Mobile News – RCR Wireless News

On page 14 of the Aug. 14 issue of RCR Wireless News, the LG Electronics Co. Ltd. CU500 handset was incorrectly labeled as being compatible with Verizon Wireless’ Vcast Music service.

FORT WORTH, Texas-Teletouch Communications Inc. said it has acquired Progressive Concepts Inc., a Cingular Wireless L.L.C. master distributor, reseller and mobile virtual network operator in Texas and Arkansas. PCI primarily operates under the Hawk Electronics brand name. All of PCI’s …

The days of charging consumers $3 for a 30-second ringtone may be coming to an end. But for carriers, record labels, artists and software developers, there is still plenty of money to be made in mobile music “personalization.” Analysts long …

The buzz surrounding mobile TV and full-track downloads grows increasingly deafening as the industry heads into next month’s CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment show in Los Angeles. But for now, at least, the most lucrative application in wireless may be …

The advent of contactless payment technology in mobile handsets ushers in big possibilities for credit-card companies, network operators, and handset and chip vendors-if all parties can agree on an equitable business model. For consumers, new technologies such as near field …

DUBLIN, Ireland- The company behind the .mobi movement plans to auction off thousands of domain names for Web sites dedicated for wireless use. Top Level Domain Ltd. (also known as mTLD and DotMobi) released a 149-page document of “premium” names. …

DALLAS-Moving advanced functionality from smart phones down to feature-rich phones is a goal on many minds, fueled by cost reductions in chipsets, among other things. Texas Instruments Inc. and LG Electronics Co. Ltd. took a step in that direction when …

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.-Google Inc. quietly snapped up mobile photo-recognition software developer Neven Vision for an undisclosed sum. Neven Vision’s technology automatically extracts information from photos, allowing users to categorize images or search for specific types of pictures. Google plans to …

IRVINE, Calif.-Search company go2 plans to deliver sponsored listings from Yahoo Inc. through its mobile service. Go2 Directory Systems, which is offered on the decks of Cingular Wireless L.L.C., Sprint Nextel Corp. and Verizon Wireless, will deliver relevant links from …

Sprint Nextel Corp. CDMA affiliate iPCS Inc. has claimed victory in a lawsuit that could force Sprint Nextel to divest its iDEN operations in the affiliate’s territory. Sprint Corp. took control of the iDEN network when it acquired Nextel Communications …

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-Motorola Inc. topped a list of most trusted handset brands compiled by Forrester Research Inc. The manufacturer, most known for its wildly successful Razr handset line, posted a B in brand trust, A- in brand potential and B in …

LONDON-The Walt Disney Co. has opted to delay the launch of its mobile virtual network operator phone service in the United Kingdom. “We have decided to postpone the launch of the Disney Mobile service,” said Disney Mobile U.K. spokeswoman Sandra …

PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y.-American consumers spent about $4.4 billion on 67 million mobile phones in the first half of the year, according to The NPD Group. Motorola Inc. captured 32-percent market share, or nearly one-third of those sales, double the market …

CHICAGO-Boeing Co. grounded its money-losing, in-flight communications offering known as Connexion, saying it plans to “facilitate an orderly phase out” of the service. “Over the last six years, we have invested substantial time, resources and technology in Connexion by Boeing,” …

Everyone knows that pink is hot, at least when it comes to sales of Motorola Inc.’s Razr V3 handset. But what about the cachet of the recently released blue Razr, a Motorola exclusive for Cingular Wireless L.L.C.? After appearing on …

SAN DIEGO-Qualcomm Inc. said it plans to spend $18 million to acquire Qualphone Inc., a provider of IP Multimedia Subsystems software for mobile devices and interoperability testing services. Qualcomm noted the acquisition, which is expected to close this month, will …

Tropos Networks Inc. launched a new line of smart-routing, multi-band MetroMesh routers. The company’s first such product, the dual-band 5320 outdoor unit, sports 802.11a and 802.11b radios, and can create multi-band paths through a mesh network. Tropos said both radios …

Higher-throughput speeds for Wi-Fi got slowed down again as the IEEE’s 802.11n task group’s vote on the second draft of the wireless specification was postponed until January. Frank Hanzlik, managing director of the Wi-Fi Alliance, which tests and certifies products …

Despite initial anticipation that cable and satellite companies would use the advanced wireless services spectrum auction to catapult into the mobile marketplace, the hype doesn’t seem to be panning out. However, walking away from the spectrum auction may not be …

Sprint Nextel Corp. is launching a new advertising campaign focused on the quality and capabilities of its network. The new tagline for the carrier’s ads will be: “Sprint. Power Up.” The nation’s third-largest carrier will launch internal employee campaigns and …

WASHINGTON-When T-Mobile USA Inc. signed the contract to provide wireless priority access service to Washington, D.C., and New York City in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the carrier’s national sales manager, Robert Kaplan, thought he would be …

WASHINGTON-A federal judge in Detroit Thursday issued a ruling to halt the National Security Agency’s warrantless-wiretapping program. However, Judge Anna Diggs Taylor said the American Civil Liberties Union could not sue to stop a separate program-the data mining of telecommunications …

PALO ALTO, Calif.-Social networking provider FriendFinder.com said it launched a new payment system that allows its members to be billed for the company’s services via their cellular carrier. “We are turning on a (premium short message service) billing system that …

WASHINGTON-The National Telecommunications Cooperative Association used a member survey to bolster its argument that Americans living in rural communities served by non-regional Bell operating companies have access to broadband services. Those services are defined as 200 kilobits per second of …

SAN FRANCISCO-Mobileplay, a mobile content company that delivers free ad-supported content to wireless users, said it has added a variety of new content to its stable of offerings. Among the company’s new content partners are Fodor’s, which offers hotel and …