NEW YORK CITY-A strike launched yesterday by a group of taxi drivers protesting the installation of global positioning devices and wireless credit-card systems had minimal impact on New York City transportation.The New York Taxi Workers Alliance, an advocacy group that represents about 8,000 cab...
Two key Senate members today unveiled a sweeping wireless consumer protection bill, setting the stage for a fierce battle between lawmakers and the mobile-phone industry that's likely to play out well into the 2008 election season.The coming legislation goes further than setting federal standards...
Apple Inc. slashed the price of its 8GB iPhone by one-third and, separately, the company launched a Wi-Fi storefront hawking full-track tunes and albums for the device.The company said it lowered the price of the 8 GB iPhone from $600 to $400, and discontinued...
"I strongly believe that next year, in 2008, about 90% of people who walk anywhere in any store to buy wireless will have done their research online before. This changes the game," said Delly Tamer, founder and CEO of online retailer LetsTalk.com. Indeed, Tamer...
Verizon Wireless' $30 million wireless tax settlement with a number of Missouri municipalities could mark the start of a broader trend in the state, with other top mobile-phone carriers potentially facing far greater financial liability if a state judge next week grants class-action status...
Boost Mobile has tapped Telmap for its branded navigation application, which will run on Java-enabled handsets with GPS.Boost Navigator provides turn-by-turn walking and driving directions as well as information about nearby theaters, clubs, malls or eateries. The offering can be downloaded over the Internet...
Mobile search provider Medio Systems Inc. and m-commerce technology company mPoria Inc. announced a strategic partnership to help retailers reach wireless users on their phones.Medio, which powers Verizon Wireless' Get It Now search offering, said it will provide mobile advertising campaigns to mPoria's retail...
Broadcom Corp. will proceed with an antitrust action against Qualcomm Corp. over deceptive conduct before a standards-setting body after an appeals court reversed a lower court that had dismissed its claims. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit yesterday ruled that the...
Mobile advertising startup Quattro Wireless pocketed $12.3 million in a second round of financing from Globespan Capital Partners and Highland Capital Partners.The Waltham, Mass.-based company said it will use the cash to launch GetMobile, a self-service wireless advertising platform for advertisers and publishers. Highland...
Mobile phone distributor Brightstar Corp. said it will make a $5 million equity investment in InPhonic Inc., the Washington-based online retailer of wireless products and services.Brightstar will purchase about 2.5% of InPhonic's outstanding shares and acquire the retailer's distribution, inventory and fulfillment assets under...
Give Palm Inc.'s CEO Ed Colligan credit for straight talk, which may bode well for the company's new direction and ultimate survival. Colligan yesterday delivered a difficult message with a silver lining to Palm's customers, partners and developers: he's cancelling the Foleo product, which...
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.--D2C Games: Rubicon Venture Partners and 755 Capital Partners invested $6 million in D2C Games during the company's Series...
The following list includes ratings changes and financial information for wireless companies announced this week by investment-banking and financial-services firms.Carrier --R.W. Baird adjusted its third- and fourth-quarter estimates on MetroPCS Communications Inc. to reflect a delay in the launch of the company's Los Angeles...
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.Cellular--Indonesia: Telkom Indonesia has chosen ZTE Corp. to expand the...
Google Inc. is hoping to patent a text-based system for mobile payments.The Internet giant filed an application with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office to patent "a computer-implemented method of effectuating a payment" that is initiated when a mobile shopper sends a text message...
Um, you know that fewest-dropped-calls claim? Never mind.After spending a big chunk of its massive $1 billion budget bludgeoning the American public with the message that it has the "fewest dropped calls," the nation's No. 1 carrier is changing tack. AT&T Inc. will still...
AT&T Mobility has joined the ranks of wireless companies offering parents control over their children's wireless usage. The operator today introduced a Web-based service, Smart Limits for Wireless, to allow parents to set usage limits on talk time, text messaging, instant messaging and...
Carriers in the United Kingdom are hoping to give mobile transactions a boost with a new, standardized payment scheme for consumer purchases. PayForIt, which launched Saturday, provides a consistent user interface for mobile transactions of roughly $20 or less regardless of carrier. Users are...
Editor's Note: Welcome to Reality Check, a feature for RCR Wireless News' new weekly e-mail service, Mobile Content and Culture. We've gathered a group of visionaries and veterans in the mobile content industry to give their insights into the marketplace. In the coming weeks...
Corporate-speak is designed to be opaque, so when Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications issued a release today stating that President Miles Flint was stepping down and would "take a short career break," it would be legitimate to question whether he resigned voluntarily or was asked...
Telecom carriers traditionally have been among the nation's biggest advertisers. Through the years, those advertisements have educated us about rate plans, weekend calling, in-network calling, call quality and the joys of texting. They've also introduced us to some pretty cool phones. The advertisements playing...
The Federal Communications Commission officially dismissed wireless broadband applications of M2Z Networks Inc. and others, concluding the public interest would be best served by initiating a rulemaking on how to move idle frequencies in the 2155-2175 MHz band into the market. "Each of these...
Editor's Note: Welcome to On the Margins, a feature for RCR Wireless News' new weekly e-mail service, Mobile Content and Culture. Every week, the RCR Wireless News staff considers events in the wider business world and how they could affect the wireless industry.--NBC Universal...
Editor's Note: Welcome to Yay or Nay, a feature for RCR Wireless New' new weekly e-mail service, Mobile Content and Culture. 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...
