Written by Kristin Dittmar
Tuesday, 10 January 2006

Keeping in line with recent mobile music announcements from major North American providers Verizon, Cingular, and Sprint Nextel, Mobile Action jumps into the fray with the launch of Handset Manager 9.2, mobile management software that links handsets to PCs and allows for management of music, photo, and video files.

Its key feature, Music Manager, zeroes in on the rapidly growing mobile music market segment by providing a means to manage MP3 files into usable playlists once they have been downloaded to a PC or directly to a handset. The software is available for handsets that are compatible with the three abovementioned carriers that now offer mobile music services. It is available for 26 multimedia-enabled handsets, including Nokia, LG, Motorola, Sanyo, Samsung, and Audiovox. Each of these handsets is compatible with Verizon, Cingular, and Sprint Nextel, as well as AllTel, T-Mobile, Metro, and Rogers. If the software is able to prove its mettle, it could become an important enhancement for customers looking to turn their handsets into mobile music players as more carriers enter the market.

Verizon recently announced that on Jan. 16 it will launch V Cast Music, a service that will allow customers to download songs to their handsets over the air or to their PCs via USB cable for minimal fees. Cingular launched a similar service in September that allows users of Motorola?s Rokr phone to download music files via Apple iTunes and also launched MobiRadio, a digital radio service, in November. Also in November, Sprint Nextel launched its mobile music service that allows users to download music solely over the air. (See Verizon Wireless Presents: Mobile Music, Take Three.)

Mobile music advancements such as these may help spark a fire under the U.S. market, which, globally, has been slow to sign on to the concept of listening to music via handset. A November report released by the U.K. research firm TNS Research found that while globally, 19 percent of handset owners listen to music on their cell phones, just four percent of users in the U.S. take advantage of mobile music features. (See U.S. Cellular Music Scene Has a Long Way to Go.) U.S. carriers would be well-served to take note of such reports and advancements and look to increase their mobile music offerings to keep up with global trends.

Handset Manager 9.2 includes several other improvements over the 9.0 version. Photo Wizard allows users to utilize 16 special effects tools with which to edit photos, including color inversion, glowing edges, sepia, black and white, dry brush, mosaic, and radial blur. Images can be customized in the phone?s photo gallery and displayed as wallpaper. Users will also be able to transfer video and multimedia files such as Java games and easily manage the contact directory by adding information including multiple phone and fax numbers, email, messenger and mailing addresses, and notes. The Synchronization Manager creates an interface with Microsoft Outlook and, overall, the software comes with an improved wizard that ensures ease of installation onto a PC.

Handset Manager 9.2 is accessible in three configurations with different connection options: the USB cable option retails at $39.99, the infrared connector option retails at $49.99 and the Bluetooth option retails at $39.99. It currently supports 20 different languages and is available in North America, Europe, Asia/Pacific, and the Middle East.

The software is an improvement on the 9.0 version that debuted in March 2005 and featured PC synchronization, enhanced support for Bluetooth accessories and new MP3 and video tools that allows users to mix music and movies for their handset. In 9.0, the MP3 clipper and editor enabled users to cut and mix MP3 files and video clips into ring tones and video composer enabled users to create and share movie files. SyncManager was also introduced, a feature that allows a one-click connection between a PC and handset with improved interface and Bluetooth. This and previous versions of Handset Manager support more than 600 mobile phone models, including the aforementioned handsets plus Sony Ericsson, Sharp, Panasonic, Siemens, and Kyocera.

In June, Mobile Action launched Handset Manager MA-720, an upgraded version of its Bluetooth Data Suite that catered to VoIP users by allowing for more rapid data transfers. (See Mobile Action Increases Cell Phone-to-PC Link Speed.)