UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif.—Universal Studios is the latest mainstream media giant to go wireless in a big way, establishing a division dedicated to mobile content. Universal, which already has more than 60 licensing deals worldwide with mobile entertainment publishers, announced plans to launch 30 games...
NEW YORK—Wireless carriers should create separate marketing messages for teenagers and parents in order to capitalize on the lucrative teen market, according to a report from JupiterResearch. According to the report, "Teens: Mobile Subscriber Acquisition," nearly 60 percent of teenagers have a cell phone...
ATLANTA—Strip a phone of any fun features, cut its retail price and—bingo!—you have a handset aimed at business and government users in the United States. Such is the logic behind Cingular Wireless L.L.C.’s introduction of the Motorola Inc. L2, a "Slvr-like" phone that has...
SAN DIEGO—Qualcomm Inc. raised its revenue estimates for its third quarter ending in June, indicating it expects revenue at or slightly above earlier forecasts of $1.77 billion to $1.87 billion based on strong demand for its chipsets destined for both low-end and 3G phones....
EL SEGUNDO, Calif.—A growing chorus of vendors and analysts have raised projections that 2006 will be another record-setting year for handset shipments, as iSuppli Corp. raised its forecast for 2006 to 932 million handset shipments, up from its previous estimate of 900 million. The increase represents...
WASHINGTON—Alcatel SA and Lucent Technologies Inc. have been forced to defend their proposed transatlantic merger after a key lawmaker raised security concerns about the deal in a letter to President Bush. "I have several grave concerns about the potential merger of French-owned Alcatel and...
WASHINGTON—Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, went to the Senate Floor Monday afternoon to announce he was introducing "the Communications Act of 2006." The 135-page bill combines many previously introduced proposals. The bill supports municipal broadband network deployments as well...
BELLEVUE, Wash.—Following the current mobile-phone mantra that "thin is in," Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and T-Mobile USA Inc. today announced the availability of their candy bar-form Samsung t509 in the United States. The t509 measures 9.8 millimeters in thickness, a term no longer used...
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Helio L.L.C. made its debut in the wireless marketplace today with two high-end handsets linked to social networking site MySpace.com and plans to have its services available through 1,000 retail locations by the end of the month. Helio’s target audience is young...
MARKHAM, Ontario—ATI Technologies said it will spend as much as $44 million to acquire Bitboys Oy, a Finland-based developer of graphics hardware for wireless devices. ATI provides graphics processor units for PCs, laptops, videogame consoles and mobile phones, and generated $2.22 billion in revenues...
LIBERTYVILLE, Ill.—Motorola Inc. flexed its muscles today in acquiring the research and development capabilities from a small competitor—the second time Motorola has done so in less than a year. Motorola said it plans to buy one of BenQ Mobile’s research-and-development centers and its 250...
NEW YORK—Verizon Wireless continued its run of strong quarterly results, boosting its service revenues by double-digits and squeezing its churn rate below 1.2 percent. The carrier added 1.7 million new customers, about 3 percent more than 2005’s first quarter. Verizon reported that 1.6 million...
PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y.—Carriers may not be earning the additional revenue they expected from the popularity of camera phones, according to new research from The NPD Group Inc. In less than four years, camera phones have found their way into the pockets and purses of...
SAN JOSE, Calif.—Strong sales of wireless phones were a major contributor to increases in microchip sales during the first quarter, according to figures released by the Semiconductor Industry Association. Worldwide semiconductor sales reached $59.1 billion during the quarter, up 7.3 percent year-over-year, but down...
By Alice Z. Cuneo SAN FRANCISCO—It cost $4 billion to turn it into one of the best known names in the country, a future-forward, dynamic brand with a strong connection to young consumers and a share lead in the wireless marketplace. Yet, in 2007,...
PLEASANTON, Calif.—Wireless entertainment company FunMail Inc. announced the acquisition of Zapptrio Inc., a developer of location-based applications for mobile phones. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.Zapptrio, which had been owned by a U.S.-based subsidiary of Japan’s Mitsui & Co., produces wallpapers, ringtones and...
PALO ALTO, Calif.—Social network developer flipt said it snared $5 million in its first round of venture funding. Sequoia Captial and New Enterprise Associates led the financing round. The stealthy startup, which recently changed its name from Radiate, is quietly working on a location-enabled...
OKLAHOMA CITY—Dobson Communications Corp. said it launched service in Deadhorse, Alaska. The launch extends the carrier’s GSM/GPRS/EDGE network into the North Slope region along the coast of the Arctic Ocean, an area that contains one of the major petroleum reserves in Alaska. Deadhorse serves...
BROOMFIELD, Colo.—Internet backbone operator Level 3 Communications Inc. has agreed to acquire privately held telecom company TelCove, Inc. for $1.24 billion, a move that provides Level 3 more than 300 LMDS and 39 GHz licenses covering 90 percent of the U.S. population. "The acquisition...
REDWOOD SHORES, Calif.—Fresh from a courtroom victory against Seven Networks, Visto Corp. is setting its sights on a much bigger competitor—Research In Motion Ltd. A jury in the federal court for the Eastern District of Texas Friday awarded Visto a $3.6 million judgment, finding...
SAN DIEGO—Residents of San Antonio will be able to add Cricket to their list of wireless service choices, starting tomorrow. Leap Wireless International Inc. and Alaska Native Broadband 1 License, L.L.C. said they plan to begin offering Leap’s Cricket service with four retail stores...
NEW YORK—Lehman Bros. Equity Research analysts said that they expect Sprint Nextel Corp. soon to make public plans for the carrier’s vast 2.5 GHz spectrum holdings, and Sprint Nextel confirmed that the operator is working on making its decision. "We expect to make a...
SEATTLE—Loudeye Corp. said it has sold its U.S.-based digital music business to New York-based Muze Inc. for $11 million. Muze, which is owned by Enterprise Partner Venture Capital, will take over Loudeye’s Web and mobile digital music technology including its encoding services. Loudeye said...
MELBOURNE, Fla.—Wireless base station supplier AirNet Communications Corp., which has been struggling through a restructuring for the past several years, has been hit with additional blows during the first half of this year and may have to close its doors. Last week, the company...
