Designed to meet the needs of a fast-paced, action-filled lifestyle, Alltel Wireless, America’s largest network, and LG Electronics today introduced the LG Swift. The new flip phone is bursting with easy-to-use multimedia features and advanced technology for immediate access to services and applications while on-the-go. Available for purchase at Alltel retail stores or online at shopalltel.com, the LG Swift is a vibrant and fun phone created for consumers seeking a wireless device full of innovation.
The LG Swift is the first Alltel handset to be equipped with a next generation keypad featuring Fastap Press-to-Experience keys which integrates six raised one-touch access Quick Keys with a traditional numeric keypad. The Fastap Keypad provides “swift and simple” one-touch discovery, access and use of phone features, services and applications such as Alltel Navigation, Alltel Shop, Email, Alarm Clock and Image Library.
“The LG Swift is an innovative phone that helps our customers explore and enjoy Alltel’s most popular data features,” said Brian Ullem, vice president of device strategy for Alltel Wireless. “The introduction of Fastap Press-to-Experience keys enables us to delivers information and entertainment to our customers faster than ever before.”
Perfect for music lovers, the LG Swift also features external music buttons to conveniently play and manage music. A dual speaker system with stereo sound can be enjoyed using background music mode or using the Bluetooth® headset. The phone also includes a 1.3 MP camera with multi-shot and video capabilities, one-touch speakerphone, and an expandable memory slot for song storage.
Alltel Wireless is offering the LG Swift, in a red and blue clamshell design, for $49.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate. This discounted price is for new customers on two-year service agreements, as well as existing eligible customers on qualifying rate plans.
Alltel Wireless, America’s largest network, and Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung) announced today that the Samsung Delve™ will be available for pre-sale at alltel.com on October 30. With an intuitive interface and attractive touchscreen design, the Samsung Delve is a stylish way to stand out in the crowd and stay connected to those who matter most.
The touchscreen phone, highlighted by a virtual QWERTY keyboard and tactile feedback, has been designed with Samsung’s unique TouchWiz™ interface. The TouchWiz interface incorporates specially designed widgets that allow the user to customize and personalize their phone. Users can ‘drag and drop’ widgets onto the main screen, which offers users instant access to their favorite functions. The widgets allow users to customize the main display screen to match the icons of the applications and features they use the most.
“There is a paradigm shift in the way users are interacting with their wireless devices, and Alltel is at the forefront of creating new ways for users to harness the power of their mobile phones,” said Brian Ullem, vice president of device strategy for Alltel Wireless. “The Samsung Delve boasts a new, powerful user interface using ‘widgets’ customers can drag and drop to configure their phone. It offers a new level of control and convenience.”
Music lovers will appreciate the Samsung Delve’s MP3 player, and the 2.0 megapixel camera with video capabilities will add value for fans of multimedia content.
Several applications are preloaded on the phone for the ultimate entertainment experience, including Alltel Pic Transfer, Alltel Mobile Advisor, City Id, Collapse Chaos and Wallpaper Universe. The Samsung Delve also features Bluetooth® capabilities, an expandable MicroSD memory slot and an industry standard 3.5 millimeter headset jack. The Samsung Delve contains additional accessories such as an additional battery, a stylus, soft protective case, travel charger, stereo headset and PC data cable.
“The customizable features of the Samsung Delve make it easy for people to use and navigate,” said Bill Ogle, Chief Marketing Officer for Samsung Mobile. “People are busier than ever, and the easy-to-use Samsung Delve will keep the features people need within a single touch.”
Beginning today, Alltel customers can be among the first to order the Samsung Delve at alltel.com for $199.99 after $100 mail in rebate. The Samsung Delve will also be available in retail stores and at shopalltel.com on November 6. Additionally, customers purchasing the phone will receive free access to Email, Alltel TV on Demand Connect, Alltel Navigation, MyCast Weather and Alltel Radio Connect. A Smart Choice Pack is required in order to purchase the Samsung Delve at this price.
Additionally, Alltel’s newest music application, nuTsie, is available for free access on the Samsung Delve. nuTsie provides the ultimate music experience by allowing users to stream their own iTunes™ playlists, their friends’ iTunes playlists and nearly limitless new music from nuTsie’s catalog – with no side-loading or uploading hassles. For more information on this innovative application, please visit alltel.com/nutsie.
