Texas Instruments Inc., established in 1930 to develop oil exploration technology, has grown into a predominantly wireless-based powerhouse with $14.3 billion in annual revenue last year. Its main customer for its digital signal processors is Nokia Corp., the world's largest cellphone vendor. By revenue,...
Like a tag-team partner vaulting over the ropes to get at an opponent, Total Nonstop Action has joined the mobile battleground.The upstart wrestling franchise last week outlined a comprehensive wireless initiative, unveiling plans to launch TNA-branded ringtones, wallpapers, text alerts and wrestler-penned blogs. The...
THE MOBILE HANDSET BUSINESS plays out in a dynamic and sometimes cruel landscape. Opportunities abound, yet conditions can be harsh. Giants may rule, or be humbled by ambition and prevailing winds. Nimble competitors with practical prowess can seize the day. A bewildering array of...
IN A GAHAN WILSON CARTOON several presidential campaigns ago, an alien steps from a flying saucer and a crowd of humans surge forward. At the back of the crowd, one human confides to another, "I don't know who he is, but I like him."...
Sprint Nextel Corp.'s loss of postpaid iDEN customers accelerated during the fourth quarter, and investors jumped ship late last week after the company announced weak customer metrics. The carrier tried to temper fears with a flurry of other announcements promising revamped price plans, initial...
In an attempt to turn around its performance by increasing customers satisfaction, Sprint Nextel Corp. has named a new senior vice president for customer care. Bryan DiGiorgio will "manage all of Sprint Nextel's business and consumer customer service activities, as well as the general...
The biggest news at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Tuesday morning was the news occurring simultaneously in San Francisco at MacWorld, where the long-awaited Apple Inc. iPhone was announced. Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications executives in Las Vegas, for instance, used the...
Redback Networks Inc.'s board gave L.M. Ericsson a green light to move forward with plans to buy the smaller equipment maker for about $2.1 billion, or $25 per share.Last week, Ericsson said it would pay approximately $1.9 billion for Calif.-based Redback, saying it planned...
Infrastructure giant Ericsson announced it will acquire technology vendor Redback Networks Inc. for $1.9 billion. Ericsson's stock remained relatively unchanged after the news at about $40.71 per share.Redback was founded 1996 in San Jose, Calif. The company, which makes a business in multi-service edge...
In the world of wireless handset vendors, there's an increasing divide between the haves and the have-nots. In this case, the having or not-having doesn't revolve around bling, but scale. Nokia Corp. and Motorola Inc. have the scale to invest in research and development...
PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y.-U.S. wireless subscribers are increasingly using their phones to send and receive e-mail, according to new figures from The NPD Group. The market research firm said 6 percent of mobile consumers used personal e-mail on their phones in September, doubling the percentage...
U.S. movie theater chain Regal Entertainment Group said altercations related to cell-phone use during movies was one factor that prompted it to begin testing new devices that will summon ushers to deal with such disruptions. The pager-sized devices have four functions, including alerting theater...
Editor's Note: Welcome our Monday feature, Analyst Angle. We've collected a group of the industry's leading analysts to give their outlook on the hot topics in the wireless industry. In the coming weeks look for columns from Strategy Analytics' Chris Ambrosio, Ovum's Roger Entner...
COSTA MESA, Calif.-Striking back at concerns over CDMA operators switching to GSM, the CDMA Development Group said it now counts 39 GSM operators that either have deployed or are deploying CDMA2000 networks for voice and data services. The group attributed the move in part...
SUNNYVALE, Calif.—Yahoo Inc. stepped further into the white-hot mobile marketing arena, launching a "graphical advertising platform" for its wireless service. The company outlined a platform that supports interactive ads that users can click on to access more information or place a direct call to...
The Palms Hotel and Casino is now accepting live wagers on mobile betting devices, according to Progressive Gaming International Corp., which developed the system. The Rapid Bet Live Wireless technology was tested during last week's Monday Night Football game between the New England Patriots...
WASHINGTON—The Commerce Department today released names of individuals on the White House-level spectrum advisory committee, a component of a 2003 Bush wireless initiative that has been awkwardly managed and failed to date to deliver tangible results. "Our new spectrum advisory committee will help us...
The following list details this week's infrastructure awards for the cellular, Wi-Fi and WiMAX industries. The contracts are broken down by transmission technology, country and vendor. The value of the contract is included when available. Click here for additional infrastructure awards from RCR Wireless...
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 report. Americans, despite a reputation as slow to adopt advanced services, seem focused on...
Over the Razr's unprecedented two-year run, the retail price of the device has plummeted from $500 to $50, drawing new volumes of consumers at each price point along the way. In the process, this game-changing handset has sold more than 50 million units, spawned...
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 report. Americans, despite a reputation as slow to adopt advanced services, seem focused on...
Sprint Nextel Corp. is doing a fair job of imitating a punching bag, getting pummeled left and right by sliding stock prices, gloomy predictions and integration issues. But while things look rocky for the carrier in the short term and analysts aren't holding out...
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 RCR to rant and rave about whatever rubs us the wrong way....
NEW YORK—Motorola Inc.'s iRadio service is the latest to woo music lovers with unreleased content, with the vendor inking a deal with Sony BMG to allow subscribers to access "leaked" albums before they hit the shelves. The music company has created a channel at...
