Hallmark became popular for its greeting cards, much of which are still in use but have slowly gone passé. While we see a lot of their competitors turn to something similar, like e-cards and the like, Hallmark has adapted a new kind of technology in sending greetings to loved ones and friends. The new transition is the Hallmark Mobile Greeting Service which launched a couple of days ago.

For starters, the Hallmark Mobile Greetings will be made available to a handful of mobile phones in the market. But just like most apps, expect them to cater to most of the smartphones which can be sent from one mobile network to another.

The Hallmark Mobile Greetings can be downloaded to a cellphone for free from their site. Users can then send greetings to other mobile phones. In addition, consumers also can send greetings directly from mobile.hallmark.com for delivery to a mobile device.

Each Hallmark Mobile Greeting costs 99 cents. Fees are billed as part of monthly service-provider charges and the sender is only charged if the recipient opens the mobile greeting.

(Source) Press

Tags: Cell Phones, Cellphone, consumers, couple of days, e cards, greeting cards, greeting service, greetings, hallmark, handful, kind of technology, mobile device, mobile network, mobile phones, Mobile Software, provider charges, recipient, service provider, smartphones, starters, transition

To sum it all up, Palm’s Treo Pro Smartphone has now invaded New Zealand! At least that is how it all sums up as Palm has announced the availability of the Treo Pro via the Telecom New Zealand XT Mobile Network.

Initially, we posted about the Treo Pro being made available in Mexico. And slowly, it is making its way towards nearby bordering territories to address business needs.

The easy-to-use phone layered on Windows Mobile 6.1 professional aims to make life easier for people, providing Treo Pro users the proper assistance as far as managing their daily itineraries.

Treo Pro’s catchy thin design touts a high-resolution color touch screen and a full QWERTY keyboard. It also comes with a removable battery that packs up to five hours of talk time and enough strength for the business user’s needs, offering a powerful yet effortless mobile experience.

In summary, the Treo Pro is the business professional’s mobile buddy. The need for productivity these days is apparent and to achieve that, wise devices such as the Treo Pro can make it all happen as well as cover other areas needed by people when it comes to self-management.

(Source) Press

Tags: bordering territories, business professional, color touch screen, full qwerty keyboard, management source, mobile experience, mobile network, new zealand mobile, Palm, Palm Treo, proper assistance, resolution color, smartphone, telecom new zealand, thin design

When you buy a mobile phone, be sure it carries an authentic IMEI. What is an IMEI?

IMEI stands for International Mobile Equipment Identity, a number unique to every GSM and WCDMA and iDEN mobile phone as well as some satellite phones. It is usually found printed on the phone underneath the battery. It can be found by typing *#06# on a handset.

Apparently the move is geared not solely for tracking down illegally distributed phones. As far as India is concerned, the reason is for security. India’s mobile phone networks have agreed to an aggressive 10-day deadline to disconnect all mobile phones which either do not have a unique IMEI serial number, or use Chinese style blank IMEIs. The regulator ordered the clampdown citing security concerns following recent terrorist attacks in the country.

The IMEI is supposed to be both 15-digits in length, and unique to the handset. Recent reports have claimed that the operators are detecting up 1,000 handsets all sharing the same serial number. Although the serial number does not affect the billing, which is managed by SIM identities, it does add an extra layer of proof for the police if checking who made a phone call from a specific handset. As the IMEI is transmitted when a handset connects to the mobile network, access by that handset can be blocked by the network operator - a facility which is often used to prevent stolen handsets being reused with a replacement SIM card.

The operators were ordered to block the errant handsets earlier this year, but little progress was made resulting in the mandate from the Department of Telecommunications to step up the programme. The operators are trying to contact the users of handsets which will be blocked to advise them of the issue.

(Source) Cellular News

Tags: 30 million, Business, Cell Phones, cellular news, chinese style, clampdown, handset, imei, international mobile equipment, mobile network, Mobile News, mobile phone networks, mobile phones, network operator, phone call, recent terrorist attacks, satellite phones, security concerns, serial number, sim card

China based HangZhou Motorola will be shutting down the operations of its mobile factory starting next month as the company will be shifting its focus on the production of TV set top-boxes as well as broadband and mobile network equipment.

“The cell phone sector will be integrated into production lines in Tianjin Motorola after the first quarter of this year,” said Chen Lei, spokesperson, Motorola China.

“The integration of the cell phone production also helps Motorola to lower its costs as the handset industry is better off in Tianjin than Hangzhou,” said Zhang Ying, vice-president, Analysys International, a leading advisor for technology, media and telecom industries in China.

(Source) Cellular News

Tags: Business, cell phone, cellular news, mobile factory, mobile network, Motorola, Motorola, motorola china, technology media, telecom industries, tv set top boxes, zhang ying

T-Mobile is expanding their 3G network. Next stop is Phoenix where the 3G network infrastructure and spectrum cost $127 million.

The network offers HSDPA with speeds running at up to 7.2Mbps. But T-Mobile doesn’t offer any HSDPA handsets yet. Which means that if you happen to be a T-Mobile in Phoenix and you have a HSDPA unlocked device from some other carrier, you might enjoy an almost virgin network. T-Mobile will get you some HSDPA devices in the near future, as soon as they get used to the idea that they actually have a 3G network.

Tags: 3G, HSDPA, mobile network, Mobile News, T-Mobile, T-Mobile

Japan mobile network company, SoftBank, aims to pirate more users from rivals DoCoMo and KDDI by launching a new campaign which would start on February 1 and end on May 31. The plan is to scrap their monthly basic fee for students from grade school until college which costs US$9 per month. The new subscribers will still be subject to a monthly charge of US$3 for basic text messaging and web browsing though. But considering that 3 bucks is pretty much loose change in Japan, the service is practically free. The company says they’re taking the loss as an investment because they’re earning more in the long run. List this as one of the reasons why we want to move Japan.

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Tags: mobile network, Mobile News, Softbank