Most Wanted: Two-Day Battery Life

What do consumers want most from future all-in-one cell phones? According to research by TNS, over 75 percent of mobile phone and PDA users in the U.S. rate "two-days of battery life during active use" as the most important feature.>>>MORE ...

Mobile Ticketing On Cell Phones

Forget the cereal boxes. And look for redeemable two-dimensional tickets and coupons delivered through your mobile phone. Tickets and coupons by cell phone is becoming a likely scenario in your future.>>>MORE ...

TV Show Features "Talk" Ringtone

What happens when CSI: NY investigator Danny Messer's cell phone rings to the tune of "Talk" by Grammy Award-winning band Coldplay?

Find out Wednesday, November 30, as television, music and cell phones link up in an upcoming episode of CSI: NY - the CBS TV drama series.

Then right after the show, you may want to download a ringtone from "Talk" in realtone format onto your cell phone.>>>MORE ...

Cell Phone Solution - Look 'Ma, No Clicks

A new solution from Motorola now puts the mobile phone home screen zero clicks away from wireless Web content and cell phone services, including news, sports and entertainment. Motorola dubs it SCREEN3. With no buttons to push or browsers to launch, hello SCREEN3.>>>MORE ...

Jay Leno Goes Mobile

You can now get your laughs on demand, with access to video segments from "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" on your mobile phone, as part of Sprint TV service. TV on mobile phones is closer than you think. It's coming to a cell phone near you.>>>MORE ...

Have iPod Will Text-Message

What do iPods and cell phones have in common? Well get this - iPod users are 2.5 times as likely (as non-users) to exchange text messages on cell phones, and three times as likely to take photos with a camera phone. That's according to a new Intelliseek study of 660 online consumers.>>>MORE ...

Samsung Phone Breaks Storage Barrier

Samsung has taken cell phones to the next level with its release of the SPH-V7900 mobile phone. The new model packs a whopping three gigabytes of embedded storage. What does this mean for mobile infotainment?

You can cram three full-length digital movies into a cell phone or about 700 songs. Cell phones currently have a limit of about 300 songs or one gigabyte.

Coming at a time when storage capacity has become a key metric for the latest music phones, Samsung's direction is great news. The storage barrier has been broken. And it won't be the last time. You can count on it. >>>MORE ...

Remember Birthdays - Wirelessly

Here's a tip for a free mobile phone service to help keep you in good standing with family and friends. Never forget a birthday again, with a reminder app.>>>MORE ...

Mix A Ringtone - On Your Phone

New options for cell phone ringtones are emerging. For example, Sprint's ToneMaker DJ service allows customers to create original Music Tones right on their mobile phones. So what will it be - Hip Hop, Rock, Funk, Electronic or Dancehall? You decide.>>>MORE ...

Barbie's Got A Brand New Phone

Cell phones for children are hot. Not to be outdone, Barbie's getting a brand new phone and this time, it's not a toy. Mattel and Nokia have teamed up with Single Touch Interactive to deliver a doll-themed prepaid cell phone for children.>>>MORE ...

ROKR Launched With iTunes

The gadget "formerly known as the mobile phone" just got kicked up a few more notches - in the direction of mobile infotainment. With yesterday's release of the Motorola ROKR with iTunes, your favorite songs from the iTunes collection on your Mac or PC are headed to your cell phone. Thanks to Motorola, Apple and Cingular.>>>MORE ...

Napster Does Cell Phones

Napster is not just for MP3s anymore. Count cell phones in with Napster-compatible mobile gadgets. The music subscription service today announced mobile phone models that may download tracks from its 1.5 million-plus song catalog. >>>MORE ...

It's Showtime For Nokia 20Lives Game

The countdown is on for Nokia's latest interactive adventure - the sequel to Nokia Game. Beginning today, mobile phone users can register to participate in the new Nokia 20Lives game challenge, scheduled for September 19 through October 13 across 21 countries in 11 languages. It's another day, another life. >>>MORE ...

