The upcoming AWS auction of 1700 MHz and 2100 MHz spectrum, now slated for August, raises the question of how many frequency bands might be jammed onto a handset and whether that poses technical challenges for component and handset vendors. The answer, at least...
"News of my death has been greatly exaggerated," Mark Twain is said to have written in 1897, when he remained hale and hearty. Qualcomm Inc. has taken a page from Twain and added a biblical twist, as it hails its new incarnation of BREW...
REDMOND, Wash.—Microsoft Corp.’s MSN is hoping to move onto the mobile marketing playground with the acquisition of Third Screen Media. MSN is negotiating to buy out the Boston-based company, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. Representatives from Microsoft and Third Screen...
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.—Google Inc. took yet another step into wireless, introducing a mobile version of its RSS aggregator service. The new mobile-friendly interface for Google Reader allows registered users with a personalized home page to use their phones to read news, e-mail and perform...
Sun Microsystems Inc. is hoping to boost sagging revenues by making its Java programming language available as free open-source software. Jonathan Schwartz, who took over as Sun's chief executive officer three weeks ago, told developers at last week's JavaOne conference in San Francisco that...
TOKYO—KDDI Corp. announced a deal allowing subscribers of its "au" service to access Google Inc.’s Internet search engine on their mobile phones. Japan’s second-largest carrier said the service, which is slated for a July launch, will provide search results for content targeted at PCs...
Remember the old adage about the weather? Everyone's talking about it, but nobody's doing anything about it. Well, the opposite is true of handset or even wireless service clones: Few are willing to talk about it, even when they've done something about it.Two recent...
News continued to churn out of the various municipal Wi-Fi projects gaining steam across the country, as one city's Wi-Fi contract made its way to a politically charged city council for a vote and another swirled in rumors of being temporarily shelved. In the...
WASHINGTON-A dispute among Democrats during a House panel debate on telecom reform underscored how lawmakers' views of network neutrality often corresponds to whether they think telephone companies should be allowed to compete in the TV space. In the end, a watered-down telecom reform bill,...
Google Inc. was finally awarded a patent for speech-recognition technology that allows users to search the Internet by uttering a few words. But whether that's good news or bad news for a handful of wireless software developers is far from clear. Voice-activated technology-which for...
IRVINE, Calif.—Mobile information service provider AskMeNow announced plans to acquire Israel-based IntelliGate Ltd., a specialist in information retrieval and natural language search technology. AskMeNow, a subsidiary of Ocean West Holding Corp., said the acquisition will allow it to offer mobile phone users automated search...
WASHINGTON—An intra-party dispute broke out late Wednesday regarding the issue of network-neutrality when Rep. Charles Gonzalez (D-Texas) tried to require the Federal Communications Commission to study how content providers and search engines like Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. might distort the information delivered to...
There's no question that wireless users are searching for porn on their mobile phones. But in the United States, at least, it seems nobody is cashing in. A recent study by mobile-search provider JumpTap Inc. found that searches for adult content accounted for more...
Portland, Ore., city officials announced that MetroFi beat out Earthlink Inc. and VeriLAN to supply Wi-Fi networking across the city's 135-square miles. City officials said MetroFi won the contract "by submitting a proposal that excelled in demonstrated operational experience and its level of public...
Content providers and big-name brands soon will be able to target consumers with a new Internet domain exclusively for wireless use. For some industry insiders, though, the question is, why?Mobile Top Level Domain Ltd. (mTLD) said it will launch the .mobi domain next month,...
SUNNYVALE, Calif.—Yahoo Inc. scored another wireless win, inking a deal to deliver search and information services for subscribers of soon-to-launch mobile virtual network operator Helio L.L.C. The MVNO, a joint venture by SK Telecom and Earthlink Inc. slated to launch this spring, said it...
LAS VEGAS-In this town, people refer to a large, varied repast-such as that offered in CTIA Wireless 2006's opening-day keynote session-as a buffet. As with any ambitious spread, the keynote repast included a few tasty treats, something for everyone and a few items to...
LAS VEGAS-SMS.ac Inc. is joining the stampede toward user-generated mobile content.The San Diego-based messaging company unveiled its Content Monitor software offering designed to allow users to publish and monetize their own content. Members can create blogs, video clips or music and set a price...
The city of San Francisco selected EarthLink Inc. and Google Inc. to jointly build a Wi-Fi network for the city."We are thrilled that the San Francisco TechConnect Committee has selected the EarthLink proposal, and we look forward to taking the next step to negotiate...
PALO ALTO, Calif.—The city of San Francisco selected EarthLink Inc. and Google Inc. to jointly build a citywide Wi-Fi network. "We are thrilled that the San Francisco TechConnect Committee has selected the EarthLink proposal, and we look forward to taking the next step to...
SUNNYVALE, Calif.—Yahoo Inc. said it will expand its partnership with BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. by offering its Yahoo Go for Mobile products and services to BlackBerry users. "Our Yahoo users want to access our services from all of their connected devices. Together...
AOL will join the crowded mobile browser playing field this week, unveiling a service that automatically adapts Web pages for mobile-phone use. The Internet service provider introduced technology from InfoGin Ltd. that transcodes Web sites, optimizing content for the small screens of wireless handsets....
Handmark Inc. is hoping to raise its profile by giving away service. The Kansas City, Mo.-based company mobile media company this week will begin offering free content in an effort to raise consumer awareness of its Pocket Express offering. Users with smart phones from...
British wireless subscribers can send and receive text messages at bargain-basement rates thanks to an IP-based messaging service released last week. But-unlike Voice over IP-analysts say the new offering poses little threat to mobile operators in the United States. Hotxt, which describes its service...
