Song ID offering. With the Song ID offering, Vcast subscribers can use certain Verizon phones to recognize a song by playing the song near a handset. Once Song ID recognizes the song, it will display the song for full track download along with other options such as downloading ringtones and ringback tones. You will also have the option to click to view similar music.