The CTIA conference even includes a wireless fashion show. Image from Flickr.

No matter if you’re the bigwig executive of a wireless company or just a techie who loves the latest wireless devices, the excitement about CTIA’s yearly convention is ramping up. Set to start tomorrow, March 23, the CTIA conference promises announcements from Motorola, AT&T and Sprint as well as discussions on everything from “Monetizing Mobile” to state and federal public policy. If you couldn’t get a quick payday soon enough to go to the conference, you can still follow it at CTIA.org

What is the CTIA?

CTIA is the shortened version of CTIA-The Wireless Association. The group is a nonprofit membership organization that represents wireless communications in general. Wireless providers, device manufacturers and third-party product companies are all members of CTIA.

The CTIA lobbies in local, state and federal governments on behalf of members. CTIA also helps create voluntary industry standards (such as charging port standards) and guidelines. In general, CTIA is the head of the wireless industry – while it takes no legislative actions, it does help support standardization and development of wireless tools.

The CTIA conference

During most of the year, most of us don’t hear anything about the CTIA. However, in March each year, CTIA hosts an international wireless conference that draws headlines across the country. CTIA is where many wireless manufacturers choose to announce their new devices, and service providers announce what they will be providing for those devices. The 2010 CTIA conference is in Las Vegas, Nev., and seems to be set to have an exciting lineup of announcements.

Motorola i1 at the CTIA conference

While nothing has yet to be officially announced, Engadget spotted billboards right outside of the Las Vegas convention center where CTIA is set to be held, that advertise the Motorola i1. The billboards use the catchphrase “Grab Life By The Calls” and has a picture of Mike Rowe (of the Discovery Channel’s Dirty Jobs).

The i1 phone is set to combine Google’s Android operating system with Motorola’s Push-To-Talk technology. The touchscreen and WiFi capabilities give it functionality, and the fact that it meets military 810F standards means it can hold up to some of the worst abuse users and Mother Nature can throw toward the Motorola i1.

Dell Aero at the CTIA conference

Not all phone manufacturers or service providers have been as forthcoming with announcements as Motorola. There is a rumor that AT&T will be announcing their contribution to the smartphone market at CTIA. If they do, it will most likely be the Aero. A renamed Mini3 – a smartphone AT&T has had running in China and Brazil for a while, this smartphone will most likely also be running a “skinned” version of Google’s Android operating system. AT&T will also most likely be highlighting their soon-to-be offered Palm Pri and Palm Pri Pixie smartphones.

More than just smartphones

The CTIA conference is about more than just announcing the newest smartphones, though. ANYData wireless is set to announce new wireless tracking technologies. There are also very strong rumors that some wireless service providers will be using CTIA to announce their 4G phones – increasing the speed of wireless communications across the United States.

Of course, no matter what technologies are announced, general consumers may have to wait a few months before they purchase the latest and greatest – unless they want to spend all their payday cash on these sure-to-be-expensive wireless tools.

TigerText does exactly what legions of Judge Judy litigants, wandering spouses (yes, Tiger Woods, that means you), and college kids would take out huge cash advance loans to be able to do – keep text messages truly private. As the company puts it on their website, they help you “cover your tracks”.  For the record, TigerText was named long before the golfer’s scandal, but you can bet he wishes he’d used the application, too.

TigerText keeps your text messages private

The concept of the TigerText App is simple – you set how long you want a text message to “live” and at the end of that time, the message gets deleted. If you would like to keep messages around for a week, you can. If you would prefer that a text message gets deleted as soon as you read it, TigerText can do that too. Rather than storing text messages on your cell phone provider’s server or cell phone handsets, TigerText runs a set of independent servers that completely erase the text messages when they are set to expire.

Both people need TigerText

Simply downloading the TigerText app onto your iPhone does not mean, though, that your text messages are safe. The coding of the program requires that both the sender and the recipient of the text have TigerText installed. Receipients who do not have TigerText installed must install the application, and then they can read whatever message you send for free. However, if they want to send their own self-destructing messages, they only have 15 free days before they have to pay. The pricing depends on the number of text messages sent each month, so some teenagers may end up having to take out overnight loans just to pay their phone bills.

TigerText for Blackberry and Android

Right now, TigerText is only available for the iPhone. This means if you’ve got a Blackberry or Android smartphone, TigerText isn’t going to be able to keep your messages off of Texts From Last Night. The company says they are working on versions for both of these smartphone operating systems. If your phone is a little less smart, well, then deleting your text messages is your own responsibility. Just remember that when a text message is sent over normal SMS systems, your phone company can store that message and retrieve it later, even if you delete it off your handset.

Know how much TigerText will do for you

Like every good cell phone application, TigerText does give you a few options. The date, time, and recipients of your text messages will be saved on your handset unless you select the “delete history” option. Any message sent through TigerText cannot be forwarded and cannot be saved – though anybody who really wants to save a message can always take a photo. It may not be perfect, but TigerText can certainly give you a hand next time you want to feel like you’re sending a Mission Impossible style message.

In many countries outside the U.S., cell phones have replaced credit cards. In Japan and Finland, for example, travelers rarely carry cash, checks or credit cards, but rather swipe their phones or send text messages to pay for train rides.

In the U.S., the cell phone hasn’t yet reached this capability, mostly because of carriers who cannot settle on how that service’s revenues would be divided amongst each company. One up-and-coming company, however, thinks it just may have a handle on how to make it work. Paymo is a mobile payment network and it has so far confirmed deals with AT&T, T-Mobile, Cellular One and Virgin Mobile, allowing consumers to make online purchases with their phones.

Their business model is quick and simple. When a consumer decides to purchase an item, they click on a Paymo logo, much like the PayPal logo. This takes them to the online checkout area where they enter their cell phone number. A text is sent via Paymo to their cell phone asking for a verification on the purchase. Once the customer replies, the transaction is verified and completed. The item will then be either deducted from the owner’s prepaid account or be itemized on their next cell phone bill.

Paymo in the U.S.

Paymo is used in about 45 countries, and it’s slowly working its way into the online business world. Credit card companies, banks and mobile carriers have tried in the past to work out a deal that allows for online pay tied to cell phone accounts. So far two methods have been tried in the U.S. The first allows customers to wave their phones in front of a reader for payment. The second allows them to pay via a text message confirmation process. Neither one has taken off with the American public.

Paymo, a San Francisco-based company, still thinks paying with cell phones will become mainstream in the U.S. once people understand its true value. CEO and co-founder Paul McGuire stated, “Paymo will succeed by serving cell phone and website users who don’t have credit cards. They want to buy stuff online but need an easy way to pay. And what better way than via a mobile-phone account?”

Will cell phone companies bite?

Most cell phone companies supplement their phone packages with additional items, such as ringtones, wallpapers, games, news, e-mail retrieval and web-browsing. Because of the economy, they are looking for more revenue-building ways to bring services to consumers.

Paymo believes it has the perfect solution and is hoping to woo cell phone companies into using their product. With Paymo’s proposal, cell phone carriers would walk away with 20-50percent of revenues generated by online sales. The remainder would go to the retailer and Paymo.

Paymo is no longer alone

Although Paymo does have an aggressive pay structure, it is not alone in trying to break into the cell phone payment market. PayPal has been working on the same thing for a few years now and met with the same success rate. Zong and Mobilcash are two more companies working hard make cell phones replace credit cards. With this type of competition it will be hard for Paymo to gain its market share in the US.