Alltel offers subscribers slideshow tool, but it doesn't come cheap

By Michael Hatamoto | Published July 21, 2008, 5:59 PM

Alltel Wireless has rolled out a new offering called MyShow that allows subscribers to create picture slideshows using pictures that are taken through a phone's camera or stored on the device through an external memory card.

Created by Fun Mobility, the MyShow service was officially launched in April during the CTIA Wireless 2008 event in Las Vegas. It simplifies the creation of an online photo gallery, while also adding text and background music to each slideshow. Once a slideshow has been created, users are able to share it either through the MyShow Web site, or install a widget created specifically for social networking sites Facebook and MySpace.

Alltel subscribers will have to pay a $3.99 monthly fee to use MyShow, and can download the software through the Alltel Shop before creating an account and uploading photos to their gallery.

Interested phone owners can head to the official MyShow web site to see example galleries made by those who are already using the service to upload photos and slideshows on the site. Regular Internet users also have the ability to create their own slideshows and make them available for the world to see without sending pictures from the phone.

Alltel has worked diligently to create new offerings that make it easier for subscribers to share pictures and other media that are captured through the phone. For example, the carrier already has Alltel Pic Transfer, which is able to take all photos stored on a phone and send them directly to a PC or social networking site.

Another Alltel service makes it easier for users to upload their photos to an online Kodak Gallery for online sharing, with the third photo-centric service, Fujifilm Mobile Postcards, making it easier for photos to be added to post cards sent to recipients via snail mail.

As more mobile phones continue to get better quality cameras, and an increasing number of users beginning to take mobile pictures and share them, there has been a stronger emphasis on making it easier to manipulate those photos. Several new phones have high megapixel cameras with built-in photo editing software, while subscribers with a data plan can easily upload pictures from their devices to Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and other sites.

MyShow isn't tied to Alltel, although it's currently the only carrier to directly offer the service.