2006

LOS ANGELES–In its eight-year history, Symbian has had one profitable year–last year, its first in the black. While this is a critical turning point in its business fortunes, one likely to be repeated this year and henceforth, smart-phone penetration worldwide …

LOS ANGELES–Mobile messaging applications provider Air2Web said wireless marketing solutions provider Announce Mobile has chosen Air2Web’s Content Gateway to power two of its mobile marketing initiatives. One initiative is HomeCell, a service that gives real-estate agents and individual sellers the …

LOS ANGELES–MindMatics said it has been chosen by Boost Mobile to enable Boost’s VIP loyalty program. MindMatics said its solution will allow Boost to capture information about its customers and then provide tailored services and products, special promotions and updates …

WASHINGTON–Wireless industry trade association CTIA asked the Federal Communications Commission to delay the comment cycle for its re-examination of the service and licensing rules for the 700 MHz spectrum band because the auction for advanced wireless services is still ongoing. …

WASHINGTON–The Federal Communications Commission hopes to adopt rules next month to start it down a path that will allow unlicensed devices to operate in vacant TV spectrum following the completion of the transition to digital TV in 2009. The full …

Seven of the wireless industry’s leading carriers last week made it clear that they intend to drive the bus instead of just being passengers as fourth-generation networks standards are developed. China Mobile, KPN, NTT DoCoMo Inc., Orange, Sprint Nextel Corp., …

LOS ANGELES–Motorola Inc. is putting the pedal to the metal on getting ideas more rapidly transformed into services with its “Fast Track” program, part of its MotoDev effort to spur innovative services–and, of course, take over the world. “We want …

LOS ANGELES–Telescope Inc. and mBlox said they have formed a partnership to offer interactive “participation TV” services to broadcasters and production companies. Telescope provides mobile and interactive TV solutions and operates a large phone voting system. mBlox is a mobile …

Most of the new generation of mobile virtual network operators are less than six months into their operations, but that hasn’t prevented a recent spate of speculation and rumors about how well they are doing. Analysts have generally predicted that …

SEATTLE–The United Kingdom is on the cutting edge of mobile music, with 3 percent of British wireless consumers using their mobile phones as a music player, according to new figures from M:Metrics. The measurement firm found that British subscribers are …

Lucent Technologies Inc. announced it agreed to acquire Mobilitec, a privately held provider of content management software for wireless service providers. Lucent said Mobilitec’s solutions will strengthen its voice, video, data and multimedia applications platforms, thus enabling more service offerings …

BASKING RIDGE, N.J.–Technology distributor Ingram Micro Inc. announced it will begin reselling services from Verizon Wireless, including the carrier’s VZOffice voice and data products and services. “We are very pleased that Ingram Micro will offer Verizon Wireless’ products and services, …

LOS ANGELES–Palm Inc. said it launched its Palm Developer Network, which provides resources to hardware and software developers building products based on Palm OS and Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Mobile Pocket PC. The program, which replaces Palm’s existing developer program PluggedIn, …

LOS ANGELES–Nokia Corp. knows how to get the buzz going. On the first day of CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment event last week the handset manufacturer launched a new productivity and multimedia device?the E62 smart phone?at Cingular Wireless L.L.C., at …

LOS ANGELES–The CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment show’s final keynote of the week featured “old guy socks,” “rollover minute” double-entendres and a visit by Paris Hilton, as three industry panelists debated how mobile social networking will change the world and …

LOS ANGELES–Two forces are creating a market for speaker-independent voice services on the handset, according to one player that believes it is poised to dominate that market. The convergence of voice, multimedia and Web browsing on handsets has brought renewed …

LOS ANGELES–Mobile content and applications company Handango said it has experienced a significant increase in the number of repeat buyers of smart-phone applications through its In Hand on-device access service. The company said repeat users trended toward applications that include …

LOS ANGELES—Application distribution company Handango said it snared a whopping $60 million in a recently closed funding round. Institutional Venture Partners, Advanced Technology Ventures, Neo Carta, Pharos Capital Group, SSM Partners and Centerpoint filled the coffers for Handango, an aggregator …

The following list includes ratings changes and financial information for wireless companies announced this week by investment-banking and financial-services firms. Click here for wireless ratings from past weeks from RCR Wireless News. Carrier Morgan Stanley lowered its rating on Telus …

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. Click here for additional infrastructure …

STOCKHOLM, Sweden—L.M. Ericsson said it’s looking for 500 engineers to accelerate its research into next-generation Internet Protocol-based networks and multimedia technology. The move coincides with Ericsson’s attempts to morph into a more customer-focused organization by reorganizing itself into three business …

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.—Sage Software acquired Corum Mobile, a division of Corum Corp., to solidify Sage’s offering of Corum’s mobile customer record management services, Sage announced. Corum is privately held and based in Concord, Ontario. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. …

WASHINGTON—The Senate approved legislation allowing mobile phone carriers to participate in a modernized emergency alert system, vastly improving chances for final passage of the measure in the waning weeks of Congress. The legislation is championed by Sen. Jim DeMint (S.C.), …

WASHINGTON—California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today plans to sign into law legislation banning motorists from operating cell phones. The legislation does allow drivers to use hands-free devices to conduct conversations while behind the wheel. California joins New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, the …

ATLANTA—Pantech Wireless Inc., the U.S.-based subsidiary of Korean mobile-phone manufacturer Pantech Group, launched a new camera phone that is being offered via Cingular Wireless L.L.C. The Pantech C120 is a slim, bar-style phone that includes a VGA camera, color display …