Cellular South Sponsors Netbook Design Challenge Contest

Customers Encouraged To Design Personalized Cellular South Wallpaper For New Mini-Laptop Product

RIDGELAND, Miss., July 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Cellular South, a leader in wireless solutions and innovation, is sponsoring a contest that encourages customers to design and submit a customized image or photograph that can be used as a wallpaper design for the company's soon-to-be launched Dell Mini 10 netbook mini-laptop product.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090319/CG86339)

The "Netbook Design Challenge" contest, which runs through July 19, 2009, invites Cellular South customers to develop a personalized wallpaper design for the new netbook product that incorporates the company's corporate logo and colors in several different categories, including abstract art, sports, outdoors, old school and the future.

"This device offers the ultimate mobile experience - allowing consumers the freedom to connect whenever and wherever they want over wi-fi or Cellular South's 3G high-speed data network - so it's only natural that we would ask customers to personalize the wallpaper for their netbook," said Wade Smith, director of product development and management for Cellular South.

Customers can register online at www.cellularsouth.com/netbookchallenge to win cash prizes and a chance to be featured in the Cellular South (CS) Originals section of the company's online Discover Center. All winners will be announced the week of July 27, 2009.

Entries, which are limited to one per person per day, will be judged based on originality and creativity, focus on the creative assignment and overall appeal. Three weekly cash prizes of $250 will be awarded to contestants. A $1,500 grand prize, along with a free netbook and one year's worth of high-speed mobile broadband data service, will be awarded to the winner by a panel of qualified judges from Cellular South and its advertising agency.

Smith said customers can submit multiple entries, but must have a valid driver's license and be at least 18 years of age and live in Mississippi or Tennessee or 19 years of age and live in Alabama. Photos can be taken with camera phones, digital cameras or any other camera format, but must be converted to a digital image format - joint photographic experts group (jpeg) or portable network graphic (png) - for entry in the contest. File size should not exceed 2 megabytes.

Other contest rules require images to be at least 1024 x 576 pixels in size. Files larger than 60 megabits in size will not be accepted. No purchase is required for entry in the contest.

The lightweight, inexpensive portable computing device which the contest is based on will be sold online and in Cellular South retail stores this summer with a new two-year mobile broadband agreement. Customers using the small, power-packed netbook can access the Internet, check e-mail, browse the Web or listen to their favorite music or view a video quickly and reliably with service plans that begin at $40 a month.

For a limited time, students can get a 20 percent discount on the $40 plan, which provides a 500 MB monthly data allowance. The company also offers customers a $60 monthly plan with a 5 GB monthly data allowance.

Netbook also will come with assistance from Cellular South's industry-leading online and in-store Discover Center, which shows customers how to get the most out the device's functionality, features and applications. "Through Discover Center content and training online and in stores, consumers will be surrounded with opportunities for training and discovering personal uses of netbooks that move their experience beyond the confines of wi-fi," Smith said.

About Cellular South

Cellular South is a privately-owned diversified mobile communications company passionately committed to helping customers get the most out of their wireless devices and services. The nation's largest privately owned wireless communications provider accomplishes this goal by providing the most reliable and advanced 3G nationwide wireless voice and data network, offering industry-leading family and unlimited flat rate voice, text and mobile web plans, and through its online and in-store Discover Centers, which give customers easy, simple and convenient tools, tips, advice and information on how to get the most out of their mobile phone. For more information, visit www.cellularsouth.com.