Clear Channel Radio today announced the launch of a national roll out of customized mobile phone applications that further extends its local station brands and expands the platforms to which it is distributing content. The initiative kicks off in the largest DMA market in the U.S. with free (a) programs for popular New York radio stations WHTZ-FM Z100 (Contemporary Hits Radio), WAXQ-FM Q104.3 (Classic Rock), WKTU-FM 103.5 (Rhythmic Adult Contemporary), WWPR-FM Power 105.1 (Urban) and WLTW-FM 106.7 (Adult Contemporary). Clear Channel Radio expects to launch similar programs on up to 100 more of its radio stations by the end of 2008, beginning with stations in Salt Lake City and St. Louis in the next 60 days.

Users will be able to text the studio, participate in contest, make song request and make dedications Users will also be able to sign up for text alerts on music news and tune in times for studio performances.

“By making these applications available for free via any cellular phone carrier, Clear Channel Radio is monumentally expanding access to its growing mobile content portfolio,” said John Hogan, Chief Executive Officer of Clear Channel Radio. “Each application allows users to have an individualized, on-demand experience, which will strengthen listeners’ connection with their favorite radio stations.”

To get started, users simply text ‘JOIN’ to their station’s short code. (Z100 - 55100, Q104 - 41043, WKTU - 31035, Power 105 - 41051, WLTW - 41067). For additional information, log on to the sites below and enter the keyword MOBILE.

http://www.z100.com
http://www.ktu.com
http://www.q1043.com
http://www.power1051fm.com
http://www.1067newyork.com

Alltel has said it has signed a definitive merger agreement to be acquired by TPG Capital and GS Capital Partners (“GSCP”), in a transaction valued at approximately $27.5 billion.

Under the terms of the agreement TPG and GS Capital Partner have agreed to pay $71.50 per share which represents a 23% premium over Alltel’s closing share price prior to media reports of a potential transaction published on December 29, 2006.

“This transaction delivers substantial and certain value to our shareholders while providing the company with long-term partners who share our commitment to our customers, employees and the communities we serve,” said Mr. Ford. “TPG and GSCP are long-term investors who are willing to make the investments necessary to continue to grow our wireless business in all of our markets. This transaction also ensures our customers can continue to rely on Alltel to deliver high-quality service and leading edge products and services.”

“Alltel is a great company with a terrific management team,” said Jim Coulter, founding partner, TPG. “We look forward to working with them to continue to grow one of the nation’s premier wireless providers.”

“Alltel has a long history of growth through strategic acquisitions, combined with a strong focus on customer service,” said Richard Friedman, head of the Merchant Banking Division at Goldman Sachs. “We are excited about this opportunity to partner with an exceptional management team to continue to support their strategies for growth.”

Alltel is the owner and operator of the nation’s largest wireless network and has over 12 million customers.

A lot of people would like a Sidekick but a lot of those people at the same time may not like T-Mobile, and some people just want a phone similar to the Sidekick. So I have decided to put a list of similar phones available from deferent service providers. The list consist of phones I personally like.

Alltel:
Kyocera Strobe K612B

Cingular:
Cingular 8125 Pocket PC

Sprint:
IP-830W by Samsung

Verizon:
SCH-u740
LG enV
LG VX9400

Personally I think Verizon has the best selection of all and my favorite of all the phones listed is the LG enV, in fact I think both the LG phones listed are the best to bad they don’t offer them to more providers.

I am aware that I left out some blackberries etc but I honestly don’t like any with the exception of the Pearl.

Hope you find this list useful and for images of the phones click here.

at&t has updated the members area where at&t subscribers can check their minutes, update their account information, and add and remove features.

The change is the second change in the past year, third if you count the logo change because of th Cingular to at&t name change.

The design is a bit more streamlined than the previous design but not that much of an improvement. To view a screen shot of the new design click the discuss on our forums link below.

Nokia today announced the Nokia 3109 Classic. The Nokia 3109 take the classic look we all remember and improves on it.

“We recognize that a sizeable number of people just want a mobile phone to stay in touch on their own terms,” said John Barry, Director, Mobile Phones, Nokia. “For these individuals, and for companies who want to support their employees by providing a mobile phone, the Nokia 3109 classic offers strong functionality and adheres to certain corporate privacy and security policies.”