Want to listen to your iTunes music right on your wireless phone? No problem. Alltel Wireless, America’s largest network, today announced that it is the first wireless carrier to offer its customers access to nuTsie, a service that allows users to listen to playlists from their iTunes libraries on over 10 Alltel wireless handsets. In addition, nuTsie enables users to share those lists with friends across the Internet and on their mobile devices.
nuTsie, available for $4.99 a month or $19.99 for one year, can be accessed by visiting Alltel Shop located on the handset. In addition to being able to play music from their iTunes collections, customers can also listen to recommended music based on their playlists and explore hundreds of thousands of playlists from other users and nuTsie’s music experts, providing a new world of music right at their fingertips.
“Our customers are now relying on their wireless phones to provide entertainment as well as reliability,” said Kristi Crum, director of multimedia content for Alltel Wireless. “The launch of nuTsie will maximize the music capabilities on their phones so they can now easily listen to their favorite music from iTunes, no matter where they go.”
The nuTsie application, developed by Melodeo, a leader in mobile and online media, is available on a wide range of including the MOTORAZRTM V3m and V3c, the MOTOKRZR K1m, theäAlltel devices the MOTORAZR2 V9m and MOTOROKRTM Z6m. Additional handsets include the LG AX565, The Wave by LG, the LG AX8600, Samsung MuseTM, the Alltel HueTM by Samsung and The WaferTM by Samsung. More Alltel handsets supporting nuTsie will be announced in the coming months.
“nuTsie offers Alltel Wireless customers an easy, inexpensive way to access their iTunes libraries on the go and to hear new music from other users’ playlists and from our own programmed music,” added Dave Dederer, Vice President of Business Development at Melodeo and founding member of the GRAMMY-nominated, multi-platinum rock band The Presidents of the United States of America.
“We’re extremely pleased to be teaming with Alltel to bring nuTsie to a wider audience.”
Alltel Wireless continues to provide choice and flexibility to the customer’s wireless experience with its exclusive “My Circle” feature, giving customers unlimited calling to and from any five, 10 or 20 numbers on any network for free. Alltel Wireless was also the first to offer Anytime Plan Changes, giving customers the flexibility to change their calling plans at any time, without extending their current contract.
Alltel Wireless, America’s largest network, today announced that Alltel Workforce Locator, a tracking and mobile resource management (MRM) solution designed by Autodesk, is now available on the first in a series of BREW devices enabled with location-based services (LBS) such as the Samsung R430, Samsung U520, LG AX260 and the LG AX300. Alltel Workforce Locator provides a scalable, easy-to-manage solution that empowers even small businesses to monitor their mobile workforce in real time, improving crucial aspects of business such as operational efficiency, customer service and workforce deployment costs.
Alltel Workforce Locator allows businesses to gain visibility into the field by viewing Web-based maps enabling management to quickly locate their workforce. The software maximizes resources by streamlining routing and fleet management, which can help reduce fuel costs. For example, Workforce Locator directs employees to the correct job site and improves communications between office management and staff, with the ability to send job updates via text messaging. Workforce Locator also delivers improved response time to customer service calls and reduces employee downtime. In addition, the scalable platform can accommodate any number of workloads or users for businesses, regardless of size.
“Due to the high cost of transportation, customers have been seeking solutions to increase efficiency within their mobile workforces,” said Rod Egdorf, head of worldwide sales and marketing, Autodesk Location Services. “Workforce Locator is a powerful and flexible tool that helps boost productivity and, as a result, reign in business expenses.”
This productivity solution software also features:
- Location enablement and privacy controls for mobile workforce;
- Travel directions to and from any location or point of interest;
- The ability to send text messages from PC to mobile phones;
- Maintenance-free manageability for IT administrators – no hardware or software to deploy, systems to monitor or custom developments;
- Reliable on-demand service to get both workforce and dispatcher provisioned quickly and easily;
- A robust and scalable solution that allows businesses to be more agile by adding field workers as needed
“Business customers can now more effectively manage and meet their business objectives using Alltel’s Workforce Locator with nationwide LBS coverage, while having greater communication with and control over their mobile workforce,” said David Maddox, vice president of product marketing. “This application is the latest in a series of product launches from Alltel that allows businesses to efficiently manage and communicate to their mobile workforce using Alltel mobile devices.”
The software is available for $15 per month and a one time charge per line of $19.99 on select Alltel phones. For more information or to purchase Workforce Locator and subscribe to the service, contact your Alltel Business Sales Representative or log on to www.alltel.com.