Teens See Cell Phone As Social Necessity

If a cell phone topped your teenager's back-to-school shopping list this year, welcome aboard. According to a recent IDC and SMS.ac survey of nearly 8,000 U.S. teens, ages 13 to 18 who use mobile phones, many in this age group perceive a cell phone as a social necessity - 35.9% of teens acquired their phones mainly to use text messaging while an additional 13.3% acquired them to talk with friends. >>>MORE ...

GPS Wherifone Knows Where

It's late afternoon. Do you know where your kid is? Just log on to a Web site, enter your password to see a road map or aerial photo of your kid's location. Science fiction? Hardly - not if your kid is carrying the GPS Wherifone, a new mobile phone coming this Fall. >>>MORE ...

Mobile Phone Pockets Required

Look for more cell phone pockets in clothing fashion trends. High on the list of features for apparel maker Dickies is the ever-useful cell phone pocket. Its Fall 2005 line of denim jeans includes the tech-friendly cell phone pocket.

What else is on tap fashion-wise? >>>MORE ...

Fantastic 4 Mobile Hits Phone Screen

Long after you watch Fantastic 4 on the big screen, your cell phone could remind you of scenes and voices from the new movie. Thanks to a suite of Fantastic 4 mobile products - games, wallpapers, cell phone themes, voice tones, ringtones and ringbacks. >>>MORE ...

What's Your Cell Phone CQ?

It's National Cell Phone Courtesy Month and time to rate your CQ - as in courtesy quotient. Wireless carrier Sprint wants you to know how well you mind your mobile mannners. And there's an online quiz and lots of tips. >>>MORE ...

Can You See Me Now?

A newly released eyewear gadget could make watching videos by cell phone a lot more attractive. Connected to a mobile phone, portable DVD player or digital camera, Teleglass projects high-resolution video on eyeglasses, creating a virtual 28-inch TV screen as viewed from seven feet away, says the Tokyo-based manufacturer. >>>MORE ...

Wimbledon Goes Mobile

In a big boost for mobile infotainment, Wimbledon's first officially licensed cell phone tennis game, "Wimbledon 2005," has been launched in North America and Europe. Mobile carriers Verizon and Cingular will offer the new game as part of their cell phone services. Sounds like a winner for tennis buffs. >>>MORE ...

Japan Indicates Future Wireless Trends

The mobile phone will evolve from a communication tool to an integrated communication device, media terminal, credit card and remote control, according to a new report by Ireland-based Research and Markets.

"Insights from the Japanese Wireless Market 2005" looks at the world's most advanced mobile market, Japan, for clues on how mobile technology and consumer behavior will evolve. >>>MORE ...

Mobile Users Prefer Musical Ringtones

According to M:Metrics, 24.58 million U.S. mobile subscribers - 13.6 percent - downloaded a ringtone in April 2005, with nearly half purchasing tones from the Web.

The monthly benchmark survey also found that overwhelmingly, consumers prefer musical ringtones to sound effects or voice ringtones. Ninety-three percent of respondents said they downloaded a musical ringtone in April, with twenty-three percent of these subscribers downloading more expensive mastertones, or actual recordings of songs. >>>MORE ...

Who's Talking More - Wirelessly?

For the fifth consecutive year, men continue to out pace women in cell phone usage, according to an annual survey conducted for Cingular Wireless.

Men talk 35 percent more on their wireless phones than women, more than double the 16 percent lead men held in 2004. Men are using an average of 571 minutes a month, compared to an average of 424 wireless minutes a month for women. >>>MORE ...

Goodbye "Ring-Ring," Hello Ringback Tones?

As a caller, when you dial a cell phone number - or a regular telephone for that matter, you typically hear the standard "ring-ring" until the phone is answered at the other end. That's been normal, perhaps since the telephone was invented. But maybe not much longer.

If MyCaller, a fledgling cell phone solution, follows the cell phone ringtones craze, "ring-ring" may soon become ringback tones.

What are ringback tones? They can be music or other personalized sounds played based on a profile selected by the mobile phone subscriber you are calling. Ringback tones are similar to ringtones but work quite differently. >>>MORE ...

