Alltel gets Sharpcast

Alltel today introduced a partnership with Sharpcast to bring the latter's photo sharing service to its network. Subscribers with Windows Mobile smartphones from the cellular carrier, such as the Treo 700wx or UTStarcom PPC 6700, can sign up for an online account with Sharpcast that stores and synchronizes a photo collection as large as 5GB between a customer's cellphone and home computers: edited images on a home PC can automatically transfer to the phone through its mobile Internet connection, while photos taken from the phone will be available from the PC. Either device can see uploaded images from the Web and share them with outside viewers, Alltel says.

The Sharpcast service is currently free for any Alltel subscriber with a compatible phone, though the carrier notes that the technology is currently in beta and that the company may begin charging a subscription fee when the testing period ends. Sharpcast itself adds that suppport for additional, more mainstream phones will be available next year and should be reflected in Alltel's lineup.

By Electronista Staff