2007

Performing artists are increasingly looking to mobile to prop up flagging recorded music revenues. And record labels are increasingly being left out of the loop. Digital offerings such as ringtones and online, full-track downloads have failed to offset “freefalling CD …

LOS ANGELES-Brands that haven’t found their way into the carriers’ circle of friends are emboldened by the uptake in mobile Internet usage and the overall improvement of the browsing experience. Many are beginning to find a way around the carriers …

While the increasing convergence of communications and entertainment on wireless Internet platforms is creating new business opportunities for value-chain stakeholders, it also is raising novel policy issues for mobile-phone operators.It is not so much that policymakers are attempting to stick …

Sprint Nextel Corp. remains committed to its WiMAX plans and continues to move forward with its soft launch of services in Chicago, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. ,later this year, according to Sprint Nextel Xohm public-relations spokesman John Polivka.“We don’t expect …

THE MOBILE BANKING SPACE saw several shifts last week, as Qualcomm Inc. announced that it will acquire mobile banking company Firethorn Holdings L.L.C. for $210 million, and AT&T Mobility launched a Firethorn-supported platform that will be preloaded on its handsets …

THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION relaxed the small-business bidding rule for the 700 MHz national commercial/public-safety block, but the agency cannot seem to shake lingering legal challenges that have the potential to disrupt the upcoming auction-as well as last year’s sale …

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 …

Two sources that track American consumers’ online research into handsets paint a dual portrait of yearning and practicality this holiday season.While the data differs between the two sources in some respects, common themes arise. There’s good news generally for AT&T …

Publishers are trying to strike a delicate balance in these early days of the mobile Web: How do you offer enough eye candy to a make a site compelling without overloading the limited processing power of most mobile phones?Online site …

While they may lack the name recognition of their larger competitors, regional carriers are tweaking their rate plans ahead of the holiday shopping season.Qwest Communications International Inc. introduced a set of wireless plans emphasizing messaging and data use.The Messaging and …

The iPhone story went global this month with launches in the United Kingdom and Germany and word that Apple Inc. is exploring a partnership in China. France’s Orange is set to sell the device beginning Nov. 29.Apple’s international success, or …

Revenues from mobile games will grow to nearly $10 billion by 2009, driven by the increasing popularity of casual gaming and the larger variety of gaming-friendly handsets, according to a report from Juniper Research.The company predicts more than 460 million …

Flash memory will continue to dominate in mobile phones during the next few years, despite inroads being made by new hard disk drive (HDD) solutions in handheld devices, according to a new study from Parks Associates.The company predicts 99% of …

Following the failure of its U.S. mobile virtual network operator business, the Walt Disney Co. is now turning its attention to the east with plans to launch an MVNO service in Japan. We can just hear the Disney Mobile execs …

Time was, particularly in the not-too-distant aftermath of 9/11, when just about anything associated with New York City’s then-mayor Rudy Giuliani and then-police commissioner Bernard Kerik instantly assumed the aura of unquestioned patriotism and credibility. It still seems to work …

We love pizza Finally, an application that Americans will embrace. The Associated Press reports that Louisville-based Papa John’s International Inc. is offering a text-message ordering option at its 2,700 restaurants. Domino’s Pizza is letting its customers place orders from Web-enabled …

Amdocs Ltd. last week expanded its offering for off-deck content providers as it launched a new business unit designed deliver advertising, commerce and entertainment products across platforms.The St. Louis-based firm released additional modules for its Qpass Off-Portal Suite, a carrier-targeted …

While mobile-phone carriers and manufacturers face a key hearing-aid compatibility deadline in early 2008, Apple’s Inc. wildly popular iPhone will get a pass on a major government disability access mandate that wireless companies already have spent significant resources to meet.The …

Silicon Valley-the country’s hub of innovation and technology-is home to more than 2.4 million people and a group of businesses that read like a who’s who of the dotcom darlings. Yet, for all the money and societal changes that were …

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 …

Motricity Inc. sees more than just a mobile search engine in InfoSpace’s mobile business. It sees a kind of wrecking ball.The Durham, N.C.-based mobile content company is putting the finishing touches on its $185 million acquisition of InfoSpace’s mobile operations, …

Every responsible municipality has money-specifically getting the best value for taxpayers’ money-on its mind, but security is equally important.When it comes to communications networks, this is where Northrop Grumman earns its keep. The company’s customer base tends to be governments …

China Mobile Ltd. subsidiary Jiangsu Mobile Communications Co. Ltd. picked Texas-based Kodiak Networks to supply push-to-talk technology for deployment in the coastal Jiangsu Province.Kodiak said it has been in trials with JMCC with a user base of 20,000 customers who …

Investors sent Virgin Mobile USA Inc.’s stock plunging this morning despite decent quarterly numbers, based on worries about the impact of an increasing competitive prepaid landscape as well as economic impacts on the company’s customer base. Virgin Mobile USA’s stock …