Verizon Wireless announced the newest flavor of Chocolate by LG – Blue Ice. The newest addition to the Chocolate line-up, the silky-smooth slim slider design comes coated with a frosty blue finish and includes the must-have multimedia capabilities for the music and entertainment lover on your holiday list.

The Chocolate in Blue Ice includes the same features chocoholics have come to love, such as vibration feedback on the touch-sensitive keypad, navigation wheel with classic red trace motion lighting, and a microSD™ memory card slot that supports up to 4 GB of memory. Customers who purchase the Chocolate will love the quick and easy access to V CAST Music, the Verizon Wireless service that offers more than 2.4 million songs for download over-the-air, and V CAST Video, which offers news, sports and entertainment video clips, 3D games and more. VZ NavigatorSM, a popular tool available on the Chocolate, includes mapping, audible turn-by-turn navigation and access to information on more than 14 million points of interest. A 1.3 megapixel camera, speakerphone and Bluetooth® headset capabilities round out the features wrapped in frosty blue.

Chocolate by LG in Blue Ice is available today for $79.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate and new two-year customer agreement at Verizon Wireless Communications Stores within Circuit City. It will be available at Verizon Wireless Communications Stores and online at www.verizonwireless.com on Friday, Dec.7.

Your multimedia computer can do so many great things, but so can you. Here’s your chance to update your Nokia N95 with the latest improvements - making your connected life just that bit smoother. Available directly from the Nokia Software Updater (NSU), the latest software for the Nokia N95 will elevate performance levels even further, thanks to added features.

The new improvements from this software version touch those experiences that make your life more enjoyable: music, maps and games - and supported in even more languages than ever before. The beauty of the multimedia computer is in its ability to multitask, just the way you need it to. The new addition of on-demand paging means you can run more applications and run them faster, whether that’s listening to music or surfing with the improved browser at the same time. Now you can rock on even longer to your favorite tunes, with up to 30 percent longer playback time from your multimedia computer’s music player - that’s an extra three hours, up from nine to up to 12 hours.

With the Nokia Music Store now live in the United Kingdom, users can enjoy the convenience of instant over-the-air downloads. This latest software release brings added speed to your Nokia Maps with faster positioning times, a faster Map Loader, and a free* three-day navigation trial. With Nokia Maps, there are maps available for more than 150 countries, with navigation supported for over 30 countries. Discover a whole new mobile gaming experience with the N-Gage preview application for enjoying game demos with your Nokia N95. For access to more games, just go into the Download! application.

KT Freetel and NTT DoCoMo announced that they have agreed to jointly invest in U Mobile Sdn Bhd, a new Malaysian 3G mobile operator that is scheduled to launch commercial service in 2008. The two companies will collectively acquire 33 percent control of the new market entrant.Upon approval of the Malaysian government, KTF and DoCoMo will invest 100 million U.S. dollars respectively through third-party allotment of new shares, giving each company 16.5 percent shares with voting rights. KTF and DoCoMo will jointly participate in U Mobile’s management and draw on their 3G expertise to enhance U Mobile’s competitiveness. The two companies intend in future to promote international roaming services through U Mobile 3G network for their respective customers traveling in Malaysia.

Soon you could be swapping your mobile phone for a molar phone. Royal College of Art students in London have developed a phone that fits inside a tooth. The concept device picks up signals with a radio receiver and uses a tiny vibrating plate to convey them as sound along the jawbone to a person’s ear. The designers said the mini-molar phone could be implanted in a tooth during routine dental surgery.

The prototype phone is the work of graduates James Auger and Jimmy Loizeau and forms part of the Royal College of Art’s annual summer exhibition. Known as The Show, this exhibition shows off the best ideas of the current crop of RCA designers and students. Currently, the tooth phone is only a mock-up and lacks the communications chip to actually turn it into a functioning device. Mr Auger said the technology to turn it into a working device already existed and it would be a simple matter to build the relevant chips into the gadget.

The designers speculate that, if the tooth phone becomes a working device, it could be used by stock traders to receive up-to-the-moment information about share prices or to help football managers communicate quickly with players during key matches. However, the existing design is only supposed to help stimulate debate about future wearable computing devices and to help explore the social and cultural ramifications of in-body technology.

Nokia today announced deliveries of its first imaging phone in Finland. Incorporating a digital camera, Multimedia Messaging (MMS) capability and a full-color display, the Nokia 7650 phone opens up a new era in personal mobile communications. Mobile messaging is a unique success story: at the moment, one billion text messages are sent every day creating a continuous revenue stream for operators throughout the world.

This success story is to be continued by Multimedia Messaging Service, which will further augment the messaging experience of mobile users, said Juha Putkiranta, Senior Vice President, Imaging Business Unit, Nokia Mobile Phones. Nokia is a firm believer in MMS, and already next year, more than half of all new phone models we will launch will be MMS-capable. MMS works much the same way as SMS messages, but allows users to combine audio-, graphic-, text- and imaging content in one message. Multimedia messages can then be sent to other MMS capable phones or to a recipients email. To date, Nokia has announced six MMS-capable phones: the Nokia 7650 and Nokia 3510 for GSM 900/1800 operating frequencies, the Nokia 7210 and Nokia 6610 for GSM 900/1800/1900, the Nokia 6590 and Nokia 3590 for GSM 850/1900.

Multimedia messaging
Bring a new style to your communications with color photos, animation and pop music. The MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) will provide crystal clear pictures featuring high resolution and enhanced sound quality, giving users an unprecedented hand-held audio/visual experience.

