Daily Marauder

WIRELESS

Warner Bros. Domestic Television’s TMZ and TMZ.com launched an ad-supported, cross-carrier mobile website for the show, delivering breaking celebrity news and on demand video to handsets. The site, accessible by typing tmz.com into a web-enabled phone, was designed by Quattro Wireless, which will also serve ads, along with AOL subsidiary Platform A’s Third Screen Media. (Cynopsis 3/28)

AT&T is scheduled to launch its mobile-TV service in May and will use Qualcomm’s MediaFLO network to air live video to mobile phones. At least eight channels have agreed to provide programming, which includes full-length TV episodes and sporting events, the company said. (Multichannel News 3/27, The Wall Street Journal 3/28)

Loopt, a mobile social network that can be used to see where your friends are currently located, has partnered with Verizon to put its software on that carrier’s phones. It’s a big win for Loopt since Verizon has more location-aware handsets than any other carrier. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/28/loopt-embraced-by-verizon-starts-to-spread-its-wings/ 3/28)

North Carolina-based TapRoot Systems aims to bring software to market that will turn Windows Mobile and Symbian S60 smartphones into hot spots. The goal is to eventually have a handset support access for up to five Wi-Fi users, according to this article. (Google/Associated Press 3/26)