Verizon Wireless and CASIO today announced that the water, dust and shock resistant CASIO® G’zOne Brigade™ is available today. The CASIO Brigade is the perfect device for business customers in industries such as construction, public safety and utilities who need devices that stand up to tough work conditions while still delivering high-performance mobile technology. This rugged device also sports a QWERTY keyboard; an HTML browser; and Document Viewer for reviewing Microsoft® Word® documents, Microsoft® Excel® spreadsheets, Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentations, and PDFs; plus Push to Talk capabilities that leverage Verizon Wireless’ 3G network for fast two-way communication.
Available colors: Matte Black with a unique crocodile texture exterior for enhanced grip
Key features:
· Tough Technology Design – Horizontal clamshell with QWERTY keypad
· 3.2 megapixel camera with flash, video capture and LED light
· Clear Talk for superior sound quality
· Water, shock, dust, immersion, vibration, humidity, salt fog, altitude, high and low temperature storage, and solar radiation resistant conforming to MIL-STD-810F
· Field Force Manager capable – A resource management tool that provides businesses with the ability to locate and communicate with their mobile field workers
Lifestyle features:
· Document Viewer – Makes reviewing Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations and PDFs a breeze
· Dedicated message keys – Provide one-touch access to messaging
· Text to Speech – Allows customers to listen to their text messages, multimedia messages and e-mails
· Best Shot™ – Has six presets for a perfect photo finish and automatically changes the setup of the camera based on the background
· Auto Focus – Offers single point, nine point and multi point and face detection, perfect for group shots
· V CAST Music with Rhapsody – Choose from millions of songs to download over the air
· V CAST Video on Demand – Watch favorite television shows while on the go, including live college football, college basketball and NHL hockey games, local and national news and weather, and family programming
· VZ Navigator® capable – Receive audible turn-by-turn directions to more than 15 million points of interest and share the directions with others
· microSD™ storage for high-quality photos and music
· Speakerphone with front-facing stereo speaker
Price and availability:
· The CASIO G’zOne Brigade is available today online at www.verizonwireless.com and in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores for $249.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement. Customers will receive the rebate in the form of a debit card; upon receipt, customers may use the card as cash anywhere debit cards are accepted.
· To get the most out of the CASIO G’zOne Brigade, customers will need to purchase a data package beginning at $9.99 per month for 25 megabytes with Mobile Email, or add Push to Talk for $5 per month per line on top of a qualifying voice plan. Customers who activate Push to Talk service will also be eligible to receive a $30 discount on Push to Talk phones.
· For additional information on Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com. Business customers can contact their Business Sales Representatives at 1-800-VZW-4BIZ.
Verizon Wireless, which also becomes the NFL’s official wireless service sponsor, will provide fans with unprecedented access to America’s favorite sport regardless of whether they are in the stands, at home, or on the go.
Among the programming that will be available for the first time during the regular season will be the wildly popular NFL RedZone channel from the NFL Network, which airs live look-ins of every key play and touchdown from Sunday afternoon games. Fans also will be able to watch live streaming of NBC’s Sunday Night Football and NFL Network’s Thursday Night Football. In addition, fans will receive the NFL Network channel, which airs seven days a week, 24 hours a day on a year-round basis, and is the only network fully dedicated to the NFL and the sport of football.
“This is an agreement that has, at its core a mutual desire by both the NFL and Verizon Wireless to provide consumers with what they want on and off the field,” said John Stratton, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Verizon Wireless. “For Verizon Wireless, it is NFL content delivered over our 3G network so football fans can extend the excitement of the sport long after the last touchdown of a season. And the NFL content is customizable in that consumers have options from video to ringtones to alerts; the choice is theirs.”
The NFL experience will become increasingly rich as Verizon Wireless launches its 4G network. It plans to have 4G available in 25 to 30 markets in 2010 and in virtually all of its current nationwide 3G footprint by the end of 2013.
“We are looking forward to working with Verizon Wireless to deliver our fans the most extensive experience on mobile phones,” said Brian Rolapp, the NFL’s senior vice president of media strategy. “Our fans have an insatiable appetite for football, and we will be able to keep them connected wherever they are on game day but also throughout the year.”
In addition to NFL RedZone, live Sunday Night and Thursday Night games, and NFL Network, other features of NFL Mobile on Verizon Wireless will include:
· Video: Game highlights and an extensive collection of on-demand video featuring analysis and inside access from NFL Network and NFL Films.
· Audio: Live radio broadcasts of every regular season and playoff game from both home and away teams.
· Fantasy: Access to fantasy information, news, and player and team statistics.
· Customizable NFL alerts, ringtones and graphics.