Video communication
Handsets equipped with cameras will transmit live video images between users, enabling the highest level of interactive communication. Imagine talking to a friend in Kyoto as you’re strolling through Shibuya. You’ll be able to explore the sights as if you were actually there.

Mobile commerce
J-PHONE will provide a range of mobile commerce services, including mobile banking, shopping, bill payment and ticket purchasing. Through the incorporation of the latest network and electronic settlement technology, J-PHONE will create a true mobile commerce environment that can be easily and securely used by all of our customers.  

Motorola i90c and i95cl Handsets Offer Robust Entertainment Choices Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) and Gameloft (Euroclear 7960), a leading global publisher of video games for mobile devices, today announced they have signed a distribution agreement to make Gameloft’s mobile gaming titles available for users of Java(TM) technology-enabled phones from Motorola. The companies will demonstrate these games in the Gameloft/Ubi Soft booth (#724) at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) May 22-24 in Los Angeles. The companies will demonstrate the game Siberian Strike on the new Motorola i95cl color-display handset and the games Rotomino’s Box and Star Fighter on the Motorola i90c handset. Siberian Strike is a World War II-themed simulation game that allows players to choose between two planes equipped with secret weapons. Players’ flying skills are tested by Soviet cannons, tanks, battleships, and planes.

Rotomino’s Box is a challenging puzzle game with an original story about a mysterious box belonging to an old sorcerer. Players must think and act fast to complete each level of the puzzle and rescue the sorcerer’s assistant, who has become trapped inside the box. Star Fighter (working title) is Gameloft’s first 3D Java game. In this action-packed game, the player is an Air Force pilot whose mission is to combat alien life on four different planets.

KDDI, Japan’s second largest wireless network operator, has surpassed its initial projections by signing 334,000 third generation (3G) subscribers in the first 30 days in which the company has offered 3G voice and data services. KDDI launched its Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) 2000 1X voice and data services on April 1 on its all Motorola supplied wireless radio access network. CDMA2000 1X technology nearly doubles the voice capacity on the network and is capable of transmitting data at a peak rate of up to 153 kilobits per second.

KDDI has been offering its customers nationwide packet data mobile services since Jan. 7, 2000, when it launched IS-95B high-speed packet data on Motorola’s infrastructure. Motorola’s CDMA2000 1X architecture builds upon existing 2G or 2.5G networks by adding packet based network elements. For KDDI’s network, these network elements include the access node from Cisco Systems, Inc. that enables the radio access network to be Internet protocol capable. Reusing the 2G and 2.5G equipment within the 1X architecture can help protect the operator’s current investments and can reduce both its capital and operating expenditures. Motorola currently has CDMA2000 1X contracts with 12 network operators worldwide. 

Ericsson and T-Mobile International signed a general agreement for the delivery and integration of MMS technology for the T-Mobile group. Ericsson is selected by T-Mobile to supply and install Multimedia Messaging technology in their GSM/GPRS/UMTS-network. After the successful launch of MMS by Westel in Hungary (an affiliate of T-Mobile International), T-Mobile plans to roll out MMS in Germany, Austria and the UK this summer with more countries to follow.

Core of the network MMS ability is the Multimedia Messaging Service center (MMS-C). The MMS-C is the essential part of the network to administer, store, transmit and transform the multimedia messages and create billing data. MMS offers an increase in mobile-to-mobile messaging capabilities by enabling colour pictures, animations, audio and video clips to be sent along with text. This opens the door to content-rich applications and services such as electronic postcards, animated cartoons and multimedia presentations.

Motorola i90c Limited Edition Phone with Pearlized Finish is Latest Mobile Phone to be Sold at Bloomingdale’s Motorola (NYSE: MOT) and Bloomingdale’s today announced the pearlized Motorola i90c Limited Edition phone, the latest in a series of limited edition Motorola mobile phones to be offered by Bloomingdale’s. This pearly white flip phone is a sophisticated communications device that’s also an elegant fashion accessory.

“After the success of the translucent Motorola i90c Limited Edition phone, we wanted to offer Bloomingdale’s customers something new and different,” said Peter Aloumanis, vice president and general manager of the U.S. Markets Division, Motorola’s iDEN(R) Subscriber Group. “With its pearlized finish and silver colored trim, this phone is sleek, elegant and stylish, while also offering the most advanced features such as a two-way radio, speakerphone, musical ring tones, and downloadable games.” “Bloomingdale’s customers are fashion-conscious consumers who want to express their personal style through both their clothing and their personal electronic devices,” said Anne Keating, senior vice president of Bloomingdale’s. “

The pearlized Motorola i90c Limited Edition mobile phone is a stylish alternative for the customer who wants something different.” The pearly white Motorola i90c Limited Edition wireless phone is a compact 3.5 x 1.9 x 1.1 inches (89 x 48 x 28 mm) and weighs just four ounces (113 g). Features include blue backlighting that makes it stand out in dimly lit environments, dual displays that show Caller ID on the outside of the phone, voice recognition, and voice recording.

Ten selectable musical files and ten selectable ring tones allow users to personalize the ring style with rich polyphonic sound. Users can customize the phone by wirelessly downloading applications, such as games and productivity tools, to meet their individual needs. Pre-installed applications include Checkers, Blackjack, Video Poker, Calculator, and Unit Converter. The Motorola i90c Limited Edition handset will be available beginning this week at select Bloomingdale’s stores in New York City, Huntington Station, White Plains, and Garden City, New York; Hackensack, Wayne, and Bridgewater, New Jersey; Chicago, Miami, and Los Angeles. It will be also featured in the Bloomingdale’s Mother’s Day catalog. Suggested retail price is $399.