Alltel Wireless is proud to introduce the MOTORAZR VE20, designed for consumers seeking form, function and fun. The VE20 combines the features that helped make the RAZR an iconic handset with a sleek new look and improved talk time and standby time.
The sophisticated MOTORAZR VE20 features a large external screen with touch-sensitive controls to give the user easy access to recent calls, music and messaging, without ever having to open the phone. An impressive combination of communication features and entertainment applications provides users with the ultimate multimedia experience1. Users can also connect and disconnect the Bluetooth function from the external touch screen without opening the flip. The new VE20 is available in navy and licorice and is the lightest RAZR ever, weighing only 3.17oz. The VE20 also features 250 minutes of talk time and 360 hours of standby time2.
“The RAZR is one of the most popular wireless handsets of all time, and Alltel’s next generation RAZR, the VE20, will impress anyone seeking form, function and fun in their wireless device,” said Brian Ullem, vice president of device strategy at Alltel Wireless. “This latest addition to our handset lineup continues our mission of providing our customers with the phones they want at prices that they can afford.”
The MOTORAZR VE20 includes many popular features including a 2MP camera with video, MP3 player with 3.5mm headset jack capabilities, GPS capabilities1 and an expandable memory slot. The phone is preloaded with applications including Alltel Search1, City ID1, Alltel Navigation1, and Aricent Celltop1. The phone also is Music Connect capable1, providing users with the ability to easily move music from the PCs onto their handset3.
Beginning today, Alltel customers can be among the first to order the MOTORAZR VE20 at www.alltel.com/motove20 for $99.99 after a $50 mail-in-rebate. The MOTORAZR VE20 will be available in retail stores on and alltel.com on September 25th.
Alltel Wireless continues to provide choice to the customer’s wireless experience with its exclusive “My Circle” feature, giving customers unlimited calling to and from any five, 10 or 20 numbers on any network for free. Alltel Wireless was also the first to offer Anytime Plan Changes, giving customers the flexibility to change their calling plans at any time, without extending their current contract.
To access the multimedia content associated with this release, please visit www.thenewsmarket.com/alltel. Registered members will find broadcast quality video for their purposes, free of charge.
Alltel is owner and operator of the nation’s largest wireless network and has more than 13 million customers. For more information about Alltel, please visit www.alltel.com.
For the millions of Americans that send MMS greetings everyday, the future has arrived. Today, Alltel Wireless, America’s largest network, announced the introduction of Alltel Avatars, a 3D animated MMS greeting service that allows users to choose from an extensive library of pre-produced greetings or allows them to use templates to create their own greeting using 3D avatars, photos, voice and more.
Alltel Avatars is powered by Vidiator, a leading 3G mobile multimedia platform provider and its Xend(tm) 3D hosted platform.
Greetings are available starting at only 99 cents, with hundreds of cards to choose from at launch. The service also provides users with the ability to add emoticons, personal audio tracks, and personal digital signatures to their messages. In addition, users can create an animated image from their photos, combine it with their typed or audio message and send to mobile devices or e-mail.
“Taking messaging beyond simple text, the introduction of 3D avatars represents the next evolution of wireless communications,” said Craig Kirkland, vice president of messaging and voice services for Alltel Wireless. “The vast level of personalization offered to our customers via Alltel Avatars provides them with a new vehicle to express their emotions, style and personality.”
Unique avatar-based content that Alltel is launching includes branded greeting card content, personalized greetings created using consumers’ own photos, advertising campaigns and corporate communications. Alltel Avatars is available to any Alltel MMS subscriber with a video enabled handset that can play 3GP files.
“3D animated avatar-based mobile messaging driven by Xend 3D goes well beyond simple text, and is the next big leap in mobile messaging. It enables carriers to easily bridge the gap between SMS and new “entertainment-focused” MMS messaging applications and advertising; and for consumers, we think these type of services will change the way people communicate with their mobile devices by allowing them to richly express their emotions through voice, animation and 3D like never before,” said Connie Wong, CEO Vidiator.
Alltel Wireless continues to provide choice and flexibility to the customer’s wireless experience with its exclusive “My Circle” feature, giving customers unlimited calling to and from any five, 10 or 20 numbers on any network for free. Alltel Wireless was also the first to offer Anytime Plan Changes, giving customers the flexibility to change their calling plans at any time, without extending their current contract.
To access the multimedia content associated with this release, please visit www.thenewsmarket.com/alltel. Registered members will find broadcast quality video for their purposes, free of charge.
