Thumbplay, the largest and fastest growing mobile entertainment content destination in the US (Nielsen Mobile, Q3 2007), announced it will provide ringtones, wallpaper, games and video clips to Mobile MSN, the mobile portal of the MSN online network, which is visited by more than 120 million unique monthly visitors in the US (comScore Media Metrix, October 2007). Thumbplay’s premium mobile content will be integrated within the Mobile MSN web and WAP portals. Through Thumbplay’s contextual integration on these sites, visitors can easily purchase and download relevant ringtones, wallpapers, games and video clips over-the-air to over 2,000 supported handsets, including 16 unique Windows Mobile-based devices.

Nokia applauded Verizon Wireless' announced plans to develop and deploy a fourth generation 4G mobile broadband network. The Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology Verizon Wireless chose is an open and global specification for next generation networks that will bring scale and efficiencies for manufacturers, choice in network equipment and device for operators, and ultimately better value and richer experiences for consumers.

The Nielsen Company released the findings of an in-depth study on the mobile media and cross media behavior of US "tweens" (ages 8-12). While text-messaging and ringtones remain the most pervasive non-voice functions on the phone, other content such as downloaded wallpapers, music, games and Internet access also rank highly among tweens. The report, "Kids on the Go: Mobile Usage by US Teens and Tweens," was conducted by Nielsen Mobile and BASES, two services of Nielsen. It also provides insights on teen and tween use of specific content brands, genre preferences, overall use of leisure time and demographic profiles. The full report will be released on December 14.

Compelling content, multiple application types, social networking, mobile advertising and mobile broadcasting services are some of the developments that influence the mobile video services market. New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, US Mobile Video Services Markets, finds that premium revenues from mobile video content services estimates to reach $1.62 billion in 2011. If you are interested in a virtual brochure, then send an e-mail to Mireya Castilla, Corporate Communications, with your full name, company name, title, telephone number, city, state, country and e-mail address. Upon receipt of the above information, an overview will be sent to you by e-mail.

Third-generation (3G) handsets will continue strong growth over the next five years as second-generation technology wanes, reports In-Stat. Through 2012, fourth-generation network handsets are not expected to enter the market in sizable numbers. Helping to boost overall sales, subscribers owning and using several handsets will be more prevalent over the next several years. This development is already widespread in many areas, especially where employers provide a mobile device.

Google announced the release of version 2.0 of Google Maps for mobile, its innovative and widely used mobile mapping and local search application. New in v2.0 is a beta version of Google’s "My Location" technology, which uses cell tower ID information to provide users with their approximate location, helping them determine where they are, what’s around them, and how to get there. Google is committed to providing users with quick and easy access to the information they need, no matter when or where they need it.

Klausner Technologies announced that it has filed a patent lawsuit under its visual voicemail patents against Apple on the iPhone, with damages and future royalties estimated at $360 million. The lawsuit asserts that Apple’s iPhone Visual Voicemail infringes Klausner Technologies’ U.S. Patents 5,572,576 and 5,283,818. These patents have already been licensed to various other companies that provide visual voicemail, including Time Warner’s AOL for its AOL Voicemail services, Vonage Holdings for its Vonage Voicemail Plus services as well as others, under the Klausner Patents.

A mobile phone is for 18 months, not just for Christmas. Up to a million unwary Christmas shoppers risk committing themselves to hundreds of pounds of payments for new mobile phones which will be obsolete within months. Although figures show that most people in the United Kingdom that want a mobile phone already own one, they remain one of the most popular Christmas presents - and anywhere up to a million will be bought in the UK in the run-up to Christmas. In particular this year, operators have promoted the idea of the 'mobile Internet', which means people can use their mobile to surf the web, download music, use Facebook, watch television programmes and make cheap mobile calls via the Internet.

Monotype Imaging, a leading global provider of text imaging solutions, has released its Apple iPhone Compatibility Font Set for mobile device manufacturers and application developers. Comprised of 39 fonts, the collection features typeface designs included on the Apple iPhone. “The iPhone is helping to bring PC-like experiences to users, and fonts are a big part of that,” said Mark Brown, director of OEM sales at Monotype Imaging. “By including a high-quality collection of scalable typefaces on the iPhone, Apple has set the stage. By enabling OEMs and developers to license our collection, Monotype Imaging is expanding options to usher in the development of more typographically enriched mobile offerings.”

MultiMedia Intelligence reports the worldwide unit shipments of multimedia feature-rich mobile phones will exceed 300 million units in 2008, outnumbering shipments of TV sets. Multimedia phones have at least 1 megapixel image capture, MP3 audio, video Playback, Java, USB, Bluetooth, 16-bit screen color, QVGA resolution, WAP and MMS. Revenue from these handsets will be over US$76 billion. “Multimedia has become the term of the day as wireless service has expanded beyond voice to include a variety of communication, data, and entertainment services,” according to Frank Dickson, Chief Research Officer for MultiMedia Intelligence.