'Tis the season to do your shopping on your phone. At least, that's what a handful of developers are hoping.SplashData Inc. this week released a Windows Mobile version of its SplashShopper application, which serves as an organizer for shopping-related items such as gift lists,...
The future of the "anywhere Internet" will likely involve a variety of networks and devices, analysts said during a teleconference this week-and if wireless operators want to get in on the innovation, they're going to have to open up the full Internet to customers...
SAN FRANCISCO-Former YouTube head of sales Tony Nethercutt has joined one of the hottest start-ups in the mobile-marketing space, AdMob.Before joining AdMob as vice president of advertising sales, Nethercutt headed ad sales for YouTube. Prior to joining YouTube in May, he worked for four...
Mobile marketers are looking to avoid the "pay-per-click" problems that continue to plague online advertising. And many of them are hoping simple phone calls provide the solution.Google Inc., Yahoo Inc. and other ad-supported online search engines charge advertisers a set amount each time a...
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. We...
BURLINGTON, Mass.-Nuance Communications Inc. said it will acquire fellow speech-recognition software developer MobileVoiceControl.Terms of the deal were not disclosed.Nuance, formerly known as ScanSoft, is a 14-year veteran on the speech-recognition playground and has deals with Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile USA Inc. and Virgin Mobile USA...
SUNNYVALE, Calif.-Yahoo Inc. is searching for an executive to head its "audience group"-including its mobile efforts-following a dramatic restructuring announced late yesterday.The Internet giant said it will reorganize into three operating units: the audience group, which will focus on increasing user numbers and bolstering...
NEW YORK-Jason Hirschhorn, MTV Network's former digital guru, and Ben White, his deputy at MTV, have landed full-time at Sling Media. Their role is to take the company, which is known for place-shifting TV content, into what Hirschhorn calls "phase two"-letting users work with...
While most U.S. consumers still see a mobile phone as, well, a phone, young wireless users increasingly view it as a way to meet new friends, share pictures and maybe, to find love.The rise of community-based Internet sites and services has been as well-documented...
LOS ANGELES—Forget about "Tokyo Drift," the latest sequel to "The Fast and the Furious" movie franchise. Now there’s the Helio Drift, a souped-up handset from mobile virtual network operator Helio L.L.C. The Drift, from Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., will be equipped with two new...
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...
SAN DIEGO—Leap Wireless International Inc. said it signed an agreement to provide its users direct access to Google Inc.’s wireless products and services. The deal allows Leap customers to use Google’s Gmail e-mail service, Google maps and the company’s search engine features. In addition,...
Mobile data software developer Volantis is targeting carriers with an application that delivers updated, personalized Internet information to mobile phones.The company plans to unveil BuzzCast, a white-label offering that allows users to create a profile and build a "home screen" of content such as...
OVERLAND PARK, Kan.-Google Inc. is offering a download that is designed to make mobile access to its free Gmail service faster, and Sprint Nextel Corp. is making the download available from its mobile Web home page. The download is free, other than data charges...
There's much discussion here and overseas-especially overseas-about Internet governance, a succinctly ambiguous description apt to be at the core of controversy for years to come.The Internet governance issue has played out on a number of fronts. There is the high-level debate over whether the...
If aliens were to land on our planet, the first thing they would probably notice is our addiction to Wi-Fi networks. Indeed, a new report from ABI Research indicates that in 2006, the number of commercial Wi-Fi hotspots will reach 143,700 worldwide representing a...
OVERLAND PARK, Kan.—Google Inc. is offering a download that is designed to make mobile access to its free Gmail service faster, and Sprint Nextel Corp. is making the download available from its mobile Web home page. The download is free, other than data charges...
A German driver last week followed his navigation system's command to "Turn right now" and veered into a roadside bathroom 30 yards shy of his intended intersection. Consider it a metaphor for the wireless location-based services industry.In the wonderfully hyped world of wireless, no...
Online Editor Mike Dano has been trying out various mobile TV services for the better part of two years now. We thought we'd let him rant for hedgehogging this week since the rest of us haven't spent two years assessing mobile TV. You can...
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 Wireless News to rant and rave about whatever rubs us the...
OSLO, Norway—Opera Software ASA increased support for its wireless Web browser, making Opera Mini available for Palm OS-powered handsets and Research In Motion Ltd.’s BlackBerry-enabled devices. Opera launched a Java-based version of its PC browser in February and claims the downloadable offering is used...
Music publishers say they'll fight last week's ruling that establishes a compulsory licensing model for ringtones. The U.S. Copyright Office granted a request by the Recording Industry Association of America Inc. to simplify the licensing of mastertones-10- to 30-second snippets of original, full-length tunes-and...
LONDON—European mobile consumers are far more likely to access the wireless Web than their U.S. counterparts, according to new figures from digital media measurement firm ComScore Networks. The company found that 29 percent of users in five European counties "regularly" accessed the Internet from...
Mobile porn is slowly finding an audience among U.S. mobile users. And network operators are trying to figure out how to cash in. Adult wireless content is gaining substantial traction around the world as content providers find a market for everything from titillating mobile...