Verizon Wireless has entered into an agreement with Alltel Corporation and Atlantis Holdings LLC, an affiliate of private investment firm TPG Capital and GS Capital Partners, to acquire Alltel Corporation in a cash merger. Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD).
Under the terms of the agreement, Verizon Wireless will acquire the equity of Alltel for approximately $5.9 billion. Based on Alltel’s projected net debt at closing of $22.2 billion, the aggregate value of the transaction is $28.1 billion.
The parties are targeting completion of the merger by the end of the year, subject to obtaining regulatory approvals.
Once this transaction closes, customers of both companies will have access to an expanded range of products and services, including a premier lineup of basic and advanced devices and an expanded IN Network calling community. Alltel customers also will benefit from advanced services including over-the-air downloadable music from a three-million-song library, and a network that is nationwide, for a uniform coast-to-coast experience. They also will be able to take advantage of industry-leading consumer policies, including Test Drive and Worry Free Guarantee®.
“This move will create an enhanced platform of network coverage, spectrum and customer care to better serve the growing needs of both Alltel and Verizon Wireless customers for reliable basic and advanced broadband wireless services,” said Lowell McAdam, Verizon Wireless president and chief executive officer.
Alltel serves more than 13 million customers in markets in 34 states. This includes 57 primarily rural markets that Verizon Wireless does not serve. The transaction puts the Alltel markets and customers on a path to advanced 4th generation services as Verizon Wireless deploys LTE technology throughout its network over the next several years. Alltel’s customers also will reap the benefits of Verizon Wireless’ Open Development initiative, which welcomes third-party devices and services to use the Verizon Wireless network.
Verizon Communications, the owner of the majority stake in Verizon Wireless, expects that the transaction will be immediately accretive, excluding transaction and integration costs. “This is a perfect fit, with Alltel’s high-value post-paid customer base, its solid financials, our common network technology, and significant, readily attainable synergies,” said Ivan Seidenberg, Verizon chief executive officer and chairman of the Verizon board. “Verizon Wireless’ acquisition of Alltel clearly provides opportunities for enhanced value for Verizon shareholders.”
Alltel President and Chief Executive Officer Scott Ford will continue in his current position as head of Alltel until the merger is completed.
“Both Alltel and Verizon Wireless have long track records of delivering a high-quality customer experience in the marketplace,” Ford said. “The combination of our two companies will continue and improve upon that heritage as, together, we can more quickly deliver an expanded range of innovative products and services to our customers.”
Verizon Wireless expects to realize synergies with a net present value, after integration costs, of more than $9 billion driven by reduced capital and operating expense savings. Synergies are expected to generate incremental cost savings of $1 billion in the second year after closing.
Alltel and Verizon Wireless both use a common network technology, which provides advantages of a seamless transition for Alltel customers, ease in integrating the two companies’ networks, and scale efficiencies in operating the larger integrated network.
Morgan Stanley acted as financial advisor to Verizon Wireless on this transaction and is providing bridge financing. Debevoise & Plimpton LLP acted as legal advisor to Verizon Wireless.
Citibank, Goldman Sachs and RBS advised the sellers on the transaction. Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz acted as legal advisor to Alltel, and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP and Ropes & Gray LLP acted as legal advisors to the sellers.
The PhotoCopter service is exclusively available to Alltel customers with the Motorola V3m, V3a, V9m and ROKR for $2.99/month, providing customers with unlimited picture transfer to their PC, email address, and web photo albums including Photobucket, Flickr, Blogger, and Snapfish.
“Alltel realizes that our customers are capturing amazing memories on their camera phones, but until now, they have not had an easy way to transfer them to a PC for printing or sharing,” said Craig Kirkland, director of messaging and voice products at Alltel Wireless. “PhotoCopter is a simple to use application that will allow our customers to get the most of their phone’s camera and enjoy their photos in any setting.”
“We’re excited to be working with Ontela and Alltel Wireless to enable photo upload services from Alltel customers to our social networking site, Photobucket,” says John Smelzer, SVP & GM Mobile, Fox Interactive Media. “As camera phones become ever more critical, at the edge of the social network, the PhotoCopter service becomes an irreplaceable agent for the new generation of user created content.”
”It doesn’t even feel like software,” said Dan Shapiro, CEO of Ontela. “You just take the pictures and as if by magic, they appear on your computer in your ‘My Pictures’ folder. This is the end of the ‘photo graveyard,’ where people take pictures and then leave them on the phone until they’re deleted. Instead, we’ve given a new life to these memories by saving them to the places users care about most.”
