Free for smartphone users

Oct 6, 2009 06:40 GMT  ·  By

Best Buy Mobile, the unit of Best Buy Co., Inc. specialized in mobile retail, announced on Monday the launch of a new Web-based service, mIQ. According to the company, the new service is aimed at changing the manner in which customers make use of mobile content smartphone features. Starting with October 12, Best Buy Mobile customers will be able to enjoy the new service for free.

The service, Best Buy Mobile states, has been designed so as to enable smartphone users to access the information captured on their handset from an easy-to-use Web interface on any computer. As soon as a user will sign up for the service, all contacts, text messages, calendar events, calls, photos, videos, and phone settings will be backed up safely into the cloud in a personal mIQ account.

“Smartphones allow our customers to do some pretty amazing things, but sometimes all the great features can be overwhelming, as a result, customers have a hard time getting the most out of their devices,” said Best Buy Mobile Director of Business Development Mark Mosiniak. “mIQ creates significant value for consumers by allowing them to easily manage their data, share their mobile experiences and get the most out of mobile technology.”

Some of the key features of the new service include: Data backup and management (users can sync, search, share or transfer information); Contacts (users can add, edit, or delete contacts from their mIQ account); Enhanced text messaging (it retrieves / sends texts from / through the mobile phone); Calendar (mIQ uploads appointments and events from the phone calendar); Photos and videos (they are uploaded right after being taken); and Social media connectivity (with instant connectivity to social networking sites like Facebook, Flickr, FriendFeed and Twitter).

mIQ is compatible with smartphones running BlackBerry, Windows Mobile and Symbian S60 operating systems, including the BlackBerry 9700, Bold, Tour, Nokia E71 and N97, HTC Pro 2, Samsung Omnia II, and T-Mobile Dash 3G. The service will be available for free as part of the Walk Out Working in-store smartphone setup, but users can also sign up here. mIQ offers 1GB of storage, Best Buy Mobile added.