With the simultaneous purchase of of visKeeper and visKey, customers will receive a 50% rebate on visKey. This special offer is only valid for transactions with sfr GmbH sales partner Handango and ends 06/09/2005. The offer is good on purchases of visKeeper and visKey for either Pocket PC or Palm OS.

Voice Genesis, a mobile messaging software company, announced the availability of Vemail, voice-enabled email for mobile phones, to customers of Alltel and other major wireless carriers. Vemail makes it faster and easier for customers to send and receive email messages because they can not only retrieve, read and type email, but they can also speak email messages. Speaking messages is estimated to be 20 times faster than typing on a mobile phone keypad, even with predictive text entry. Customers can download Vemail over the air directly into their mobile phones and enjoy unlimited use for a low monthly fee of about $5.

Expanding its content offerings beyond mobile television and short films, SmartVideo Technologies announced that five new games developed specifically for smartphones are now available for download and play. SmartVideo has purchased the intellectual property rights for these games from Pixiem, as well as the gaming engine necessary to build and distribute additional games under the SmartVideo brand. The first new games developed by SmartVideo will be available on June 15, 2005.

Nokia announced a pocket-size Web browser for wireless broadband networks, the Finnish firm’s first Linux-based device and its first portable product without a built-in mobile phone. The Nokia 770 Internet Tablet is designed for browsing and email functions, the phone maker said. The gizmo has a 4-inch horizontal touch screen with zoom and an on-screen keyboard. It can be connected to the Net either from a hot spot or using Bluetooth via a compatible mobile phone, Nokia said. The tablet runs on Linux-based Nokia Internet Tablet 2005 software edition, which includes desktop Linux and open-source technologies.

ABC News and NBC News each plunged into the world of podcasting on Wednesday with plans to offer TV newscasts as on-demand audio programs over the Web. Podcasting software allows listeners to download audio shows for free, play them on computers and digital-music players when they want and subscribe to updates. The term comes from Apple Computer’s iPod, the digital-music player that’s taken the consumer electronics market by storm.

iAnywhere Solutions, a subsidiary of Sybase, launched a beta version of a new travel tool application for its AvantGo mobile Internet service. Building on the recently upgraded version of AvantGo 2005, this application will allow busy travelers immediate access to the information they need most–itineraries, weather, city guides, and door-to-door directions and mapping. The new travel application enhances AvantGo’s unparalleled personalized user experience and demonstrates the service’s commitment to provide its millions of users with the content they want–anytime, anywhere.

Mobile television company SmartVideo announced the availability of content from E! Entertainment Television direct to smartphones. As part of SmartVideo’s mobile video offering–which includes news, weather, sports, comedy, film shorts, and more–smartphone users will now have access to the latest celebrity and entertainment news content, including clips from E! News, a daily news program that covers the latest in entertainment news and information; The Awful Truth, hosted by E!’s Ted Casablanca who dishes out the latest celebrity dish; Red Carpet Moments highlighting award shows, movie premieres and parties; and Wild On! spotlighting the trendiest hotspots and best parties across the globe.

Mini-Keyboard 1.0 by ANIMATORsoft is a new virtual keyboard for Palm handhelds that significantly increases the speed and accuracy of typing. The program renders external keyboards and “graffiti-typing” essentially unnecessary. The program has two major advantages, the first is a new QWERTY layout with large keys. This layout does not take long getting used to and even inexperienced users report their typing speed increasing dramatically right after conversion. The second advantage of Mini-Keyboard is an option of opening horizontal (landscape) virtual keyboard. This keyboard features regular layout, but because it’s located horizontally, it’s almost twice as big and therefore much easier to use. Mini-Keyboard works as a popup window and can be used with a variety of Palm applications, like Memos, Calendar, Tasks, Mail, SMS, as well as with any third-party software that user regular text input fields.

Belgian mobile phone operator Proximus and Research In Motion (RIM) announced the launch of the BlackBerry 7100v business phone and BlackBerry Enterprise Server v4.0, expanding Proximus’ existing range of BlackBerry products in order to offer more choice to mobile customers. The BlackBerry 7100v from Proximus is the first of its kind available in Belgium, delivering the power of BlackBerry within a sleek and stylish mobile phone design. In addition to push-based email and phone capabilities, the BlackBerry 7100v also features support for text messaging, browser, organizer and corporate data applications in a compact, integrated device.

Globe, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications and Research In Motion (RIM) announced the availability of BlackBerry Connect for the Sony Ericsson P910i to Globe Telecom customers in the Philippines. BlackBerry Connect enables P910i users to connect to proven and popular BlackBerry services featuring push-based wireless technology. BlackBerry provides an efficient and reliable communications platform that automatically delivers emails to and from a wireless device. The Sony Ericsson P910i will support BlackBerry services, while maintaining the existing P910i experience and functionality.