T-Mobile’s HotSpot Wi-Fi service is now available at five Amtrak stations in the Northeast Corridor. Sitting in a train station may not be as posh a visiting a coffee house or book store but at least now commuters can enjoy the Internet while waiting for a connecting ride. The five stations include Washington Union Station, Baltimore Penn Station, Wilmington Station, Philadelphia 30th Street Station and New York Penn Station. A variety of Wi-Fi service plans are available from one day passes going up to unlimited annual passes. Just don’t miss the connecting train while you spend quality time with your computer.

“Reliable and secure wireless Internet access is one of the amenities most frequently requested by our customers,” said Matt Hardison, chief, Sales Distribution and Customer Service at Amtrak. “By partnering with T-Mobile to provide Wi-Fi at Amtrak stations, we’re ensuring that business and leisure travelers alike can connect to the Internet with enhanced security and make better use of their time in our stations along the Northeast Corridor.”

“The continued success of T-Mobile HotSpot service can be attributed to being in the places where people want to connect with family, friends and associates; and also ensuring the service is reliable and of high quality,” said Joe Sims, vice president and general manager, Broadband Products and Services, T-Mobile USA. “We’re excited about our partnership with Amtrak to provide customers in the Northeast with another convenient and effective way to stay connected.”

Amtrak
T-Mobile HotSpot

Mobile Complete, a company that provides mobile application testing, monitoring and support services, launched the Boost Mobile Virtual Developer Lab (VDL) today. Boost Mobile VDL is a remote testing service that utilizes Mobile Complete’s DeviceAnywhere service. DeviceAnywhere enables users to remotely press device buttons, view displays, listen to ringers and speakers, connect and disconnect batteries and play videos from a desktop computer over the Internet. Users have virtual access to all the interfaces of a device as though the device was in their hands.

Boost Mobile is a Pay-As-You-Go mobile phone service provider that works to gain market share among young users. A majority of its 4.5 millions customers are under the age of 25. It is hoped that Boost Mobile VDL will decrease the time it takes content and application providers to bring new services to the Boost Mobile network.

“Boost Mobile is committed to staying ahead of the curve with some of the most innovative and up-to-date products and services available on the handset,” said Neil Lindsay, vice president of product management, Boost Mobile. “By partnering with Mobile Complete to create the Boost Mobile VDL, we’re making it easier for our community of developers to collaborate, test, manage and deploy our special limited edition ringtones, games and applications and bring them to market faster than ever.”

Boost Mobile VDL initially includes online access to over 20 hand sets, including several pre-commercial phones. Besides virtual access to the mobile phones, Mobile Complete will provide technical support for developers with any pressing questions. The goal of this partnership is to enhance developers’ abilities to deliver content quickly and cheaply. I don’t know what type of phones Boost Mobile’s customers use, but if Boost Mobile VDL is to be useful to developers, a majority of Boost Mobile’s 4.5 million customers have to be using, or will soon be using, the hand sets that the virtual laboratory hosts.

Boost Mobile
Mobile Complete

Verizon Wireless announced today that it will partner up with Firethorn Holdings so that Verizon customers can use Firethorn’s mobile financial services application. Verizon customers will be able to view and interact with their accounts while on-the-go in a secure environment.

Verizon senior vice president of consumer products Jim Straight said, “After carefully researching the marketplace and surveying consumer preferences, we concluded Firethorn will provide a secure, easy-to-use and flexible mobile banking solution that will deliver a superior user experience for our customers. We expect these mobile banking services will be valuable to our customers, paving the way for us to introduce more
comprehensive payment capabilities.”

“Firethorn’s larger vision is to provide consumers with a safe, secure and consistent access point to their financial information through their ever- present mobile device,” explained Firethorn chairman and chief executive officer Tripp Rackley. “Viewing balances, making transfers and paying bills is the first step. Bringing new and exciting functionality to the mobile handset, such as the ability to view and redeem loyalty points,
reload gift cards and perform purchases at the point of sale, including contact less payments, is core to our mobile financial services strategy.”

Rackley continued, “Today’s announcement with Verizon Wireless is an important step toward broad adoption of mobile financial services — delivered through the Firethorn solution. Together with Verizon Wireless and our financial institution partners, we are helping to define the market for mobile financial services.”

