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New Media News Every Morning

AT&T unveils powerful web-based parental control feature for wireless service

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att.jpgAT&T Inc. announced an innovative new web-based feature that allows parents to stay in touch with their children while controlling the children’s mobile phone use. AT&T Smart Limits for Wireless is a feature-rich service that allows a parent to set usage limits on a child’s talk time, text messages, instant messages and downloads, manage how and when a child can communicate, restrict access to mobile Web sites and allocate minutes among users of shared wireless plans. Parents also have the flexibility to go online and change the limits at any time.

“AT&T Smart Limits for Wireless enables parents to provide their children with the safety and convenience of wireless service while setting sensible boundaries for its use,” said David Christopher, chief marketing officer for AT&T’s wireless unit. “AT&T Smart Limits for Wireless gives parents peace of mind in knowing they will be able to keep in touch with their children but will avoid unexpected overage charges on their bill.”

Originally posted on September 4, 2007 @ 11:08 am

SpinVox Voice Message powers Truemors.com

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truemors.jpgSpinVox announced that its voice-to-text conversion system is now supporting Truemors.com, the news and social networking site that allows people to post time-sensitive rumors, news and sightings. SpinVox enables Truemors’ users to speak entries into any phone which then appear as text on the Truemors site.

“Posting content in real-time is a key to the success of Truemors. News happens anytime and anywhere, most often it’s nowhere near a keyboard and Internet access. SpinVox extends our reach so users can ‘speak’ a sighting or a piece of breaking news into any phone, enhancing the immediate nature of the site and its value,” said Guy Kawasaki, founder of Truemors.

SpinVox currently enables Six Apart bloggers to post entries simply by speaking into a phone and the text appears on their blog sites. SpinVox has also announced a deal with internet calling company Skype, which, once launched, will enable its users to have all their voice messages converted and sent directly to their cell phones as an SMS when they are not at their PC.

Originally posted on September 4, 2007 @ 9:53 am

Shutterfly welcomes Sony ImageStation customers

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shutterfly.jpgShutterfly, Inc., an Internet-based social expression and personal publishing service, announced that it has been selected by Sony Electronics as an online photo service provider for ImageStation members with the phase out of that service.

With this agreement, current Sony ImageStation members will be able to easily transfer photos from their ImageStation accounts to a Shutterfly account with just a few simple clicks.

“We have confidence that the exceptional customer service Sony has provided to its users in the past will continue during this transition with Shutterfly,” said Steve Haber, senior vice president of the Digital Imaging and Audio Division of Sony Electronics.

Originally posted on September 4, 2007 @ 9:45 pm

Glu launches classic Atari game for mobile

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viewmedia.jpgGlu Mobile Inc., a major publisher of mobile games, today announced the launch of the classic Atari arcade hit Asteroids, for mobile phones. The original arcade game released by Atari in 1979 is among the most recognized and successful arcade games of all time. 28 years later, the classic retro space shooter has been reinvented specifically for the mobile platform, with all new enhancements including innovative new themes, bonuses and gameplay modes, as well as “classic mode” which gives gamers the gameplay and graphics true to the original game.

“Asteroids captures the timeless energy and addictive gameplay of the original arcade game, a true reminder of the hours spent at the arcade, but also gives gamers completely new themes, gameplay and graphics that take advantage of today’s technology,” said Jill Braff, senior vice president of global publishing, Glu. “Gamers young and old love retro arcade classics like this one and people will be pleasantly surprised by the game’s modern depth and sophistication.”

Originally posted on September 4, 2007 @ 10:39 am

Crushpad and Wine Library launch community-generated wine

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crushnet.jpgCrushpad today announced that it has teamed with Wine Library TV’s Gary Vaynerchuk to create the world’s first community-generated wine. Vaynerchuk’s legion of 30,000 weekly video podcast viewers dubbed Vayniacs– will take their passion for wine beyond collecting and consuming, and now actively participate in the creation of their own “Vayniac Cab.”

Crushpad is working with Vaynerchuk and his fans to bring the concept to life, sourcing fruit from several of Napa’s top vineyards; providing guidance from its winemaking team; and processing, aging and bottling the luxury-class Cabernet at its urban San Francisco winery.

Participants in the populist winemaking project will participate in the process through:

• Hands-on harvest activities at Crushpad’s winery, including crushing, fermenting and pressing. All the action will be captured on video and shared on Crushnet.com, Crushpad’s online winemaking community.

• Real-time updates and opportunities to connect with other members of the Vayniac Cab group via Crushnet.com.

• Web cams, videos and photos that capture the action and provide a “crush course” in winemaking.

Originally posted on September 4, 2007 @ 3:28 pm