Bell Mobility in the News—Week ending March 5, 2010

1. Zoompass launches wireless payment sticker – Now you can turn your Bell Mobility phone into a handy device to use on a shopping trip—and not just for calling your friends. By attaching the newly available Zoompass sticker to the back of your Bell Mobility phone and scanning it at the mobile payment systems now in use in gas stations, coffee shops and other Canadian retail locations, you’ll be able to pay for purchased items through a credit card linked to your Zoompass account. The sticker transmits a wireless signal and can also be used to send money to family and friends. Zoompass, developed through a partnership of Canada’s three major telecom companies, is betting that Bell Mobility customers will find the new payment system convenient because it uses something they nearly always have with them—their cell phone. (by Mathew Ingram Mar. 4, 2010, 1:42 pm PST – accessed 3/6/10 at http://gigaom.com/2010/03/04/zoompass-mobile-payment/)
   

2. Text IRISH to 20222 to give to the MDA – For the first time, Bell Mobility cell phone customers can make their contributions to the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s annual Shamrocks Against Dystrophy fundraising campaign using their cell phones. Just text IRISH to 20222 to make a $5 donation that will support research and help develop treatments for neuromuscular diseases that afflict more than a million individuals across the United States and Canada. This text giving option is a new twist on giving that’s available to the more than 250 million cell phone subscribers in the U.S. and Canada. Contributors will be awarded with custom wallpaper for their phones. (posted: 5:35 PM Mar 2, 2010, reporter: Ralph Hipp, 13 News, accessed at http://www.wibw.com/toyourhealth/headlines/86037452.html)

3. Bell Mobility’s Quench phone will soon feature Motoblur – If you’re a Bell Mobility customer with a Quench phone who’s tired of separately logging in to Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, help is on the way! Sometime in the first half of 2010, the Motoblur system will be available. This system will allow users to access their social networks all in one place without having to log in to each network separately. Social network messaging will be handled through a secure server and users will be able back up and restore their contacts and log-in information. (posted by digitalhome on March 3, 2010 – accessed 3/6/10 at http://www.digitalhome.ca/2010/03/motoblur-for-android-devices-coming-to-canada/)

4. Digital TV now available for Bell Mobility customers - CBC, CTV, Muchmusic, Treehouse, TSN, SportsNet, Live NHL hockey and the Weather Network are a few of the digital TV offerings now available in both English and French to Bell Mobility customers. The application can be downloaded to work on the Bell 3G network. An Apple iPhone OS 3.0 or greater is required and WiFi must be turned off for the digital TV programming to function. If you’re interested, you can look at the free preview before deciding whether this new service is for you. (by Mike on February 24, 2010 – in Apple News – accessed 3/6/10 at http://www.coated.com/bell-mobile-tv-apple-iphone-app-available/ via Coated – Coolest Gadget Reviews)

5. OneAPI pilot launched in Canada – The OneAPI initiative recently launched in Canada by GSMA will make it easier for new cell phone applications to reach Bell Mobility and other customers in the cell phone market. This initiative provides application developers with standardized application programming interfaces (APIs) for mobile networks, bringing a fragmented market closer by allowing them access to many operators through a single gateway rather than having to establish separate relationships with several operators. The pilot will initially focus on payment, messaging and location capabilities that will function seamlessly across different networks. The results of the Canadian pilot will be studied and used worldwide and will allow Bell Mobility and other cell phone customers to access innovative technologies sooner than is currently possible. (March 02, 2010 – by Deepika Mala, TMCnet contributor, accessed 3/6/10 at http://4g-wirelessevolution.tmcnet.com/broadband-stimulus/topics/mobile-networks/articles/77346-gsma-launches-commercial-pilot-canada-as-part-oneapi.htm)

And if you liked this article you can find another “Bell Mobility In the News” article next week at http://cellarama.com/articles/ – At Cellarama.com you’ll also find great contract-free Bell Mobility cell phones. Written by A. Thompson