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So we’re about to head out to the Smartphone Summit at CTIA 2008 — stay tuned for coverage during the day. But first, a new service from MySpace. The “world’s most popular social network” has partnered with mBlox to offer text message alerts of friends requests, new messages, and other MySpace features. This deal covers Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, Alltel, U.S. Cellular, and Virgin Mobile — though users from other services can also sign up for the text alerts at MySpace.com.
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Over the past few years, we’ve seen heavy restrictions come down on when you can and when you can’t use your mobile phone. The most notable instance is while driving. Many states have barred any kind of cell phone use while driving without the use of a hands-free headset. Other states, though, let you travel their streets with your phone propped on your ear. Kathryn over at Dial A Phone goes over various mobile phone restrictions around the world. You can check out her whole post. It’s worth it. Here are some highlights:
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There is no way to truly capture the rabidity of the social networking revolution. It’s to the point where it’s almost absurd to hear that someone doesn’t have either a MySpace or Facebook account. Of course, this is good for social networks. The more members one has, the more powerful it becomes. That means a greater chance for people to find old friends, make business contacts, or just find others with similar interests. As we see an increased emphasis on data services on mobile phones, so have we seen many social networks adapt themselves to a mobile format. This means that people can carry around these potentially powerful social networks wherever they go. So how do you go social on your mobile?
Read the rest of The complete guide to going social on your cell…

Every so often, we see a survey on mobile banking. It’s been introduced on certain carriers for certain banks, but it hasn’t really caught on in the mainstream yet. Many people still harbor security fears concerning the Internet in general, and combining it with a cell phone spells worse trouble. Really, I don’t blame them. If you lose your cell phone, you can be really prone to identity theft. But it seems that users are starting to get over their fears, as a recent poll finds an increasing number interesting in mobile banking.
Read the rest of New survey on mobile banking is optimistic…

Social networking has been the phenomenon of the past few years. While many people use it for recreational purposes, there is a growing trend of social networking use in a business environment. Research In Motion’s CEO Jim Balsillie has said that the future of the BlackBerry lies in social networking. Many of our business tools of today, including instant messaging, started as recreational social activities. Of course, there’s already a business social network: LinkedIn, which is 19 million professionals strong. And now they have the opportunity to grab more, as they’re entering the mobile world.
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So your cell phone can already make calls, send and receive text messages, exchange pictures and video clips, take pictures, listen to music, watch movies, send email, surf the Internet, and hell, if you really wanted it to, probably act as the remote control for your TV. So it only makes sense that it would eventually run a text-to-speech application. It’s called K-NFB Reading Technology, and it’s going to drop on the Nokia N82. And it’s pretty damn cool.
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Did you know that just 13 percent of U.S. cell phone subscribers use the Web from their phones? That seems kinds of low if you live in a heavily populated area. It seems everyone nowadays is running around with a BlackBerry or an iPhone, or some other smartphone. We can count the reasons why this is so, but it all boils down to price and ease of access. People don’t want to pay $30 per month on top of their normal cell bills for Internet access, and if they do they want it to run like their desktop Internet.
Read the rest of Change up your Internet interface with Yahoo! Go…

We always thought camera phones were completely unnecessary. Yeah, we read an article or two about how they were actually useful, and not in that “hey, look what we just did” kind of way. We never thought, though, that it would one day save someone’s life. In Australia yesterday, three hikers were saved because of their camera phone. They were lost in a Victorian national park, and the pictures they took were “instrumental in rescuers finding the trio.”
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There are tons of handsets on various operators that have access to YouTube. But few of them, other than the iPhone, offer a full-featured YouTube. Helio has joined the iPhone’s ranks, though, as it should. The Ocean — a device we’ve said is as good or better than the iPhone — now offers a full-feature YouTube application. Not only does this allow users to access more videos, but it also allows for two-click uploading. Plus, you can use the on-board camera for video and upload directly that way.
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There’s tons of streaming content out there, from small clips a la YouTube to full episodes of television shows to sports broadcasts. But what we haven’t seen are movies. Blockbuster, though, is looking to change that. They’re in talks with all the major carriers in the U.S. in regard to partnering for this streaming movie service.
Read the rest of Blockbuster movies on your mobile?…