Wal-Mart Stores wants to change the way America uses its cell phones.

The Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer says it is launching a new cell phone plan called Straight Talk, with two different no-contract plans: One offers unlimited minutes, texts and mobile web use for just $45 a month, and the other a $30-per-month plan offering 1,000 minutes, 1,000 texts and 30MB of web usage. Both plans also offer unlimited use of 411 calls.

The company says the deals will be available at 3,200 of its stores beginning Oct. 18. “Straight Talk will bring to the market a new low price for no-contract wireless service,” it says.

The company says the average American is currently spending $78 on his or her cell phone, to receive 1,000 minutes a month. A switch to Straight Talk, it says, will save the average $500 per year.

Phones range from the entry-level LG 220 flip phone at $39.98, to the LG Slider 290 at $79.98 to the Samsung 451 QWERTY keyboard phone at $99.88, and consumers may refill their monthly balances by buying refill cards at Walmart, or by registering online.

Wal-Mart says it began testing the program, a partnership with TracFone Wireless, in 234 pilot stores last summer, and that results were promising enough to rush the program through in time for the holidays.

Source: Marketing Daily

If you can’t beat them, mock them.

Facing nearly insurmountable competition from AT&T Wireless and its iPhone juggernaut, Verizon Wireless is capitalizing on the latter company’s well-publicized download problems by airing a television advertisement that tweaks Apple’s iPhone tagline, “There’s a map for that.”

Yowza!!

Want an app that makes shopping easier? This new iPhone app points you toward the deals and steals at your favorite retailers.

Yowza!! is a mobile coupon app. It’s different because it’s tailored to your location. Yowza!! uses your iPhone’s GPS to deliver deals that are relevant to your location.

You choose your radius — 1 mile, 5 miles, 15 miles — and Yowza!! shows you what retailers in your area are offering deals and steals exclusively through the app. So you walk into the mall and you open up the app and you see what the current exclusive sales are.

So easy!

Yowza!! then generates a coupon, and there’s no printing involved. When you are done shopping, you check out as usual; open the app on your phone, click the relevant coupon, and the clerk scans the barcode, from your phone, and you score the discount.

Yowza!! cofounder Greg Grunberg, says “Yowza!! will save you money everywhere you spend, with everything you buy,”. Current participating retailers include Target, Guitar Center, Children’s Place, Finish Line, Islands Restaurants, and the Container Store; Yowza!! is in talks with Forever 21, Victoria’s Secret, and Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.

Currently, deals through Yowza!! are only available in store, but Grunberg says they are hoping to offer an online component in the future. But shopping in an actual store is okay, especially in this economy, he argues. “That’s the whole idea: we need to be in the stores spending, and retailers need to be offering incredible deals.” If you can use your iPhone to find those deals, so much the better.

Yowza!! isn’t just another way for big chains to reach consumers, though; any retailer, no matter how small, can participate. The hope, Grunberg says, is that small boutiques will join and will be able to compete with larger box stores by offering comparable — or better — deals through the app. Owners of boutiques or other small retail businesses can go directly to the Yowza!! website and get their deals included in the app, for a small fee. It’s a win-win for local businesses: local consumers who might overlook your shop will see it on their phone, right next to the big chains — if your deal is as good or better than theirs, you’re a winner. “It levels the playing field,” Grunberg says, and in the post-WalMart world, the ability to find local retailers is an added bonus for community-minded shoppers and local businesses alike.

Make your iPhone work for you the next time you’re shopping. Yowza!! is available at the Apple store — and it’s free.

Are you a self described “voicemail phobic”? Do you let your mailbox fill up only to get phone calls from Mom asking, “Do you know your voicemail is full?!”. Well you are certainly not alone! 

Tim Kassouf from Baltimore, 24, who calls himself “a certified voice mail hater,” said he had 68 messages, 62 of them unheard, in his cellphone mail box. Scott Taylor, 41, a senior manager at an e-commerce company in Phoenix, said voice mail was “just totally an ineffective communication method, almost ancient now.”

Research shows that people take longer to reply to voice messages than other types of communication. Data from uReach Technologies, which operates the voice messaging systems of Verizon Wireless and other cellphone carriers, shows that over 30 percent of voice messages linger unheard for three days or longer and that more than 20 percent of people with messages in their mailboxes “rarely even dial in” to check them, said Saul Einbinder, senior vice president for marketing and business development for uReach, in an e-mail message.

There are no definitive studies of how many voice mail messages American leave compared with earlier periods, but if the technology is heading toward obsolescence — as many communication experts suspect — the trend is being driven by young people. Again and again, people under 25 recount returning calls from older colleagues and family members without bothering to listen to messages first. Thanks to cellphone technology, they can see who called and hit the Send button to reply without calling their voice mail box. “Didn’t you get my message?” parents ask. “No,” their children reply, “but I saw that you called.

Full Article from New York Times

Ever wish you could share in your family/friend’s experiences as they happen even though you couldn’t be there in person? Well now you can! Keep everyone up to the minute on anything from weddings to photoshoots to company softball games with Qik, a beta website/cellphone application that lets you stream real-time video shot on your cell phone for viewing, backup, sharing, or even embarrassing. Just enter your phone number on the site and Qik will SMS you the program via text. It’s easy to set-up with simple instructions, and then hit stream to share your captured moments with the world. Anything you record will appear on your Qik profile page after a 3-second delay, and you can even link it up to your favorite widget (blog, Facebook, MySpace, etc.). Those viewing the live video can then send instant feedback via text that will appear below your footage, “Zoom into home plate - I want to see that game winning run!”

It’s free and easy at Qik.com

Sony Ericsson has revealed plans to release a cell phone with gaming capabilities. The phone, due out in September, is a sleek slider phone tailor made for gamers and shares of the same features as the Nintendo Wii controller. Users are able to play and control games with a flick of the wrist, and similar X and O buttons long used by Nintendo. There will be 3 pre-loaded motion control games in addition to a camera feature, speakers and more. The question on everyone’s mind is will Sony’s Playstation brand get involved? 

Click here to read more 

Sony Ericsson has revealed plans to release a cell phone with gaming capabilities. The phone, due out in September, is a sleek slider phone tailor made for gamers and shares of the same features as the Nintendo Wii controller. Users are able to play and control games with a flick of the wrist, and similar X and O buttons long used by Nintendo. There will be 3 pre-loaded motion control games in addition to a camera feature, speakers and more. The question on everyone’s mind is will Sony’s Playstation brand get involved? 

Click here to read more