Internet Service, GPS Driving Chinese Smartphone Market

WEBWIRE – Wednesday, February 28, 2008

The smartphone is evolving to become a mobile Internet device, with cellular voice communication just one function of the converged appliance, and Chinese consumers are responding to its capabilities, reports In-Stat. The Chinese smartphone market grew by 37.7% in 2007, with total shipments of 14.4 million. The introduction of feature-rich mobile Internet service and GPS-based services will fuel the market over the next several years.

A recent report by the high-tech market research firm found the following:

* Revolutionary UI and UE, enabled by touchscreen and 3D sensor technologies, will be widely used in the next generation of smartphones.

* Smartphone shipments in China are expected to hit 33 million in 2012.

* The GPS-enabled Smartphone is in its infancy, but will have an increasing impact on the Smartphone market during the forecast period.

Sprint Launches Revolutionary $99.99 “Simply EverythingSM” Plan

Plan Defines Simplicity, Offers Customers Unlimited Voice and Data

OVERLAND PARK, Kan.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In an industry-defining move, Sprint today announced it will launch a domestic unlimited pricing plan that gives customers unlimited voice, data, text, e-mail, Web-surfing, Sprint TV^SM, Sprint Music, GPS Navigation, Direct Connect^® and Group Connect^® for $99.99 a month. The new pricing plan is available to existing and new customers beginning tomorrow.

“This is a bold, unprecedented move,” said Dan Hesse, president and CEO, Sprint Nextel. “Wireless today is about much more than just voice. It is about data services – texting, email, video, pictures, music, navigation, surfing the Web and more. Customers want these applications, but without complexity and without having to worry about their bill. The $99.99 Simply Everything plan delivers it all right to the palm of their hand now.

“Today’s handsets are powerful data devices. Each day they get better, faster and easier to use with more intuitive user interface designs and full Internet access. Our high-speed networks were built with this in mind and it’s where we believe the battleground lies – offering fast access to the best content and data services. We are removing the barriers for customers to feel free to use all of the features of their phones.”

The $99.99 Simply Everything plan is available to customers on both Sprint’s CDMA and iDEN networks. Existing Sprint customers can switch to the Simply Everything plan without extending their current contract either by contacting Sprint customer service or by stopping by any participating Sprint retail location. New line activations require a two-year agreement.

For families, Simply Everything includes an incremental $5 discount for each incremental line, up to five lines on the same bill. For example, two lines would amount to $194.98 ($99.99 + $94.99); a third line would cost an additional $89.99. This is in sharp contrast to the multi-line unlimited rates offered by some competitors. The Sprint plan offers significant savings the more lines a customer adds.

The move to unlimited pricing that includes data signifies a turning point for the wireless industry. Nationally accepted measures of voice quality now show very little, if any, difference among the top wireless providers.

“All major carriers have good voice networks,” Hesse said. “Our network is about more than voice and more than just being the largest wireless data network. It is about allowing customers to connect with people, information and entertainment. It is about simplicity, usability and real value. The $99.99 Simply Everything plan eliminates overage surprises and provides a worry-free environment.

“Our investments in innovation and speed are becoming the new areas of differentiation. These are the areas where we perform best and where we can deliver a wireless advantage for our customers.”

Britannica Reference Work Available for iPhone

CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwire - February 27, 2008) - If you're thinking of getting an iPhone but just haven't done it, you now have another reason to cave in and join the wireless elite: Encyclopaedia Britannica. An extensive encyclopedia from the editors of the famous reference work is now available on Apple's über-smartphone.

Thanks to an application created by Britannica's engineers, anyone with an iPhone can access tens of thousands of articles covering all subjects at http://i.eb.com/. The application boasts a look and feel tailored to the iPhone, with full-text searching, thousands of high-resolution thumbnails that expand to full-size images, and page layouts optimized for cell phone bandwidth. It's fully searchable and hot-linked, similar to Britannica's Web editions. It also works for the iPod Touch.

"It's been live for about two weeks, and I can't get enough of it," said Chicago-based executive Dan Smith, a self-described iPhone junkie. "It's fast, easy to use and the articles look stunning."