2008

Turn-by-turn directions are still the most popular application, and the industry is working to refine it. Last year, Google launched “My Location” on Google Maps, which can detect your location based on cell towers.

Unlocking a cell phone is something of a Houdini-esque exercise. Sure, it’s possible to tweak a handset so it works on a network other than the one for which it was designed. But it requires following a series of steps …

No one likes to lose out to the little guy, which is why Ion Geophysical, developer of high-end seismic data systems for the oil and gas industry, snapped up low-end systems company Aram Systems on Wednesday.

With an influx of new spectrum, new networks coming online and new services to run over those networks, one might say that venture capitalists are backing both the tortoise and the hare to win in wireless. The interest in the …

The following list includes ratings changes and financial information for wireless companies announced this week by investment-banking and financial-services firms.Carrier–Credit Suisse First Boston reduced its estimates on AT&T, saying the risks that it predicted in its telecom sector downgrade in …

Despite ongoing government and industry efforts to improve safety, maintenance of mobile-phone and other communications towers continues to be the most hazardous work around. And because of the relatively small number of employees in the business compared to other industry …

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit today said it will not rule on wireless providers’ challenge to the Federal Communications Commission’s backup power rule until Bush administration budget officials complete their review of controversial guidelines …

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. Mobile penetration in Latin America was around 66% in early 2008, well …

Full-track music download services continue to spin their wheels in mobile, but Verizon Wireless is hoping to get some traction by overhauling its offering.The carrier last week launched a new offering that couples an all-you-can-eat subscription with an over-the-air option …

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 …

Could the skies be clearing over beleagured Sprint Nextel?According to the Wall Street Journal, which cited comments from Verizon Communications President Denny Strigl, the nation’s No. 3 carrier could be turning a corner. Strigl reportedly told an investor conference that …

The world got a tantalizing peak at a highly-anticipated touchscreen smartphone that’s supposed to come out this weekend. That’s right folks, it looks like the Treo 800w was showing its bad self all over the Internet today.

Torn between driving or walking to the gym? Well, now a mobile application’s available that calculates how much CO 2 using the care will produce, versus the number of calories you’ll burn with an eco-friendly walk.

Doreen Rosimos of Marlborough, N.H., brought along her Rottweiler, Zelda, when she went on an assignment in Kentucky.

The following list details this week’s infrastructure awards for the cellular, Wi-Fi, and WiMAX industries. The contracts are broken down by transmission technology, country and vendor. The value of the contract is included when available.WiMAX–Pakistan: Huawei Technologies said it won …

The release of the iPhone is just around the corner. Apple plans to release the 3G iPhone in 22 different countries Friday, July 11. ; IPHONE 3G apple at&t; Crain’s Chicago Business, a sister publication to RCR Wireless News, checks …

Handset vendors’ second-quarter earnings are expected to be ho-hum, based on a global lull in new product launches during the quarter. As usual, however, analysts will carefully parse the language used by leading vendors – most prominently, Nokia Corp. – …

A lower price isn’t the only change accompanying the release of Apple Inc.’s 3G iPhone. Activating the device will also differ this year. When released last summer, customers were required to perform a self-activation of the device at home via …

FEW ARE CERTAIN whether Apple Inc.’s simultaneous, 22-country launch of its 3G iPhone this Friday is unprecedented in the industry. But many observers, cognizant of manufacturing logistics, regulatory-approval and carrier-testing hurdles, will watch closely to see how well the Cupertino, …

Only in New York City… Last Friday, on July 4th, no less, about 10 people decided to get in line at the 5th Avenue Apple store for the 3G iPhone — a full week before its release.

Thinking about picking up an iPhone 3G the day Apple and AT&T start selling them? You might want to consider a few things before searching for a tent and camping chair.

I just read some staggering data: By 2016, US wireless industry will help bring about more productivity gains — $427 billion annually — than auto and pharmaceutical industries combined, according to a just-released <a href="http://files.ctia.

In a recent survey of people from 11 countries, South Koreans were the second most likely to own cellphones with e-mail capabilities. Sixty-nine percent of the South Korean respondents had such phones, compared with 89 percent of Japanese respondents, who …

Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly feature, Analyst Angle. We’ve collected a group of the industry’s leading analysts to give their outlook on the hot topics in the wireless industry.Why is the mobile user experience important?For many mobile service providers …