CTIA: Alltel makes messaging animated

SAN FRANCISCO – Merging social communication with entertainment, Alltel Wireless today added three-dimensional animated Avatars to its MMS greeting service. Subscribers can choose from a library of pre-produced greetings or templates to create their own messaging using 3D avatars, photos or voice. Powered by 3G mobile multimedia provider Vidiator, its Xend 3D hosted platform lets users add emoticons, personal audio tracks and digital signatures to their messages.

The Avatar-infused greetings start at 99 cents, and users will have a gallery of hundreds of cards to choose from at launch. Animated images from users’ own photos, combined with typed or audio messages, can be sent to mobile devices or emails of subscribers’ contacts. The service will be made available to any Alltel MMS subscriber with a video-enabled handset capable of playing 3GP files.

The service appears to be another way Alltel is broadening its appeal as consumers, especially younger ones, trend towards text messaging as their primary form of communication and social networking as a top entertainment source. At the end of June, the carrier expanded its My Circle social-network inspired calling plans to include unlimited text, video and picture messaging. Any subscriber signed up to a messaging plan of $7.00 per month or more now gets unlimited SMS and MMS. The carrier is hoping to squeeze an extra dollar or two out of its subscribers with the promise of personalization.

As Alltel introduces more applications for subscription, it has also adapted its data plans to allow for bundling of its most popular apps. Through its “pick a pack” promotion also announced today, Alltel will offer five Connect Packs to give consumers a choice of apps at up to 40% savings.

Starting at $9.99 per month, all the packs include mobile Web access with unlimited data minutes that can be used on Alltel TV, Celltop, ringtones or games. The most advanced pack, for $34.99 per month, also includes seven Alltel TV on demand channel, 10 radio channels, a ringback service subscription, as well as unlimited messaging, email and access to My Cast Weather, RealTone Jukebox subscription and Alltel Navigation. The packs are available to customers with postpaid rates plans of at least $39.99 per month.