Berggi Inc., a company with a goal of bringing mobile messaging to the masses, has announced a new service that's designed to enable consumers to transform regular cell phones into smart devices that are optimized to send and receive e-mail, IM, text and other messaging services.

Berggi offers access to e-mail from multiple accounts, instant messaging through Yahoo!, AIM, MSN, and Google Talk, along with text messaging through a single console. Consumers can use their current phones, and a new account or data plan is not required. The Berggi service is available at a price of $9.99 per month, which will be billed through your monthly phone bill.

LogicaCMG has recently announced LogicaCMG SMSC, the new release of its Short Message Service Centre. LogicaCMG SMSC incorporates new features such as IM interoperability, extended personalization for users, advanced content provider support, marketing reporting and operational management. The new release is IMS-ready and interoperable with fixed and mobile Instant Messaging platforms. 

According to LogicaCMG, price-performance improvements include the capability to process messages at twice the speed at a significantly reduced cost.

Followap, a UK-based provider of mobile instant messaging products in Europe and Asia, has been acquired by NeuStar for approximately $139 million in cash. Followap products offers interoperability between operators and Internet portals in five different functional areas: instant messaging, presence, multimedia gateways, inter-carrier messaging hubs, and services for handset clients.

Followap has a customer base of 17 mobile network operators that have a combined subscriber base of 160 million.