2006

‘Tis the season to do your shopping on your phone. At least, that’s what a handful of developers are hoping.SplashData Inc. this week released a Microsoft Corp. Windows Mobile version of its SplashShopper application, which serves as an organizer for …

I continue to be amazed by consumer infatuation with razor-thin cell phones. Motorola has sold what, 50 gazillion Razrs, and Samsung seems to be rolling out a new “thinnest” model every other week. As they say, “Thin is in.”Industry research …

Editor’s Note: Each year, the RCR Wireless News editorial staff chooses the person we think has impacted the wireless industry the most during the past 12 months. This year’s choice is industry veteran and Cyren Call Communications Corp. founder Morgan …

Making wireless phone sales simple during the holiday season may seem like a no-brainer. But for customers, getting a wireless phone to tuck into someone else’s stocking or under the Christmas tree may mean jumping through some hoops-or side-stepping postpaid …

When two women in distinctive but identical designer dresses are seated side-by-side in a trendy restaurant, there may be mutual if mortified acknowledgement of the other’s good taste, rapidly followed by a seating shuffle. In contrast, when Samsung Electronics Co. …

In the world of wireless handset vendors, there’s an increasing divide between the haves and the have-nots. In this case, the having or not-having doesn’t revolve around bling, but scale. Nokia Corp. and Motorola Inc. have the scale to invest …

WASHINGTON-The 109th Congress adjourned on a positive note for the wireless industry and the public-safety community, approving legislation that makes illegal the practice of impersonating mobile-phone subscribers to obtain their phone records, and ordering the Bush administration to award $1 …

WASHINGTON-Key House Democrats and consumer groups said Federal Communications Commission member Robert McDowell should remain on the sidelines of AT&T Inc.’s stalled $79 billion acquisition of BellSouth Corp., arguing the agency’s general counsel offered feeble legal reasoning for authorizing McDowell …

The oft-repeated statement-“thin is in”-like many obvious axioms, tends to mask nuance. What exactly is this quality that appears to rule the current landscape for fashion phones? Ask a variety of industry sources for perspective on “thin”-a somewhat elusive, qualitative …

While Research In Motion’s lawsuit against Samsung over the similarity of the Samsung BlackJack to the RIM BlackBerry is a pretty amusing story, the fact that RIM asked for all BlackJack devices be returned to RIM for destruction is an …

With a new leader in place, Crown Castle International Corp.’s mobile TV subsidiary Modeo L.L.C. says with confidence that its upcoming New York City trial will attract partners, enabling the company to carry out further launches of its streaming, multicast …

It seems there’s no shortage of opinion, no lack of colorful figures and seemingly no end to intrigue in the continuing saga of the Federal Communications Commission’s consideration of the $79 billion merger between AT&T Inc. and BellSouth Corp. It’ll …

Content provider BowChica Mobile is teaming with fluffertraX to offer ringtones from adult film soundtracks.The music clips, dubbed Porntones, are culled from the content library of fluffertraX, which operates an Internet radio station that plays music from adult movies. The …

‘Tis the season to do your shopping on your phone. At least, that’s what a handful of developers are hoping.SplashData Inc. this week released a Windows Mobile version of its SplashShopper application, which serves as an organizer for shopping-related items …

The following list details this week’s infrastructure awards for the cellular, Wi-Fi and WiMAX industries. The contracts are broken down by transmission technology, country and vendor. The value of the contract is included when available. Cellular Nigeria: Motorola Inc. said …

The following list includes ratings changes and financial information for wireless companies announced this week by investment-banking and financial-services firms.Handset and infrastructure vendors CIBC World Markets lowered its price target on Motorola Inc. to $26 from $28 based on concerns …

RadioShack announced it will sell Sprint Nextel Corp.’s youth-focused brand Boost Mobile through 672 retail stores. RadioShack joins Target, Wal-Mart and Best Buy in selling the iDEN-based offering.“We are extremely pleased to partner with Boost Mobile, and are excited about …

Cingular Wireless L.L.C., Nokia Corp, Citigroup and MasterCard Worldwide have teamed up on a trial of Near Field Communication technology.The companies are testing mobile phones with MasterCard’s PayPass contactless payment capability in New York City. The trial is expected to …

Sprint Nextel Corp. launched a new service that extends private branch exchange functionality to mobile phones.Sprint Wireless Integration offers features including a phone number that simultaneously rings a desk phone and mobile phone, a converged voicemail box, intra-company dialing from …

Shares of Glenayre Technologies Inc. climbed after the company said it will sell its messaging business for $25 million in cash to IP Unity.The move follows September’s announcement by Glenayre that it was looking to separate its telecom and entertainment …

Cingular Wireless L.L.C., the nation’s largest wireless carrier, plans to raise the price of sending and receiving text messages from 10 cents to 15 cents per message. The move comes shortly after rival Sprint Nextel Corp. also raised the price …

Nokia Corp. and Siemens AG said their network equipment joint venture will be delayed due to an ongoing investigation into irregularities at Siemens’ telecom unit involved in the JV. The companies also said the deal will be subject to “the …

Financiers continue to flood the white-hot-and increasingly litigious-mobile e-mail space. Specifically, white-label wireless e-mail provider Seven Networks Inc. snared $42 million in an oversubscribed round of funding. The company said undisclosed new investors joined existing backers, which include Amadeus Capital …

Like a runway model sporting the latest fashions, mobile handsets have gone thin with a vengeance. That’s hardly earth-shaking news, but new data reflects the industry’s headlong embrace of thin. And practical constraints pose some limits to this squeeze play.Those …

With a new leader in place, Crown Castle International Corp.’s mobile TV subsidiary Modeo L.L.C. says with confidence that its upcoming New York City trial will attract partners, enabling the company to carry out further launches of its streaming, multicast …