Fans will get their first taste of NFL Mobile on Verizon Wireless with one of the most anticipated sports events of the year, the NFL Draft, to be held from April 22-24. Among the content:
· Live 24/7 stream of NFL Network’s coverage of the Draft from Radio City Music Hall.
· Extensive collection of on-demand video of NFL Network analysis.
· Pick-by-pick Draft tracker updated in real time.
· In-depth prospect profiles, blogs, news and more.
Additional information on specific phones and associated pricing will be available closer to the start of the NFL season in August.
In the aftermath of today’s 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Chile, Verizon Wireless has waived all calling fees for its customers trying to reach loved ones in Chile.
Starting immediately and retroactive to the time of the earthquake, Verizon Wireless customers with regular monthly bills can make calls to connect with family and friends in Chile at no cost when they’re on the Verizon Wireless network in the U.S. Verizon Wireless customers with monthly bills who receive calls from Chile will also receive those calls free of charge. The company is making calls free for at least one week. Calls made while roaming are billed at normal rates.
Dan Mead, chief operating officer of Verizon Wireless, said, “At times of crisis, we spring to action. By acting urgently, we are helping families connect without worrying about cost.”
In addition, Verizon Wireless teams are working with international relief organizations to provide mobile giving options for customers who wish to donate to the earthquake relief efforts. All Verizon Wireless customers who pay a monthly bill, including those formerly with Alltel, may contribute to Chilean earthquake relief efforts via their mobile phones. To make a $10 donation to Habitat for Humanity, text the word “CHILE” to 23583; to make a $10 donation to World Vision, text the word “CHILE” to 20222. Customers will receive a text response to confirm the $10 donation, and 100 percent of customers’ donations will go directly to the relief organization’s efforts to help the victims of the Chilean earthquake. Additional international relief organizations are expected to begin mobile giving campaigns soon.
Verizon Wireless donates the cost of the back-and-forth text messages. Customers will not be charged for the text messages, and the $10 donation will appear on their regular monthly bills.
Today’s availability of Palm® Pre™ Plus and Palm Pixi™ Plus will bring the Palm webOS™ experience to the nation’s largest and most reliable wireless 3G network. The reach and reliability of Verizon Wireless’ 3G network will provide customers with a 3G advantage when they use Palm Pre Plus and Palm Pixi Plus to:
· Download and use cool apps, from mobile social networking portals to streaming radio
· Browse the Web to keep up with news, sports, stock quotes, Hollywood gossip and more at faster speeds
· Stream must-see video
· Share e-mails with friends, family and coworkers that include picture and video attachments
· Download and play vivid, rousing games
· Quickly download and play music favorites from top 40 to classical
· Work on the go with rapid file sharing
Palm Pre Plus is $149.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate, and Palm Pixi Plus is $99.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate, each with a new two-year customer agreement. Buy a Palm Pre Plus or a Palm Pixi Plus and get a Palm Pixi Plus free after a mail-in rebate through Feb. 14.
Learn more about the features of the new Palm Pre Plus and Palm Pixi Plus at http://news.vzw.com/news/2010/01/pr2010-01-07c.html and http://news.vzw.com/news/2010/01/pr2010-01-21.html.
About Verizon Wireless’ 3G Network
Kudos to Verizon for this program effective retroactive to the first earthquake date of January 12th. Here’s the press release for details.
Starting immediately, Verizon Wireless customers with contracts or monthly bills in the United States can make calls to reconnect with friends, family, businesses and emergency services in Haiti free of long distance charges. In addition, Verizon Wireless customers with contracts or monthly bills currently in Haiti will not be charged any fees when making phone calls back to the United States. Charges for these voice calls are waived retroactive to last week’s earthquake on Jan. 12 until 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, Jan. 31, 2010.
Verizon also will waive all long-distance usage charges on calls made to Haiti from any Verizon residential landline (for more information, visit www.verizon.com/news).
Dan Mead, chief operating officer of Verizon Wireless, said, “Communicating and connecting families is essential to what our business stands for, and who we are. During this major relief effort as communication systems are starting to come back on line, we understand the importance of being in touch with the people who matter most.”
Today at the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show, Verizon Wireless and Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ: PALM) announced the Jan. 25 availability of Palm® Pre™ Plus and Palm Pixi™ Plus, bringing the Palm webOS™ experience to customers on the nation’s largest and most reliable wireless 3G network.
Palm Pre Plus has a large, vivid touch screen; high-performance processor; and slide-out keyboard. The Pre Plus keyboard makes for quick and easy typing, while the unique gesture area provides a sleek look and intuitive navigation. Pre Plus also comes with the Palm Touchstone™ Back Cover, making the phone compatible with the revolutionary inductive Touchstone Charging Dock (sold separately). Verizon Wireless Pre Plus customers will also get 16 GB of storage (approximately 15 GB user available) for applications and media.