The Nokia 3109 classic also features
Integrated handsfree speaker
Organizer with calendar, to-do list and notes
PC suite with USB, Bluetooth connectivity
Music player
E-mail client with attachments
microSD slot expandable to 2GB

Click here for an image of the Nokia 3109 Classic

A lot of states have laws that make it illegal to talk on your cell hone while driving, but Washington state has taken it a step further. It is now illegal in Washington state to text on your phone while you are driving.

If you are caught texting while driving, you can face a $100 fine and confiscation of your phone.

New Jersey is also considering similar legislation.

Source: InformationWeek

LAINDIA and I have been dealing with sprint issues for the past two months. Well more LAINDIA than I because it is her account.

For some reason Sprint is charging her Anytime Minutes for Night and Weekend calls, it has gotten so bad that her bill this month was $386 dollars, her account is limited to 150 a month so she was forced to pay over 100 dollars to activate her account again throughout the month. But last night she received her bill and to her amazement she was being charged overages for calls made after 9 and on the weekends.

Here is an example of calls made on April 28th and April 29th, a Saturday and Sunday:

(click for larger more detailed view)

It’s ridiculous, Sprint is aware of the problem but has done absolutely nothing to remedy it. They have however told LAINDIA not to use her phone, but also said they wouldn’t credit her for the time she shouldn’t use her phone.

Update: We have contacted Sprint and the billing issue has been resolved. According to Sprint they did not properly add Unlimited Nights and weekends to her account even though her account showed as having the Unlimited Nights and Weekend Feature. But personally I don’t understand how a feature can be on an account but not on the account.

Yesterday Samsung showed off its new 8Gigabyte (GB) microSD (Secure Digital) memory card.

SD cards have been popular for Cameras and MP3 players microSD cards are growing in popularity with mobile phones, so 8GB of storage is a great option for those of us with phones that double as MP3 playes such as the Motorola ROKR and Samsung Upstage, they are also great for smartphone users.

With a read speed of 16 Megabytes (MBs) per second and a write speed of 6MB/s, Samsung’s 8GB microSD card well exceeds the Speed Class 4 SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity) standard which requires a data write speed of 4MB/s. This is also much faster than the SD Speed Class 2 designation carried by most competing microSD cards currently on the market.

Today Samsung and Sprint announced the availability of the Sprint Vision M300 and M510.

The two phones come with a 1.3 MP (Mega Pixel) camera, bluetooth capabilities, improved user interface and easy to use menus and multimedia capabilities.

“Both the M510 by Samsung and the M300 by Samsung give customers the ability to instantly do more with their wireless phone,” said Danny Bowman, vice president of customer equipment for Sprint. “We expect these new, fun colors to be very popular.”

“Samsung is excited to introduce the M510 and M300 as the latest additions to the Sprint phone lineup,” said Peter Skarzynski, Senior Vice President at Samsung Telecommunications America. “Both of these phones offer premium feature packages at a reasonable price to our loyal customers.”

The M510 will cost $129 with a 2 year contract and the M300 $29.99 with a two year contract.

For more specs and pictures please visit our forum post about the M510and M300.

Pantech has upgraded the worlds smallest camera flip-phone (per volume) to include bluetooth. The Pantech C3b is one of the coolest little phones I have ever seen and I even considered purchasing the older version last year.

Pantech C3b features include:
-- Bluetooth
-- Changeable faceplates in multiple colors
-- Mobile Email services supported for Yahoo! Mail, AOL and MSN Hotmail
-- VGA camera with flash and 4x digital zoom in LCD mode
-- Multimedia Messaging Services allows users to send pictures, sounds and text with interactive messaging
-- Downloadable music ringtones (MP3, MIDI & i-Melody)
-- Downloadable wallpapers and screensavers
-- Data transmission via GPRS
-- Picture and ringtone caller ID
-- Predictive text input
-- Calendar and reminders

The C3B is currently available from at&t Cingular, price is currently unknown.

Image in this post is of older phone, please visit our forums for updated pictures.

Click here for more pictures.