Chalk One Up For Camera Phones

It's cell phones to the rescue. Just as the major cell phone carriers are expanding broadcasts of "missing child" Amber Alerts to cell phones via text messaging, Dallas, Texas, police is encouraging you to snap a picture with your camera phone if you witness a crime and it is safe to do so.

Case in point - according to a Dallas NBC TV affiliate news report, a cell phone camera photo taken by a bystander has provided the lead police needed in a slaying outside a west Dallas gas station last Friday.

Although camera phones can be abused, cell phones and camera phones have tremendous practical benefits and applications.

New Cell Phone May Be What The Doctor Ordered

What will they think of next. A new sporty cell phone by Nokia comes loaded with a Fitness Coach application - a personal trainer that encourages you to go the extra mile while exercising; an FM radio to keep you company if you are not already using the phone's audio messaging feature; and thanks to its camera phone, you can make your very own highlight reel of your proud performance.

The Nokia 5140i is designed for fitness enthusiasts and hooks up to sports instruments and heart monitors. Sounds likes an athlete's dream cell phone. >>>MORE ...

A Rugged Cell Phone For Hard Knocks

Most cell phones are not built for hard knocks; they are not designed to be dropped too often, if at all. If you are prone to dropping yours, you may need a rugged cell phone. Here's a tip.

Nextel and Motorola have just released the Motorola i605, said to be the first rugged Bluetooth cell phone. It is designed primarily for industrial use, but it just might do the trick for consumers who need a durable phone. The i605 is not a bad looking phone either. Take a look. >>>MORE ...

A Round of Golf By Cell Phone Anyone?

It's a rainy day around here - not a good day to be on the golf course. But maybe a round of golf with your friends is still a great idea - not on the golf course, but over your cell phones. Remember cell phones are not just for talking anymore. Some phones like Nokia's N-Gage models were designed specifically with gaming in mind.

Industry research indicates the trend in wireless phone gaming will produce a billion dollar market for U.S. telecom companies alone by 2006. Judging by this latest game called Golf Club 3D, the three-dimensional graphic effects are definitely on the up swing. >>>MORE ...

Cell Phone Data Eraser

It's Earth Day and what better time to talk about recycling cell phones. Survey results published today say that over 47% of Americans hang on to their old cell phones when they get an upgrade. That certainly beats tossing cell phones in the trash, which would be bad for the environment.

But recycling is the way to go and there's a new tool that makes it easier to get your old cell phone ready to donate or sell. Called the Cell Phone Data Eraser, it provides a set of simple commands to clean your personal information from the phone. And it is free - that helps. >>>MORE ...

"The Spot Wireless" Turns One This Week

Speaking of mobile infotainment, here's an early reminder about The Spot. Some call it the cell phone's wireless answer to TV reality shows. In any case, the web-based soap series will celebrate its one-year anniversary on Wednesday, April 20, with a special half-hour episode on www.TheSpot.com.

The mobile version of the soap drama is called The Spot Wireless. It is available to Sprint PCS Vision subscribers for $3.95 monthly and allows you to interact with the cast members via text and voice messaging following each Internet episode. >>>MORE ...

Mobile Infotainment

What did we ever do without cell phones? Actually it wasn't that long ago when there were no cell phones. But look how far we have come. And if the latest cell trends in cell phones are any indication, we have barely seen the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

The cell phone is fast becoming the centerpiece of a new information and entertainment delivery mechanism like no other - mobile infotainment. Cell phone "bells and whistles" now include MP3 players, video recorders, radio-TV programming and, of course, digital cameras.

Does your cell phone do all that? Either way, you'll be ready for an upgrade sooner than later. But will you really be ready? Are you up on all the latest and greatest phones?

Let me introduce you to info4cellphones.com, a web site about what the cell phone is turning into - much more than just a cell phone.

Here's the plan. I'll periodically blog a summary of what's new in cell phones here for you, then you can click over to the web site if you want more information on:

Latest Cell Phones & Trends
Current Reviews of Cell Phones
Practical Benefits of Cell Phones
Tips & Tools for the Best Deals on Cell Phones

There's lots of helpful information to get you up to speed and keep you updated on what's new with cell phones and the trends in mobile infotainment.