January 2007

Visa launched a mobile payment platform designed to support contactless payments, coupons and other m-commerce-related applications.The offering “is designed to foster collaboration between the financial services and mobile telecommunications sectors,” the company said, and consists of a suite of technology …

Apple Computer Inc. finally unveiled the iPhone.As expected, Apple CEO Steve Jobs showcased the highly-anticipated device during his keynote speech at the Macworld Conference & Expo in San Francisco. Cingular Wireless L.L.C. will support the handset, which runs Mac OS …

Sprint Nextel Corp.’s trouble in holding onto its postpaid iDEN subscribers continued during the fourth quarter as the company announced weak fourth quarter customer metrics and said that network and business investments would likely affect its financial performance in 2007. …

WASHINGTON-Sen. John Sununu (R-N.H.) said he will introduce legislation to free up vacant broadcast spectrum, a move that could provide additional frequencies for Wi-Fi and WiMAX services.“Most of the time, government’s best option for promoting technological innovation is to get …

Amp’d Mobile Inc. is continuing to build on its appeal to younger mobile phone users. The mobile virtual network operator has further expanded its mobile entertainment portal through fresh deals with Facebook.com, Freewebs.com and Livejournal.com, having created one of the …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission rejected the mobile-phone industry’s petition for regulatory relief from the recently passed deadline for meeting enhanced 911 handset-based location requirements, sending non-compliance of Sprint Nextel Corp. and other carriers to the agency’s enforcement bureau for further …

Motorola Inc. is jumping into the mobile music business with an effort to sell wireless content from Warner Music Group Corp.The handset maker said it will offer preloaded and downloadable full-length tunes, ringtones, ringback tones, music videos and other goodies …

T-Mobile USA Inc. tapped Medio Systems to power mobile content searches on its t-zones portal.The carrier said Medio’s technology “presents subscribers with the most relevant results” for content such as ringtones, ringback tones, local business listings and selected Web pages. …

WASHINGTON-Sen. John Sununu (R-N.H.) said he is drafting legislation to prohibit the Federal Communications Commission from forcing technology standards on the communications industry.“The FCC seems to be under the belief that it should occasionally impose technology mandates. These misguided requirements …

Yahoo Inc. is using the Consumer Electronics Show to tout a host of new partnerships supporting its Go 2.0 service.The Internet giant announced pacts to preload an updated version of its wireless Web software on some handsets from Motorola Inc., …

Amp’d Mobile Inc. continues to tout its success in the mobile virtual network operator space, gaining more than 70,000 customers in the fourth quarter to end 2006 with more than 100,000 customers. The company is one of the few MVNOs …

Modeo L.L.C., a subsidiary of Crown Castle International Corp., announced today that it has launched a trial version of its live, commercial quality mobile TV service in New York City. The beta service was launched after more than three years …

Sprint Nextel Corp. has chosen the Chicago and Washington, D.C., metro areas for the first deployment of its WiMAX network, with a rollout that it expected to cover at least 100 million people by the end of 2008. The initial …

Sling Media Inc. continued to expand its wireless functionality, adding support for devices running Palm Inc.’s operating system.The place-shifting technology company said owners of its flagship SlingBox device can now use SlingPlayer Mobile software to access home TV broadcasts on …

As expected, Verizon Wireless announced in conjunction with the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas details of its planned mobile TV service, which will run on Qualcomm Inc.’s MediaFLO mobile TV network. Verizon Wireless did not disclose what it will …

Sling Media Inc. was only a blip on the wireless industry’s radar screen until April, when the company released its SlingPlayer Mobile software. The $30 software allows SlingBox owners to watch TV on any smartphone running Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Mobile …

For the wireless industry, it may be the most disruptive technology of 2006. And it all happened because Blake Krikorian couldn’t watch a baseball game. Krikorian, a San Francisco native and baseball fan, was working with his brother at their …

Amp’d Mobile Inc. is racking up deals to offer its unique content and user interface abroad, and reap the benefits of revenue sharing without the effort and expense of expanding its mobile virtual network operator business. Two international partnerships are …

As New Year beginnings go, this one has an especially odd, mixed feel.President Ford’s funeral-beginning stately in the District of Columbia and ending solemnly in Grand Rapids, Mich., was sad and touching. The gathering of Republicans and Democrats to honor …

WASHINGTON-Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said he would cooperate with Congress if it pursues legislation to increase the supply of public-safety spectrum. Chertoff acknowledged federal, state and local first responders must not only be able to talk with one other …

WIRELESS IS EXPECTED to be the heart of the newly merged AT&T Inc. and BellSouth Corp., bundling multiple services with cellular and allowing advertisers to reach multiple media platforms through one company. And that wireless heart will be the nation’s …

Colors, materials and finishes-aka CMF-have returned to center stage as a conveyor of value, product differentiator and sales clincher. Focused efforts to use CMF to give a handset legs in the market began with face plates nearly a decade ago. …

Pump up the mobile motivationPeople who made a get-fit new year’s resolution this year can find motivation to stick with their goals on their cellphones. PumpOne, a company that provides visual personal training programs for handheld devices like iPods, is …

The keypad on the mobile handset is due for an extreme makeover. Like the television program, fashion-that age-old tyrant-and the need to update it is one fundamental driver of change. After all, the current paradigm for input technologies-think wireline, touch-tone …