Virgin Mobile USA L.L.C. said that its users have earned more than 9 million minutes of free airtime since the mobile virtual network operator instituted its Sugar Mama program, which offers customers the chance to receive calling minutes in exchange for watching advertisements. The...
Shares of Oasys Mobile Inc. continued their descent after the company lost two board members and defaulted on an $8 million loan.The Raleigh, N.C.-based outfit filed documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission disclosing the resignations of J. Winder Hughes and Stephen Finn, claiming...
Tira Wireless said it will expand beyond mobile entertainment after pocketing $5 milion in a Series D funding round.The San Mateo, Calif.-based company has gained considerable traction by helping game-makers and other publishers deploy their offerings across a broad swath of devices and networks....
Nortel Networks Ltd. has secured a three-year contract with Cricket Communications Inc. valued at $135 million, to supply the carrier with CDMA equipment as it expands its network coverage with CDMA2000 1x and EV-DO Rev. A equipment, the Toronto-based company announced.The flat-rate carrier is...
Software vendor Synchronoss Technologies Inc. said that it has signed a multi-year deal with AT&T Inc. to "support the launch and ongoing operational support" for the iPhone. Stephen Waldis, president and CEO of Synchronoss, called the unique iPhone activation process a paradigm shift. Most...
Welcome to our Monday column, Analyst Angle. Every Monday, the industry's leading analysts give their outlook on the hot topics in the wireless industry, from carriers to content to handsets to infrastructure.The July 4th holiday is just behind us, and I'm still reveling in...
Tens of thousands of customers opening up their shiny, new iPhones during opening weekend experienced a different way to activate a wireless device-outside the store.Instead, customers were pointed to Apple Inc.'s iTunes for activation, in a transaction that was powered by software vendor Synchronoss...
There's been a lot of ink spilled about Apple's iPhone. And here's some more.Industry pundits have pointed out that the iPhone is like the Paris Hilton of the business industry; the topic has been blanketed by news coverage, and every aspect and angle of...
The field of technologies and systems vying for industrywide recognition as the standard for mobile broadcast television has reached 11, with three proposing a complete system while the others are focusing on key links in the framework, such as audio codec.The Advanced Television Systems...
Covering the Hatfields' and the McCoys' blood feud might be easier than sifting through the conflicting claims between Broadcom Corp. and Qualcomm Inc. over patent rights and competitive issues.The two chip vendors' public rhetoric continued to heat up last week, even as the companies...
HOLLYWOOD, Calif.-Hollywood and gaming have been cohorts for quite a while, but their relationship is budding in new ways as film and TV properties look to drive their brand beyond the big screen.Whereas mobile games may have been an afterthought following the typical course...
MobileStorm Inc. said it is working with the MGM Grand Las Vegas hotel to help it promote events at its Studio 54 and Tabu nightclubs. The promotions will use text messaging and mobile billboards to invite patrons to events. The system will allow users...
The wireless industry has watched since 2001 as Sony Corp. and L.M. Ericsson joined forces to tackle the handset market. Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications focused on profitability first and has attained fourth place in global handset-vendor rankings. The JV's financial success has been reflected...
Hedge*hog*ing v. Interrupting conversations in an office environment by poking your head over the top of the cube.Nokia-Siemens sent out a press release this week stating that Finnish ISP Nebula was beginning to offer "very high speed broadband Internet connections" in Helsinki. The release...
MediaFLO USA Inc. is locking up high-profile content deals and shifting into overdrive as it nears its service launch with AT&T Mobility. Meanwhile, its would-be competitors remain in idle as they work to lock up their first carrier customers.While the subsidiary of Qualcomm Inc....
It's beginning to look like all that money being poured into mobile search may end up in the pockets of patent lawyers.Shares of Local.com Corp. skyrocketed last week after the online search company said it had received a patent for ad-supported mobile search. The...
Worldwide mobile content revenues are expected to surpass $44 billion in 2011, more than double the expected $20 billion in revenues generated this year, according to iSuppli Corp.The mobile market research firm said the growth largely will be driven by rising demand for mobile...
Major wireless policy debates are increasingly ceasing to be Inside-the-Beltway brawls limited to high-powered lobbyists hired by well-heeled, warring industry factions. Instead, proponents of ambitiously controversial proposals-particularly those promising to extend the reach of a free and open Internet-have been able to tap into...
WHILE FRONTLINE WIRELESS L.L.C., Congress and the mobile-phone industry sound off in the final throes of a testy, high-profile 700 MHz debate, the steady, low-key diplomacy of the public-safety community could prove decisive in determining whether the Federal Communications Commission approves for auction a...
Maybe it's fitting that the two newest players in mobile social networking are named after sea creatures. Because they're diving into a very crowded pool.Cellfish Media L.L.C. is hoping to be a one-stop shop for on-the-go consumers with a new ad-supported portal, Cellfish.com, designed...
MediaFLO USA Inc. has scooped up some exclusive mobile premieres since its launch in March and it plans to continue. In late June, the company broadcast the mobile premiere of MTV Network's "Super Sweet 16: The Movie" before it hit the at-home TV airwaves,...
Two U.S. carriers have unveiled converged Wi-Fi/cellular products that use Unlicensed Mobile Access technology and offer customers the chance to stretch their wireless minutes and improve in-home coverage by relying on Wi-Fi for voice calls. Regional telco Cincinnati Bell was the first to come...
Wireless is still drawing considerable interest-and dollars-from venture-capital companies, but VC investment overall saw a dip in the number of deals in the first quarter as investors concentrated on exit strategies, including initial public offerings. Some of the biggest IPOs related to the wireless...
Telecom vendors cheered the signing of a U.S.-Korea trade pact boasting key market-opening telecom provisions, but the bilateral accord faces an uphill battle in Congress and skepticism about whether wireless and other American high-tech sectors will gain as much as the Bush administration predicts....
