Verizon Wireless announced today availability of the new Treo 700wx smartphone from Palm. The 700wx is powered by Microsoft’s powerful Windows Mobile 5.0 with built in Direct Push Technology and Verizon’s high-speed EV-DO networks.

Palm 700wx features include:

• Intel XScale 312MHz processor
• 240 x 240 color TFT touchscreen display
• 16-bit color displays over 65,000 colors
• Bluetooth 1.2
• Speakerphone
• 1.3 megapixels with 1280×1024 resolution, w/2x digital zoom
• Windows Media Player 10
• Support for MultiMediaCard, SD & SDIO cards

The Palm Treo 700wx smartphone from Verizon Wireless is available now for $399.99 after a rebates and a new two-year customer agreement.

Cingular, the wireless division of AT&T, has announced a definitive agreement with Qualcomm’s MediaFLO USA to deliver mobile entertainment and information services. The two companies expect to make the service available to customers in late 2007.

Using MediaFLO, AT&T will launch mobile TV services on select phones specifically designed with an intuitive user interface that ensures customers receive the best live mobile TV experience possible. AT&T also will have access to new advanced features MediaFLO USA expects to deliver in the second half of 2007. These features include multicast video clip distribution service; a datacasting application for real-time information and entertainment; and audio services.

MediaFLO USA’s service will add another dimension to our robust offering by delivering a TV-quality mobile media experience that perfectly complements our existing voice and multimedia services.

MediaFLO uses a dedicated nationwide network to deliver aggregated TV-quality full-length programming and short form video clip content optimized for the mobile environment. This is the second Tier 1 carrier with which MediaFLO has formed a partnership, following Verizon Wireless. Earlier this year at the CES show in Las Vegas, Verizon Wireless demonstrated its service, which it will commercially launch later this quarter, on LG and Samsung devices.

Cingular Wireless, sorry, Wireless Service Powered by AT&T is now offering its powerful Push to Talk service on a pay-per-use basis; allowing customers to use the service with out the need of a additional monthly service charge.

Business and consumer customers across the country have been enjoying the enhanced features of our Push To Talk service for more than a year. This offer gives others the ability to easily enjoy interacting with friends, family or business acquaintances using the service.

Pay-per-use Push to Talk is charged per minute and begins when the PTT button on the phone is pressed to initiate the session to when the end key is pressed. If the end key is not pressed to end the call, it will automatically time-out after 30 seconds. Minutes round up to the nearest whole minute.

Unlimited Push to Talk is still available for $9.99 per month; or for those on Family Plans, $19.99 for up to five family members.

A Florida retiree has won a battle with Cingular Wireless over bills for about $31,000 in calls from Nicaragua he says he never made. The former bank executive says his bill is normally about 150 dollars and he says he hasn’t been to Nicaragua. Oliver DeSofi complained he was defrauded; the company disagreed, tried to collect and cancelled his account.

Cingular has now changed its mind and has credited the full amount plus an additional 120 dollars; but DeSofi says he doesn’t plan to return to Cingular.

Apple’s iPhone was the talk of the town after its January 9 launch. Industry observers were by and large impressed with the new device, praising its user interface, innovation, and seamless integration. But two senior ABI Research analysts — wireless research director Stuart Carlaw, and principal mobile broadband analyst Philip Solis — point out that while the iPhone is undoubtedly clever and capable, it is not correct to call it a smartphone, as much of the media has done.

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ACCESS has announced the new ACCESS Powered logo and announced it is renaming Palm OS to Garnet OS. The new ACCESS Powered logo replaces the Palm Powered logo and is now used with products from both ACCESS and PalmSource, Inc. (now known as ACCESS Systems Americas, Inc.).

ACCESS’ technology and software product portfolio cover a wide array of functions from comprehensive mobile platforms to integrated browser-based suite solutions that deliver state-of-the art full-Internet browsing and related services, to individual applications that support specific device and network functions. The new ACCESS Powered logo provides a way to easily identify those mobile phones and other devices that include software from the entire ACCESS product portfolio.

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