Mobile News – RCR Wireless News

WASHINGTON-The House suspended an in-building wireless license to MobileAccess Networks, a move that comes two weeks after Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) admitted in a plea agreement with U.S. officials to backing the bid of MobileAccess-the client of convicted lobbyist Jack …

BASKING RIDGE, N.J.-Verizon Wireless flexed its handset muscle with the launch of Motorola Inc.’s Krzr K1m phone, a music and video-playing handset similar to Motorola’s Razr. Motorola gave the wireless industry its first peek at the Krzr in July, but …

DALLAS-The Open Mobile Alliance Ltd. (OMA) will lead a consortium of companies looking to create an open gaming specification for high-end wireless games. The OMA said the members of the mobile gaming initiative-which was launched early this year-will join the …

NEW YORK-The race to join the mobile marketing playground continued to heat up with separate announcements from Cascada Mobile and Crisp Wireless. Crisp Wireless said it will team with VML, a Kansas City, Mo.-based marketing technology firm to develop and …

TAIPEI, Taiwan-Enough already-that’s the decision handed down from BenQ Corp. amid heavy losses at its mobile venture, BenQ Mobile. The company announced that it won’t pour any more money into its German-based mobile-phone subsidiary. As a result, BenQ said its …

WASHINGTON-Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) chairman of the House Commerce Committee, shocked, surprised and pleased lawmakers during two days of hearings on pretexting by announcing that a long-stalled bill to make the sale of telephone records illegal could come up for …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission officially launched its Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, naming Ken Moran as its acting chief. The agency has been in the process of creating the new bureau for about a year; FCC Chairman Kevin Martin …

SAN FRANCISCO-Mobile video upstart Veeker said it has acquired ThumbJive, a developer of youth-focused wireless applications. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Veeker, which has been operating in stealth mode, hopes to gain traction with technology that allows …

NEW YORK-Dada USA Inc. launched its social networking and entertainment community for the U.S. market. The company’s Web site allows users to subscribe to a variety of services and content including personal blogging, profile matching, text messaging, ringtones, mobile gaming …

BASKING RIDGE, N.J.-Chocolate phone users are able to get a software upgrade that will add speakerphone capabilities to their handsets. Users will be able to visit Verizon Wireless retail outlets to get the free software upgrade. Verizon recently introduced its …

NEW YORK-Here’s a sampling of the recent customer requests handled by service reps for Voce, the luxury mobile virtual network operator that apparently can do just about anything its subscribers ask of it. Ten customers wanted reservations at Wolfgang Puck’s …

FRAMINGHAM, Mass.-IDC said there is tremendous growth potential in the market for business-focused phones, and predicted that Microsoft Corp’s involvement with Motorola Inc., Palm Inc., and others, as well as Nokia Corp.’s commitment to an end-to-end strategy, threatens to weaken …

DENVER-Where should cell-phone enthusiasts go for the latest in handset technology? EBay, it appears. An eBay shopper recently purchased a dual-mode CDMA/iDEN phone from Motorola Inc. for $300. Sold by “Rager4208,” the phone is dubbed the “Sprint Nextel Hybrid ic502” …

LOS ANGELES-Amp’d Mobile added another distribution partner, inking a deal to stock its handsets through more than 600 Circuit City Stores Inc. outlets beginning next month. The deal marks a concession of sorts for Amp’d, which had hoped to keep …

IRVINE, Calif.-Mobile search vendor AskMeNow said it launched a national TV advertising campaign to promote its search service. The company’s ad campaign includes 30-second spots that demonstrate the service. The spots will appear on channels including Comedy Central, VH1, ESPN …

Exchanging data over wireless networks is expected to grow at a steady rate in North America, according to the latest data from ABI Research. The firm said it expects growth of 16 percent each year through 2011, with a bit …

NEW YORK-Demand is strong at T-Mobile USA Inc. retail stores for the recently launched Research In Motion Ltd. BlackBerry Pearl, according to a national channel check by UBS analyst Maynard Um. The device, announced Sept. 7, combines productivity functions with …

Alltel Corp.’s MyCircle calling plan has given the carrier a boost in postpaid customers, and the company is on track to expand its CDMA2000 1x EV-DO coverage to about 60 percent of its markets by the end of the year. …

ATLANTA-Cingular Wireless L.L.C. will add two more handsets to its portfolio-both Walkman music phones-from Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications L.P. in the next couple of weeks, the carrier acknowledged. The first to be released will be Sony Ericsson’s W300i, which will …

WASHINGTON–Don’t blame the public-safety community if the 800 MHz reconfiguration process is not going smoothly, said Wanda McCarley, president of the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials. McCarley’s assertion follows a report that Sprint Nextel Corp. wants to extend the rebanding …

WASHINGTON-A group of rural and regional wireless carriers repeated their assertion that the Federal Communications Commission needs to adopt automatic-roaming rules they believe are necessary for competition. “Many carriers, particularly regional and rural carriers are concerned that competitive market forces …

WASHINGTON-The stakes are rising for next week’s expected ruling by the Supreme Court on whether to review Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch’s appeal of an 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision striking down the state’s wireless consumer law on …

NASHVILLE, Tenn.-For Mike Fitch, well into his second year as head of a trade group for which reinvention has become a survival mechanism, the planets appear to be lining up for PCIA and its wireless infrastructure members. Mobile-phone carriers need …

LONDON-Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications L.P. bolstered its mobile music strategy with the launch of a new promotional area for new and developing artists. The company’s M-BUZZ initiative allows users to access full-track music, videos, biographies, concert schedules and other content …

NEW YORK-Roughly 4 million U.S. consumers will subscribe to mobile broadcasts from dedicated, multimedia networks such as Qualcomm Inc.’s MediaFlo by the end of next year, according to new figures from ABI Research. The market research firm predicted that carriers …