iPhone: 5 hours and counting

"We are waiting in line for cousin Tim" Both were first in line for the iPhone, Apple's first Internet-enabled "smartphone," which combines the features of a cell phone, wireless Internet device and an iPod into one package. via Visalia Times-Delta - Original Story

EU's Reding to support European mobile TV standard

"We have a European standard ... so lets go for it" The European Union's telecoms chief said on Thursday she would favor the European mobile television broadcasting standard over U.S. and Korean rivals, when the Commission decides which to back next month. via Reuters - Original Story

CDMA closure may stall

"Telstra is tweaking network coverage all the time." TELSTRA may be forced to delay the shutdown of its CDMA network after a flood of complaints has convinced the Government that regional mobile phone coverage is a bigger election issue than the provision of ... via News.com.au - Original Story

European Airlines Gets Approval For In Flight Calls

Europe apparently has a more lax set of standards. The European Aviation Safety Agency has approved a system certification for a cell-phone system on board an aircraft. via Geeksugar - Original Story

SKorean firm sells 3G Google phones in Europe

"The phone will allow users to easily search for information, find locations and manage e-mail" South Korea's LG Electronics said Wednesday it would sell third-generation mobile phones in Europe this week, installed with mobile services of the world's top Internet search engine Google. via Baku Today - Original Story

Alereon to release new wireless USB chip

"Assuming that they do it right and it works, it's going to be a pretty powerful technology for interconnecting devices" Chip designer Alereon Inc. said Monday it is releasing the first chip that uses a frequency band that is legal all over the world for wireless USB, a technology with the potential to cut the tangle of cables ... via Albany Times Union - Original Story

Groove Mobile launches musical dual download service with 3 UK

"The unified Groove Mobile platform will allow us to take full advantage of cross selling opportunities, and take music video sales to new heights." Groove Mobile announced today that it will add music videos to its successful mobile music offering with mobile media company, 3, in the UK. via MobileTechNews - Original Story

02 unveils the innovative 3G "02 Cocoon" mobile phone

Not due to be launched until August, free on certain monthly tariffs or 299 on pay as you go, some pictures and spec have been revealed to us today. via Pocket-lint.co.uk - Original Story

'Get ready. iPhone is coming June 29.'

Apple sent out an email today to subscribers about the iPhone with tips on how to get ready for the iPhone. via MacRumors - Original Story

Ericsson signs $1 bln China Mobile deal; Sony venture gets pact

Ericsson signed a $1 billion agreement to supply core and radio network equipment and complementary services to expand China Mobile's GSM coverage in 19 regions within China. via MarketWatch - Original Story

A couple of interesting sites

Here's a few interesting sites I found while scouring the web:

JavaTechnology.net - An upcoming Java tutorial site

Mazda 6 blog - A blog about the car Mazda 6

Take care, I'll be back with some ringtone news real soon :)

Sprint to offer mobile service for finding products in stores

Shoppers may soon be able to use their cell phone to find stuff in a store. The Wall Street Journal reports that Sprint Nextel begins offering a service today that will let consumers do that. via WDBJ7 - Original Story

US Enjoys Mobile Web Spurt

"We see that wherever flat-rate mobile data charges are pervasive in a country then there's much more web browsing" Bango has released statistics that show that the US is at the forefront of a mobile web spurt, with a three-fold increase in usage over the last year. via Mobile Marketing Magazine - Original Story

Amp'd Mobile looks to enter Chapter 11

Amp'd Mobile Inc., a Los Angeles wireless phone company that garnered more than $360 million from a broad range of well-heeled stockholders, is hoping to revive itself under the protection of a bankruptcy filing. Amp'd Mobile, which counts MTV Networks and Universal Music Group among its investors, has marketed its phone and mobile-entertainment services to young, hip consumers by sponsoring motocross, surfing and other action-sports competitions. Its 'Lil' Bush: Resident of the United States' cartoon was such a hit on its mobile phones after being introduced last September that pay-television's Comedy Central picked it up for an initial run. But burdened by more than $100 million in debt, including $33 million owed to Verizon Wireless for using its network and $16.4 million to Motorola Inc. for cellphones, Amp'd Mobile quietly filed a Chapter 11 petition in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware on Friday, barely 17 months after launching its service. The filing is likely to wipe out not only the company's debt but also ownership stakes and preferred stock - totaling nearly $18 million - held by MTV, Universal Music, Redpoint Ventures, Highland Capital Partners, Columbia Capital Equity Partners and Amp'd Mobile's founder and embattled chief executive, Peter A. Adderton. Adderton is the company's biggest single shareholder with 900,000 shares, or 5%, of the stock. For the last two weeks, rumors abounded about a rift between Adderton and some directors, and about his possible departure. The company said in a statement issued over the weekend that its 'senior management team remains largely intact.' Adderton could not be reached Sunday. Amp'd Mobile said in the statement that it would try to restructure its debt while continuing to serve its 200,000 customers, including those in Canada and Japan, markets it recently had entered. 'As a result of our rapid growth, our back-end infrastructure was unable to keep up with customer demand,' Amp'd Mobile said. 'We are taking this step as a necessary and responsible action to sustain and strengthen our momentum in the marketplace.' Some analysts figured it was only a matter of time before the company went into bankruptcy. 'They got eight different types of venture capital firms backing them. They got high subscriber-acquisition costs. And they are having a hard time getting additional financing,' said Alex Besen, whose Besen Group consulting firm in Oakton, Va., helps small cellphone companies. Relying on mobile media to sell phone and data service is 'a very hard business model,' Besen said, and Amp'd Mobile hasn't created the marketing muscle it needs. It didn't help that soon after Amp'd Mobile started, EarthLink Inc. and SK Telecom, South Korea's largest mobile phone company, launched their Helio joint venture, targeting the young and tech-savvy customer who wants content and capabilities that U.S. cellphone companies aren't offering. Only two months ago, privately held Amp'd Mobile boasted about its fast growth. The company said its average revenue per user was more than $100 a month, about twice the industry average, as customers paid extra for its music downloads, videos, mobile games and other content. But the company has been slow to pay its creditors, Besen said. He also estimated that 7% to 8% of Amp'd Mobile's customers quit every month, far more than the 1% to 2% that cancel accounts with established mobile phone companies. 'There's no customer loyalty there,' he said. Amp'd Mobile, Helio and the much-larger Virgin Mobile are examples of what the industry calls mobile virtual network operators because they lease networks from major carriers. But then such network operators have to come up with unique content or better service to compete. The business is tough. Walt Disney Co.'s ESPN cable network found last year that it couldn't transfer its established customer base to its mobile phones and ditched the service after a short-lived effort. Read more - Original Story

Wireless Customers are Keeping Their Mobile Phones Longer

"It's clear that wireless service carriers are using mobile phones as bait to increase consumer traffic, applying discounts either through rebates or free limited-time offers" The average reported length of time a customer owns their cell phone has increased by 5 percent since fall 2006, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2007 U.S. Wireless Mobile Phone Evaluation Study -- ... via KSBI Oklahoma City - Original Story