Mobiles

Verizon Wireless said today it would buy rural mobile carrier Alltel for $28.1 billion, including debt, to leapfrog AT&T and become the biggest U.S. wireless group.

Under the terms of the agreement in the US, Verizon Wireless will acquire the equity of Alltel for 5.9 billion dollars cash and assume the company's debt of 22.2 billion dollars.

Under the terms of the deal, Verizon Wireless will acquire the equity of Alltel for $5.9 billion dollars cash and assume the company's debt of $22.2 billion dollars, mostly incurred when Alltel was taken private in November in a leveraged buyout by TPG Capital and GS Capital Partners.

Verizon Wireless and Alltel, which has more than 13 million customers, together would have more than 80 million customers.

The merger will accelerate deployment of the so-called fourth generation of wireless services, which include voice, data and video over mobile devices, the companies said.

The two firms hope to complete the deal by the end of the year, subject to regulatory approval.

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It's official; HTC today unveiled its latest Windows Mobile 6.1 equipped business device, the Touch Pro. Calling its unique 3D touch interface TouchFLO 3D, this new unit boasts desktop-like browsing and a 5-row sliding QWERTY keyboard to handle typing duties for individuals not entirely comfortable with entering data though the touch screen interface virtual keyboard.

The TouchFLO 3D system does, however, offer one-touch scrolling through tasks like messaging, calendar appointments, making calls, browsing though music, photos, and surfing the net. Best of all, this handheld unit delivers broadband-like speed with HSDPA 7.2 Mbps and HSUPA wireless connectivity. Battery capacity for the Touch Pro (1350mAh) allows for up to 8 hours of talk time. Other notable features include 512MB flash, 288MB RAM, a microSD card slot, GPS capability, 2.8-inch VGA touch screen and a 3.2-megapixel internal camera equipped with video calling software.

Especially cool is the fact that the Touch Pro boasts an all-new web browser that will allow users to both view and navigate websites as they are meant to be seen on a full desktop or laptop with the option to zoom and pan. Like the i-Phone, flipping the device on its side will automatically rotate the screen view from portrait to landscape mode.

While finalized pricing is yet to be released, the HTC Touch Pro is set to hit European, Asian and Middle Eastern markets later this summer. The American versions of the Touch Pro will not be available until the later portion of 2008.
See full article.

Related Entries:

Hipi 2200, World's First VoIP GSM Dual Mode Windows Phone - 24 September 2006

Got $1,000 to Burn? Consider the Samsung Serenata... - 02 October 2007

The LG Vu Touch Phone- Is it an iPhone rival? - 28 March 2008

Is this the new HTC touch Diamond Phone? - 05 May 2008

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Contents of this feed are a property of Creative Weblogging Limited and are protected by copyright laws. Violations will be prosecuted. Please email us if you'd like to use this feed for non-commercial activities at feeds - at - creative-weblogging.com.

It's official; HTC today unveiled its latest Windows Mobile 6.1 equipped business device, the Touch Pro. Calling its unique 3D touch interface TouchFLO 3D, this new unit boasts desktop-like browsing and a 5-row sliding QWERTY keyboard to handle typing duties for individuals not entirely comfortable with entering data though the touch screen interface virtual keyboard.

The TouchFLO 3D system does, however, offer one-touch scrolling through tasks like messaging, calendar appointments, making calls, browsing though music, photos, and surfing the net. Best of all, this handheld unit delivers broadband-like speed with HSDPA 7.2 Mbps and HSUPA wireless connectivity. Battery capacity for the Touch Pro (1350mAh) allows for up to 8 hours of talk time. Other notable features include 512MB flash, 288MB RAM, a microSD card slot, GPS capability, 2.8-inch VGA touch screen and a 3.2-megapixel internal camera equipped with video calling software.

Especially cool is the fact that the Touch Pro boasts an all-new web browser that will allow users to both view and navigate websites as they are meant to be seen on a full desktop or laptop with the option to zoom and pan. Like the i-Phone, flipping the device on its side will automatically rotate the screen view from portrait to landscape mode.

While finalized pricing is yet to be released, the HTC Touch Pro is set to hit European, Asian and Middle Eastern markets later this summer. The American versions of the Touch Pro will not be available until the later portion of 2008.
See full article.

Related Entries:

Hipi 2200, World's First VoIP GSM Dual Mode Windows Phone - 24 September 2006

Got $1,000 to Burn? Consider the Samsung Serenata... - 02 October 2007

The LG Vu Touch Phone- Is it an iPhone rival? - 28 March 2008

Is this the new HTC touch Diamond Phone? - 05 May 2008

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Contents of this feed are a property of Creative Weblogging Limited and are protected by copyright laws. Violations will be prosecuted. Please email us if you'd like to use this feed for non-commercial activities at feeds - at - creative-weblogging.com.

PocketGamer has an interview with LemonQuest's CEO Ignacio Cavero where he claims iPhone games will be priced at $25. No idea if this is true, but if so, that is great news.

Mobile phone game price points have been going up in recent years which helps everybody in the ecosystem.

I particularly like this quote from Cavero:

"The doors of the operator towers are basically closed, so for us, getting onto the iPhone and selling our games through iTunes is healthy," he says. "I believe that in two years, the market will be 50-50 between the carriers, and alternative sales channels. The carriers have been limiting the market."

Apple is expected to announce more details next week at their Worldwide Developers Conference.

Verizon Wireless announced this morning it will acquire Alltel Corporation for $28 billion, a deal that will create the USA's largest mobile operator. If approved by regulators, it heralds the most significant U.S. telecom deal since AT&T acquired BellSouth in 2006.

Alltel is the fifth largest mobile operator in the U.S., with 13.2 million subscribers in 34 states--added to Verizon's 67.2 million existing subscribers, the combined company would vault past current market leader AT&T, which boasts 71.4 million customers.

Analysts say that Alltel is a logical fit for Verizon. First, they share the same cellphone technology, called CDMA, and second, Alltel has customers in regions not serviced by Verizon.

“This move will create an enhanced platform of network coverage, spectrum and customer care to better serve the growing needs of both Alltel and Verizon Wireless customers for reliable basic and advanced broadband wireless services,” Lowell C. McAdam, the president and chief executive of Verizon Wireless, said in a statement.

What does this mean for the mobile content industry? Well, for one, content providers who have deals in place with Alltel but not Verizon will be sweating it as post-merger, Verizon management will look to streamline contracts, etc. And those content providers that do have good relationships with Verizon will be impacted as well as Verizon's leverage just went up about 20%. They will now control access to 80 million wireless subscribers or nearly 30% of the entire US base of wireless subscribers so if you want to reach that audience, you'll have to take what you can get from the carrier.

Think this isn't a big deal? Ask suppliers to Walmart what their margins are looking like these days.

Just moments ago Verizon Wireless, the largest CDMA carrier in the U.S., announced that it was purchasing Alltel Wireless in a deal valued at over US$28 billion. If approved, this will make Verizon once again the largest U.S. carrier, overtaking AT&T.
Read the full story here.

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Industry's Only Free Consumer Voicemail Service Brings Visual Voicemail Experience to Blackberry, Blackjack, Treo and More
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Symbian Limited welcomes three new phones from NTT DOCOMO based on Symbian OS
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Motorola makes Windows Mobile 6.1 update available for Sprint branded Q9c smartphone. Starbucks giving free access to AT&T WiFi network at its stores. Asus introduces its Glide finger UI extensions for its Windows Mobile smartphones.
Read the full story here.