If you’ve been putting off buying an iPhone waiting for Apple’s 3G version, your wait will soon be over.

Steve Jobs holds a first generation iPhone.

Analysts said they expect the 3G iPhone to be released on June 9, 2008. Apple is expected to drop the price of the 2.5G model to between $249.00 - $349.00.

Of course, connectivity will depend on network capability and capacity on AT&T’s wireless network. They sell and provide wireless services for the iPhone. There’s no word on the expected retail price of the 3G iPhone.

Sony Ericsson slipped a bit in Q1 as it relates to the mobile phone industry. The company announced a 47% slide in profits as they became fifth in total market share. Primarily the company blamed lack of demand on the fact they tend to sell higher priced models than their competitors.

“We see that the demand on the high end has softened,” Sony Ericsson sales chief Anders Runevad told a conference call, adding that consumers were becoming more cautious.
The company, owned by Japan’s Sony Corp and Sweden’s Ericsson, sold 22.3 million phones in the quarter — up just 2 percent from a year earlier — and lost market share to faster-growing Nokia and South Korean rivals.
Sony Ericsson said it lost 1 percentage point in market share to 8 percent, a fall that meant it ceded the No. 4 spot in the handset market to South Korea’s LG Electronics.

In contrast, Nokia, the number on phone maker, has seen an increase in market share as they’ve catered to the lower end in emerging markets.

Nokia mobile phone users in France now have access to the Nokia Music Store. Nokia’s music store has over 2.5 million titles from top French and International artists.

“The music industry isn’t just about selling songs; it is also-and especially-a way to share new musical experiences. Nokia aims to provide the best music experience by building services into its mobile devices to satisfy users who want to be able to access their music collections anytime, anywhere, and for a reasonable price,” explains Eric Munier, music activities manager, Nokia France.

“The opening of the Nokia Music Store will also be an opportunity to introduce Nokia to the music industry in France. We look forward to cooperating with French labels and artists. In this context, the Nokia Music Store will allow artists to talk about their musical world and what they’re working on. Free songs will also be available each week in order to discover new talents.” continued Munier.

Downloads will cost EUR1.00 per song and albums will start at EUR10.00. With a EUR10.00 monthly subscription, users will have unlimited access to listen to the entire catalog on their PCs.

Nokia is the proud winner of the TIPA (Technical Image Press Association) “Best Mobile Imaging Device In Europe” for 2008.

“The Nokia N82 is a compact multimedia computer that integrates GPS, web, video and music functions around a 5 Megapixel camera with a high-speed, f/2.8 autofocus lens,” the TIPA jurors said. “This Carl Zeiss Tessar focuses from 10cm to infinity and produces sharp prints up to and
beyond A4 size. Several scene modes are also available to optimize the Nokia N82 for great images, whether shooting portraits or night shots,” TIPA continued. Other Nokia N82 features highlighted by the jurors are the Xenon flash and 20X digital zoom.

The Nokia N82 supports microSD memory cards of up to 8GB which allow the device to hold up to 3600 high-resolution pictures, 5 hours of high quality video capture, up to 6000 songs or all of the available regions for the Nokia Maps application.

To find out more about the N82, please visit Nokia.com

AT&T recently announced that their profit for the first quarter was up due to increased sales in their wireless division while they saw declines in traditional LAN phone lines for the same period.

AT&T’s first-quarter profit rose 21.5 percent to $3.46 billion, or 57 cents per share, from $2.85 billion, or 45 cents a share, in the same quarter a year earlier.

Profit before items, such as merger-related costs and severance charges for recently announced job cuts, totaled 74 cents and matched Wall Street expectations, according to Reuters Estimates.

Quarterly revenue rose 6.1 percent to $30.7 billion, compared with $30.6 billion expected by analysts.

AT&T is the exclusive retailer (and service provider) for the Apple iPhone.

If you enjoy listening to music, Nokia is teaming up with Sony BMG for ‘Nokia Comes With Music.’

“As one of the leading major music companies in the world, our collaboration with SONY BMG means we can offer a huge range of fantastic music from both international and local artists via Comes With Music,” said Tero Ojanpera, executive vice president and head of the Nokia Entertainment
and Communities business. “It’s great to have them on board as we move forward with bringing our unlimited music bundle to the market. Nokia Comes With Music is an innovation that
not only helps people discover and enjoy music, but also expand the overall business and revenue for the benefit of artists, labels and other rights holders.”

Consumers that purchase a Nokia Comes With Music device will have a year of access to Sony BMG’s extensive music catalog. They can also download these tracks to their computer. After a year, they’ll be able to keep these tracks on either/both their computer and mobile phone. They can also be transferred to a new compatible device.

Look for “Nokia Comes With Music” devices coming soon.

The Nokia 5320 XpressMusic is the newest mobile phone being offered by Nokia, the world’s largest maker of mobile phones. The Nokia 5320 XpressMusic is a phone that should appeal to the modern consumer, who places an emphasis on crisp digital playback, and “Web 2.0″ features that keep them connected to the internet, and their social networks.

The Nokia 5320 XpressMusic features a dynamic design with a heavy emphasis on 3G social entertainment capabilities. With the innovative new voice-controlled Say and Play feature, mobile phone users can merely say the name of a favorite artist or song to automatically play it. Offering an array of additional features, the Nokia 5320 XpressMusic device includes dedicated XpressMusic keys, a 3.5mm audio jack, up to 24 hours of playback time, an audio chip for hi-fi sound quality, extendable memory up to 8GB, HS-USB for fast music transfer and HSDPA for fast access to data.

The Nokia 5320 XpressMusic is coming in the third quarter of 2008 and is expected to retail for around 220 EUR.

According to reports, Apple has agreed to sell unlocked iPhones in Italy without a mandatory two year contract.

Telecom Italia Mobile (TIM) will offer Apple’s upcoming 3G iPhone without a contract and will instead share revenue from the Apple’s Smartphone. Many Italians prefer prepaid cellular plans, so this will give consumers in the country another choice for an affordable calling plan with a snazzy phone.

TIM is said to have exclusive rights for six months to sell the unlocked iPhone that will operate with any 3G network.

The 3G iPhone is expected to hit markets as early as June 2008.

Tracfone prepaid cards are one way of keeping your cell phone bill under control. Tracfones are a great alternative for someone that would like the convenience of a mobile phone without the hassle of a long standing mobile contract or having their credit checked.

Tracfone Prepaid cards work exclusively with Tracfone mobile phones. These prepaid calling cards are available by minute. They offer prepaid cards for 60 minutes, 120 minutes, 200 minutes and 450 minutes.

Tracfone prepaid cellular calling cards are available at 70,000 retailers. Consumers that want to purchase additional airtime can re-up by calling 1-800-867-7183, contacting via a registered Tracfone
or on the web.

LG recently announced their ‘Rally For Music’ contest. This contest aims to bring together young people to inspire music talent.

“LG Mobile Phones is a leading maker of music handsets and we appreciate the importance of music to our customers’ everyday lives,” said Ehtisham Rabbani, vice president of product strategy and marketing for LG Mobile Phones. “The Rally for Music program is one of the many ways we are
getting involved in music and music education. We look forward to crowning a winner and giving talented musicians an avenue to showcase their work.”

Participants in the contest will be able to create personal profiles and share music with others. Prizes for this contest include LG televisions, MP3 players and mobile phones. The grand prize winner will be chosen in a live competition held in New York City in August 2008. The prize for the winner is $15,000.00.

To find out more or to participate in LG’s Rally For Music contest, please visit their website.