Cingular Wireless today announced the availability of two enhanced services: Mobile Email and Mobile IM. Now, for the first time in the US market, Cingular customers can gain access to their existing email or IM accounts from AOL, MSN and Yahoo! through a set of simple, easy to use applications which can be accessed through a standard mass market phone.

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Both the Mobile Email and Mobile IM applications are available for free on a download basis through the Cingular MEdia Mall to Cingular customers who have a compatible phone. These new applications will give Cingular customers easy-to-use, pre-configured access to their email and IM accounts without the need to be tethered to their desktop or having to purchase a high-end, PDA-like device.

Mobile Email

Cingular's Mobile Email service is breaking new ground by bringing the top email communities together in one application on mass market devices. Cingular customers can now view and interact with their existing personal email accounts on AOL and AIM Mail services, as well as MSN Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail and SBC Yahoo! Mail. Using a downloadable email client powered by OZ and following a simple two-step initial login process, Cingular customers can enjoy an intuitive, graphically rich, email experience with a PC look-and-feel directly from their Cingular phone. Additionally, Cingular is making email access affordable by making Mobile Email available on mass market devices. Currently, Mobile Email is available for many of the most popular Motorola devices-the V180, V220, V400, V551 and RAZR V3. More compatible handsets will be added soon.

Mobile IM

With Mobile IM, Cingular customers now have simultaneous access to all three major IM communities - AOL's AIM service, Yahoo! Messenger and, the newest addition, MSN Messenger. Mobile IM features a tabbed interface with one-click switching between all three IM communities. Developed with Comverse and Thumbspeed, Cingular's enhanced downloadable Mobile IM service delivers a full-color, graphical interface that allows customers to send and receive instant messages, as well as check the availability of friends and family online.

Cingular is launching its Mobile IM service with a special promotion that will award a $10,000 grand prize to one lucky winner. Customers can enter the "IM Download & Win Promotion" simply by downloading the instant messenger application from the MEdia Net menu on compatible handsets. Upon completion of download, they will receive one entry into the promotion. Every instant message they send or receive during the promotion using their Cingular phone will give them another entry into the sweepstakes. The promotion, which began Oct. 17, will run though December 31, 2005.

The Mobile IM service is currently available for a wide range of popular Nokia (6230, 6620), Motorola (V180, V220, V400, V551, RAZR V3) and Sony Ericsson (Z500a and S710a) handsets.

Pricing

There are no additional monthly fees required to use Cingular's new services. Customers just pay kilobyte usage charges for Mobile Email, or a per message charge for IMs. For the best value, Cingular recommends customers select one of two value-priced service bundles: MEdia Basic or MEdia Works.

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