Mobile and Wireless Industry Reports

Apple Inc. apologized for stumbling out of the gate last week with MobileMe, an auto-synching service for iPhone and iPod touch users.MobileMe is a cloud-based app that automatically updates contacts, calendar information and other data between the mobile devices and …

Perhaps lost – but apparently not forgotten in the Federal Communications Commission’s extended consideration of the proposed merger of XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. and Sirius Radio Holdings Inc. – are long-standing allegations of illegal operation of terrestrial repeaters by …

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. is pushing its recently launched Instinct handset with a viral video campaign on Break.comThe three-episode series features behind-the-scenes tours of Major League Baseball venues in San Francisco, Boston and Chicago, including footage taken with the handset. …

Mobile media company Player X said it pocketed Spain’s Gaelco Moviles, a mobile games publisher, for an undisclosed amount of cash.The move marks the first acquisition for Player X, a London-based outfit that specializes in mobile games and video, and …

Leap Communications International Inc. subsidiary Cricket Communications Inc. added another version of Motorola Inc.’s venerable Razr handset to its lineup with the V3s that is compatible with the carrier’s advanced wireless services spectrum it acquired during the Federal Communication Commission’s …

ESPN and MediaFLO USA Inc. launched a dedicated channel to bring X Games coverage to mobile users.EXPN, as the offering is dubbed, will deliver content around the clock to subscribers of AT&T Mobile TV and Verizon Wireless’ Vcast video service; …

Private equity’s avid interest in Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.’s handset business is based on Huawei’s opportunities for significant growth and as a means to further investment in China, analysts said last week. Huawei has a chance to profit from domestic …

The top U.S. wireless provider and the world’s leading handset maker have been named defendants in a class action lawsuit alleging a used cellphone was sold as new by a California retailer. “The class has suffered injuries in fact and …

The following list includes ratings changes and financial information for wireless companies announced this week by investment-banking and financial-services firms.Carrier–Standard & Poor’s withdrew its corporate credit rating on Total Access Communication, the second-largest cellular provider in Thailand, at the company’s …

Virgin Mobile USA (VM) definitely walks to its own, very hip drumbeat.

Today, Thrrum announced that its MMS search product is now available to subscribers of T-Mobile’s and Verizon Wireless’s networks. If you see something that you’d like more information about, take a picture of any sort of text that is associated …

Wireless banking also poised for growth in U.S.. Mobile banking isn’t as popular in the U.S. as banks had hoped, although new smart phones like the iPhone 3G may help speed the pace of adoption with better interfaces and faster …

The iPhone App Store stole headlines last week, but it’s the ever-growing cloud above that ultimately will be more important to developers of mobile consumer applications.Cloud computing – applications “in the sky” accessed through the Internet, as opposed to native …

Sprint Nextel Corp. and Palm Inc. are pushing hard for enterprise customers with their new Treo 800w, the first Palm device to offer Wi-Fi and GPS connectivity, with broadband speeds.In Sprint Nextel’s case, the carrier needs to retain high-value corporate …

Following a plea to mobile service providers that fell on deaf ears, the European Commission is hoping to mandate lower prices for SMS roaming.The commission said it hopes to end “bill shocks” by proposing legislation to the European Parliament to …

A tax holiday may be in the future for wireless providers and the nation’s 262 million cellphone users after all. Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) introduced legislation to impose a five-year moratorium on new or increased wireless …

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin signaled the agency is prepared to fix a roaming snag faced by wireless providers delayed in constructing networks because spectrum licenses won at major auctions remain occupied by commercial and government users. The FCC’s …

Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly feature, Yay or Nay. 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 and what doesn’t. If you wish to …

Mobile news aggregator Mobispine AB said it has acquired NewsAlloy, a Web-based feed reader, for an undisclosed sum.A Sweden-based startup, Mobispine offers a free, Java-based download that delivers RSS feeds to more than 300,000 active members. The company said it …

Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly Reality Check column. We’ve gathered a group of visionaries and veterans in the mobile industry to give their insights into the marketplace. A race is underway, and the whole world is watching – even …

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–China: China Mobile Communications entered a …

NEW YORK — The video-sharing site YouTube will be allowed to mask the identities of individual users when it provides viewership records to Viacom and other copyright holders behind a $1 billion copyright-infringement lawsuit.

Those who predict the imminent death of TV might have to wait awhile. There’s still a vast swath of land — commonly known as “Middle America” — where broadcast television works just fine, thanks.

Marketing firm Fuse talks to Sony, MTV Networks, Yahoo, and Nokia to find out what the future of technology will look like for the teens. The conclusion: It’s mobile.

South Korea’s SK Telecom Corp. is in talks to buy struggling U.S. wireless carrier Sprint Nextel Corp., business news channel CNBC reported Tuesday An agreement would be at best weeks away, CNBC said, citing people familiar with the talks.