More People Surf Web on Mobile, No Surprise!

Internet Retailer magazine published an article suggesting more than 63.2M people (approx. 29% of total U.S. population) accessed the web on their mobile devices in Jan 2009. Amongst them, 22.4M did so daily and that is a total increase of 107% from Jan of 2008. (Source: comScore). The article goes on to suggest that it is no surprise since most mCommerce websites are experience an increase in traffic with the proliferation of 3G network and smartphones such as the iPhone, G1 and BlackBerry Storm. I started this blog little over two years ago while using EDGE data on a BlackBerry 8700c to surf the web on the go. It worked for the small things I needed it to do (checking weather, some stock quots over Yahoo Mobile) but it is not the same compared to web browsing on a G1 Chrome or iPhone Safari browser. From a mobile experience standpoint, the web browsing today is more convincing thus explains why the big jump in usage.

Cingular 3G Network Available for Rhode Island

Big freaking deal! Its about time Cingular rolling out 3G network, but what about the rest of us? When will the rest of the U.S. get upgraded into the 21^st century? I suppose its not important since the new iPhone won’t even be 3G ready.

MySpace on Cingular... sucks for Helio

Cingular and Myspace will form alliance to allow customers to access MySpace via mobile phones. This news could be bad for Helio. You see, Helio is a MVNO cell phone company who's specialty is having partnered with MySpace to offer mobile access. In fact, historically speaking, the sole existence of MVNOs is mainly relying on some kind of special feature/function/content in addition cell phone service. Some popular MVNO's are Virgin Mobile, Boost and ESPN. However, when a MVNO's specialty is no longer exclusive (in the case of Cingular and MySpace partnership), this could pose serious threat to a MVNO's existance.

BlackBerry Pearl now on Cingular Website

As reported yesterday, the BlackBerry Pearl is now officially on the Cingular Website. For $199 (2yr contract and a $50 rebate later), you can have the most consumer oriented BlackBerry with email, camera, music, video and GPS capabilities. This marks the 12th smartphone in Cingular's lineup making them the carrier with the most smartphones in its shed. I have also updated the Smartphones & Handhelds Roundup list for your reference.

Cingular BlackBerry Pearl Avail Friday 12/1

Its about 7:47AM East Coast time, I turned my TV on and flipped to CNBC... suddenly I saw a note scrolled across the bottom of the screen "CINGULAR TO SELL BLACKBERRY PEARL STARTING FRIDAY". Is this true? Looks like the words have been out approximately 4 to 6 hours. Cingular will offer exclusive GPS and Push-to-Talk features to their version of the Pearl. No sign of the Pearl on Cingular's website at the time of writing.

Cingular PR on Yahoo
Mobile Tracker Article
MobileBurn Article

Palm Treo 680 Added on Cingular Site

Yesterday, we reported that Palm has finally put the Treo 680 on their website. This morning, I find it added on the Cingular Site as well. The price is $449.99. With a 2-yr contract, it will cost you $299.99. An additional $100 rebate is available. Happy Thanksgiving!

Cingular 8525 in High Demand in LV

I am visiting friends and family this week in the world famous Las Vegas, Neveda. Both of my in-laws are obsessed with the new 3G smartphones released by Cingular last week. One of them was able to hunt down the Samsung BlackJack which I must say, is a gorgeous piece of hardware. I got a chance to play with it in person and I must say Samsung pulled off an ultra-thin smartphone without the need of touchscreen, very slick!

Going back to topic, we drove around sin city in search of the Cingular 8525 and store after store told us how limited in quantity were received (3 to 5 per store) and they have been sold out immediately. I was utterly shocked by the demand from the good folks living in Vegas and their demand for high quality mobile devices. Perhaps this is driven by the fact that Las Vegas is one of the few test markets for Cingular's HSDPA/UMTS 3G data network.

Cingular's New 3G UMTS Smartphones Debut

Cingular launched two new Windows Mobile Smartphones today. Both phones are very strong contenders in the smart phone market. The Samsung BlackJack is a phone that draws a lot of physical similarities with Motorola Q (thin, full QWERTY keyboard). It is a quad-band GSM phone supporting GPRS/EDGE/UMTS network. With a 2.2" 320x240px LCD screens, this device features Bluetooth 2.0 and MicroSD expansion slot without the much needed integrated WiFi.

The other phone released is Cingular 8525, it is believed to be a rebadged HTC Hermes phone from a popular Taiwanese vendor. Personally, I think this phone is the superior of the two, in fact, it may be the best smartphone on the market today. It features a Samsung (how ironic) 400MHz CPU and integrated WiFi that supports both 802.11 b and g, which makes Skype for Pocket PC an instant possibility. In addition, it also supports GPRS/EDGE/UMTS and supports Bluetooth 2.0. The phone is a slider format which covers the full QWERTY keyboard when not in use. This phone is very hot, and I think Cingular knows that hence the asking price of $399 after a 2-yr contract and $50 rebate.

These phones have been updated in the Windows Mobile Phone entry.
These phones have been updated in the Smartphones & Handhelds Roundup entry.

Mobile Banking from Cingular

Gizmodo reported a story on Cingular's attempt to bring an application that allows you banking on the go. Currently, it is being tested and it is said that the service will be free of charge. Currently, I am able to access my bank's website through my WAP browser as is. So such service may not be as useful to people with smartphones. Unless the application makes it much easier to use, a good example is visiting GMail via browser vs. the java application.

Holiday Wish List: Mobile Devices

Holiday season is around the corner and I have come up with a wish list of mobile devices and gadgets. I am hoping at least someone in my pool of friends and family will be reading this list and pay close attention.

