2008

Alltel Communications L.L.C. is teaming up with Pacific DataVision to offer a voice messaging system targeted at the business sector.SkyMail will be available across Alltel’s wireless network that includes more than 13 million customers in 34 states, according to a …

In an industry that constantly looks for the next big thing, ringtones are yesterday’s news. But the little snippets of music still generate billions of dollars.Ringtone revenues are on the wane, to be sure: Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) predicts the …

A new report from Informa Telecoms & Media predicts the struggling mobile base station market could be revived by mobile data traffic demands by 2011.The report predicts mobile data traffic will grow nearly 1,100% to 1,925 petabytes by 2012 from …

Rob Shaddock, leader of Motorola Inc.’s mobile devices consumer products group, since April, is leaving the company, Motorola confirmed today. In April, Shaddock had been given charge of the company’s multimedia phones. Going forward, John Cipolla will lead the consumer …

Passengers on coast-to-coast American Airlines flights can now sit back and surf the Web.The world’s largest airline said it has teamed up with Aircell to provide Internet access to passengers on flights between New York and San Francisco, New York …

ASPEN, Colo. – The cable industry remains infatuated with wireless, yet details on how it plans to tackle the market remain murky.The latest to shine a light on the issue was Cox Communications Inc. President Patrick Esser. Esser, speaking at …

The pressures of the mobile chip business, plus a fit in products and customers, has driven Ericsson Mobile Platforms and ST Microelectronics-NXP Wireless to join forces, the two companies said today.The joint venture, subject to regulatory approvals, combines ST-NXP’s 2G/EDGE …

Divergent strategies for handset vendors are reflected in two launches announced today. Palm Inc. will sell its Treo Pro device unlocked and unsubsidized through its online stores and resellers in the United States for $550, while launching it in Europe …

Believe it or not, CEOs still tell their I.T. managers to let them use whatever device they fancy, regardless of company standards for security and device management. Works for Apple Inc., which may well have chosen that path to get …

Nuance Communications Inc. isn’t letting a tiff with Zi Corp. stand in the way of a good spending spree.The Burlington, Mass.-based speech recognition firm will fork over roughly $180 million in stock to pick up SNAPin Software, a Seattle-area developer …

The companies listed below represent the ten largest national and regional licensed wireless carriers based on subscriber numbers at the end of the second quarter of this year. Once again, there was no movement among the top 10 carriers. AT&T …

If you want a marketing platform that offers reach, ease of entry, targeting and interactivity, then text marketing has it all.

Greece’s OTE has announced that its pilot WiMAX network in Mount Athos is now operational. In total, six WiMAX base stations have already been installed. The network range reaches 50 km, covering the majority of the Monasteries and Scetea of …

Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo are all offering ways to follow the Democratic and Republican conventions online. They are facilitating the conventions in a number of other ways as well.

Open Mobile Video Coalition to work with Advanced Television Systems Committee to speed standards process.

How high it will climb depends on how the market is sized.

Every year is the “year of mobile.” There have been expectations from the outset for this advertising platform to revolutionize the industry, and if mastered, marketers could tag along with consumers everywhere. While mobile marketing has not had a breakthrough …

The following list includes ratings changes and financial information for wireless companies announced this week by investment-banking and financial-services firms.Carrier–Lehman Brothers dropped its estimates on Leap Wireless based on predictions of continued elevated spending levels as the carrier invests in …

It’s no secret that the recording industry is increasingly looking to mobile to offset plummeting revenues from CDs and other physical goods. But sometimes its strategies seem horribly misguided. Word came over the weekend that Pandora, a streaming-music Internet site …

Many people aren’t leaving home when it comes to accessing the Internet using a wireless data card, according to a new report by Nielsen Mobile.Wireless data cards, gadgets that allow laptop and PC users to connect to the Internet using …

Google Inc. is toying with display ads on its popular YouTube mobile site.The dominant online player said is has begun placing marketing messages on “select pages” of YouTube’s mobile site in the United States and Japan.“This is our first step …

Nuance Communications Inc. went on the offensive in its effort to acquire Zi Corp., calling Zi’s unwillingness to enter negotiations “perplexing and inappropriate.”Nuance, a behemoth on the speech-recognition playground, last week offered an unsolicited, 80-cents-per-share bid for Zi, marking a …

Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly Reality Check column. We’ve gathered a group of visionaries and veterans in the mobile industry to give their insights into the marketplace. The mobile communications industry is turning the page on its history of …

Itron Inc. will use AT&T Mobility Inc. to help utility companies improve business metrics. Itron plans to deliver its advanced meter infrastructure (AMI) solution over the AT&T wireless network, offering utility companies the ability to cut costs, better manage resources …

Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly feature, Yay or Nay. Every week we’ll review a new wireless application or service from the user’s point of view, with the goal of highlighting what works and what doesn’t. If you wish to …