BUSINESS BRIEFS
New BlackBerry thinner, loaded
Advertiser Staff and News Services
NEW YORK — BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. today unveiled a new version of its top-end e-mail phone for business users, replacing the signature side navigation wheel with a front trackball that first appeared last year on the consumer-oriented BlackBerry Pearl.
The BlackBerry 8800 will be offered in the United States by AT&T Inc.'s Cingular Wireless starting Feb. 21, priced at $300 with a two-year contract commitment.
RIM is billing the 8800 as the thinnest BlackBerry to date, measuring 0.55 inch from front to back. Other features include the ability to pick up GPS signals for location tracking, a media player, and an external storage slot for removable microSD memory cards.
OMNIFONE MUSIC: 'ALL YOU CAN EAT'
BARCELONA, Spain — Omnifone, a British mobile music company, will begin offering a new music service today aimed at cell phone users who crave music while on the go, in the first of what is expected to be many challenges against Apple Inc.'s upcoming iPhone and its ubiquitous iTunes Store.
The London-based company said its new MusicStation will be an "all you can eat" service that will let users — in Europe first, but with plans to expand elsewhere — download songs from dozens of major music labels for a weekly cost starting at 1.99 pounds, or about $3.88, per week.
Omnifone said it has signed partnerships with 23 mobile network operators with a customer base of 690 million subscribers in 40 countries.
YAHOO IMAGE-ADS AIM FOR CELL USERS
SUNNYVALE, Calif. — Yahoo Inc. will sell branded advertising aimed at mobile phone customers outside the United States as part of the Internet powerhouse's efforts to build other revenue sources beyond the Web.
The new mobile marketing platform that will make its debut today will deliver image-based ads to mobile phones in Mexico, Canada and 16 other countries. The company launched a similar push in the United States in November.
Yahoo said it has lined up commitments from several major advertisers, including Intel Corp. and PepsiCo Inc.
