Mobile News – RCR Wireless News

Bidding slowed last week in the advanced wireless services spectrum auction, but the competition could be far from wrapping up as companies could bid up prices for competitors and make a few last attempts to capture always valuable spectrum. T-Mobile …

SINGAPORE—Mobile storefront operator CellCity Pte Ltd. said it has inked a deal to offer content from Asian aggregator WooWorld Pte Ltd. CellCity offers a vast portfolio of content and applications for businesses and consumers through its Web site Thecellcity.com. WooWorld …

BURBANK, Calif.—Warner Music Group Corp. subsidiary Rhino Entertainment said it will provide music-based content for HBO Mobile. Rhino, which develops and promotes content from WMG’s catalog, plans to deliver ringtones and ring-back tones to support HBO’s mobile content services to …

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.—Google Inc. has joined the mobile marketing playground with a wireless version of its AdWords service. The Internet giant quietly launched the offering that allows AdWords customers to place marketing messages—including clickable links—in listings retrieved through Google’s mobile …

SANTA ANA, Calif.—Powerwave Technologies Inc. reworked its $336 million acquisition agreement with Filtronic plc, paring the deal down to $185 million in cash along with 17.7 million in shares of Powerwave common stock. In June, the two companies struck an …

The third week of the advanced wireless spectrum auction showed significant slowing in bidding action. Nevertheless, it appears the Sprint Nextel Corp.-cable joint venture is aiming to build a broad footprint of 20-megahertz B-block licenses. Click here for the latest …

SANTA CLARA, Calif.-Atheros Communications Inc. isn’t wasting any time getting its pre-802.11n Wi-Fi technology on the market, having launched its new pre-n chips and networking processors last week. The company says its launch of pre-n gear could push WLAN access …

TOKYO-KDDI Corp. said it plans to invest $1.73 billion over the next three years to upgrade its network to CDMA2000 1x EV-DO Revision A technology. Japan’s second-largest carrier said the upgrade should boost network speeds roughly tenfold, allowing downloads up …

TOKYO-Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo Inc. said it launched HSDPA service in Tokyo, and plans to cover all major Japanese cities with the technology by the end of October. The carrier is selling its new HSDPA-capable phone, the N902iX, to support …

SUNNYVALE, Calif.-Mobile technology startup SiBEAM said it snared $21 million in Series B venture funding. Foundation Capital led the round, which included follow-on investments from New Enterprise Associates and U.S. Venture Partners. SiBEAM, which designs chips for gigabit-speed wireless equipment, …

WASHINGTON-The California legislature last week passed wireless-related bills that prohibit driver use of handheld cell phones in the nation’s most populous state, enhance Wi-Fi security and allow consumers to contest unauthorized wireless charges. A bill that would have given new …

WASHINGTON-Government spectrum managers are being challenged like no time before in efforts to clear the way for next-generation mobile phone and wireless broadband services-as well as rectify serious interference problems-through messy licensee relocation and frequency re-banding processes. Indeed, relocation and …

SAN DIEGO-Leap Wireless International Inc. said it completed a public offering of 6.4 million shares of common stock for $42 per share. The sale included 840,000 shares of common stock sold as part of an over-allotment option granted to the …

SUNNYVALE, Calif.-Yahoo Inc. launched an expanded Go for Mobile service, extending its software to devices running Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Mobile operating system. According to a company spokesman, the Go for Mobile software had previously been available in the United States …

Motorola Inc. is quietly offering users of its Moto Q smart phone a free software upgrade intended to strengthen the device’s e-mail and security functions, increase its appeal to business and productivity-oriented users and bring the device up to speed …

SANTA CLARA, Calif.-Fixed-mobile convergence technology developer Azaire Networks Inc. picked up $21 million during a third round of funding led by Investor Growth Capital and new investors in the company. Existing investors Convergence Partners, Rustic Canyon Partners and Woodside Fund …

ATLANTA-Samsung Electronics Co. and Cingular Wireless L.L.C. announced the handset vendor’s first HSDPA phone for Cingular’s 3G network-in-progress. The Samsung SGH-zx20, an exclusive for Cingular, is a silver-and-black, clamshell-style handset that sells for $100 with a two-year contract (and $50 …

METHUEN, Mass.-SiGe Semiconductor raised $19.5 million in an expansion round of financing led by venture-capital and private-equity firms, the company announced. SiGe Semiconductor makes radio frequency modules that are integrated into GSM-, GPRS- and EDGE-enabled mobile handsets, Bluetooth-enabled devices, GPS …

In a break from its tradition of certifying products only after a standard has been approved, the Wi-Fi Alliance says it plans to “pre-certify” the interoperability of pre-802.11n products beginning in the first half of 2007, before the IEEE ratifies …

OVERLAND PARK, Kan.-Sprint Nextel Corp. and Novatel Wireless Inc. announced the first CDMA2000 1x EV-DO Revision A card for use on the carrier’s soon-to-launch network. Sprint Nextel noted the card will support “a mobile DSL experience” with higher uplink and …

DETROIT-A new driving-directions option from General Motors’ OnStar telematics service will be standard for one year on more than 2 million GM vehicles starting with the 2007 model year. After the first year, customers can renew the Turn-by-Turn Navigation service …

OVERLAND PARK, Kan.-Sprint Nextel Corp. continues to pursue mobile music lovers with a new streaming multimedia service offering more than 50 channels of content. Sprint Radio features music, music videos, news, weather, sports and financial information from providers including NPR, …

More than 15,000 people are expected to converge on Los Angeles as CTIA kicks off its Wireless I.T. & Entertainment show next week. The show takes place Sept. 12-14 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. CTIA said it expects about …

SHENZHEN, China-Reports are streaming out of China that ZTE Corp.’s net earnings fell 47 percent during the first half of 2006 compared to the same period last year. The company blamed its lackluster earnings on a slowdown in sales within …

VANCOUVER, British Columbia-Sierra Wireless Inc. says it expects to begin shipping wireless wide area network cards supporting CDMA2000 1x EV-DO Revision A networks during the first quarter of 2007. The company added that WWAN cards supporting HSDPA technology should be …