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Amp'd Mobile to offer special edition RAZR
It may not be quite the do-anything-to-get-one gadget it once was (becoming a Monopoly piece has got to be some form of jumping the shark), but the Motorola RAZR still carries its fair share of cachet. At least Amp'd Mobile hopes so, with the MVNO recently officially announcing a special edition of the ubiquitous slimline handset (as speculated) in hopes of attracting more customers. The handset itself remains the same on the inside, of course -- the only changes being the proprietary Amp'd Live interface and a fresh coat of Amp'd signature pearl gray finish. For a limited time, however, customers will get a premium audio entertainment pack to go along with it, consisting of an in-ear headset, universal adapters to connect the RAZR to various other devices, and a 256MB microSD to make better use of the phone's multimedia features. Getting one will cost you $99 with a contract, or $199 less a $100 instant rebate with a Pay-As-You-Go or Hybrid pricing plan.[Via The Wireless Report]
UTStarcom serves "Slice" to Virgin Mobile
Though it's known simply as the PCS-1400 to UTStarcom, Virgin Mobile has a history of christening its phones with creative names, and the trend continues here: enter the "Slice." The phone looks a bit like UTStarcom's previously seen UT1200 for GSM networks but rocks CDMA instead (obviously), bringing 10mm-thick slimphone goodness to prepaid users on the cheap -- just $50. Specs are pretty much what you might expect for a $50 phone, with a single-band 1900MHz radio, 128 x 128 display, 32MB of internal storage, and a speakerphone, but no camera or Bluetooth to be found. No word on an official availability date for the Slice, but it looks like Circuit City will be happy to sell you one as we speak.[Thanks, Gusto and Jeremy]Read - Circuit CityRead - Virgin Mobile Slice support pageRead - UTStarcom
Motorola RAZR coming to Amp'd?
With all the CDMA RAZR love that seems to be going around these days, why not spread some over to the MVNO folks, too? That seems to be the thinking with Amp'd, anyway -- never mind the fact that the darned thing's K1m successor is out and about -- as an Amazon slideshow page for a T-Mobile branded V3 variant seems to reveal. Everything seems perfectly kosher right up until the second-to-last photograph, which curiously reveals "Amp'd Mobile" emblazoned across the back. Now, last time we checked, Amp'd was a CDMA MVNO and doesn't do much business with those crazy GSM T-Mobile types, so we're guessing some absentminded Amazon employee just put up the wrong pic. To be fair, the V3, V3i, V3c, and V3m are all barely distinguishable even to a trained eye -- but shouldn't the giant carrier logo silkscreened onto the phone be some sort of clue?[Thanks, Will]
Helio Hybrid buys you 160MB of 3G monthly
$85 sounds like a pretty solid deal for a Boingo WiFi account plus unlimited EV-DO, doesn't it? It would, if the 3G part of Helio's Hybrid package was, in fact, unlimited. Alas, Wi-Fi Networking News uncovered the rather startling fact that Helio is considering anything above and beyond 160MB per month to be "excessive or abusive." To be fair, Helio isn't advertising the Hybrid's 3G data to be unlimited -- in which case 2GB or more of monthly access would be typically considered the norm without getting yourself in hot water -- but then again, they aren't doing a very good job of making it clear on their site that the soft cap comes in at 160MB, either. Helio is apparently expecting Hybrid customers to spend the lion's share of their time doing the WiFi thing, but even still, we know a couple Engadget editors that could blow through 160MB in a few hours. How about a real, honest-to-goodness all-you-can-eat plan for a few bucks more a month, guys?[Via Wi-Fi Network News]
Helio announces "Hybrid" 3G / WiFi service
A Boingo pass for when you're near a hotspot, EV-DO for when you're not. That's the gist of Helio's latest product, dubbed "Hybrid" -- only their third since launchingearlier this year -- and the first dedicated to data device from the MVNO (and among the first data devices from any MVNO, so far as we know). Technically, Hybrid is more of a package than an actual device, composed of a rebranded Sierra Wireless Aircard 580, EV-DO service, and WiFi access (provided by Helio pal and Sky Dayton venture Boingo, of course) with Helio's "Hybrid Connector" software calling the connectivity shots. Though the concept doesn't seem to go after the same core demographic as the MVNO's handsets, the $85 package deal could still be a compelling one for folks that maintain separate WiFi and 3G data accounts. Look for Hybrid to be available for a nice, round $0 on two-year contract through Fry's locations and Helio's site directly.