The PhotoCopter service addresses a widespread problem for camera phone owners: it is often difficult to get pictures off of a camera phone. On a typical phone model, it requires 100 keystrokes to get ten pictures transferred to a PC. While a recent Ontela study reported that 93 percent of camera phone users want to save their pictures to their home computer, only 24 percent of camera phone users can actually do it.
Alltel Wireless, America’s largest network, providing coverage across the nation, and LG Electronics MobileCommU.S.A., Inc. (LG Mobile Phones) today announced that the highly anticipated GlimmerTM by LG will be exclusively available in Alltel retail stores and online at shopalltel.com beginning tomorrow, March 13. With a slide-out keypad and touch-screen interface, the LG Glimmer incorporates traditional phone functions with the latest multimedia features.
The LG Glimmer is loaded with a 2 MP camera with video capabilities, an MP3 player with customizable equalizer, an expandable memory slot and is GPS capable. This slick phone is rich with several of Alltel’s Axcess applications including Alltel Navigation, Axcess Search, CityID and Axcess TV. In addition, users can listen to their favorite music while utilizing other multimedia features on the phone, such as taking photos, recording video or sending text messages. The Glimmer also features 3D graphics support and 128MB of internal memory.
“With touch-screen phones revolutionizing wireless, the LG Glimmer from Alltel has an innovative new touch interface while offering the convenience of a slide-out physical keypad,” states Brian Ullem, vice president of device strategy for Alltel Wireless. “Its large display and multimedia capabilities allow our customers to access and manage their video and music with a simple touch.”
“Consumers will appreciate the durable metal body of this elegant, user-friendly mobile phone,” said Ehtisham Rabbani, vice president of product strategy & marketing at LG Mobile Phones. “With its slim form factor and large sliding touch screen the Glimmer by LG is another example of forward-thinking technology and design.”
Alltel Wireless is offering the Glimmer by LG for $249.99 after a $100 mail-in-rebate. This discounted price is available to new customers who sign-up for a two-year service agreement and to existing eligible customers on qualifying rate plans. All Alltel customers who purchase the LG Glimmer and are on a qualifying rate plan are able to receive “My Circle,” Alltel’s exclusive calling feature allowing customers to receive unlimited calling to any five, 10 or 20 numbers, any network. In addition, Alltel was the first to offer Anytime Plan Changes, giving customers the flexibility to change their calling plans at any time, without extending their current contract.
The LG Glimmer also supports Alltel’s new service, Axcess Voice2TXT. The service, which is available on any Alltel Wireless SMS text message capable phone, quickly converts incoming voicemails to text messages in the customer’s inbox and also allows customers to store and forward converted voicemails as regular text messages. For more information on this innovative feature, please visit www.alltel.com/voice2txt.
Alltel Wireless, America’s largest network, providing coverage across the nation, today announced it will offer Voicemail MAXTM, an application which enables customers to personalize outgoing voicemail greetings with the voices of Hollywood stars, comedians, celebrity impersonators, and top-selling music artists. Developed by 9 Squared, a Zed Company and leading provider of mobile content in the U.S., Voicemail MAX features content from Larry the Cable Guy, Steve Harvey, Orlando Jones, T.I., and popular voices from COMEDY CENTRAL’S “RENO 911!”
“With Voicemail MAX from Alltel Wireless, our customers now have a fun way to personalize their wireless service,” said Kristi Crum, director of multi-media content for Alltel Wireless. “With hundreds of messages to choose from, customers can select voicemail greetings that match their personalities for incoming calls from friends, family and colleagues.”
Voicemail MAX is available on select phones and provides access to over 500 audio clips recorded by premier voice talent. The application is available for download and preview at no additional cost via the phone’s main menu. One greeting may be purchased for $2.99, and customers can choose from a wide variety of content categories including Hip Hop Celebrities, Rock Stars, Sports, Business, Holiday, Cartoon, and many others.
“Voicemail MAX establishes a new category for mobile personalization. Our unique content from providers like Warner Music Group and MTV Networks allows Alltel Wireless subscribers to customize their voicemail greetings with entertaining clips from the worlds of comedy, music and pop culture,” said Brian Casazza, Chief Executive Officer for 9 Squared. “We are pleased to team with Alltel Wireless, a leading provider of cutting-edge, fun and engaging solutions for their subscribers.”