Laptop: Sony TXN-007 (James Bond 007 TX Spy Gear Bundle)
Runner-Up: Apple Macbook 2.0GHz

Small Form Factor PC: Sony UX Series
Runner-Up: SAMSUNG UMPC

Smartphone: Sprint Samsung IP-830W (International CDMA & GSM)
Runner-Up: Palm Treo 750v

Cellphone: Helio Drift (by Samsung)
Runner-Up: T-Mobile BlackBerry Pearl (I know, this is technically a smartphone)

Data Plan: Sprint 3G EV-DO Rev. A
Runner-Up: Cingular UMTS

Portable Gaming Console: Nintendo DS Lite
Runner-Up: Playstation Portable

Portable Entertainment: Apple iPod 80GB
Runner-Up: Apple iPod Nano 8GB

Email SMS Text Messages (Free SMS)

Inspired from the Sprint Treo SMS post, I have decided to post email extensions to U.S. wireless providers. This is handy if you have a smartphone with email or you can use your PC to send a email text message without being charged (the receipient will be charged for receiving). Simply input the receipient's 10-digit phone number infront of their carrier's email extention and they will receive your short email via SMS. Several downsides to this method: 1). Sender information will be some random number, so the recipient may not read your SMS. 2). Not sure if reply to that random number will work. 3). You'll always need to remember each carrier's email extension and know recipient's carrier.

T-Mobile: phonenumber@tmomail.net
Virgin Mobile: phonenumber@vmobl.com
AT&T: phonenumber@txt.att.net
Sprint: phonenumber@messaging.sprintpcs.com
Verizon: phonenumber@vtext.com
Nextel: phonenumber@messaging.nextel.com
Source
Source 2
Update 2/24/2008: For the hardcore SMS folks using a Nokia Smartphone, a Widget is available for you to blast SMS text messages via your phone plan but using your Windows Vista computer!

Smartphones and Handhelds Roundup

Updated: 03/19/2007

With so many smartphones and pda/handheld devices available today, I've decided to put together a list of phones offered by the major wireless providers. This list will serve as a quick reference to phones as well as their pricing. I'll try to update this list on a monthly basis. BTW, whats up with the 2-yr contracts?

Cingular: (13)
Apple iPhone (2-yr contract, $499 est. coming soon)
BlackBerry 7290 $99 (2-yr contract, $50 rebate)
BlackBerry 8700c $249 (2-yr contract, $50 rebate)
BlackBerry Pearl $199 (2-yr contract, $50 rebate)
BlackBerry 8800 $299 (2-yr contract, $50 rebate) new
Cingular 3125 $149 (2-yr contract, $150 rebate)
Cingular 8125 $249 (2-yr contract, $100 rebate)
Cingular 8525 $399 (2-yr contract, $50 rebate)
Palm Treo 650 $249 (2-yr contract, $50 rebate)
Palm Treo 680 $199 (2-yr contract, $100 rebate)
Palm Treo 750 $399 (2-yr contract, $100 rebate) new
Nokia E62 $99 (2-yr contract, $100 rebate)
Samsung BlackJack $199 (2-yr contract, $100 rebate)

T-Mobile: (10)
BlackBerry 7290 $99 (2-yr contract Instant Discount, $50 rebate)
BlackBerry 7105t $99 (2-yr contract Instant Discount, $50 rebate)
BlackBerry Pearl $199 (2-yr contract Instant Discount, $50 rebate)
BlackBerry 8700g $299 (2-yr contract Instant Discount, $50 rebate)
T-Mobile SDA $149 (2-yr contract Instant Discount, $50 rebate)
T-Mobile Dash $199 (2-yr contract Instant Discount, $50 rebate)
T-Mobile MDA $249 (2-yr contract Instant Discount, $50 rebate)
T-Mobile Sidekick 3 $299 (2-yr contract Instant Discount)
Sidekick 3 (Lift Research Group) $349 (2-yr contract Instant Discount)
Sidekick 3 (Diane von Furstenberg) $349 (2-yr contract Instant Discount)

Verizon Wireless: (8)
BlackBerry 7250 $99 (2-yr contract, online discount)
BlackBerry 7130e $199 (2-yr contract, online discount)
BlackBerry 8703e $249 (2-yr contract, online discount)
Samsung SCH-i730 $99 (2-yr contract, online discount)
Motorola Q $129/$229blk (2-yr contract, online discount, $50 rebate)
Verizon Wireless PN820 $149 (2-yr contract, online discount, $50 rebate)
Verizon Wireless XV6700 $299 (2-yr contract, online discount)
Palm Treo 700wx $399 (2-yr contract, online discount, $100 rebate)
Palm Treo 700p $399 (2-yr contract, online discount, $100 rebate)

Sprint PCS: (7)
BlackBerry 8703e $149 (2-yr contract, online discount, $100 rebate)
BlackBerry 7130e $99 (2-yr contract, Instant Savings, $100 rebate)
Motorola Q $99 (2-yr contract, Instant Savings, $100 rebate)
Sprint PPC-6700 $299 (2-yr contract, online discount)
Palm Treo 700p $249 (2-yr contract, online discount, $100 rebate)
Palm Treo 700wx $249 (2-yr contract, online discount, $100 rebate)
Samsung IP-830w $599 (2-yr contract, online discount)
Nextel BlackBerry 7100i $199 (2-yr contract, online discount)
Nextel BlackBerry 7520 $319 (2-yr contract, online discount)
Nextel BlackBerry 7520 $219 (2-yr contract, online discount, $100 rebate)