Verizon and Firethorn will have to convince the public that banking over mobile phones is at least as secure as banking on-line. MobileCrunch reported last month that Americans (are) Wary of Mobile Banking. Companies that want to provide on-the-go banking services need to get the message out that using a mobile phone to transact banking business is safe and reliable. Verizon and Firethorn plan to team up with others to conduct marketing and consumer educations programs aimed at aiding and encouraging mobile banking. It will take some coaxing, but once the public is convinced that mobile banking is safe, the doors will open to a whole host of unique banking solutions that will become part of everyday life.

Verizon Wireless
Firethorn Holdings

Nokia’s N95 series got a memory boost with today’s shipping of the N95 8GB, which is being touted as a handheld multimedia computer. The 8 GBs of memory allows the user to save 20 hours of video or up to 6000 songs. The handset includes a 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, built-in A-GPS, WLAN, HSDPA and a two-way slide. The N95 8GB also has a luminous 2.8” (230 x 320) QVGA display for watching video, browsing the internet, viewing maps or playing games. The device will have a retail price around 560 Euros before taxes and subsidies.

“Our Nokia Nseries family has expanded with added pizzazz and performance with the Nokia N95 8GB, a device as personal as it is powerful,” said Jonas Geust, vice president, Multimedia, at Nokia. “We’ve reached a pinnacle with the Nokia N95 and now with the addition of one of the largest ever displays, built-in Assisted-GPS and improved battery power, the Nokia N95 8GB takes entertainment enjoyment to another level.”

Nokia

Each week MobileCrunchArcade compiles the biggest news from the world of mobile gaming.

This week saw the first ever national mobile gaming championship that took place at the AT&T Plaza in Dallas, Texas. 48 thumb calloused competitors pounded their mobile keys while they played The Fast & The Furious: Fugitive. Ian Estes sped seamlessly through each level to take first place and $3000, the MGC (Midnight Gaming Championship) trophy and a one year membership to GameZnFlix. Good job Ian, put those thumbs on ice for awhile.

If you enjoy the reality show Bad Girls Club, you may be interested to know that you can become a bad girl in the new mobile phone game Bad Girls Club 3G. Players take the role of the newest member of the Bad Girls Club and must earn reputation points in order to unlock locations, special guests and objects. The camera crew is on set in every room of the house ready to film the player’s avatar as soon as there is a “buzz”. When certain point levels are reached, new characters enter the house that either assist or block the player’s avatar from getting the cameraman’s attention. The ultimate goal is to gain the accolade of being the “baddest” girl in the house. There aren’t any girls in my house but I might find some room for a bad girl, even if she isn’t the baddest in the club.

If you are looking for a new first-person-shooter for this Christmas, Vivendi Games Mobile will release Urban Attack in Europe and North America for the holiday season. Urban Attack is set in 2046 A.D. after the third Ukrainian War.. A highly organized Russian Mafia is in control of the Russian government. The main character, Yuri, is a 17 year-old agent in the UCCK network of technology, an organization set up by the Russian Mafia to operate covertly in the Untied States. As the game develops, Yuri learns details about his past and the reasons for the creation of the UCCK. I wonder whether Yuri supports a dictatorship of the proletariat or not?

Glu Mobile announced this week that it is working with McDonalds to give away one million “instant win” game prizes from the popular Monopoly sweepstakes game McDonald’s conducts every year. Glu is offering its mobile Monopoly game as a prize in the new “Guaranteed Bonus” category on one million game pieces. When winners receive the right piece, they can send a text message to get a free download of Glu’s version of Monopoly. If you feel lucky, visit your local McDonald’s, pass go and collect 2000 calories. Your mobile phone will love you just a little bit more for the experience.

If you like puzzle type games, slot machines and colors, this week’s release of Kachinko from Hudson Entertainment may be visiting your mobile phone soon. Kachinko begins with players on a mission to eliminate three like-colored balls at a time, while keeping an eye out for six game modifies which can change game play. As gamers progress they’ll have to move even faster in the game. Kachinko features six types of power-ups that can be unlocked as players progress. This isn’t the type of game you can play while drinking a beer, so I think I’ll pass.

