BROWSING: Google

TERMINATING A LETTER OF INTENT-as Sprint Nextel Corp. and Clearwire Corp. did Nov. 9-doesn't lend itself to gauging possible impacts to Sprint Nextel's ambitious, multibillion-dollar WiMAX plans. Assessing impacts to suppliers is even more perilous, according to analysts.Sprint Nextel appeared to send mixed signals...

Some of the world's biggest companies-Google, Apple, Microsoft-increasingly are becoming more aggressive in the wireless space. And why shouldn't they? CTIA counts 250 million cellphone subscribers in the United States-a penetration rate of more than 83%.It's great to have new entrants in the market,...

Volantis Systems is joining the open-source bandwagon.The U.K.-based mobile software developer is open sourcing its server, allowing developers to download and run its content-optimizing system free under a proprietary license. The Volantis Mobility Server is available immediately as a free binary, and the company...

Editor's Note: Welcome to On the Margins, a feature for RCR Wireless News' new weekly e-mail service, Mobile Content and Culture. Every week, the RCR Wireless News staff considers events in the wider business world and how they could affect the wireless industry.--AOL purchased...

The wireless industry usually teems with laugh-inducing sniping and enjoyable acrimony. But last week, it was all about the love.The mobile space in the past couple of years has become an "us vs. them" showdown as entrenched carriers struggle with the rise of...

Microsoft Inc. announced it has acquired the right to buy Musiwave SA from Openwave Systems Inc., which has struggled with management changes in light of stock-option backdating woes and proxy battles with shareholders. No terms of the proposed deal were disclosed.The acquisition of Musiwave...

Yet another set of mobile advertising guidelines will be released this week as the dotMobi Advisory Group (MAG) unveils a 44-page document for companies looking to target wireless users.The group, a nonprofit offshoot of mTLD Top Level Domain Ltd., hopes to foster growth of...

Like Daryl Hannah in "Blade Runner," Google Inc. last week showcased an attention-grabbing Android. But while the Internet giant garnered headlines and wowed fanboys with its latest move in wireless, some developers reacted with a big yawn.Google ended weeks of speculation about its mobile...

Google Inc. drew considerable media attention last week with an idea and 33 influential friends.Missing was its long-rumored gPhone, whose actual fate remains a closely guarded secret. Instead, Google announced a consortium of 34 companies-the Open Handset Alliance (OHA)-and a common goal of producing...

The best part of Google's "Android" announcement last week? Why, the name of course. How awesome is it that a giant company like Google used the term android for its wireless phone plans? Very awesome. Though some of us on the RCR Wireless News...

CinemaElectric Inc. is quickly finding its groove in the mobile video space. With more than half of its content produced in-house, the company has inked deals with 90 carriers in more than 50 countries to bring its programming to the third screen.Last week CinemaElectric...

Hello! And welcome to our Thursday column, Worst of the Week. There's a lot of nutty stuff that goes on in this industry, so this column is a chance for us at RCRNews.com to rant and rave about whatever rubs us the wrong way....

As the pace of convergence quickens, Nokia Corp. cut a deal with wireless telecom giant Vodafone Group plc to integrate mutual service offerings designed to grab eyes, ears and wallets-as competitors from within and without the wireless industry rapidly move in with similar treats.Vodafone-one...

Editor's Note: Welcome to On the Margins, a feature for RCR Wireless News' new weekly e-mail service, Mobile Content and Culture. Every week, the RCR Wireless News staff considers events in the wider business world and how they could affect the wireless industry.--Google announced...

Google Inc. is the new E.F. Hutton-when the Internet search giant talks, everybody listens. Many observers today expected to hear about a long-rumored Google phone-it didn't happen. Nor were any specific handset models announced. But listeners probably included likely competitors to the new Open...

Google Inc. ended weeks of speculation about its mobile plans, unveiling an alliance of industry heavyweights centered on a new, open-source software platform.The Internet behemoth joined Qualcomm Inc., Motorola Inc., HTC Corp. and T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom AG to take the wraps off the...

A group of industry heavyweights-headed by Google Inc., T-Mobile, HTC Corp., Qualcomm Inc., and Motorola Inc.-announced a new software platform for cellphones that includes an operating system, middleware, user interface and applications. The alliance said the first phones based on the "Android" platform will...

Like former Yankee Alex Rodriguez, Tele Atlas N.V. plans to cash in on the free-agent market.The Netherlands-based digital mapping company in July accepted a bid of $2.8 billion from TomTom NV, agreeing to recommend the offer to shareholders. But Tele Atlas last week pounced...

Shifting business models make for strange bedfellows-and nowhere is that so clear as Google's potential linkup with Verizon Wireless, which is said to be negotiating with the search giant to carry phones equipped with Google's mobile operating system.Consider just the past year: Verizon and...

Welcome to our Friday feature, Week in Review. Every Friday, RCR Wireless News runs through the major events of the past week, outlining what happened and speculating on what to look for in the coming weeks, months and years. Check below for news about...

Hello! And welcome to our Thursday column, Worst of the Week. There's a lot of nutty stuff that goes on in this industry, so this column is a chance for us at RCRNews.com to rant and rave about whatever rubs us the wrong way....

Google Inc. is reportedly close to entering the wireless space in a big way. Much has been speculated about the search giant's plans for mobile, ranging from branded devices to advertising-supported minutes and open operating systems.But, Google is ready to pull the wraps off...

For a show that bills itself as a bleeding-edge event with a multiple personality disorder (One Show. Two Personalities.) last week's CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment conference in San Francisco was exceedingly tame.A disappointingly placid Steve Ballmer of Microsoft took center stage for the...

LITIGATION SURROUNDING RULES for auction-bound 700 MHz wireless licenses took an unexpected turn last week.Verizon Wireless filed to withdraw its appeal of the Federal Communications Commission's 700 MHz open-access rule, only to have cellphone industry trade association CTIA immediately fill the void by challenging...