Ampd Arrives

By Tara Seals

Amp’d Mobile Inc. officially turned up its online portal today to usher in its soft launch.

The MVNO, provisioned on the Verizon Wireless EV-DO network, targets the young professional and youth markets with customizable multimedia services.

Beginning today, consumers can sign up for service and choose preferences for their handsets, to be shipped before the end of the year.

Ampd, first announced at CTIA Wireless 2005 last March, has built a fixed and mobile broadband product offering users can customize. Phones will be delivered unconfigured, but customers visit the Ampd Web site to select from a variety of free basics wallpaper, ringtones, screen savers and the like. Once the handset is built, users can purchase content channels with music, gaming, sports, lifestyle services and more, accessible both online via PC and via the Ampd proprietary mobile user interface. The company has announced deals with Universal Music Group, Snoop Dogg, THQ, Moderati, PRIMEDIA and others to date.

Prepaid and postpaid subscription and channel pricing was not announced, but rumor has it that music downloads will be sold for around 99 cents per song.

The first available phone is the Kyocera Jet multimedia slider handset, and Motorola Inc. will deliver Ampd handsets in the future.

Amp’d also announced this week that entertainment powerhouse MTV Networks will make an investment in it, and the two companies will collaborate on original made-for-mobile content exclusive to Amp’d, including interviews, behind-the-scenes clips and other short-form video programming.

In addition, Amp’d will offer URGE, MTV’s forthcoming digital music service, available to subscribers, and will deliver video clips, ringtones, ringbacks, screensavers, wallpapers and more from MTV brands, including VH1 and Comedy Central.

Ampd Mobile Inc. www.ampdmobile.com