Editor’s Note: RCR Wireless News goes all in for “Throwback Thursdays,” tapping into our archives to resuscitate the top headlines from the past. Fire up the time machine, put on those sepia-tinted shades, set the date for #TBT and enjoy the memories!
Motorola follows up Razr with Krzr and Rizr
ROSEMENT, Ill.—Motorola Inc. expanded its family of Razr-inspired handsets, unveiling two handsets that mirror the company’s flagship phone. The world’s second-largest handset manufacturer introduced the Krzr, a narrower Razr with removable memory and a metallic gloss finish. The handset is slightly thicker than the Razr, however, due to its 2-megapixel camera. Motorola also took the wraps off the Rizr, which combines a sliding form factor with a 2-megapixel camera and can be turned sideways for landscape-style photographs. Both phones offer built-in music players and improved navigation and contacts software, according to a research note from Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. The Rizr is a GSM/GPRS/EDGE handset while the Krzr will support both CDMA2000 1x EV-DO and GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks. The devices are expected to sell in the $200 to $300 range. … Read more
Disney, Virgin Mobile MVNOs add new handsets
NORTH HOLLYWOOD, Calif.—Two mobile virtual network operators will soon be adding additional phones to their handset repertoires. MVNO Disney Mobile is planning to add a third handset to its line-up, according to documents filed with the Federal Communications Commission, and is expected to begin selling its second handset next week. Pantech Corp. submitted paperwork to the FCC for approval of a new handset, the Pantech/Curitel PN-320. The silver flip phone carries Disney Mobile’s logo and is equipped with Bluetooth and a camera. Disney Mobile spokesman Anthony Sprauve said that a date had not yet been set for the PN-320 to make its debut to customers, but that the MVNO was expecting to release it in the fall. Disney Mobile currently sells only one phone, the DM-P100 from Pantech, which also is a silver flip phone. … Read more
Helio is hot on MySpace
Helio L.L.C. has 90,000 MySpace friends and counting—and how many wireless companies can say that? Cingular Wireless L.L.C.’s “Cingular Sounds” MySpace page only has about 35,000 friends, while the “Sprint Guy” character formerly featured in Sprint Nextel Corp. ads has a scant 203 friends. While “friends” doesn’t translate into “subscribers,” the nontraditional promotion in places such as MySpace has been part of Helio’s strategy of trying to reach its young, hip, tech-savvy demographic. Helio’s senior director of marketing and communications, Julie Cordua, is quick to note that the company’s MySpace page was designed by an employee who is a “MySpace addict,” and that the company has people personally answering the comments on its site. “We want to have a dialogue,” said Cordua. “We’re not just about slapping our brand in the MySpace environment.” The mobile virtual network operator kicked off its traditional advertising campaign for its service and handsets last week—and you’d better not call them phones. Helio began running two English-language TV commercials with the tagline “Don’t call us a phone company. Don’t call it a phone.” … Read more
Google adds traffic conditions to mobile maps
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.—Drivers in 30 cities can check traffic conditions on their handsets through a new offering from Google Inc. The developer upgraded its Google Maps offering for wireless Web surfers, allowing users to choose a desired location from their phone and select the “show traffic” option. The application delivers updated information, using color overlays to indicate conditions on specified commuter routes and providing expected drive times. Users can store favorite searches and driving directions, and can compare alternative routes. The move is the Internet giant’s latest effort to extend its offerings from the computer to mobile phones. Google is working with both operators and handset manufacturers to provide wireless Internet services … Read more
Yahoo strikes a deal with Motorola to pre-load its app
SUNNYVALE, Calif.—Yahoo Inc. took yet another step onto the wireless playground, inking a deal to preload its Go for Mobile service on “tens of millions” of handsets from Motorola Inc. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The application, which includes Yahoo-branded mobile services including e-mail, search, contacts and local information, are to be embedded on phones that will be shipped to the Americas, Europe and Asia. The companies said they plan to work together to market the new handsets, which are scheduled to come to market in the first half of next year. “Consumers are no longer tethered to just accessing Internet on their desktop computer,” said Yahoo Senior Vice President Marco Boerries, “so we are bringing the best of Yahoo’s services to the device they always have with them.” While many wireless players— especially operators—see Yahoo and its Internet brethren as direct competition, Motorola has been quick to embrace Web-based behemoths. … Read more
An ‘iPod phone’ and Appleberry rumors
CUPERTINO, Calif.—Rumors of an “iPod phone” gained further traction after an Apple Computer Inc. executive hinted at an iTunes-friendly handset during a conference call with analysts Wednesday. Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer, when pressed by an analyst to respond to Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications L.P.’s success with its Walkman music phone, said Apple is “very excited about what we have in the product pipeline,” according to a transcript of the call posted on SeekingAlpha.com. Oppenheimer said the company thinks the iPod is the best portable music player on the market, “but over time, that is likely to change, and we are not sitting around doing nothing.” Meanwhile, Research in Motion Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Jim Balsillie refused to answer questions from a Reuters reporter regarding a rumored “AppleBerry” phone that couples wireless e-mail service with the iPod’s music functionality. Canaccord Capital analyst Peter Misek speculated on such a partnership earlier this year after RIM said it planned to market a more entertainment-focused BlackBerry. … Read more
Capex slumps
NEW YORK—Spending on wireless equipment is in a bit of a slump, according to Bear Stearns & Co. Inc.’s U.S. telecom capex preview. The firm said Cingular Wireless L.L.C., the nation’s largest carrier, is spending money on third-generation equipment, but those capital expenditures are expected to slow down next year. The company is expected to spend between $7 billion and $7.5 billion this year on equipment. Meanwhile, said Bear Stearns, Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp. are both holding their equipment spending while they wait for CDMA2000 1x EV-DO Revision A technology. Sprint Nextel said it plans to deploy Rev. A technology by the end of next year. As for T-Mobile USA Inc., Bear Stearns said the carrier has yet to make significant 3G expenditures. … Read more
LG loses 3G license over network technology choice
SEOUL—LG Telecom Co. Ltd.’s next move is unclear now that South Korea’s Ministry of Information and Communications has stripped the carrier of its third-generation license after the company chose to bail out on its promise to launch IMT-2000-based services, opting instead to pour its resources into CDMA2000 1x EV-DO Revision A equipment. Compounding the problem, South Korean law dictates that LG Telecom’s chief executive, Nam Yong, must step down. Yong has been leading LG Telecom since 1998, but he’s expected to resign next week as he receives official notification of the license cancellation from the government. LG Telecom’s license was yanked because the carrier failed to launch IMT-2000 services by June 30, which was a condition of its 3G license. The carrier, South Korea’s third-largest wireless operator, bought the IMT-2000 license in 2002, agreeing to pay $1.2 billion in government fees. South Korea’s government left LG Telecom with few 3G options, having rejected the company’s bid to operate a W-CDMA network. … Read more
Check out the RCR Wireless News Archives for more stories from the past.
