On the heels of its government approval for its merger with AT&T Wireless, Cingular Wireless is wasting no time making over existing AT&T Wireless stores, changing 1,000 locations to Cingular stores.

The conversion Sunday night consisted of replacing in-store point-of-purchase materials. Beyond signage, Cingular has outfitted former AT&T Wireless stores with Cingular-branded phones and accessories. The carrier says in-store customer representatives have been trained on providing the "Cingular Experience."

It will take a bit longer to replace the AT&T Wireless signs outside the stores, but as an interim solution, the company is hanging temporary Cingular Wireless banners outdoors.

Cingular has plans in the works to convert another 10,500 AT&T Wireless retail outlets over the coming months.

The combined carrier touts a customer base of 46 million and has overtaken Verizon Wireless as the top U.S. wireless carriers in terms of number of subscribers.

In conjunction with the rebranding effort, Cingular debuted the new Motorola Razr V3 ultra-thin flip phone. The camera phone sports a metallic finish, MPEG 4 video playback and Bluetooth connectivity. The handset also supports world phone technology, Cingular says.

Cingular is offering the Razr V3 for $499.99, with a signed 2-year contract.