Technology News: Wireless

Sunday - July 6, 2008

As someone who is familiar with the coverage that surrounds the iPhone, I was puzzled by Tuesday's announcement from AT&T about a new way to buy the gadget. My first reaction: Something must be missing. Second reaction: Why would anyone pay more for the iPhone if there's no additional benefit? AT&T said it will sell an 8 gigabyte iPhone for $599 and the 16 GB version for $699. Both are offered contract-free, meaning it sells without the usual two-year service agreement. It could be worth the cost if you dislike AT&T's service and wanted to use the phone on another carrier. But you can't. [More...]

Are the Feds Stalking Your Cell Phone? Lawsuit Seeks Answers

Wednesday - July 2, 2008

Two legal groups have filed a lawsuit to get more information on whether the U.S. government may be using Americans' cell phones to pinpoint their locations -- sometimes without any warrant or court oversight. The American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation filed their suit on Tuesday. [More...]

EU Gives Nod to Nokia's Navteq Buy

Wednesday - July 2, 2008

European regulators cleared Nokia's takeover of U.S. digital mapmaker Navteq on Wednesday, saying the deal would be unlikely to shut off rivals' access to digital maps. Navteq is one of only two international producers of digital maps. The other one, Tele Atlas, was recently bought by navigation device producer TomTom. [More...]

How Nokia's Symbian Move Helps Google

Wednesday - July 2, 2008

Nokia rocked the wireless industry June 24 with news it would purchase the portion of Symbian, a maker of mobile-phone software, that it didn't already own -- and then give away the software for nothing. The prospect of free software would surely lure users away from competing cell phone software makers including Google. [More...]

Sprint Showing Signs of Resurgence

Tuesday - July 1, 2008

Sprint may be seeing a resurgence in the mobile market. The company's stock climbed 13 percent last week following reports of a Verizon exec telling investors Sprint had started "doing better." The industry has since seen intense speculation that fewer Sprint subscribers are defecting to the top two carriers, Verizon and AT&T -- a notion on which neither company will comment. [More...]

The Devil's in the 3G iPhone Details

Tuesday - July 1, 2008

Yes, the new 3G iPhone will cost much less than the first generation of the groundbreaking multimedia cell phone; that is, if you're one of the lucky ones who qualify for a discount. And it's not that Apple and AT&T don't trust those of you who might want to hack or modify your new iPhone, but you will need to have it activated at the store when you buy it, under the watchful eyes of sales staff. [More...]

Russia's Holding for the iPhone

Tuesday - July 1, 2008

Will VimpelCom be the first wireless operator to sell the iPhone in Russia? If Chief Executive Alexander Izosimov has his way, it will. "Nobody's struck a deal with Apple yet, but we would love to," he says. Izosimov says no negotiations are taking place, and he has no idea whether his company will win the rights to sell Apple's coveted device. [More...]

Rhapsody Tries to Drown Out iTunes

Monday - June 30, 2008

RealNetworks' Rhapsody thinks it knows how to end Apple's dominance of the online music distribution scene: remove the digital locks on its songs; make key deals with A-list names in media, wireless providers and social networks; and let consumers preview entire songs, not just 30-second snippets. [More...]

Sony Ericsson Preps Investors for Gloomy Q2

Friday - June 27, 2008

Sony Ericsson, the world's fifth-largest maker of mobile phones, warned Friday that its second-quarter profit and sales figures would miss forecasts due to a combination of lower demand for higher-profit handsets and product delays. The company -- a joint venture between consumer electronics giant Sony and communications gear maker Ericsson -- cited moderating demand for mid- and high-end handsets as well as difficulty in getting new products to market during the quarter as planned. [More...]

Yahoo Makes Its Case - Again, Gamers Make New Life Forms, Android Won't Make It on Time

Friday - June 27, 2008

Seeking to reassure investors -- many of whom were still stinging from Yahoo's decision to walk away from a multibillion-dollar merger with Microsoft -- CEO Jerry Yang and Chairman Roy Bostock sent a letter making their case for hooking up with Google instead of inking an ad deal with Redmond. [More...]

Virgin Mobile Snatches Up Helio in $39M Deal

Friday - June 27, 2008

Virgin Mobile USA is buying Helio, a struggling cell phone carrier that was founded to bring the advanced features of South Korean phones to the U.S. market. Virgin Mobile said Friday it would pay $39 million in stock for Helio, which has 170,000 subscribers, down from nearly 200,000 at the beginning of the year. [More...]

RIM: Wall Street Can Wait

Thursday - June 26, 2008

Fighting Apple comes with a cost. Research In Motion, the Canadian maker of the popular BlackBerry devices, continues to sign up new subscribers at an impressive clip, even in the face of growing competition from Apple's snazzy iPhone and other devices. However, the company disappointed investors by saying it would sacrifice profits in the short term to improve its competitive position in the future. [More...]

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