Mobile Phones

WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission rejected Cyren Call Communications Inc.’s broadband public-safety plan only days after putting it out for public comment. The move stands as a setback for Cyren Call, …

Trying to form a sense of the sprawling chip market for mobile phones is akin to getting a tape measure around an elephant’s waist. With dozens of players and product …

As a consensus of forecasts converge on the magical billion mark for handset shipments this year-although with some dissenters-attention has focused on several dynamics at play. The upshot? Watch the …

A mobile phone runs on the chips inside it, if an over-generalization may be permitted for simplicity’s sake. And the basic functions of a basic phone rely on four types …

OVERLAND PARK, Kan.—Google Inc. is offering a download that is designed to make mobile access to its free Gmail service faster, and Sprint Nextel Corp. is making the download available …

WARREN, N.J.—Virgin Mobile USA L.L.C. announced two new services that incorporate audio and messaging. “Txt Tones” will allow users to link musical tones to text messages instead of rings. The …

The development of firmware-over-the-air, or FOTA, lies at the intersection of several related trends in mobile devices and their management. The sector is growing and, already, several players claim market …

WASHINGTON-Consumer groups and wireless carriers last week said AT&T Inc.’s proposed conditions to its $79 billion purchase of BellSouth Corp. are inadequate, creating uncertainty over whether the Federal Communications Commission …

WASHINGTON-U.S. law enforcement and homeland security officials gave their blessing to Japan-based NTT DoCoMo Inc.’s proposed $72 million purchase of Guam Cellular & Paging Inc. and Guam Wireless Telephone Co. …

Hello! And welcome to our Thursday column, Worst of the Week. There’s a lot of nutty stuff that goes on in this industry, so this column is a chance for …

LONDON—Consumers worldwide have been slow to purchase 3G phones and slower to avail themselves of the technological edge that 3G makes possible, market analyst firm TNS said in a new …

WASHINGTON—U.S. law enforcement and homeland security officials have given their blessing to Japan-based NTT DoCoMo Inc.’s proposed $72 million purchase of Guam Cellular & Paging Inc. and Guam Wireless Telephone …

The math is simple: mobile devices are requiring more power at a rate greater than improvements in current battery output and longevity can provide it. There’s nothing earth-shattering about the …

PLAINFIELD, Ind.—Brightpoint Inc. inked a deal to sell phones and services from Verizon Wireless to small- and medium-sized businesses. The mobile phone distributor said it will use its network of …

Hello! And welcome to our Thursday column, Worst of the Week. There’s a lot of nutty stuff that goes on in this industry, so this column is a chance for …

FRANKFURT, Germany—The official in charge of a 90-day effort to save aspects of the Munich-based BenQ-Siemens handset business has announced that 1,900 of the firm’s 3,000 workers must be laid …

SINGAPORE—The GSM Association said 12 operators joined its “3G for All” campaign, which aims to make third-generation wireless service available to the mass market. Cingular Wireless L.L.C., Globe Telecom, Hutchison …

SAN DIEGO—PacketVideo Corp. hopes to increase its European presence with the acquisition of Berlin-based software developer TwonkyVision GmbH. Terms of the deal were not announced. PacketVideo produces multimedia software for …

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.—The mobile music market in Asia/Pacific will top the $9 billion mark by 2010, according to new figures from In-Stat. The market for ringtones, ring-back tones and full-track downloads …

WASHINGTON-A major fallout of Congress’ failure to pass telecom-reform legislation this year is the continued imposition of new state and local cell-phone taxes, like the one on track to begin …

WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission postponed until Friday a vote on AT&T Inc.’s $69 billion acquisition of BellSouth Corp., but harsh criticism by the agency’s two Democrats, consumer groups and a …

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia affirmed a lower court ruling dismissing a lawsuit by a former T-Mobile USA Inc. national sales manager, who claimed the …

OVERLAND PARK, Kan.—Qualcomm Inc.’s highly anticipated MediaFLO mobile TV service is gaining momentum as Sprint Nextel Corp. confirmed it is conducting trials using the network technology and could soon join …

Qualcomm Inc.’s highly anticipated MediaFLO mobile TV service is gaining momentum as Sprint Nextel Corp. confirmed it was conducting trials using the network technology and could soon join initial launch …

User-generated content and online communities typically conjure images of teens huddled over their computers creating profiles, sharing video clips and flirting. But David Bankston’s view of Internet communities includes such …