Mobile and Wireless Industry Reports

Nokia Corp. announced today it signed a “strategic partnership agreement” with China’s largest distributor, China Postel, for up to $2 billion in mobile handsets this year.Nokia’s announcement noted that China Postel is “expected” to make purchases of that magnitude, rather …

Could today be the day that the Federal Communication Commission’s 700 MHz spectrum auction comes to an end?New bids continued to dwindle in Auction 73, with action during rounds 170 through 178 huddled in the low double digits, before dropping …

Alltel Wireless, the nation’s No. 5 operator, is the latest to join the unlimited-calling bandwagon, quietly launching an all-you-can-talk plan for $100 a month.The Little Rock, Ark.-based network operator followed its bigger rivals, all of whom have launched variations on …

CUPERTINO, Calif. — Apple Inc. has delivered on its promise to offer a software development kit (SDK) to spur the growth of mobile applications for the iPhone. Thus far the only third-party applications out there are Web sites that simply …

President Bush appointed Neil Suryakant Patel to head the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, a week after lawmakers raised concerns about what the leadership changeup might mean for billion-dollar public-safety and digital TV transition programs.Patel currently serves as Vice President …

Glu Mobile Inc. moved one step closer to acquiring its U.K.-based rival Superscape Group plc.Glu said it obtained commitments for roughly 81% of the issued shares of Superscape, which claims 135 employees in San Clemente, Calif. and the British town …

Kenneth C. “Casey” Keller Jr., the package-goods marketing guru who tried to revive Motorola after its popular Razr product started to lose its edge, has been cut from the company. In a statement, Motorola attributed Keller’s departure to a restructuring …

CUPERTINO, Calif. — Business has formally been introduced to Apple Inc.’s iPhone. The company invited about 350 analysts, developers and press to its headquarters today to announce a suite of business-minded applications that will be added to current iPhones through …

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.—Handango: Several companies invested $9.5 million into smartphone content provider Handango. Participating in the Series …

The future makeup of the Federal Communications Commission has become ensnarled in election-year politics, with sources saying Republican Chairman Kevin Martin has refused to commit to leaving the agency in January if a Democratic wins the White House as part …

Activist investor Carl Icahn has raised his stake in Motorola Inc. to 6.3% and the company has responded by warning investors that it has not endorsed Icahn’s nominees for its board, according to media reports.Icahn now owns more than 142 …

SK Telecom and Citi hope to push the mobile-banking envelope with a new, San Francisco-based joint venture. The companies unveiled Mobile Money Ventures, a joint venture that aims to develop a platform that “encompasses all key mobile banking value propositions” …

Bidding remained subdued over the past 10 rounds of the Federal Communication Commission’s 700 MHz spectrum auction, with new bids per round hovering in the high single-digit and low teens. The lackluster action contributed around $3 million to the auction’s …

Hello! And welcome to our Thursday column, Worst of the Week. There’s a lot of nutty stuff that goes on in this industry, so this column is a chance for us at RCRWirelessNews.com to rant and rave about whatever rubs …

In the world of off-deck mobile video, Sling Media Inc. has pushed the envelope quite successfully. Indeed, the fact the television is no longer anchored to the living room is partly due to the company’s innovation. By place-shifting the content …

Sprint Nextel Corp. and T-Mobile USA Inc. have been hit with new class action consumer suits in Florida and California federal courts, the litigation coming as Congress grapples with wireless consumer protection bills that could reduce state oversight of cellular …

AOL L.L.C. is the latest Internet and mobile player to woo third-party developers, announcing the launch of Open AIM 2.0.The program is designed to give developers “unprecedented access” to AOL’s popular AIM messaging network in an effort to spur the …

Intellect Wireless Inc. has sued T-Mobile USA Inc., U.S. Cellular Corp., Virgin Mobile USA Inc. and Helio Inc. in federal court in Chicago, accusing the companies of infringing wireless image messaging patents.The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court …

The Federal Communication Commission’s attempt yesterday to spur interest — and hasten the end — of the 700 MHz auction by moving to “stage three” bidding provided a temporary boost that by this morning seemed to have lost steam. Bids …

Leap Wireless International Inc. announced plans to hire 100 new employees as it expands its Cricket service into the St. Louis market.The carrier said it is seeking local candidates for positions including retail sales representatives, indirect account managers, assistant retail …

More mobile users are seeing — and responding to — ads on their mobile phones, according to new figures from Nielsen Mobile.The division of The Nielsen Company found that 23% of U.S. mobile users reported seeing an ad on their …

Google Inc. is hoping to help answer the question: WAP or app?The Internet behemoth this week brought its Google Gears to mobile, making the application programming interface (API) available for Internet Explorer on Windows Mobile 5 and 6. The idea …

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 lowered its price target on MetroPCS to $25 from $30 on mixed fourth-quarter results. The firm also lowered its …

Sprint Nextel Corp. affiliate iPCS Inc. provided further insight into its fourth quarter and full year 2007 operations. The carrier, which previously reported a steep drop in net customer additions for the quarter and flat growth for the year, reported …

Mobile video technology Transpera is targeting Apple Inc.’s iPhone with a platform for distributing Web videos and targeted ads.The Santa Monica, Calif.-based startup launched a package designed to insert five- to 10-second pre-roll ads during video playback on iPhones. The …