Feature-rich, Pre Plus and Pixi Plus offer Verizon Wireless customers greater flexibility for access to the Internet with Wi-Fi. In addition, the all-new Palm mobile hotspot, a webOS app that can be downloaded from the Palm App Catalog, gives customers the option of creating a personal Wi-Fi cloud capable of sharing the reliability and high-speed Internet connectivity of the Verizon Wireless 3G network with up to five Wi-Fi-enabled devices such as notebooks, netbooks, cameras, gaming devices or portable media/MP3 players.
Social communicators and first-time smartphone buyers who want an affordable and customizable phone and instant access to messaging and Web content will love Pixi Plus. Customers have a host of options for personalizing their phones with the separately-sold Palm Pixi Artist Series Back Covers (www.palm.com/artistseries) and new color Pixi Touchstone Back Covers, which will be available in pink, blue, green, orange and black.
“The Palm experience is all about helping our customers stay connected so they never miss a thing,” said Jon Rubinstein, Palm chairman and chief executive officer. “We’re constantly enriching this experience with new features and innovations. The Verizon Wireless launch of Pre Plus and Pixi Plus is the next phase in delivering this unique Palm experience to more people.”
“The Palm webOS family is a great addition to Verizon Wireless’ robust line-up of smartphones,” said John Stratton, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Verizon Wireless. “The outstanding capabilities and functionalities on both Pre Plus and Pixi Plus give customers a wealth of customization options to help them manage their lives. Customers get the latest technology from Palm along with the nation’s largest and most reliable 3G network for an unsurpassed mobile experience.”
Following are key features and specifications available on both Pre Plus and Pixi Plus:
· webOS – Allows customers to run multiple applications simultaneously and provides over-the-air software updates delivered automatically to their devices
· Palm Synergy™ – Brings customers’ information from the many places it resides into a single, more comprehensive view
· Unobtrusive notifications and universal search
· Palm App Catalog – Currently offers more than 1,000 webOS applications for download
· High-speed connectivity
· Gesture area – Enables simple, intuitive gestures for navigation
· Full QWERTY keyboard
· High-performance, desktop-class Web browser
· Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
· Integrated GPS
· Robust messaging support (combining IM, SMS and MMS capabilities)
· E-mail, including EAS (for access to corporate Microsoft Exchange servers) and personal e-mail support (Google Gmail™ push, Yahoo!®, POP3, IMAP)
· VZ NavigatorSM – Allows customers to get audible turn-by-turn directions to more than 15 million points of interest and share the directions with others
· USB mass storage mode
· Proximity sensor – Automatically disables the touch screen and turns off the display when consumers put their phones to their ears
· Light sensor – Reduces power usage by dimming the display if the ambient light is dark
· Accelerometer – Automatically orients Web pages and photos
· Ringer switch – Easily silences the device with one touch
· Removable, rechargeable battery
· Multimedia options, including pictures, video playback and music as well as a camera with LED flash and a standard 3.5 mm headset jack
· Bluetooth® 2.1 + EDR with A2DP stereo Bluetooth support
· Charger/microUSB connector with USB 2.0 Hi-Speed
Additional Palm Pre Plus Specs
· 3.0 megapixel camera with LED flash and extended depth of field
· Slide-out QWERTY keyboard
· Dimensions: 2.35” x 3.96” x 0.67”
· Weight: 4.89 ounces
Additional Palm Pixi Plus Specs
· 2.0 megapixel camera with LED flash
· Fixed QWERTY keyboard
· Dimensions: 2.17” x 4.37” x 0.43”
· Weight: 3.26 ounces
Availability:
· Palm Pre Plus and Palm Pixi Plus will be available online at www.verizonwireless.com and in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores beginning Jan. 25. Pricing will be announced closer to launch.
· 3G mobile hotspot is a separately-purchased feature added to a voice and data plan.
· For additional information on Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.
Well “late summer” has come and gone and nearly half a day into the promised launch date of MMS for all AT&T iPhone customers, it finally arrived a little before noon Pacific time. With Twitter a flame with tweets to slam the network at 5 pm Eastern with MMS use, one thing is certain about todays MMS release: Apple is watching.
Apple formally introduced Multimedia Messaging Service to the world in early June at its iPhone OS 3.0 dog and pony show. It displayed it before the developers in a nice large screen with all the carriers that would support MMS upon the June 28th release. Of course, it paused for everyone to take in the fact that the Death Star AT&T logo was missing from the slide at Moscone Centers stage. Front and center, not.
