• Verizon Wireless unveiled the new Verizon Wireless CDM8975, available immediately through business sales channels. The phone, developed by Personal Communications Devices, joins Verizon Wireless' line-up of push-to-talk (PTT) handsets. It comes in an industrial clamshell design.
• CTIA on Friday unveiled “Best Practices and Guidelines for Mobile Financial Services (MFS),” which were approved by leading U.S. wireless carriers. The voluntary initiative was developed to provide consumers with a level of safety and security for mobile banking, commerce and payments products and services, the organization says.
• Spectrum Bridge, creator of SpecEx, the online marketplace for spectrum, announced the launch of the new Web site, ShowMyWhiteSpace.com. Visitors to the site can use an online tool to find open TV channels available at any location in the United States. The site also seeks to educate consumer, business and government users on the applications and benefits of the new unlicensed broadband spectrum. Unused white space frequencies are scheduled to become available starting June 12.
• mSpot signed a distribution agreement with Sony Music Entertainment to add the company’s catalog to mSpot’s current collection, which now includes more than 400,000 song titles. The addition of Sony Music Entertainment’s catalog completes mSpot’s plan to offer customizable ringtones from all four major music labels including EMI, Universal Music and Warner Music. mSpot also offers customizable ringtones from indie labels Ingrooves and IRIS.
• DubMeNow, a patent-pending technology that allows end-users to instantly exchange (via text or e-mail) contact information (e-mail, phone, company, address, title and more) from mobile phone to mobile phone, is now available on all U.S. based phones. DUB loads contact data directly into the user's mobile address book and automatically updates their address book whenever the contact’s information changes.
• Kyocera Wireless and Superior Communications announced that Kyocera has entered a partnership with Superior to manage the design, manufacturing and distribution of the company’s branded Genuine Accessories by Kyocera retail accessory product line. Superior will assume management of Kyocera’s existing retail accessory product line while developing a portfolio of new cellular accessories for Kyocera’s CDMA mobile phones.
• Telecom Italia launched the service Flash Me, a mobile application based on 2D code technology that uses the mobile phone’s camera to read a sort of “virtual stamp” printed on magazines, newspapers and other advertising devices, to directly connect the user to the mobile Internet. The technology the carrier chose is provided by its partner Scanbuy.
• Gameloft announced a line-up of 20 games for Android-powered devices such as the T-Mobile G1. Via Android Market, the offerings range from Derek Jeter Pro Baseball 2009 to Oregon Trail and CSI:Miami.
• Columbitech says the Saukville Police Department in southeast Wisconsin chose Columbitech for a citywide implementation of its intelligent mobile VPN. Columbitech’s security solution now allows Saukville police officers to obtain secure and uninterrupted access to remote data from laptops while working in the field, the company says.