Virgin Mobile USA said June 10 that it launched a prepaid mobile Internet service that uses a Novatel Wireless-powered 3G modem.
The service, called Broadband2Go, is a wireless connection on the Sprint Nationwide Network. The 2-inch-long modem will be available at Best Buy Mobile stores this month for $149.99 and at airport kiosks this summer.
Broadband2Go has no annual contract, monthly subscription, activation fee or roaming charges.
A $20 prepaid card allows purchases of 250 megabytes for 30 days, for 12 hours of Web browsing. Other data plans are available at $10, $40 and $60.
According to market research firm Infonetics Research, sales of mobile broadband cards topped $4.1 billion worldwide in 2008; and advisory firm IDC says the 3G mobile broadband market is expected to grow to $10.4 billion in 2012.
Novatel develops wireless broadband access solutions based on 3G and 4G WCDMA technologies. Virgin Mobile says it has 5 million customers.
Traded on Nasdaq under the symbol NVTL, Novatel recently reported a first-quarter net loss of $2.5 million on revenue of $70.4 million. That compared with a profit of $1.8 million on revenue of $87.8 million in the same period of 2008.
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Free Download A Hit:
UC San Diego officials say the recent launch of the Apple iPhone application was a success.
The free download provides students and other cell phone users with information about courses and faculty and shows videos from the university’s YouTube channel. UCSD says it’s the nation’s first public university to offer this type of application.
It also features an interactive campus map that pinpoints the classroom of each course, and provides the ability to call, e-mail or text message class instructors.
Triton sports fans can also look up the latest UCSD sporting news, schedules and scores.
The application debuted with 2,100 downloads to iPhones and iPod Touches in its first two days, June 9 and 10.
Two weeks ago, the application was listed among the top 10 educational iPhone downloads for the week, UCSD says.
By the end of 2009, school officials say the app will be available for other mobile phones and will feature a wide breadth of content, including podcasts of lectures.
The new application was developed for UCSD by Terriblyclever Design, a Palo Alto-based startup formed by two Stanford University undergraduate students who designed the original application for Stanford and Duke University.
Go to iphone.ucsd.edu for more information about the application and download instructions.
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Texting Toward Bigger Crowds:
The San Diego County Fair and San Diego Asian Film Festival rolled out a pair of announcements last week touting their ability to reach and interact with customers using mobile marketing via cell phones.
The 10th annual film festival, set for Oct. 15-29, has partnered with Globaltel Media of San Diego to provide an SMS marketing program to keep moviegoers, directors and other participants informed about movie schedules, discounts, special event invitations, video clips and interviews on their cell phones.
The county fair at the Del Mar Fairgrounds is partnering with locally based Nine Multimedia. It says fans can text the word “SDFAIR” to 85800 to join its mobile mailing list and receive special promotions on their cell phones. They’ll receive mobile alerts about fair specials, concerts, directions and schedules. The county fair, which continues through July 5, is the fifth largest U.S. fair, with 1.2 million visitors annually.
The San Diego Asian Film Festival, which attracts 30,000 filmgoers, says it’s the first film festival to use SMS marketing, which combines two-way texting with electronic contentlike movie trailers.
Globaltel and the festival staff are still planning the details, but a film festival spokeswoman says the service is built on Globaltel’s business platforms , Mobile Campaign Manager, Call2Action and Alirti. Mobile Campaign Manager is an online portal where SMS campaigns are managed. Call2Action allows users to text in a keyword to receive more information or a mobile coupon; for example, text “movie times” or “free drink” to 53137 for showtimes or a soda coupon. And Alirti allows users to receive audio, photo or video files via text.
Globaltel says the service will allow the festival to build a loyal following and strong brand awareness, and generate revenue through sponsorships and advertising.
Send technology news items to Ned Randolph at nrandolph@sdbj.com.