Red Pocket Mobile MVNO for Chinese-speaking Americans launches
MVNO's may not seem like quite the hot thing they once were given today's news, but (thankfully for us) the steady stream of niche-market operators looks to be continuing unabated, at least for the time being. One of the latest to launch is Red Pocket Mobile, aimed at Chinese-speaking customers, which actually soft-launched two weeks ago but is now going after a larger audience. The big news with this one is that it'll give you discounted calls to Asia (15 cents per minute; same as a domestic call), as well as a stylin' RAZR V3 to go with it -- a Motorola C139 is also available if you want to save a few bucks. For those keeping track of such things, this MVNO's piggybacking on Cingular's GSM network. Which means that, like others backed up by Cingular, you can expect this one to be voice-only, since data usage is a no-no for its MVNO buddies.[Via The Wireless Report]
Helio to launch EV-DO / WiFi card with Boingo
Word on the street has Helio launching its first data product as soon as tomorrow, which appears from this leaked kiosk mockup to be a Sierra Wireless AirCard 580. That would normally seem plausible enough -- assuming we can forget that the 580 is merely a Rev 0 device -- except for one critical detail: our sources tell us Helio's launch will combine EV-DO data with service through Boingo's network of WiFi hotspots. That leads us to believe that the 580 in the mockup is simply a placeholder for a different, hybrid card, or Helio's going to be assuming that its users are capable of bringing their own WiFi radio -- probably a safe assumption considering the percentage of notebooks that ship with integrated 802.11 these days. The partnership with Boingo makes a lot of sense, seeing how Helio's CEO is Boingo's founder and chairman, but given the ever-increasing ubiquity of EV-DO coverage (particularly anywhere Boingo would have a hotspot), we'll be curious to see Helio's marketing angle on this one.[Thanks, anonymous tipster]
MobileESPN, R.I.P: 2005 - 2006
Whoa Nellie. The folks who scooped Disney's ESPN-branded cellphone service -- MobileESPN -- are now calling for "big changes" in the MVNO. According to Rafat Ali and Staci Kramer who cite "numerous sources," the doomed MobileESPN MVNO is set for "a phased winding down/transition, or getting sold" outright this week, just before Disney's fiscal year draws to a close. A spokeswoman for MobileESPN confirmed an announcement was coming, most likely on Thursday, and that staff would not be laid off this week contrary to rumors. Merrill Lynch already asked Disney to pull the plug in a research note published back in July estimating that MobileESPN had only snagged 30,000 of the 240,000 anticipated subscribers since its Superbowl launch representing a loss of some $135 million for The Mouse. All this is potentially bad news for the likes of Amp'd Mobile and Helio who may be in for an MVNO backlash on The Street where investor sentiment is already pretty low. Oh BJ, not you and the Bear too? Update: Just minutes after we posted the article above, Disney officially dropped the ax on MobileESPN, and the happiest place on earth is just a little bit gloomier today. According to an open letter on the MobileESPN homepage, cellular service will stop as of December 21st, although all that great content that you handful of subscribers have come to enjoy day in and day out will soon be available through one of the major carriers. Meanwhile, existing customers are free to drop the service anytime before the end of the year without penaltly, and once your bills are all paid up, the soon-to-be-defunct MVNO will refund the full cost of your handset. Epitaph: MobileESPN, we had such high hopes for ye, but your glass jaw made a first round KO inevitable. R.I.P, sweet, failed telecom experiment.[Via GigaOM]
Hands on with the Jitterbug
We just spotted the Jitterbug, and while there's really not too much to see, the phone does seem to serve its purpose well. The "menu" system walks you through some yes or no questions from the moment you open the phone until you're done with your call, so things really couldn't be simpler on the interface front. As for build, the phone seems particularly solid, and everything has a well-built Samsung feel. Our only caveat is that the extra heft around the screen makes the phone a bit awkward to use with one hand, but if grandma or grandpa is dexterous enough to attempt such a feat, more power to them. Keep reading for a few more pics.
