2008

Guatemala, Costa Rica to use ATSC-based solution following adoption by Albavision.

With wireless connectivity becoming ever more common in vehicles, security systems and utility meters, machine-to-machine technology is on the path to transform vending machines, real estate lock boxes and mail drop-boxes. Although the M2M space is still evolving (even the …

A Columbia University computer science professor has co-founded a New York-based company named Sense Networks to sell tracking software to other companies.

Blyk is a UK MVNO which offers no-cost and low-cost mobile phone service with revenue generated from advertising to the customer via the mobile phone. The company has been highly successful , gaining over 100,000 customers in less than a …

Despite delivering a bona fide hit handset, the $99 Centro, Palm Inc. continued to struggle with revenue and profit in fiscal fourth quarter.For the quarter ended May 31, Palm reported that revenue was $296 million, down 26% from the year-ago …

Analyst Brian Modoff at Deutsche Bank this week cut his forecast for global handset shipments from 8% growth to 6%, citing fuel and food cost pressures on consumers. Modoff said that those financial pressures were causing consumers to delay handset …

Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications warned today that it would only break even in the current quarter and that handset shipments will be nearly flat over the first quarter, reflecting “moderating demand” for its mid- and high-tier phones. The joint venture …

Virgin Mobile USA’s purchase of fellow MVNO Helio L.L.C. allows Virgin to evolve beyond its low-ARPU customers to higher-paying subscribers, as well as gain a sophisticated handset portfolio, improve its debt levels and cut a better deal with network operator …

Wireless Oakland, a municipal wireless network covering Oakland County, MIch., is offline due to lack of funds, Deputy Oakland County Executive and CIO Phil Bertolini said today. The project’s private-sector partners have been unable to secure the necessary funding to …

Verizon Communications has reiterated its long standing desire to buy out Vodafone’s share in their joint venture mobile network, Verizon Wireless.

The Federal Communications Commission is rushing toward auctioning too much spectrum in too short a period of time and is going to be disappointed with the results. While auctioning 25 megahertz of AWS-3 spectrum and designating a portion of that …

While cellphone sales may be on the decline in the United States, retailers may be able to bridge the gap with accessory sales, according to a new report from consumer market research firm NPD Group.The firm said mobile handset purchases …

The following list includes venture capital and other investments into wireless companies announced during the past week. The value of the investment is included when available. —BridgeWave: Intel Capital and Core Capital led a $10 million round of funding into …

A couple years ago, starting your very own mobile virtual network operations company was a sizzling hot idea and everybody was trying to cash in. But now, two years and a slue of MVNO closings later, the idea has fizzled. …

Last year, of course, the iPhone launch drove hand-wringing over the need to revamp user interfaces, accompanied by a move to large-display touchscreens.A wave of devices sporting large-display touchscreens followed, with varying results on the user interface. That influence continues …

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 RCRWirelessNews.com to rant and rave about whatever rubs …

Microsoft Corp. said it will acquire the Portuguese mobile software developer MobiComp for an undisclosed sum.MobiComp specializes in data protection and management technologies that allow the backup and restoration of data for mobile phones. The 8-year-old company boasts roughly a …

Suddenly, it’s all about consolidating handset platforms. Today, LiPS said it would jump on the LiMo. Earlier this week, Nokia Corp. said it would buy out its partners in Symbian Ltd. in order to drive innovation and consolidation of that …

Regional wireless carrier MetroPCS Communications Inc. announced a new promotion, MetroFlash, that will allow shoppers with a compatible CDMA handset to connect to the MetroPCS network; users will be able to sign up for MetroPCS service without having to buy …

PlayPhone Inc. is targeting Hispanic mobile users with a Spanish-language version of its online storefront.The San Jose, Calif.-based company said the site offers Latino-targeted content as well as wares from existing partners including the Cartoon Network, ABC Television, Sony Pictures …

Research In Motion Ltd. doubled its fiscal first quarter revenue and net income over the year-ago quarter, sold 5.4 million devices and added 2.3 million new subscribers. RIM’s fiscal first quarter ended May 31.Not good enough for Wall Street, however. …

The world’s first advertising-funded mobile telecoms operator, Blyk, will enter the German, Spanish and Belgian markets next year, the company said.

“Is this interesting to Google?” That’s what Andy Rubin was asking Larry Page. It was a spring day in 2005, and the two were in a conference room just off the main lobby at Google’s headquarters. A simple yes and …

Wait. Scroll. Scroll. Tap-tap. Wait. Wait. For many years, that was the typical experience of someone surfing the Web using a mobile phone or PDA, at least in the U.S. Although some content providers offered stripped-down versions of their sites …