Mobile News – RCR Wireless News

CYPRESS, Calif.—Bandai America Inc. announced plans to release a mobile-phone version of its popular Tamagotchi virtual-pet game. Tamagotchi, first introduced 10 years ago as a handheld game, requires users to care for a virtual pet by feeding it, playing with …

MURRAY HILL, N.J.—Nothings spells “major contract win” like Lucent Technologies Inc.’s deal to supply Verizon Wireless with CDMA 1x EV-DO Revision A hardware and software as the carrier upgrades its nationwide network. Verizon’s Rev. A announcement comes as no surprise; …

WASHINGTON—The Senate Commerce Committee passed its sweeping telecommunications-reform bill, including in it two critical bits for the wireless industry: wireless pre-emption with a small caveat and a moratorium on cell-phone taxes. The bill is now headed to the Senate floor. …

There was no parade. Not even a press release to accompany Intel Corp.’s unveiling of its new Rosedale 2 WiMAX chip for both fixed and mobile broadband access during the Wireless Communications Expo forum event held last week in Washington, …

MobiTV Inc. said it extended its wireless video service to devices running Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Mobile 5.0 operating system. The service, which is available through Alltel Corp., Cingular Wireless L.L.C. and Sprint Nextel Corp., includes both live video and on-demand …

WASHINGTON—Two high-profile politicians are looking to the third screen to reach potential voters. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., recently teamed with pundit Mary Matalin to launch a text-message campaign touting at a Women For Rick breakfast. Santorum, who faces a tough …

You can call it off-deck, off-portal or off-network, but the stampede of companies looking to sell content directly to consumers is unquestionably on. Off-deck activity has long dominated the wireless market in Europe, where a lack of garden walls has …

SANTA CLARA, Calif.—Good Technology Inc. unveiled the IBM Lotus Domino version of its e-mail service, making good on a year-old vow to support the popular enterprise software. Good Mobile Messaging, which is slated to ship in July, will include continuous …

Qualcomm Inc., Crown Castle International Corp. and Aloha Partners LP are each spending hundreds of millions of dollars to build dedicated networks for multimedia mobile content. And, analysts say, one of them is probably going to lose. Consumers will flock …

In an ongoing advertising battle between Cingular Wireless L.L.C. and Sprint Nextel Corp., Cingular seems to have won the latest round-but did not emerge completely unscathed. Sprint Nextel had challenged a slew of Cingular’s advertising claims about the largest carrier’s …

Flash Lite-essentially a stripped-down, mobile version of the popular Flash Player for computers-has quietly gained impressive ground since NTT DoCoMo Inc. introduced handsets enabled with the software in 2003. DoCoMo recently touted surpassing the 2 million subscriber mark to its …

In the municipal Wi-Fi arena, few companies have had such a mutually beneficial relationship as Motorola Inc. and Tropos Networks Inc. Yet that relationship came into question last week as Motorola launched its HotZone Duo Wi-Fi network equipment. Motorola has …

LONDON-It appears users in the United Kingdom like Chocolate as much as their South Korean counterparts. LG Electronics Co. Ltd. said it sold more than 1 million of its slim, slider Chocolate phones worldwide, and British retailers are having trouble …

RESTON, Va.-Sprint Nextel Corp. has been given the green light from federal regulators for its acquisition of Nextel Partners Inc., with the purchase expected to close June 26. The authorization from the Federal Communications Commission completes all the regulatory approvals …

CHARLOTTE, N.C.-Regional carrier SunCom Wireless Holdings Inc. said it has started the final phase in upgrading its network from TDMA to GSM, and plans to give its remaining TDMA customers a free handset to help ease the transition. According to …

SAN DIEGO-Leap Wireless International Inc. closed on $1.1 billion in loans that the company said would help finance the operator’s bids in the upcoming Advanced Wireless Services spectrum auction scheduled for August. Leap detailed its plans for the money in …

While it’s widely understood that developing technology standards is never an easy road to travel, the recent schism between Intel Corp. and Qualcomm Inc. over the IEEE’s 802.20 Working Group’s activities sets a new standard for companies looking to out-maneuver …

WASHINGTON-AT&T Inc. Chairman Edward Whitacre last week told the Senate Judiciary antitrust subcommittee he would not oppose conditions on special access lines as part of any regulatory approval of the company’s proposed $67 billion purchase of BellSouth Corp. Whitacre told …

WASHINGTON-States will no longer be able to regulate the wireless industry under language included in the latest draft of the Senate telecommunications-reform bill. The question now for the wireless industry is whether the decision will remain as the Senate Commerce …

LOS ANGELES-Paramount Pictures is using mobile phones to try to lure subscribers to its new film “Nacho Libre.” The studio is teaming with digital marketing company Cellfish Media L.L.C. to market the new Jack Black comedy through a mobile search …

SAN DIEGO-Leap Wireless International Inc. and bidding partner Alaska Native Broadband 1 License L.L.C. continued their post-Auction 58 expansion by launching Leap’s Cricket service in Cincinnati. The service is available to approximately 1.8 million potential customers in the area and …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission last week raised the safe harbor percentage that the wireless industry can use to pay into the universal-service fund, but the agency will continue to allow mobile-phone carriers to also estimate their contribution amounts based on …

PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y.-Text-savvy Southerners may help explain why all five “American Idol” winners hail from south of the Mason Dixon line, according to figures from The NPD Group. Cingular Wireless L.L.C., which sponsors Fox TV’s hit reality show, is based …

OVERLAND PARK, Kan.-Sprint Nextel Corp. reported a pair of international data roaming deals, opening up Canada and Mexico for its data customers as part of what the carrier called “an aggressive expansion by the U.S. wireless data leader throughout 2006 …

LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill.-Motient Corp. said it is selling its legacy wireless data business, including its narrowband terrestrial DataTac wireless data network and its iMotient Solutions platform, to Geologic Solutions Inc. Geologic is a subsidiary of Logo Acquisition Corp. Logo agreed to …