Xero allegedly in talks to sell company
In an announcement that (as far as we can tell) brings them no closer to having an actual -- what's the word we're looking for? -- product, would-be MVNO Xero Mobile is saying that they've "entered into discussions" to be bought out by a management company. To refresh everyone's memory, Xero is that fabulous group of ex-Gizmondo employees looking to adapt the oh-so-successful Gizmondo business model to mobile phones, apparently with the goal of providing free phone service to college students. Xero CEO du jour Roger Davis says "We're excited about the opportunity to work with the new team," which we think is execu-speak for "We're excited to watch this press release marginally boost our share price, dump our holdings, and forget this whole thing ever happened," but we suppose we can't really be sure until that magic January 2007 date when Xero claims they'll be launching.[Via Techdirt]Update: RCR News indicates that the sale is now a done deal. A new operation going by "Advanced Mobile" has apparently completed a stock swap with Xero, though exact terms of the deal weren't disclosed. What's not immediately clear is whether Xero's existing executive team of ex-Gizmondo whiz kids will find their way to Advanced Mobile or whether the January '07 launch is still on, but we imagine we'll get hit up with some press releases from these folks before too long.
ESPN Mobile to offer full-length college football games
Mobile ESPN might not have attracted quite the following they'd have hoped for so far, but that's certainly not to say they won't keep on keepin' on. In a deal with potentially broad-reaching implications for 3G data, MVNOs, and mobile entertainment in general, the sports-oriented carrier has announced plans to broadcast live college football games to their handsets, with as many as 25 planned for the 2006 season. Details are slim for the picking -- including the all-important question of pricing -- but if they can get this feature out the door for little or no additional cost on top of their basic service plans, we can definitely see this winning a few converts (not to mention flooding Sprint's EV-DO pipes in the process).[Via Moco News]
Virgin Mobile takes top prepaid honors in J.D. Powers survey
They may not be offering the Lobster 700, but Virgin Mobile's US outpost can lay claim to one thing: they've bested all of their peers in J.D. Powers' latest survey of prepaid services through national carriers and MVNOs. The survey of 4,000 current customers measured satisfaction with call quality, company image, account management, initial activation, service plan options, and customer service, with Virgin scoring 751 on a 1,000-point scale. Coming in a close second was Verizon with their Inpulse service, scoring 736, followed by T-Mobile, Boost Mobile, and TracFone, while Cingular's GoFone and Alltel both scored under the average of 717. Perhaps more interesting than the rankings, though, was the finding that customers of MVNOs (like Virgin) ranked their services higher in account management and cost, while direct services (like T-Mobile) fared better in areas like company image and call quality. Anyway, our congratulations go out to Virgin on that shiny new trophy for the mantel, but honestly, we'd gladly trade it for a Lobster any day of the week.[Via The Wireless Report]
Disney Mobile postpones UK launch indefinitely
As MVNOs seemingly struggle to gain traction stateside, some are looking outside their home borders for an additional revenue stream -- while others are starting to reevaluate the wisdom in taking their business model abroad. Case in point: Disney, which has been having a rough go of it with its first MVNO (ESPN Mobile) and recently launched a second with Disney Mobile, has shelved plans to take Disney Mobile to the UK via O2's network, citing "the rapidly changing competitive environment" (when we run that bit through Babelfish's corporate lip service-to-English translator, we get "we're getting our rears handed to us at home, and we need to figure out what the heck we're doing wrong before we launch elsewhere"). Of course, this is technically an indefinite delay, not a cancellation -- meaning that there may yet be hope for Brits looking forward to tracking the little ones via Disney's Family Locator service -- just not any time soon.[Via Techdirt]
Helio to open flagship store in Santa Monica
Phone-oriented flagship retail locations seem to be all the rage these days, but who would've thought MVNOs would be getting into the action? MySpace-friendly Helio looks to gain some additional visibility when it opens its first of five dedicated stores in Santa Monica this October. If the renderings hold true, we have to admit the place looks pretty nifty -- just add some hot new devices to match the decor and Helio may have a winner on their hands. Additional facilities will be opening in New York, Denver, San Diego, and Palo Alto through late '06 and early '07. Any love for the midwest, guys?
