verizon

Verizon Wireless in a partnership with Rhapsody America (MTV's and RealNetworks' joint venture) came up with a new digital music service allowing V CAST users to have access to Rhapsody content, including album art, music, ringtone and videos, available directly from the mobile phone. Additionally, Verizon plans to release a bunch of 8GB and 16GB phone models in the coming months.

According to some rumors, the Motorola Q9m, mentioned earlier, will be available from Verizon this month, probably on August 22nd.

The prices will vary depending on the contract:

• $300 with a 2-year and a $50 rebate;
• $400 for a 1-year customer agreement and a $50 rebate;
• $470 without a contract.

Verizon Wireless and Sierra Wireless have just released the new Sierra Wireless AirCard(R) 595U USB modem for use with Verizon Wireless' BroadbandAccess service. The device is easily connected to a PC via USB port, and uses Verizon Wireless' EV-DO Rev. A network providing average download/upload speeds of 600-1433/500-800Kbps.

Verizon Wireless customers can now enjoy the renewed USA TODAY Mobile service thanks to the latest improvements in the Mobile Web 2.0. that give it a new look and feel.

The information available on USA TODAY includes:

• NEWS: breaking news and Top stories
• MONEY: Stocks, financial and company news, market reports
• SPORTS: Top scores and results
• LIFE: Entertainment and celebrity news, movies, music, tv and more
• TECH: product reviews, expert quotes
• TRAVEL: Travel news, City Guides
• WEATHER: Forecasts, current local conditions by city

Access to Mobile Web 2.

Verizon Wireless has expanded its coverage area by purchasing Ramcell, a regional cellular operator providing coverage in Kentucky and Oregon. The company plans to upgrade Ramcell's TDMA network to CDMA with EVDO Rev. A. Same goes to Ramcell's CDMA network in Oregon.

Both upgrades are scheduled to be completed by the middle of 2008.

Verizon Wireless has expanded its coverage by purchasing Rural Cellular, a regional cellular operator, for $2.67 billion. Rural Cellular has 716,000 subscribers in several regions of the country and operates both CDMA and GSM networks.

Verizon plans to switch Rural's GSM customers to CDMA network, but it will keep GSM networks operational to help provide roaming coverage to other GSM carriers.

Verizon Wireless has set a new record in text messaging. In June its subscribers sent and received more than 10 billion text messages (SMS). This is not just a company record but also the highest reported total of any other American WSP. In addition, more than 200 million multimedia messages (MMS) have been sent in June. Verizon's rates are rapidly growing, having made almost 100% from September 2006.

We expect that the long-awaited Samsung SCH-i760 will soon become available from Verizon Wireless. There are several photos of the device displayed on the Verizon's official site.

For those unfamiliar with the matter, Samsung SCH-i760 is a WM6-based smartphone with a side-sliding QWERTY keyboard and a standard numeric keypad with d-pad on the front.

Verizon Wireless presents their new Music Manager software, which is basically a PC-based music player, an addition to Verizon's VCAST Music service. You can download the application from here .

There are four sections available in the application to help manage the music:

•  "VCAST Buy Music" is a direct link to the VCAST Music Store;
•  "Music on My PC" lists all the music in the Music Manager library that is located on the hard drive;
•  "Music on My Phone" displays the files on the customer's phone (and memory card, if applicable) when connected to the PC;
•  "Music on My CD" lists music from any audio CD inserted in the optical drive.

Verizon Wireless is now offering unlimited mobile traffic, messaging, VZ Navigator, and basic V CAST video clips with 450 minutes for $79.99. Plans range up to 6,000 minutes for $239.99. In addition, for an extra $5 per month Verizon will also include its new mobile email service, which allows users to receive emails to 10 different inboxes sent to their phones from providers like Yahoo, Hotmail and AOL.