Text Messaging

Teens love cellphones every bit as much as the mobile-phone industry embraces this critical demographic. And teens – being teens – can resist and resent authority.As such, results of new study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety should come …

Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly feature, Yay or Nay. Every week we’ll review a new wireless application or service from the user’s point of view, with the goal of highlighting what works and what doesn’t. If you wish to …

Who’s sending that text message to your cellphone? It could be your neighborhood auto dealer.Dealers are joining other auto advertisers in marketing on mobile phones. Consumers now can gain access to many dealerships’ listings of new and used vehicles – …

VERIZON WIRELESS’ PLAY for Alltel Communications L.L.C. may not necessarily trigger a classic battle over whether the government should block the deal, but rather could ignite considerable controversy over whether roaming, divestiture and other conditions should be imposed on a …

TEXTING. IF YOU HAD ASKED AMERICANS WHAT THAT WORD MEANT 15 years ago, most would have been short for words. Now the definition of texting, even though still not listed in some dictionaries, is embedded in our brains and the …

Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly Reality Check feature. We’ve gathered a group of visionaries and veterans in the mobile content industry to give their insights into the marketplace. In the coming weeks look for columns from Laura Marriott of …

Maybe John McCain should take up singingMore than 78 million text messages were sent to vote for the winner of this year’s American Idol show, shattering the previous record of 64.5 million, according to AT&T. The carrier has been providing …

H&R Block Emerald Prepaid MasterCard cardholders will soon have mobile access to their accounts through a partnership among H&R Block, Metavante Mobile Financial Services and Monitise Americas L.L.C.Customers will be able to check their balances from their mobile phone and …

Ever looked at your cellphone menu and wondered what the heck the wrench is for? Or the clipboard? Or any other random icon put there to help, but which sometimes makes using a cellphone even more confusing? Well, imagine your …

Sprint Nextel Corp. has been hit with a new class-action lawsuit alleging subscribers were billed for text messaging they did not authorize, litigation that is becoming increasingly common in the mobile-phone industry. “Rather than offer its customers a means to …

The simple banner ad: Those tiny little slivers of real estate on tiny little cellphone screens produce the same level of brand recall as a 30-second television commercial, a Verizon Wireless ad exec said last week. Speaking at a wireless …

Another day, another class-action wireless consumer lawsuit. This one is big, though, naming six mobile-phone carriers and a top mobile virtual network operator as defendants in a complaint filed in Mississippi federal court.“This action seeks recovery for actual and compensatory …

Just as FDR targeted radio listeners with his fireside chats and John Kennedy’s dashing looks helped sway television viewers during the Richard Nixon debates, Barack Obama is using a cutting-edge media platform to approach voters.The Illinois senator last summer launched …

Leap Wireless International Inc. tweaked the calling plans for its Cricket service, adding some once-optional features and rolling out once-geographically limited plans to more markets. The company said it has added unlimited text messaging to Mexico for some of its …

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 us at RCRWirelessNews.com to rant and rave about whatever rubs …

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 us at RCRWirelessNews.com to rant and rave about whatever rubs …

Public-interest groups reiterated their call for federal regulators to protect text-messaging rights, framing the debate as far-reaching in terms of the potential implications for free speech, disability access and competition in the wireless industry.Public Knowledge and other organizations want the …

With the Apple iPhone seemingly dominating the mobile-phone conversation, you would have to forgive LG Electronics Co. Ltd. for backing a superheroic push to earn some buzz. LG is turning to comic-book character Iron Man to launch one of its …

Public-interest groups reiterated their call for federal regulators to protect text messaging rights, framing the issue with far-reaching implication for free speech, disability access and competition in the wireless industry.Public Knowledge and other organizations want the Federal Communications Commission to …

Sprint Nextel Corp. opened a new, flagship store in Kansas City’s Power and Light District in early March. The one-of-a-kind SprintStudio features many interactive elements and a heavy emphasis on customer service. The store is designed to be a testing …

The Communications Workers of America said it joined forces with Germany’s largest union, potentially giving organized labor more leverage to secure unionization of T-Mobile USA Inc.’s wireless workers.“This is an aspect of organizing that hasn’t been done before – it’s …

The nation’s three largest wireless carriers have been hit with class action lawsuits accusing them of illegal gambling in connection text messaging tied to popular TV shows. All three lawsuits were filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central …

The controversy over whether the Federal Communications Commission should regulate short code-related text messaging has opened a floodgate of weighty policy questions – from network management to consumer protection to free speech – that could make resolution of the matter …

A class-action suit filed against Verizon Wireless and third-party content providers in California federal court alleges the No. 2 mobile-phone operator enticed subscribers to engage in illegal gambling. The suit centers on 99-cent charges levied on wireless consumers who played …

I’ve always found it odd that carriers charge for voice, charge for data and then charge separately for text messages. Isn’t text data? It’s words after all, from a user’s point of view.But no, SMS somehow is a bridge between …