Mobile News – RCR Wireless News

Cassandra and Curtis Brown have set their sights on perhaps the most niche of all mobile markets: fans of “holy hip-hop.” The Pittsburgh-area couple recently partnered with mobile music provider Xingtone to offer 10 Christian-themed urban ringtones from tunes with …

OVERLAND PARK, Kan.-Sprint introduced two location-based services that will provide driving directions and roadside assistance via a wireless voice call to customers who opt in to the services. The company said the services are available on request to most customers …

BEDMINSTER, N.J.-Verizon Wireless announced the availability of three new 3D games on its Vcast service. Together with Jamdat Mobile Inc., Verizon Wireless announced the availability of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater: 3D Mobile Edition. The game includes three-dimensional graphics and allows …

TOKYO-Japan’s mobile-phone carriers said interim findings from research they sponsored found radio-frequency radiation from base stations does not affect human cells, according to an NTT DoCoMo Inc. press release. The research, funded by DoCoMo, KDDI Corp., Vodafone K.K. and Tu-Ka …

ROCHESTER, Minn.-Rural wireless operator Midwest Wireless launched CDMA2000 EV-DO services in Olmsted County, Minn., providing customers with the only EV-DO service available in the state. The carrier said the service provides network speeds of between 300 kilobits per second and …

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.-Alltel is teaming with the host of the hit show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” for a sweepstakes to drive text and multimedia messaging. Subscribers who enter the contest are encouraged to send text, picture, video or instant messages …

Cingular Wireless L.L.C. said it has launched service in Americus, Ga., as part of a multimillion-dollar expansion of its Georgia network. The new coverage includes eight cell sites covering more than 990 square miles and provides enhanced service in Sumter, …

For many health-care organizations, the deadline to comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act has come and gone. But for wireless security companies, there’s no end in sight. Originally passed in 1996, HIPAA establishes rules for handling and …

WASHINGTON-FCC Chairman Kevin Martin wants the agency to address how consumers will be able to access 911 when using Voice over Internet Protocol technology. As such, he told lawmakers he plans to include the item at a Federal Communications Commission …

Air2Web will launch an updated version of its instant-messaging offering this week, targeting on-the-go workers who use desktop clients like IBM’s Lotus Sametime, Microsoft LCS and Jabber. The new product builds on Air2Web’s 18-month-old 2IM, which seeks to extend enterprise-targeted …

MONROE, La.-Regional telecommunications provider CenturyTel Inc. said that network coverage issues have delayed its plans to begin offering wireless services using Cingular Wireless L.L.C.’s network under a mobile virtual network operator arrangement. CenturyTel noted that it was trialing the service …

ALEXANDRIA, Minn.-Rural Cellular Corp.’s board of directors elected not to declare a quarterly dividend on its 11.375-percent senior exchangeable preferred stock and its 12.25-percent junior exchangeable preferred stock. The dividends would have been payable in cash May 15 to shareholders …

NEW YORK-RFB Cellular, which filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2003, reported that a pair of its subsidiaries had initiated auction processes to sell the company’s remaining assets of spectrum licenses in California and Massachusetts. The deals include Alpine-California …

RESTON, Va.-Nextel Communications Inc. has been named to the BusinessWeek 50, which lists the top-performing companies of the Standard & Poor’s 500, the carrier said Thursday. Nextel ranked 9th on the list. Nextel, which ranked 87th in last year’s poll, …

HOUSTON-Crown Castle Mobile Media will use technology from Microsoft Corp. to deliver and manage content for its live mobile TV service, the companies announced yesterday. The subsidiary of Crown Castle International Corp. said it has selected Windows Media Audio, Windows …

Adobe Systems Inc. said it will acquire Macromedia in an all-stock transaction valued at around $3.4 billion. Macromedia sells a scaled-down version of its Flash player for mobile phones, technology that can display simple graphics and animations. As for Adobe, …

Sprint Corp. signed Wi-Fi roaming agreements with four broadband Internet service providers and a virtual network enabler that the carrier said will increase the number of Wi-Fi locations accessible by its customers to more than 19,000 domestic and international hot …

LOS ANGELES-Jamdat Mobile Inc. announced a $137-million deal to buy Hawaii-based studio Blue Lava Wireless, granting the California publisher highly prized rights to produce the popular “Tetris” title for mobile phones. Under terms of the acquisition, Jamdat immediately gains exclusive …

WASHINGTON-The full 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the mobile-phone industry’s motion to re-hear arguments in five class-action headset lawsuits that a divided three-judge panel remanded to state courts last month, setting the stage for a possible battle in …

Three of the industry’s six largest wireless operators posted first-quarter financial results in line with analysts estimates and ahead of 2004 results, demonstrating there is still plenty of growth left in the wireless industry. Building on its industry-leading customer growth …

MontaVista Software Inc. today released a version of its Linux platform built specifically for mobile phones. The new offering is also designed for the mid-range handset market-devices that comprise the bulk of the handset industry-an area platform vendors like PalmSource …

PALO ALTO, Calif.-Radio operator Infinity Broadcasting will team with Hewlett-Packard Co. to offer an interactive music broadcast for U.S. wireless users. The service, called Visual Radio, will deliver local FM radio and text and graphic information including song titles, artists …

Americans use an average of six wireless products powered by rechargeable batteries in their daily lives, according to a new study by NOP World. The poll, conducted on behalf of the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corp., indicates U.S. consumers use twice …

OTTAWA, Ontario-SIPquest, which develops Session Initiation Protocol-based Internet Protocol software applications and technology, said it secured $6 million of venture funding. Current investors Covington Capital and Skypoint Capital both participated in the funding. The company said it will use the …

WASHINGTON-The House Commerce Committee is drafting a telecom reform bill to be circulated among lawmakers and the telecom industry in May, but the document will not deal with universal-service reform, a key staffer told a gathering of telecom lawyers last …