The fourth quarter-a seasonally hot quarter for handset sales-is well underway. Time for the crystal ball and a word from a couple of gazers. The outlook remains positive for fourth-quarter shipment volumes, based largely on historical trends and the remarkable volumes of handsets shipped...
LONDON-Consumers worldwide have been slow to purchase 3G phones and slower to avail themselves of the technological edge that 3G makes possible, market analyst firm TNS said in a new report. Americans, despite a reputation as slow to adopt advanced services, seem focused on...
In Hollywood's movie industry, as in New York's publishing industry, the cutting question is, "Yes, but what have you done lately?" Add the semiconductor industry to that list. When Texas Instruments Inc. reported that its third-quarter revenue rose 13 percent to $3.76 billion and...
Over the Razr's unprecedented two-year run, the retail price of the device has plummeted from $500 to $50, drawing new volumes of consumers at each price point along the way. In the process, this game-changing handset has sold more than 50 million units, spawned...
As carriers try to attract churners and new subscribers at the onset of the holiday season, they're relying on the strength of their marketing messages and reputation to get shoppers thinking-and potentially onboard. Sprint Nextel Corp. is busy running a new advertising campaign while...
Sprint Nextel Corp. is revving up its network with the promised first launch of CDMA2000 1x EV-DO Revision A technology, lighting up San Diego with coverage that the carrier promises will deliver "significantly faster" upload speeds and faster download speeds as well. San Diego...
Two wireless service providers last week began offering their customers handsets that can move between cellular and Wi-Fi networks, moves that mark the first serious attempt at commercially available converged wireless services in the United States. Such services are seen as one avenue for...
This Halloween, mobile content provider Mixxer.com is offering free mobile content to wireless trick-or-treaters. The company is giving away spooky graphics and sounds, including ringtones from "Halloween," "The Exorcist," "The Addams Family," and "Tales from the Crypt." The company also is offering free Halloween-themed...
HUNT VALLEY, Md.-Tessco Technologies Inc. reported second-quarter net income of $1.9 million, up from year-ago profits of $1.7 million. However, revenues for the quarter fell 14 percent to $118.7 million from last year's $137.6 million. Tessco provides the wireless industry with network infrastructure products...
Despite mixed third quarter financial results, analysts remain bullish on the long-term outlook of Alcatel Inc.'s pending acquisition of Lucent Technologies Inc. Bill Lesieur, director at Technology Business Research, opined that the mixed results shed light on the potential synergies of the combined company...
American Tower Corp. confirmed last week that it will restate financial results from 2005 through the first quarter of this year due to discrepancies in "measurement dates" of certain stock-option grants. American Tower said an internal committee is still reviewing the stock-options backdating matter...
NEW YORK—Mobile content retailer Thumbplay Inc. added to its bank account with a new funding round and line of credit. The distributor of ringtones and other content hauled in $10 million in a third round of financing round led by Bain Capital Ventures and...
LONDON-Smart phones will represent the fastest growing segment of the mobile handset market this year, according to Informa Telecoms & Media. The company said year-on-year volume of smart phones will increase more than 40 percent this year. By comparison, basic phones are expected to...
Online Editor Mike Dano has been trying out various mobile TV services for the better part of two years now. We thought we'd let him rant for hedgehogging this week since the rest of us haven't spent two years assessing mobile TV. You can...
WASHINGTON-Fresh revelations of terrestrial repeaters being improperly operated by a satellite radio company further fueled a mushrooming controversy at the Federal Communications Commission, one with potentially major implications for wireless broadband companies planning to invest millions of dollars in coming years on U.S. WiMAX...
SAN DIEGO-Qualcomm Inc. said the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office plans to re-examine one patent at issue in the ongoing war between Qualcomm and Broadcom Corp. The two companies are engaged in heated battles surrounding antitrust and patent-infringement claims.According to Qualcomm, the USPTO said...
WASHINGTON-Facing an iDEN capacity constraint as it reconfigures its 800 MHz systems, Sprint Nextel Corp. asked the Federal Communications Commission for authorization to move its iDEN operations in 13 markets along the Eastern Seaboard to the 900 MHz band. Sprint Nextel said the move...
WASHINGTON-U.S. law enforcement and homeland security officials gave their blessing to Japan-based NTT DoCoMo Inc.'s proposed $72 million purchase of Guam Cellular & Paging Inc. and Guam Wireless Telephone Co. L.L.C., after the parties agreed to certain conditions. While it pales in comparison to...
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.-U.S. consumers are increasingly focusing on devices when considering wireless services, according to a survey from J.D. Power and Associates. The market research firm found that 19 percent of customers cite the type or brand of cell phone as a key factor...
Flash Lite is finally here. Verizon Wireless last week became the first U.S. carrier to offer Adobe Systems Inc.'s wireless platform, introducing a stripped-down version of its popular Flash Player for computers. The technology, which will initially be supported by four high-end handset models,...
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.—Alltel Corp. posted solid third quarter revenues but its customer numbers didn’t quite meet analysts’ expectations, results that dropped the company’s stock price by more than 6 percent in Wall Street trading. Alltel’s gross customer additions for the quarter jumped by 14...
PHILADELPHIA—Comcast Corp. will unveil a new multi-screen platform next week that will allow content to be distributed via television, online and through wireless devices. The new platform will initially provide Halloween-related content such as horror movies when it is launched on Tuesday, according to...
VANCOUVER—Wireless modem maker Sierra Wireless Inc. reported a profit for the third quarter. The company’s net income was $1.1 million, a reversal of a net loss of $3.1 million reported during the third quarter last year. The company’s net income was down, however, from...
