2007

A little more than one-third of North American cellphone subscribers only use voice services, according to a new report from research firm In-Stat.The firm said wireless carriers should view the findings as an opportunity, reflecting a new, untapped segment for …

Qualcomm Inc. hired Apple Inc.’s top attorney as its general counsel, while Apple replaced that attorney with Oracle Corp.’s general counsel.Donald Rosenberg leaves Apple after less than a year of service to take the reins of Qualcomm’s worldwide plate of …

Apple Inc.’s latest software update for the iPhone apparently is turning unlocked devices into bricks, according to media reports and Internet blogs today.iPhone owners with unmodified devices also are reporting that the software update is eliminating contact information, photos and …

Motorola Inc. introduced its first handset to support Verizon Wireless’ Vcast Mobile TV offering.The manufacturer showcased the Motorizr Z6tv, a GPS-enabled slider phone with a 2.0 megapixel camera and video capture and playback. The handset is targeted directly at mobile …

Minnesota has sued Sprint Nextel Corp., accusing the No. 3 mobile-phone carrier of violating state consumer protection laws. “When you receive complaints across the board, from firefighters to lawyers, from retirees to construction workers, all of whom feel they were …

Xero Mobile Inc., the mobile virtual network operator in terminal pre-launch mode, is being eyed by ROK Entertainment Group.ROK CEO Laurence Alexander said he is negotiating to acquire Xero, which has long planned-and, thus far, failed-to deploy an ad-subsidized service …

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 …

The Walt Disney Co. is shutting down its remaining mobile virtual network operator, Disney Mobile, as of Dec. 31. The company announced this morning that it would dismantle Disney Mobile and would explore “a new business model for its content …

Nokia Corp.’s N95-the Finnish company’s flagship “multimedia computing device”-will soon be available in the United States with HSDPA, assisted GPS, and increased screen size, memory and battery life. The device will now offer up to 8 GB of memory, a …

Verizon Wireless got caught up briefly in abortion politics after denying a request from a pro-choice organization to use its network for text messages-which the carrier swiftly remedied after a public outcry. The carrier had rejected a request from NARAL …

Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale, a tale of a historic trip, that started on the Chicago River aboard this WiMAX-ready ship. The skipper was skinny and Gilligan was nowhere in sight, but WiMAX chipsets were sending …

“The horse is out of the stable, it’s running around the track and there isn’t another one in sight,” Barry West, president of Xohm and CTO of Sprint Nextel Corp., said in his Wednesday morning keynote at WiMAX World USA. …

A quick stroll of the show floor reveals all sorts of flashy gadgetry and eye-popping mobile applications. But the executives behind Sprint Nextel Corp.’s Xohm would rather talk about the ecosystem than about megabits per second.WiMAX is a substantial technological …

In contrast to his flashy music video bestowing the progress of WiMAX (a funny video that borrowed heavily from Radar Love to produce WiMAX Love) Intel’s Sean Maloney made a couple of sobering points in yesterday’s opening keynote.Maloney said that …

Intel Corp. has a vision for portable, personal broadband that will ensure the company transitions from “Intel Inside” to “Intel on the Internet.”Mobile WiMAX plays a big role in chip vendor’s vision, according to Intel’s Ron Peck. Intel is prepared …

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 RCR Wireless News to rant and rave about …

While large service providers look to WiMAX technology to push the envelope on advanced services, small, rural operators are turning to WiMAX to provide basic broadband service to people who have not had access to it.Interest is strong, but actual …

The list of mobile device manufacturers is about to get much, much longer.While a handful of “connectable” wireless devices have come to market in recent years-including Sony Corp.’s Play Station Portable and Kodak’s EasyShare cameras-wireless hardware has generally been limited …

The abundance of venture capital for new mobile technologies such as mobile WiMAX chips has created more companies than can survive in the space, according to Mike Thelander, principal at Signals Research Group L.L.C.“It’s hard to foresee positive return-on-investment for …

WiMAX is only one of the wireless technologies being explored to extend services into rural areas, and in some cases the use of unlicensed spectrum is providing new services to rural customers. Unlike municipal Wi-Fi projects, the provisioning of rural …

Beyond the shores and borders of the United States, WiMAX is an entirely different animal from the spectrum it plays on, the rules it must adhere to and the players bringing it to life.Around half of the world’s population is …

WiMAX operators will have to weave around many issues they’re sure to run into as they build out their WiMAX networks, but one glaring obstacle stands out among the pack: in-building coverage.LGC Wireless, which provides in-building coverage solutions for wireless …

Sprint Nextel Corp. has proposed a reported $57.5 million settlement to a lawsuit bought by shareholders who claim the carrier cut them out of billions of dollars when it combined its wireline FON and wireless PCS stocks in early 2004.The …

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin is aggressively pushing for prompt revisions to the 700 MHz open-access rule-even before the agency completes a review of the various regulatory challenges to the full 700 MHz decision, according to industry sources who …

T-Mobile USA Inc. is offering a BlackBerry Curve equipped with Wi-Fi for prosumers-yes, Virginia, that’s a real word-who sign up to take advantage of the carrier’s HotSpot@Home service, launched in June. The device, known as the Curve 8320, is Research …