FCC docs go up for Disney Mobile's D100
It seemed pretty obvious that Disney's family-oriented Disney Mobile MVNO was in desperate need of a kidproof handset, having initially come to the table with only a pair of middling clamshells for the little 'uns. Enter the pod-shaped D100 -- now granted, we can't say with certainty that they'll be marketing this toward parents with young children when it launches, but c'mon, it's got Winnie the Pooh on its backside. The usual parental controls are present on the device, but more interestingly, the numeric keypad can be replaced with a simpler four-button design if numeric dialing isn't needed (try texting on that, kiddies).[Via phoneArena]Update: In speaking with Disney Mobile, it turns out this lil' pod won't be seeing duty here in the States -- it's destined for South America as a general consumer device.
Amp'd gets licensing deal, $7.5 million infusion from up north
Even as Amp'd has seemingly failed to live up to expectations in the US of A, the young MVNO is looking to expand its business outside its home borders -- though not quite as an MVNO. A deal with Telus gives the carrier exclusive rights to the Amp'd name in Canada, though instead of running its own virtual network, Amp'd will be turning the reigns over to Telus, which in turn will be offering Amp'd-branded goods and services directly. Meanwhile, subsidiary Telus Ventures has dropped a cool $7.5 million into Amp'd (purely a coincidence, we're sure), we're guessing as a little "thank you" for the deal. Look for Telus to light up Amp'd Canada early next year, though unfortunately for Canadian pre-paid fans, it sounds like only Amp'd's post-paid service will be making the jump.[Via MocoNews]
MySpace members entitled to contract-free Helio
You have to give these guys a lot of credit for trying some unusual angles in an effort to gain footing. Appealing directly to its MySpace demographic, Helio is now offering to waive the nearly universal concept of a 2-year contract for new subscribers. Not bad; to MySpace members that take their social networking seriously, Helio probably seemed like a pretty hot concept already, and we can guess that this should be enough to push over a handful of those folks sitting on the fence.[Thanks, Rom]
Virgin Mobile keeps it simple with Kyocera "Oystr"
Want Virgin Mobile service? Got 30 bucks? Kyocera's got you covered. The 3.5oz back-to-basics Oystr -- no "e" -- offers a color internal display, speakerphone, "Superphonic" ringtones, and that's about it. Some of us might be quickly overcome with a bad case of feature starvation, but at least the pearl white clamshell (hence the name) doesn't look half bad -- and for an honest $30 with no contract, we'll forego the typical grousing about the lack of external display.[Thanks, Roy]
easyMobile pulling out of Netherlands
Obviously the Netherlands is not a country you want to fire up a cell phone service in and try a "let's please everyone" approach; with over 40 virtual operators (including mobile giant Orange) battling for business, it's a tough nut to crack. easyMobile found out the hard way; launched just last year, the company consistently missed sales targets and simply couldn't attract customers away from other providers. Maybe it was because the easyGroup was too busy focusing on their empire of other startups, or maybe easyMobile just tried to be something they weren't by mimicking Orange. Either way, a notice on their official website has informed current subscribers that service will be halted on August 1, 2006 and for them to be seeking another carrier. While they're still striving in Germany and the UK, there's no doubt the markets are saturated, and we're fairly certain this won't be the last MVNO shuttering in 2006.[Via The Register]
New Helio hardware in the pipeline from Samsung?
Your interpretation of the Google translation is just as valid as ours, but we're getting that Samsung has entered an agreement with SK Telecom (one of Helio's parents, the other being Earthlink) to provide at least one handset to the MVNO's stable in the October timeframe. No real deets on the device itself, though this pictured Z400 "phone of champions" may be the culprit. Anything is an upgrade from the Hero, although the Z400 lacks the Kickflip's style; at any rate, if Helio wants to save itself, we're hoping Bluetooth finds its way into the mix this time around.[Thanks, anonymous tipster]
