Forget personalized ringtones and ringbacks, the next tween obsession has arrived in the form of Push Ringer, which "enables a caller to push an outgoing ringtone to the receiving phone -- allowing the caller, not the called person -- to set the tone." We're assuming you're either elated or sighing mightily after reading that, but there's 7.7 million reasons why you wish you would've implemented it first. A group of deep-pocketed investors have sunk $7.7 million into Emotive Communications' flagship idea, which temporarily overrides the phone's preset ringer, and moreover, allows the recipient of the surprise sound-byte to "instantly buy a copy" if they so desire. Notably, this very service has already taken the VoIP world over, as Skype users are probably more familiar with the RingJacker concept. Now, who's down for inventing the Push Ringer Reverser to send a "you got punk'd" clip back at the egotistical sender?

[Via The Raw Feed]

Sure, there's always been that painstakingly slow method of manually / batch converting your shows to play nice on your Windows Mobile-powered phone, but Makayama's Mobile TV Center is here to make everyone's lives (at least those with Windows MCE) at a lot easier. Once you've installed the software on your PC, you simply select your handsets from the (admittedly clean looking) MCE-inspired interface, and everything else is reportedly "automatic." Scheduled / previously recorded shows will be converted in the background to a video format optimized for your mobile's screen, and once you connect your device via USB, the files are copied over and ready to view. While miracle apps like these always sound terrific in theory, we wouldn't dive right in without a thorough test drive, so be sure and hit the read link for a very welcome demo before throwing down your £18.80 ($37).

[Via CoolSmartphone]

Today's discerning consumer can no longer be satisfied by a mere peel-and-win game on their box of fries, now it takes 10 flat-screen TVs and a sound system to keep those burger lovers coming back. McDonalds has started to roll out a new m-Venue system to franchisees, which provides music and videos to customers via text-messaging and WiFi. Users can select the video content they'd like burned into their retina by the in-store big screens via text message while they chow down on fries, and can purchase ringtones, video, wallpaper and games for download as well. This new effort definitely isn't the first attempt at getting customers into McDonalds for more than the meals, but positive reaction at pilot stores might mean this idea is a bit less ill-fated.

[Via The Wireless Report]

That MySpace and Yahoo integration wasn't the only thing Helio rolled out for their user media services today; in addition to the leaned MySpace interface and customized Yahoo services portal, Helio users with the All-In Membership will get a slew of other things to keep them occupied when constantly fidgeting with the Kickflip's hinge. There's Helio On Top (H.O.T.) access, which is a simple 10-channel news and info aggregation feature, MMS picture and video messages, which can be sent up to 1MB per; free streaming video from major networks like MTV, Comedy Central, ABC, etc., $2.49 music video downloads (uh, what?), and of course those purchased, "gifted," or "begged" games, which are going for $5.99 to buy, or $0.99 to "rent" on your phone for a week. (The gifting and begging thing isn't only limited to games though, and can be applied to any purchasable content as well.) Not a whole lot in there that we're super interested in, ourselves; but you know us, we're more the Bluetooth DUN, A2DP, SlingPlayer, data overload types more prone to exploring mobile media on our own than holding a carrier's (or MVNO's) hand.

Yeah, we know, we're getting a little granular on this one, but remember LG's then-unnamed swiveling DVB-H handset? The one with the weird vaguely W300i-like buttons? Well, it was officially announced in Italy as the U900, and will see service through Hutchison's 3 network with UMTS service and, of course, their exclusive Italian DVB-H broadcast rights to the World Cup. The 1.3 megapixel and VGA cameras won't hurt, nor the 58MB internal flash, but what will, however, is a 3 hour battery lifespan watching video. That's still more than enough for a match, though, which is all it really needs to be, we suppose.

Along with the N93 and N73, Nokia just launched their new N72 multimedia tri-band GSM / EDGE cellphone. This Symbian S60 handset features a 2.1-inch, 176 x 208, 262k color display, Bluetooth 2.0, and 20MB internal memory expandable via RS-MMC. Media support includes a digital music player with dedicated music keys supporting MP3 and AAC playback, an FM Radio with Visual Radio support, and throws in a 2 megapixel shooter with integrated flash capable of CIF video capture at 15fps. Nokia is positioning this pup as a "multimedia computer" which is a bit of a stretch, but we'll play along for now. Expected in Pearl Pink or Gloss Black sometime in June 2006. More pics on the flip.

[Via PhoneScoop]

It's less of a mobile TV service than it is a convenient way to receive infomercials on the go, but VDC seems to be the new player in town either way. The service transmits "live cable TV" to your Windows Mobile or Windows XP system, with data rates up to 3000Kbps, though more EV-DO-friendly speeds are available as well. The subscription is a mere $12 a month, but the 20 channels of "cable" programming are fairly awful, including such gems as "The Pentagon Channel" and "ShopNBC." The service just went live today, and has more channels planned, including "Celebrity Shopping Network" and "AP Newswires & Newsbites." Where do we sign up?

[Via Windows For Devices]

Let's face it, with more and more content being created for the third screen (i.e. your cellphone, handheld, portable, multimedia device, etc. -- whatever you want to call it), it was obviously time for the Emmys to create yet another award for a new kind of small screen: the award for outstanding original programming for computers, cellphones and other hand-held [sic] device (or that's what we understand it's called, anyway, they didn't officially acknowledge it on their site so far as we could tell). So whose programming's up for an Emmy? You've got Fox Mobile's 24: Conspiracy, MTV's mtvU Stand In, AOL's Live 8 on AOL, Orrin and Jerry Zucker's It's Jerry Time!, CB Films' Sophie Chase, and interactive puzzle program Stranger Adventures. To be announced April 22 with the Daytime Emmies, the Academy will be reviewing and voting on the nominees with what we can only hope is the utmost reverence and sincerity for the category, similar to how we imagine they vote on the Emmy for Sound Mixing - Nonfiction Programming or Outstanding Game Show Host.