The Week in Review

Welcome to our Friday feature, Week in Review. Every Friday, RCR Wireless News will run through the major events of the past week, outlining what happened and speculating on what to look for in the coming weeks. Check below for news about carriers, handset makers, content companies and more.
Carriers
–Sprint Nextel increased its casual text-messaging fee to 20 cents per message from 15 cents. The carrier was the first to raise the cost of text messaging from 10 cents to 15 cents per message when it did so last year, a move that the rest of the nation’s major carriers quickly followed. Now, all eyes are on Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile USA and AT&T Mobility to see if they will follow Sprint Nextel to the 20-cent mark.
–An appeals court gave the go-ahead for a class action lawsuit claiming Cingular Wireless service deteriorated after the mobile phone carrier fully acquired AT&T Wireless Services Inc. in 2004. The outcome of the case could affect millions of former AT&T Wireless subscribers.
Handsets
–Matsushita said it will pay up to $172 million to deal with a shipment of faulty batteries to Nokia, which Nokia sold between 2005 and 2006. Now Nokia must refresh its tarnished image if it is to become “the world’s best-loved brand,” the company’s stated intent.
Content
–Nokia announced it will add some Microsoft services to its high-end handsets, an announcement that brings together two companies with an often-strained relationship. It’s unclear whether this latest turn of events foreshadows future teamings between the two tech giants.
–Verizon Wireless teamed with MTV and RealNetworks to launch a new online music service, an effort ostensibly aimed at unseating Apple’s dominant position in the sale of digital music. How the effort will play out, and exactly how it will be integrated with Verizon Wireless’ current music offerings, remains to be seen.
Other
–The wireless industry breathed a sigh of relief as a Washington judge threw out six brain-cancer lawsuits on jurisdictional grounds. The question now is: What happens next?
COMING IN MONDAY’S ISSUE OF RCR WIRELESS NEWS
–Now that a judge ruled her court was not the proper jurisdiction for six brain-cancer lawsuits, is the wireless industry out of the woods? Jeff Silva reports.
–Devices and Strategy: Up close and personal with the new Moto Q.
–Customer-relationship management: With consumers buying more cellphones online, how are carriers managing those interactions with their other CRM practices? Reporter Kelly Hill takes a look.