I-Play announced the release of Freestyle Moto-XIII Hardcore, the third in the series of the FMX franchise. Players begin by honing their skills in the LA backstreets before heading to Vegas to become a Motocross star. Eventually the player is hired by a Rock Concert to wow the crowd with some thrilling stunts. Rag doll physics allow players to be thrown from the bike and have the most extreme crashes ever seen on a mobile device. Bonus levels include the insane Kamikaze, a death defying Big Jump and a variety of tricks to pull off including Superman, Cordova and Tsunami. I’ll stick to driving cars. To borrow from Animal Farm, “Four wheels gooood, two wheels baaaad.”

That is this week’s MobileCrunch Arcade game roundup. Remember, exercise those thumbs, recharge the battery and never take your eyes off the screen.

It was announced today that Ad Infuse and M:Metrics will be hosting an educational series called Mobile Ad Degree. The purpose of the series is to explain how the rapidly growing mobile advertising ecosystem operates. The first event in the series will be held October 18, from 11 a.m. to 2p.m., in New York City at the W Union Square.
Scheduled panelists, including Maria Mandel, partner and executive director of digital innovation at Ogilvy Interactive; Pete Distler, general manager of Sprint’s mobile advertising business; and, Joe Cohen, global director of mobile products at Reuters. They will reveal to advertisers and media executives the most effective ways to utilize the mobile marketing platform.

“We foresee this event as the beginning of something very big; a series we hope lives on and continues to educate the market on the ever-developing digital opportunity as it relates to mobile media and advertising. We want to offer advertisers and media executives a chance to see first hand successful executions and results from those active in the mobile space,” said Brian Cowley, President and CEO of Ad Infuse. “We want to arm them with not only the basics, but the best practices out there to increase their success.”

“Mobile advertising is maturing quickly, and with this in mind, we’ve put together these events to educate advertisers about how to reach the individual,” said Will Hodgman, CEO of M:Metrics. “Mobile is a dream for advertisers – it’s the one platform upon which all media converge, and the most personal, most ubiquitous medium the world has known. Already, our data shows consumers are responding to early mobile advertising initiatives, with 12 percent of Americans reporting they responded to an SMS ad in July, and it’s only getting bigger.

The second scheduled event will be held in London on November 14 at the Reuters Building, with more to follow around the world in 2008. For more information about the events, go to mobileaddegree.com.

Ad Infuse
M:Metrics

The controversy over Apple’s locking the iPhone has moved from the realm of hackers and pirates to the courtroom. It has been said that one lawyer with a briefcase can take more money than ten thugs armed with guns. Apple’s treasure chest may lose some pierces-of-eight if the suit is successful.

Lawyer Max Folkenflik filed a class action federal suit in Northern California alleging that Apple’s restrictions on the iPhone constitute unlawful competition, which falls under the antitrust laws of the United States. The Complaint is based on the idea that Apple is illegally bundling AT&T wireless service and Apple’s own software with the iPhone. Folkenflik argues that iPhone customers are being treated unfairly based on the fact that other mobile phone providers offer unlocked devices and lower carrier prices. Apple iPhone customers don’t have the choice to take advantage of carrier companies that compete with AT&T.

Folkenflik has the burden of proof to show that Apple dominates its market and that its bundling actions impede competition. This will be difficult to prove since the iPhone is a small portion of the national mobile phone market. To get around this Folkenflik has to show that the iPhone market is somehow separate from the general mobile phone market.

Folkenflik also alleges that Apple’s recent iPhone software update deliberately disabled non-Apple programs. Computer experts hired for the suit claim that the iPhone has a whitelist of approved Apple applications in the new software update. Folkenflik argues that the only purpose of the whitelist is to deliberately block programs not on the list, which may be a violation of trespassing laws. Apple says any blocking is inadvertent.

This law suit, and others similar to it that have been filed in state courts, may make Apple wish that it hadn’t locked the iPhone. But it will be difficult to overcome that fact that the U.S. market is awash in mobile phones, mobile devices, service providers and mobile applications. Customers willingly signed a contract for the iPhone and should have been aware that the iPhone has restrictions. I have little sympathy for people who get excited about the latest gadget, have to be the first to have it, and then feel buyer’s remorse when things don’t go their way. Before you buy a mobile phone ask intelligent questions, do some research and read the contract.

MobileCrunch has been following the iPhone controversy over the last few months. Click on Piracy below to read past stories and reader responses.

