There is probably not one person in the civilized world who hasn’t heard of American Idol. From the US to Europe and all the way to Asia, American Idol can be heard from the lips of avid fans. Fox Network really lucked out with its version of the UK Pop Idol. Created by the now famous Simon Cowell and Simon Jones, American Idol has reached a level of popularity unmatched by even the NBA Playoffs and the Superbowl (check the Nielsen Ratings). It was supposed to be called Pop Idol but due to the increase in patriotic sentiment after the 9/11 attacks the name was changed to American Idol.

As with any other very successful ventures, American Idol has made available a plethora of merchandise. From T-shirts to caps and posters, anyone remotely interested in American Idol can find this merchandise with hardly any effort. Of course, today’s technologically inclined society has not failed to capitalize on the success of American Idol. The TV show itself makes use of advances in communications technology to involve the viewer in the show. As anyone would know, American Idol makes use of toll free numbers to take in viewer votes. One could also use text messaging to cast a vote.

Now you can take it one step further by putting American Idol on your cell phone. If seeing the show twice a week is not enough for you, then bring the show with you wherever you go. Hear the live performances of your favorite American Idol contestants every time your cell phone rings. With Cingular’s offer of live performances as ringtones, you can now get the latest performance less than 24 hours of the show’s broadcast. Cingular Wireless launched this offer in late March this year. You can also browse their available list of other performances for this season.

If you have been a fan for a long time, then you would appreciate the ringtones which feature hits by previous American Idol winners. Hits by Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Clay Aiken, and Fantasia Barrino are all available as ringtones these days. Of course, the all too familiar American Idol theme song has not been left out. If you love American Idol, chances are you are in love with Ryan Seacrest as well. Hear his voice any time you want by downloading the “Seacrest Out!” salute.

American Idol merchandise for the cell phone is not limited to ringtones. Instead of just dreaming of your favorite American Idol contestant, why not get a hold of his or her photo and set is as you cell phone’s wallpaper? You might even find a really good one and use it as your screen saver.

If that is not enough, you can buy the new LG F9100 American Idol Phone. This new cell phone is available through Cingular Wireless. It features a slider QWERTY keyboard, 5-way navigation joy stick, and weighs in at only 33.5 grams! The screen is wide enough to have the clearest view of your favorite American Idol contestants. Unfortunately the cell phone is currently available in the US only.

Ringtones.lt specializes in the different genres of ringtones including Cingular
ringtones and Cingular real music ringtones.

Study this before you go begin your cell phone comparisons so you can know what you want and what to ask for.

GENERAL TERMS

Dead zone: A geographical area where a cell phone service provider does not offer service.

Bluetooth: The technology that allows you to send information between your cell phone and your computer, blackberry, printer or digital camera.

Roaming: Use of your cell phone outside your primary coverage area. It usually costs more, but there are some plans that give you free roaming.

Band: This refers to the frequency at which the cell phone is transmitting. Different areas of the world generally use different bands for their cell phone service. So up until recently, American cell phones wouldn’t work in Europe because they were incompatible with the European cell phone band. Now, most phones are triband, meaning that they work on the three common frequencies.

DIGITAL NETWORKS

CDMA: Code Division Multiple Access. A network allowing many conversations to be carried over the same frequency by sending it in tagged groups. The cell phone codes are used to reconstruct the message at the receiving end. Many CDMA phones have analog backup, which should factor in to your cell phone comparisons if you will be using the phone in a rural area.

iDEN: Integrated Digital Enhanced Network. You will find this network used by a Nextel cell phone. It provides a walkie-talkie service, but without the proximity constraints. Workgroups who need easy access to each other should consider a Nextel cell phone plan.

GSM: Global System for Mobile Communications. This is the latest digital cell phone technology that allows global roaming. GSM phones are sometimes called “global phones”.

OTHER INTIMIDATING ACRONYMS

PCS: Personal Communications Services, is a catch-all term for digital mobile phone services with high frequencies.

WAP: Wireless Application Protocol: Allows you to receives web pages on your cell phone screen. Your cell phone has to have a WAP browser that can display web pages that are coded in WML, a markup language like HTML.

SIM: Subscriber Identification Module is part of the GSM phone. They are smart cards that contain information about the cell phone owner. If you take out your SIM and put it into someone else’s GSM cell phone, that phone will then have all of the information that your original phone had.

SMS Text Messages: Short Message Service lets you send text messages from 150 to 160 characters long typed into your cell using the keypad to other cell phones. Check to see if text messaging is free or if there is a charge per message.

MMS: Multimedia Messaging Service. This is the best Short Message Service available. It lets you send maps, animations, video, business cards and more to other phones that are set up with MMS.

3G: This stands for “third generation” phones. They are the latest and greatest in cell phones using superfast Internet connections to video conferencing etc.

This list should get you through the basics. Pretty soon you’ll be telling your friends about your 3G cell phone with Bluetooth and a GSM network. Don’t forget to refer them to this article.

About the Author:

All the information and advice you need about Cellphones and related issues visit ==>http://www.CellPhoneIntelligence.com

Overall customer satisfaction in the American cell phone market has increased significantly since this time last year, with most customers reacting well to new services, and aggressive pricing on bundled offerings.

The annual report from J.D. Power and Associates measures customer satisfaction with their wireless carriers, based on 42 specific measures, grouped into six key performance factors.

In order of importance, these factors include call performance and reliability (26%), customer service (17%), service plan options (17%), brand image (14%), cost of services (14%), and billing procedures (12%).

Over the past three years, satisfaction has fluctuated significantly as recent mergers and other industry changes have affected the experience of customers. And in the past year, the changes have apparently been for the better, with overall satisfaction climbing by 3%.

The largest factors influencing this improvement have been service plan options and cost, according to the report.

“It’s encouraging to see that industry-wide service improvements, especially expanded service offerings and aggressive service plan pricing have resulted in more positive overall wireless service experiences,” commented Kirk Parsons, who is the senior director of wireless services at J.D. Power and Associates. “However, consumer expectations will continue to rise as cell phone users increasingly rely on the communication functions of their cell phones beyond voice calling.”

T-Mobile ranks highest overall, with #1 performance across all six U.S. geographical regions. Five of these #1 rankings, however, were ties with Verizon Wireless, which is a close second place nationwide.

(Originally published by TeleClick.ca on April 24, 2006)

About the Author:

Jeremy Maddock is a well-known technology blogger who writes about cell phone carriers and the telecommunications industry in general.