BROWSING: instant messaging

Nokia Corp. introduced a beta version of a downloadable application that groups text conversations by contact.Conversations, as the offering is dubbed, enables threaded SMS messages similar to offerings available on the Apple Inc. iPhone, Palm Inc. Treos and Windows Mobile-enabled handsets. The application is...

An increasing number of parents around the country can sidestep the dreaded $400 cellphone bill boosted by their child's texting mania, as more wireless companies begin to offer custom controls on children's wireless usage.AT&T Mobility announced last week that it is making parental controls...

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...

A new survey focused on smartphone operating systems by iGR found that more than half of all respondents use a Research In Motion Ltd. BlackBerry device, while the majority of the remaining respondents use a Windows Mobile device. At least 30% of those surveyed...

Yahoo Inc. updated its e-mail service, adding a feature that enables users to send text messages to mobile phones. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company incorporated instant messaging components into its Yahoo Mail service, allowing users to send real-time messages to wireless handsets in the United...

THE IPHONE HAS given birth to the iEcosystem. Whether that's a good thing, though, is debatable.Apple Inc.'s decision to bar third-party developers from building applications for its high-profile device has drawn scorn in the software world. But there is no shortage of Internet-based applications...

Device vendors seem to be getting the hang of names, though it's hard to let go of those pesky numeric tags. Enter the Blast from Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., aka the SGH-t729.Everyone loves to have a "blast," right? The phone is being marketed as...

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.--Ubiquisys: Accel Partners, Atlas Venture, Advent Venture Partners and Google invested $25 million into Ubiquisys Ltd. during the company's...

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 larger wider business world and how they could affect the wireless industry.Let...

Apptix announced it acquired WebMessenger Inc. for $7 million in a combination of cash and company stock. The company aims to enhance its e-mail and voice services for small- and medium-sized businesses through the acquisition of the company and its mobile instant messaging technology.Los...

Oz Communications Inc. is looking to expand its mobile messaging offerings with the acquisition of Thumbspeed Inc. from Hands-On Mobile Inc.Terms of the deal were not disclosed.Thumbspeed develops and publishes mobile messaging, photo-sharing and personalization services and applications, including branded services from AOL, MSN...

Verizon Wireless has stepped into the unlimited messaging arena by including bottomless messaging in a new tier of individual and family plans. The individual plans are $20 more expensive per month than Verizon's regular plans, and the carrier tacks on an additional $30 per...

ORLANDO, Fla.-What would a CTIA Wireless event be without lots of carrier news. Sure, the big operators typically garner the limelight, but smaller players were also in the house and making news of their own.Virgin Mobile USAVirgin Mobile USA L.L.C. said it plans to...

ORLANDO, Fla.-Virgin Mobile USA L.L.C. will offer multimedia messaging for as low as one cent per message, following up on the success of its penny-texting bundles. Beginning April 10, customers who sign up for one of three levels of messaging packs: a $2 per...

Tween-focused mobile virtual network operator kajeet Inc. has officially announced its retail launch, with its service and handsets to be available in Best Buy and Limited Too stores.Kajeet already had begun sales through its Web site, but not in retail locations. As of May...

It's only March, but 2007 appears to be shaping up as the year of location-based mobile services. No, really, it might be true this time. Honest.Loopt Inc. this week is set to announce a major partner win, unveiling a deal to integrate its friend-finding...

Slim, shiny, clever devices dazzle and delight-impressions that all the major handset makers are capable of producing in a mobile phone. As carriers manage their handset portfolios, they see in those devices the means to capture the imagination of consumers and draw them into...

Tween-focused mobile virtual network operator Kajeet Inc. has begun selling phones and service via its Web site, with coverage maps that appear to match up with the Sprint Nextel Corp. network. The MVNO is offering three handsets, all of them flip-phones: the 225 from...

Two European companies in the wireless telecom sector announced new infusions of venture capital funding. Aepona, a supplier of telecom infrastructure and application platforms to operators in Europe, received $10 million from its existing investors Amadeus Capital Partners, Polaris Ventures and Trinity Venture Capital....

Editor's Note: Welcome to our Monday feature, Analyst Angle. We've collected a group of the industry's leading analysts to give their outlook on the hot topics in the wireless industry. In the coming weeks look for columns from M:Metrics' Seamus McAteer, Ovum's Roger Entner...

Editor's Note: Welcome our Monday feature, Analyst Angle. We've collected a group of the industry's leading analysts to give their outlook on the hot topics in the wireless industry. In the coming weeks look for columns from Strategy Analytics' Chris Ambrosio, Current Analysis' Peter...

MONTREAL-Oz Communications Inc. is hoping to cash in on the online social networking craze with an offering that allows users to wirelessly access sites such as MySpace, Facebook and YouTube.The Canadian developer of mobile messaging software said its new offering is designed to mirror...

AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands-Nokia Corp. and Yahoo Inc. extended their partnership to include Yahoo services on three new Nokia handsets running on the handset vendor's Series 40 platform.The two companies have been working together since April 2005 to "establish an optimal Internet experience, including search,...

STERLING, Va.-NeuStar Inc. said it acquired Followap Inc., a U.K.-based company that provides mobile instant messaging products for Europe and Asia. The deal is valued at about $139 million.Followap has a customer base of 17 mobile carriers, including Vodafone, Turkcell, 3 Group, Wind and...