Verizon Wireless, announced today the availability of Mobile Web 2.0 which allows customers to more easily access the latest news, tools and information content and read and send e-mail. It provides an up-to-the-minute look at the news and stories, a toolbar that allows customers to easily access the search tool and bookmarks.
From VZW Today, users can enter into various content categories in one click, including:
- News — Top national, business, world or political news
- Weather — Local and national weather forecasts and satellite images
- Sports — News, scores, standings and stories
- Entertainment — Information about movies, music, TV, food and astrology
- Business — Business headlines, news and stock updates
- E-mail — Web-based e-mail services from the top Internet e-mail providers
- More — Shopping, travel, health, jokes and much more
The Mobile Web 2.0 service is provided in conjunction with two key suppliers. InfoSpace Mobile, providing hosting and infrastructure management and Vindigo Studios, providing design and custom publishing for the “walled garden” service. MFORMA is also providing 15 new information and lifestyle channels for Mobile Web 2.0 while Upoc group messaging lets members send mobile messages to their friends or find new ones who share their interests in music, sports, business, etc. Jamdat has 70 different games and relationships with 72 carriers in 38 countries.
Customers can register for Mobile Web 2.0, including subscription-based premium content, from their wireless handsets. Mobile Web 2.0 is available for $4.99 monthly access, plus airtime and is initially available on the LG VX7000 camera phone and the LG VX4500 phone.
Customers can purchase the LG VX7000 camera phone for $179.99 after a $70 mail-in rebate with a two-year customer agreement; the LG VX4500 retails for $89.99 with a two-year customer agreement after a $30 mail-in rebate.
Sega’s Pocket Kingdom for the N-Gage, is a massively mobile multiplayer adventure game. Mobile Java may open new opportunities.
Perhaps WiFi/WiMax clouds could also package News, Weather, Sports and Entertainment. Package your $300 hotspot service with a 50 Gigabyte Blu-ray DVD (distributed monthly) with locally produced music and videos.
Sirius and XM provide local traffic info, just like Clear Channel. A city-specific content package might include LOCAL news from your Alt Weekly, music by local musicians, dozens of topical (local) bloggers and a few open source tools such as messaging, “friendster”, RSS feeds and location-based content. It might be packaged for Community LANs at coffee shops and targeted to laptop and handheld users. The incentive for content creators would be increased ad revenue. There’s a business model in there somewhere.
Seattle’s free Wi-Fi coffeehouses are reviewed by seattle.wifimug.org where visitors can post their own reviews. Creator, Elliott-McCrea, expected he’d end up with 10 to 15 java joints, but the site now reviews more than 45.
Samsung’s YH-999 Portable Video Player and Sony’s $400 20GB Network Walkman will be available this fall. Sonys’ device can use Sony Connect, their music download service. The portable Archos’ Pocket Video Recorder ($400) with a 20Gig HD can play 704 by 480 MPEG-4 videos.
Cellular won’t work for them.
A newspaper without paper. Radio without the radio. Television without broadcasting.
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