After a furry of angry tweets, Facebook status updates, and blog posts around the Interwebs, AT&T months later sent Seth, its PR guy, to explain the absence via video. See, the thing was, iPhone users were just so unlike other smartphone customers with their data use that AT&T couldn’t possibly support MMS so soon. Soon? Really, MMS support was a surprise to AT&T the day of announcement? Hard to believe but even so, it begs the question why hadn’t it built out the network PRIOR to the announcement when it had to know it was eventually coming? Well, Mr. ATT went on to tell viewers that Ma Bell was fixing a hole for the benefit of iPhone users and would be taking care of signal issues, as well, during the summer. Bonus! Seth really worked it in the video showing lots of towers, data, and hope. Yes, hope you can believe in.
Well, here we are, finally MMS is working and running for iPhone users nationwide and all eyes are on AT&T. How will it handle this? Rumors on Twitter early Tuesday, just days before roll-out, was that a preliminary stress test crashed the system. Today will be a test like none other for AT&T and if it fails, well, it’s almost a sure bet that Verizon will reap success from AT&Ts failure. With Seth’s assurance that iPhone users would enjoy the experience and the billions of dollars it poured into upgrades, failure will only mean that AT&T will never ever be able to fix its holes. Apple will use that as reasoning why it just is no longer “happy” with its relationship and will tell AT&T that it wants to see other people. Of course, it’ll still be friends with AT&T, just not exclusive friends.
So, AT&T, today you must shine or it is over. No marketing blitz will save you from the woes of Apple taking a trip to Jersey and welcoming that guy with his glasses and large group of friends to the iPhone family. As they say in Jersey, put up or shut up.
UPDATE: Upon my first MMS test, it took nearly a minute to complete the send of the MMS message to my wife’s iPhone. Here’s the great part. At five bars in a 3G area, it took nearly 10 minutes for her to receive the MMS message. 10 minutes! While I know everyone with an iPhone is probably using the system right now, man, 10 minutes is S-A-D. I could have described the picture to her via SMS in that amount of time. Shesh…
The NetVanta 3305 router equipped with the NetVanta 3G NIM is ideal for a number of applications including use as a reliable network failover/backup option for large businesses or as a primary connection for smaller businesses. Used in a backup configuration, network traffic can be diverted to the 3G wireless connection in the event of a primary circuit failure, guaranteeing network connectivity. The NetVanta 3G NIM in the NetVanta 3305 router can also be used as a primary connection in applications requiring broadband speeds, rapid deployment or where wireline connections are not readily available.
“The ability to use the NetVanta 3G NIM for wireless service in conjunction with our Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) has been a great asset to our bank,” said Jeremy Carrigan, network administrator, Citizens National Bank. “The 3G NIM allowed us to service a highly congested tourist area that could not otherwise be accessed via wireline service and it performed flawlessly.”
“We’re delighted to be strengthening our relationship with ADTRAN,” said Michael Schaefer, executive director-mobility solutions, Verizon. “The NetVanta 3G NIM’s introduction will give existing NetVanta 3305 customers the ability to quickly and easily add 3G services with the simple addition of a NIM.”
“The addition of 3G wireless capability to our NetVanta 3305 routers really adds to our options for backing up a failed circuit, in addition to being an attractive primary access selection for applications such as ATMs, lotteries, and kiosks, ” said Tim Saunders, vice president of Product Management, ADTRAN Enterprise Networks Division. “Now, both enterprise and Small and Medium Business (SMB) customers will benefit from the many advantages NetVanta products offer ranging from cost savings and reliability, to ease of use and support.”
The NetVanta 3G NIM is designed for use with a wide range of NetVanta platforms and is currently certified for use in the NetVanta 3305 with Verizon Wireless in conjunction with its BroadbandAccess Wireless Router service. The NetVanta 3G NIM carries a list price of $795 while the NetVanta 3305 has a list price of $1,295 both products are currently shipping. Verizon Wireless service plans are available through Verizon Wireless.
Verizon Wireless, the nation’s leading wireless provider, and Photobucket, the Web’s premier standalone photo and video-sharing site, today announced the availability of a new mobile photo service on select Verizon Wireless handsets that enables Verizon Wireless customers to easily send photos from a mobile device to a Photobucket album. The application will launch exclusively for Verizon Wireless customers and is available for download from Verizon Wireless mobile storefront by texting ‘photob’ to 2777, in the Community and Sharing category of the Verizon Wireless Get It Now catalog or by visiting photobucket.com/mobile.
