2007

Editor’s Note: Welcome to the first edition of Reality Check, a feature for RCR Wireless News’ new weekly e-mail service, Mobile Content and Culture. We’ve gathered a group of visionaries and veterans in the mobile content industry to give their …

Editor’s Note: Welcome to our new Tuesday feature, Mobile Content and Culture. This weekly e-mail service will cover the most important mobile content news of the week, and will also include contributed columns by big names in the industry, application …

Finnish handset vendor Nokia Corp. used its annual Nokia Connection event at telecom conference CommunicAsia in Singapore to beef up its mid-range offerings with three handsets, one destined for the United States.The Nokia 3500 emphasizes style over substance, apparently, as …

HTC Corp. moved from original device manufacturer to original equipment manufacturer at Sprint Nextel Corp. this week with an HTC-branded smartphone at the high end of the price range for the U.S. market.The Taiwan-based smartphone maker has been raising its …

Hang on, sports fans. We’ve got a hum-dinger of a race here.NASCAR filed a $100 million countersuit against AT&T Inc. for alleged breach of contract and fraud over Richard Childress Racing’s plans to change the sponsorship of Jeff Burton’s No. …

YouTube Inc. quietly launched a stripped-down, mobile version of its popular video-sharing site.The wireless offering, available at m.youtube.com, offers a small selection of streaming videos in a handful of categories such as “Featured,” “Recently Added” and “Top Rated.” The service …

Regional telecommunications provider NTELOS Inc. announced plans for an overhaul to its advertising efforts, news that coincides with the company’s hiring of new advertising firm The Johnson Group. NTELOS said the marketing firm will create new internal and external ad …

Microsoft Corp. overhauled its MSN Mobile portal, adding services and simplifying the user interface.The software giant said the new site, mobile.msn.com, incorporates MSN services such as Hotmail, Live Messenger, Windows Live Spaces and Live Search. The portal features one-click access …

Mobile entertainment startup RemoTV announced a beta launch of a free application that allows cellphone users to access multimedia from their PCs.The Connecticut-based newcomer said mobile users can create channels of content with the application and share video, audio and …

Silverback Media plc, a marketing agency that operates on mobile and online platforms, announced it has entered into a preliminary agreement to acquire a majority interest in Atlas Telecom Mobile, a content distribution company. Financial terms of the deal were …

Almost half of early adopters in the United States planning to replace their cellphones want Wi-Fi capability, according to a recent survey by In-Stat. The market research firm noted that there are numerous dual-mode phones in the pipeline to meet …

A large percentage of young drivers in the United States say they both talk and send text messages on their cell phone while driving. A Zogby International poll found two-thirds of drivers between the ages of 18 and 24 send …

The U.S. telecom industry appears to largely be treading water when it comes to fixed-mobile convergence-with much talk about the subject and a few tentative sallies in that direction, but not an inordinate amount of action so far. However, many …

It’s no secret that a stroll through the offerings on carrier decks is enough to give you carpal tunnel syndrome. A recent study of four U.S. wireless services providers by Strategy Analytics found that a simple music download from a …

The Supreme Court delayed a decision on whether to review a lower court’s pro-state pre-emption ruling, inviting the views of the U.S. solicitor general who previously signaled disinterest in pursuing an appeal. Sprint Nextel Corp. and T-Mobile USA Inc. petitioned …

Network operators will earn more than $10 billion this year from selling self-branded handsets made by ODMs, according to ABI Research. That’s a nearly 25% jump from the prior year. Within four years, that segment could grow to about 10% …

SANTA MONICA, Calif.-If there ever was a first shot fired in the battle toward a digital age, the music industry was likely the first to hear it. By the close of the 20th century, all the music industry suits were …

The guys who founded Atlas Mobile are back with a community-based contest offering for mobile phones and PCs.Isaac Babbs, Andy Riedel and Ken Scott unveiled Tapatap Inc., a San Mateo, Calif.-based startup that allows members to create and play “photo …

InfoSpace Inc. scored another carrier customer for its wireless Web service even as it continued to beat a retreat from the content space.The Seattle-area company expanded its relationship with Verizon Wireless, agreeing to provide hosting, infrastructure and subscription management services …

A consumer group has raised conflict-of-interest and qualification issues regarding a proposed National Academy of Sciences panel spawned by a government-wireless industry research program to examine where additional research is required on possible biological effects from mobile-phone radiation.The Center for …

Perhaps it is just as well that Allen Salmasi is still flying under the radar, given the tumult and upheaval that ensued when his last startup found it couldn’t repay the federal government the nearly $5 billion it owed for …

SANTA MONICA, Calif.-Like a train caught in a labyrinth of uncharted tracks, the entertainment industry is hurtling across the DRM space with no clear direction or destination.So was the theme of a panel at the Digital Hollywood conference on copyrights …

It’s hard not to root for the little guy in epic battles. Maybe it’s because we have been trained by Hollywood that the underdog is always the more virtuous combatant in a battle, which of course always makes for a …

The story of Motorola Inc.’s Razr handset has morphed of late from legend to cautionary tale. Despite the device’s continuing, rampant sales, the company’s decision to radically discount the price garnered volume at the expense of profit. (Motorola’s other blunder: …

Watching the competitive jockeying of the world’s largest handset brands has its pleasures-the neck-and-neck excitement of a horserace, the tragedies of thrown jockeys and doomed steeds and, naturally, the wagering, er, investing. Behind the scenes, however, the major handset brands …