Time Trippin’: iPhone 4 sails; Kin, Sidekick fail … 4 years ago this week

Editor’s Note: The RCR Wireless News Time Machine is a way to take advantage of our extensive history in covering the wireless space to fire up the DeLorean and take a trip back in time to re-visit some of the more interesting headlines from this week in history. Enjoy the ride!
Apple sells a lot of iPhone 4s, AT&T Mobility braces for impact
Driven by an insatiable consumer demand for anything “i” related, and apparently overlooking some slight design flaws, Apple Inc. (AAPL) said it managed to sell more than 1.7 million iPhone 4 devices through its first three days of availability, becoming the “most successful product launch in Apple’s history,” according to heady quote from Apple CEO Steve Jobs. The numbers were more than half the number of iPad’s Apple managed to sell during that device’s first 80 days of availability. … Read More
Kin is dead
Less than 2 months after being launched at Verizon Wireless and three months after its unveiling at a San Francisco bar at 10 in the morning, Microsoft Corp. has shut down its Kin initiative. Published reports indicated that the computer software giant ditched the Kin plan and has instead folded the Kin team into the company’s highly-anticipated Windows Phone 7 platform that it unveiled at this year’s Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona, Spain. Rumors spreading around the Internet indicated that the Kin was basically a dud having sold less than 10,000 units since its launch at Verizon Wireless on May 6. For comparison, Apple Inc. recently announced it sold 1.7 million iPhone 4 devices during its first three days of availability. … Read More
Sidekick kicks the can
T-Mobile USA Inc. (DT) closed a chapter on its Sidekick franchise last Friday as the industry’s No. 4 carrier stopped selling the iconic device, though it said it will continue to support product services and support. The carrier hinted that while the current lineup of Sharp Corp.-built and Danger/Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)-powered devices has seen its last days, it could be developing a succeeding lineup in the coming months. … Read More
Spectrum is scare, but towers are just as important
As more services collide on mobile networks, the business models that support the entire wireless ecosystem are being strained like never before. Services and business models are all colliding while the development of a new ecosystem from the likes of Google Inc., and Apple Inc. is bringing about an inflection point like never before for the wireless space, said Phillip Marshall, principal and chief research officer at Tolaga Systems Inc. … Read More
Presidential memorandum orders 500 megahertz of spectrum for broadband
President Barak Obama issued a memorandum to free up 500 megahertz of spectrum in the next 10 years, directing the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Federal Communications Commission to free up federal and nonfederal spectrum. The details of the president’s four-point plan to bring more spectrum to commercial use are similar to his National Broadband Plan. “As demand for mobile services skyrockets, so too will the need for additional spectrum frequencies to facilitate this transformation. … Read More
Sprint Nextel unveils another WiMAX device, market expansion with Clearwire
Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) and partner Clearwire Corp. (CLWR) continued their full-court WiMAX press this morning announcing a trio of new markets where service is available as well as a new device set to launch later this year. Both companies said they are now offering WiMAX service in Salt Lake City; St. Louis; and Richmond, Va., pushing their total market coverage to around 40 markets. The Sprint Nextel offering is marketed under its “4G” brand, while the Clearwire service is marketed under its “Clear” brand. … Read More
WiMAX future remains cloudy
Has WiMAX hit its apogee? Well, according to a new report from In-Stat, the mobile broadband technology is facing increased competitive pressure that could hamper any further growth. In its report, “Global WiMAX Subscribers, Base Stations, and Revenues,” In-Stat noted that the future for WiMAX is a “mixed bag” as other wireless technologies vie for market share. … Read More
Spectrum Bridge deploys smart-grid with utility co-op, Google
Spectrum Bridge Inc. said it is working with a California utility to use white-spaces technology to deploy a smart-grid network in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and offer wireless broadband service to area residents. Spectrum Bridge is working with the Plumas-Sierra Rural Electric Cooperative to manage the supply and demand of electricity, improve System Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) at substations, and with Google Inc., which is supplying its free PowerMeter sevice. … Read More
Motorola, Verizon Wireless set to expand Droid lineup
Mere hours before Apple Inc. is set to officially unleash its latest iPhone 4 on the public, Verizon Wireless and Motorola Inc. were set to offer up their latest Droid variation powered by Google Inc.’s Android operating system. The nation’s No. 1 carrier was scheduled to unveil what it termed “The next generation of Droid” at a mid-day event that the carrier has been pimping on its Web site as “coming soon.” … Read More
Healthy growth ahead for femtocell sector
While the Femto Forum just released a white paper touting how femtocells can take traffic off the macrocellular network, AT&T Mobility’s femtocell traffic still counts toward its total data usage as the femtocell is primarily designed to enhance the user’s voice call quality experience. Worldwide, the femtocell market continues to grow, and should reach nearly 49 million femtocell access points and 114 million mobile users accessing networks through femtocells by 2014, according to a new report from Informa Telecoms & Media conducted for the Femto Forum. “Healthy growth is anticipated throughout the forecast period with femtocell unit sales reaching 25 million in 2014 alone,” Informa said. … Read More
Check out RCR Wireless News’ Archives for more stories from the past.