Mobile News – RCR Wireless News

The executive shuffle continued last week at RadioShack Corp. as President and Chief Operating Officer Claire Babrowski said she will step down at the end of the month. But the chain’s woes go far beyond the front office’s revolving door. …

Age, income, gender and location are among the familiar elements of demographic-based marketing across industries and, to an extent, the wireless industry has embraced the basics. One-touch dialing for pre-teens and seniors, feature-loaded, expensive gadgets for early adopters, pink handsets …

NEW YORK-Virgin Mobile USA L.L.C. has tapped MX Telecom to support its off-deck content activity. The mobile virtual network operator said MX Telecom will deliver premium SMS support and provide short-code connectivity for third-party transactions. The London-based messaging company maintains …

As shareholders of Lucent Technologies Inc. and Alcatel Inc. get set to vote Sept. 7 on the companies’ proposed merger, analyst opinions run the gamut on the infrastructure “merger of the season.” “It has been a long, arduous year for …

PLAINFIELD, Ind.-Brightpoint Inc. inked a deal to supply wireless devices and accessories to online retailer Newegg Inc. Newegg operates a storefront for manufacturers of consumer electronics, communications equipment and hardware and software. The 5-year-old company claims nearly 6 million registered …

NEW YORK-Comverse Inc. said it will pay $19 million in cash for privately held Netonomy, a developer of customer self-service, bill analysis and point of sale software for wireless communications. Comverse said Netonomy’s self-service application suite enables subscribers, including consumers, …

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands-Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. launched a handset equipped with Unlicensed Mobile Access technology in Italy. Samsung’s SGH-P200 phone runs on the Nexperia chip from Royal Philips’ Philips Semiconductor division. Philips’ Nexperia offering uses the company’s low-power wireless local area …

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.-Mobile users continue to opt for streaming music services over full-track downloads and wireless video services, according to the latest figures from In-Stat. The market research firm found that consumer interest in mobile music has outpaced interest in wireless …

Nortel Networks Ltd. came out of the closet last week touting dual-radio Wi-Fi gear that’s being used in large-scale network deployments in Moscow and Taipei, Taiwan, as well as in small and medium-sized cities, counties and university campuses. Kyle Klassen, …

WASHINGTON-A New York federal judge refused to certify a potentially disruptive class-action lawsuit against the four national mobile-phone carriers, possibly removing from the line of fire for now the latest antitrust challenge to the standard industry practice of packaging wireless …

Nextlink Wireless Inc. announced it’s expanding its wireless broadband reach into Atlanta, Chicago and Houston and said it plans to continue aggressively leveraging its spectrum holdings in the United States’ 75 largest markets. Earlier this year, Nextlink launched broadband access …

Leap Wireless International Inc. filed a lawsuit claiming that MetroPCS Communications Inc. had stolen its business plan-only to be accused of stealing in its own right. The lawsuit could be part of a major legal assault by Leap against small- …

SHERMAN OAKS, Calif.-Wireless video provider GoTV Networks said it planned to broadcast made-for-mobile news coverage of Sunday’s Primetime Emmy Awards. The company plans to conduct red-carpet interviews with celebrities and offer reports from pre- and post-ceremony events and receptions. The …

ASPEN, Colo.-The debates over net neutrality, protecting minors from nefarious content and digital rights management took a hiatus from their usual home in Washington, D.C., and were hashed out in picturesque Aspen, Colo. instead. The annual mountain conference of the …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Trade Commission is creating a task force to evaluate the thorny subject of network neutrality, although the FTC chairman told a Colorado audience Aug. 21 that she does not think there is a problem. “The FTC’s Internet Access …

WASHINGTON-Alltel Corp. agreed to contribute $100,000 to the U.S. Treasury, but did not admit it violated a Federal Communications Commission rule that requires carriers to prove they are protecting customers’ call records. The FCC proposed fining Alltel in January after …

While Motorola Inc. grabbed the spotlight after posting strong, second-quarter results last month, the American vendor’s success obscured a remarkable surge in shipments by Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications L.P. Sony Ericsson shipped nearly 19-percent more handsets from the previous quarter, …

WASHINGTON-The Association of Public-safety Communications Officials said it will examine challenges calling 911 using Voice over Internet Protocol and other advanced communications technologies as part of its Project Locate. Locate is an acronym for Locate Our Citizens At Times of …

BOSTON-Mobile virtual network operators Virgin Mobile USA L.L.C. and Helio L.L.C. are more effective at using the Internet to drive brand awareness and sales relative to their peers, according to a new report from market research firm Compete Inc. The …

WASHINGTON-Cyren Call Communications Inc. believes it can convince Wall Street to pledge at least $5 billion for the U.S. Treasury in an effort to get around congressional opposition to its proposal to set aside 30 megahertz of spectrum in the …

Wherify Wireless Inc. will retail its Wherifone GPS Locator phones through Toys `R’ Us outlets nationwide starting Oct. 1, after a long delay during which the firm twice re-engineered the product. Wherify plans to sell the phone under a mobile …

WASHINGTON-The mobile-phone industry-and plaintiffs with health-related lawsuits against it-stand at a critical crossroads. Various judges are moving closer to issuing rulings on whether such legal challenges should go forward or fall by the wayside, as so many have since the …

Now that Sprint Nextel Corp. has committed to WiMAX technology, it’s time to wonder if other carriers will follow suit. No doubt, carriers make next-generation investment decisions based largely on how they think they can best leverage their existing assets …

BenQ Corp. announced it will spend an additional $400 million on its handset business-BenQ Mobile, which ranks just below the world’s top five handset vendors-while spinning off non-mobile businesses to strengthen the handset brand. The electronics firm has been making …

LOS ANGELES-A new partnership between TV Guide Mobile Entertainment Inc. and 4INFO Inc. aims to deliver TV listings to cellular phones. Wireless subscribers will immediately be able to search for programs by title, time or channel. The offering will work …