Apple
AT&T
Piracy

Congratulations go out to Vringo for winning this year’s “Best Mobile Service for Social Community & User Generated Content” Award given at the 23rd MIPCOM conference in Cannes. MIPCOM Mobile TV and Internet awards are given to the most compelling projects in each category and are judged by a panel of industry experts. Vringo was able to beat out 180 companies and 280 entries to take home the award. Vringo is touted as the world’s first video ringtone sharing community. Its innovative application allows users to share media with each other no matter which mobile device they are using.

“This award recognizes the fact that we’ve successfully adapted and delivered great content to the mobile platform, and consumer demand continues to grow,” said Jon Medved, Vringo CEO. “Ringtones, like mobile handsets, have become more functional and play a major role in our social lives. This is just the beginning of mobile personalization as more and more consumers rely on mobile phones as a tool to not only communicate, but express themselves.”

If you are interested in the people who gave out the award, the paragraph below is an introduction taken from their Site.

MIPCOM is where international players from the TV industry make an appointment with the TV world. Offering five days of non-stop business, it is the place to do or prepare the maximum amount of decisive deals in a few days. For those involved in TV broadcasting, program production & distribution for TV, video & the Internet, advertising, licensing & merchandising, consultancy, service companies, and new media…it’s the market where programming policies are implemented and trends are spotted. Opened in 1984, MIPCOM has firmly established itself in the TV executives’ calendar and has become a must-attend event.

Vringo
MIPCOM

The Associated Press reported today that AT&T is willing to pay $2.5 billion for Aloha Partners share of the 700 megahertz spectrum. The deal would give AT&T access to 196 million people in 281 markets around the United States. The company could use the old analogue television spectrum to expand wireless phone and data services or to add video content for mobile phones. But there may be a problem lurking in one of the legal complaints filed against AT&T that could disrupt the company’s desire to expand its customer base and services.

MobileCrunch reported yesterday that NEAT WIRELESS File(d) (an) Antitrust Complaint against AT&T Mobility. The complaint alleges that AT&T engaged in unfair business practices that forced NEAT WIRELESS to sell to AT&T its recently acquired subscriptions to the telecommunications giant at distressed prices. NEAT WIRELESS is asking Congress, the FCC and the Department of Justice to keep AT&T from acquiring any further mobile telecommunications properties until the antitrust Complaint is investigated by the Federal Government. If the government does this, AT&T’s hopes of expansion will be put in jeopardy. The 700MHz auction is set for January of 2008, and all the big players will be bidding for this lucrative spectrum.

It is too early to tell what the government will do about NEAT WIRELESS’ Complaint, and whether temporally keeping AT&T from acquiring new properties is the proper remedy to take while AT&T is investigated. There may not be enough relation between NEAT WIRELESS’ regional Complaint and AT&T’s national desire to buy a piece of the 700MHz spectrum to warrant such draconian measures. But as I look to my legal Tarot Cards, invoking the Egyptian god Thoth, I see a large settlement being offered to NEAT WIRELESS just to go away.

AT&T Mobility
NEAT WIRELESS

Ad Infuse, a company that delivers personalized mobile handset advertisements, announced today that it has closed 14 new mobile advertising and marketing deals and 22 new publishing deals so far in 2007. Ad Infuse hopes to finalize several more contracts by the end of the year. The company added that inventory across its content channels will exceed 160 million impressions per month as of October, 2007.

Ad Infuse thinks that the future of mobile advertising will be more personalized than mass market oriented. By bringing together carriers, brands, content providers and consumers, Ad Infuse specifically targets consumers, so advertisements can be more cost efficient than the old impersonalized advertising method.

“Advertising on the mobile device is a new frontier,” said Brian Cowley, CEO of Ad Infuse. “Companies that do it right can increase consumer loyalty, build revenues and extend “brand awareness. Ad Infuse creates a customer-centric mobile environment where people can connect to and interact with the brands that define their lives.”

I’m not sure if it is fair to say that advertising on mobile phones is a new frontier. In this quick tempo technological world, if an idea has been around for more than a few months it starts to get the label of being old. This probably isn’t fair but some people feel the need to criticize a good idea they didn’t think of. Specifically targeting individuals or small groups of people, with specially tailored advertisements may be the future of advertising not only on mobile devices and computers, but also in other media formats. I can see a time when two different television sets in two different houses in the same neighborhood are tuned to the same show, but different advertisements are watched by each household.

Ad Infuse