Jennifer Byrne, director of digital media at Verizon,said, “Mobile phones are adding a new dimension to sharing images between friends, colleagues or family members. Photobucket is bringing Verizon Wireless customers a new and easy way to share their photos and videos in real-time, without needing to move to a PC to upload and send them.”
“Photobucket is thrilled to team up with Verizon Wireless to provide a quick and easy photo sharing solution for people on the go,” said Alex Welch, President of Photobucket. “Photobucket has always been committed to making photo sharing fun and easy. The Photobucket Mobile Uploader for Verizon Wireless unlocks the full potential of camera phone photos, allowing users to easily save and share images online more easily than they would using traditional digital cameras.”
To utilize the application, Verizon Wireless subscribers sign up for a Photobucket account – which can be created for free at http://photobucket.com – and enter their log-in information to link their Verizon Wireless account to their Photobucket online photo album. Once the accounts are connected, the application instantly uploads photos already saved on the phone to the user’s Photobucket account. The Photobucket Mobile Uploader then automatically sends any future photos directly to the same Photobucket account.
Verizon is the first carrier in the United States to be offering the Photobucket Mobile Uploader and the application will be available initially on 13 handsets. The service is available now from Verizon Wireless, which enables the user to send unlimited mobile photos to their Photobucket account for a monthly subscription fee of $2.99.
Designed to satisfy the needs of both consumers and business customers, the BlackBerry Storm smartphone combines the powerful communications features, global connectivity and personal productivity advantages of the BlackBerry® platform with a revolutionary touch-screen technology that dramatically enhances the touch interface and enables easy and precise typing. The world’s first “clickable” touch-screen responds much like a physical keyboard and also supports single-touch, multi-touch and gestures for intuitive and efficient application navigation.
In the U.S., Verizon Wireless customers will benefit from the nation’s most reliable wireless voice network and the pervasiveness of Verizon Wireless’ reliable high-speed 3G Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) Revision A (Rev. A) network for rich Internet browsing and multimedia applications. In Europe, India, Australia and New Zealand, Vodafone will support customers with its high-speed 3G mobile broadband networks and the power and reach of the world’s leading international mobile communications group.
“We are proud to introduce the first touch-screen based BlackBerry smartphone together with Verizon Wireless and Vodafone,” said Mike Lazaridis, president and co-chief executive officer at RIM. “The BlackBerry Storm is a revolutionary touch-screen smartphone that meets both the communications and multimedia needs of customers and solves the longstanding problem associated with typing on traditional touch-screens. Consumers and business customers alike will appreciate this unique combination of a large and vibrant screen with a truly tactile touch interface.”
“The BlackBerry Storm offers our customers more ways to stay connected to both their personal and professional lives – whether in their communities or around the globe,” said Mike Lanman, vice president and chief marketing officer of Verizon Wireless. “The BlackBerry Storm combines the reliability of our 3G network with the dependability and network efficiency of the BlackBerry platform to deliver our customers the ultimate wireless experience – all in one of the coolest smartphones available on the market today.”
“We are delighted to bring the power of the purpose built BlackBerry Storm, directly into the hands of consumer and business customers,” said Frank H. Rovekamp, global chief marketing officer, Vodafone Group. “With its unique clickable touch-screen, giving access to all the desirable multimedia features and services such as browsing, music and video, turn-by-turn satellite navigation, messaging and social networking, and BlackBerry’s mobile heritage and strong business reputation, the BlackBerry Storm is being brought by Vodafone into the consumer world. With Vodafone’s ultra high-speed, reliable mobile network and this exclusive and exciting new smartphone, there has never been a better time to be with Vodafone.”
Touch and Feel
The BlackBerry Storm smartphone comes with an innovative touch-screen that actually depresses ever so slightly when the screen is pressed. The user distinctly feels the screen being pressed and released with a gentle “click,” similar to the feeling of a key on a physical keyboard or a button on a mouse. The “clickable” touch-screen gives the user positive confirmation that they have made a selection and the result is a dramatically enhanced touch interface and a highly-intuitive typing experience.
In addition to the familiar navigation keys (“phone,” “menu” and “escape”) that are common to other BlackBerry smartphones, the new BlackBerry Storm adds support for multi-touches, taps, slides and other touch-screen gestures, so customers can easily highlight, scroll, pan and zoom for smooth navigation.
The BlackBerry Storm smartphone also features a built-in accelerometer, allowing its touch-screen to automatically switch between landscape mode and portrait mode as the user rotates the handset – RIM’s SureType® keyboard layout is available in portrait mode and a full QWERTY* keyboard layout is available in landscape mode. Other relevant features, such as cut and paste, are only a touch away for the ultimate smartphone experience.