Little Rock, Ark. — Alltel Wireless launched a low-priced QWERTY-keyboard phone, the LG-made Scoop, intended for heavy-messaging users.
LG’s Scoop is available through Alltel stores and on the carrier’s Web site for $59.95 after $40 mail-in rebate to new subscribers who get a two-year service contract and to existing subscribers on select rate plans.
Offered in three colors, the phone also includes preloaded AOL Instant Messenger and Yahoo Messenger, preloaded email application, a 1-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, a music player, a microSD memory slot with 4GB support, and user-customizable Celltop navigation, which lets consumers access the information they want from the phone’s top menu without having to navigate through multiple pull-down menus.
Celltop-equipped phones come preloaded with 10 cells, each one a category-specific half screen that features graphics and text. Consumers can choose the number of cells to display at one time.
The Scoop also accesses Alltel’s new Axcess Voice2TXT service, which is available on any Alltel SMS-capable phone. It converts incoming voicemails to text messages in the phone’s inbox, and it lets consumers store and forward converted voicemails as regular text messages.
Alltell subscribers who buy the Scoop and are on a qualifying rate plan also get the “My Circle” calling feature, which lets subscribers choose the five, 10 or 20 numbers they can call for free, no matter whether the number is for a landline phone or cellphone on another carrier’s network.
