retail

WALL, N.J.—U.S. and Caribbean operator Centennial Communications Corp.’s earnings were down sharply, coming in at a loss of $2.2 million compared with a gain of $14.6 million in the same period last year. The company’s operating income and consolidated revenue …

PORTLAND, Ore.—Digital commerce software developer Vesta Corp. acquired Beijing-based mobile top-up company Unimobile in an effort to tap the Chinese prepaid wireless market. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Unimobile, which was founded in 2000, distributes “recharge cards” for …

WALL, N.J.—U.S. and Caribbean operator Centennial Communications Corp.’s earnings were down sharply, coming in at a loss of $2.2 million compared with a gain of $14.6 million in the same period last year. The company’s operating income and consolidated revenue …

LONDON—Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications L.P. is the latest handset manufacturer to move onto the retail playground, announcing plans to build a branded store in London’s upscale Kensington High Street district. The store, which is slated for a late November opening, …

PORTLAND, Ore.—Digital commerce software developer Vesta Corp. acquired Beijing-based mobile top-up company Unimobile in an effort to tap the Chinese prepaid wireless market. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Unimobile, which was founded in 2000, distributes “recharge cards” for …

SAN DIEGO—Leap Wireless International Inc. launched its Cricket wireless service in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The company said customers in the Kansas City region will have a calling area covering 1,407 square miles in parts of Missouri and Kansas. …

LONDON-Best Buy International will team with U.K. wireless retail giant Carphone Warehouse Group to open stand-alone cell phone stores in the United States. In a prepared statement, the firms said a trial of Best Buy Mobile stores in New York …

HTC Corp. is looking to capitalize on trends?and possibly buck them-as it works to deliver smart phones in the United States and around the world. With 80 percent of the global Windows Mobile business, the Taiwanese smart-phone vendor has grown …

Nokia Corp. announced five new GSM phones-the company insists the devices are “multimedia computers”-for the United States, but did not announce any accompanying carrier deals. Three of the devices-the N70, N73 and N91-are optimized for music. The devices include enhanced …

NEW YORK-Nokia Corp. debuted three handsets targeting mobile music lovers at its Nokia Theater in Times Square. The phones are set to be available in select markets within weeks, but Nokia did not name the markets. The company also did …

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 …

Those performing autopsies on Mobile ESPN will find plenty of causes of death. But mobile advertising revenues could have offered a lifeline to the doomed mobile virtual network operator. Analysts agree that the sports network’s ambitious wireless effort failed on …

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 …

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 …

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 …

BASKING RIDGE, N.J.—Starting next week, Chocolate phone users will be able to get a software upgrade that will add speakerphone capabilities to their handset. Users will be able to visit Verizon Wireless retail outlets to get the free software upgrade. …

LONDON—Best Buy International will team with U.K. wireless retail giant Carphone Warehouse Group to open stand-alone cell phone stores in the United States. In a prepared statement, the firms said a trial of Best Buy Mobile stores in New York …

NEW YORK—Nokia Corp. debuted three handsets targeting mobile music lovers at its Nokia Theater in Times Square. The phones are set to be available in select markets within weeks, but Nokia did not name the markets. The company also did …

NEW YORK—Nokia Corp. announced five new GSM phones—the company insists the devices are “multimedia computers”—for the United States, but did not announce any accompanying carrier deals. Three of the devices—the N70, N73 and N91—are optimized for music. The devices include …

By Chris Ambrosio, director, Wireless Device Strategies Service, Strategy Analytics Editor’s Note: This is the third column in a new weekly feature at RCRNews.com, Analyst Angle. We’ve collected a group of the industry’s leading analysts to give their outlook on the …

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 …

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. …

Say what you want about the relative impacts of gorgeous weather, sloppy food, unruly children or even demanding conversations on drivers’ attention and, therefore, everyone’s safety. But in California-the nation’s most populous state-the debate is over. Earlier this month it …

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 …