Plenty of application developers and content owners are spinning their wheels as they try to convince users to shell out for mobile goodies. But a small - and very optimistic - segment is hoping to get consumers to save money with their phones.Mobile coupons...
The first half of 2009 may see alarmingly slow handset sales worldwide and, even if the back half of the year improves markedly, all sources point to negative growth for the coming year. Forecasts for the magnitude of the anticipated slowdown, however, vary widely...
As goes the handset market, so goes the chip market - with a few notable variations on the theme.The slackening demand for handsets has caused an inventory buildup among chip suppliers' channels, will dampen those suppliers' revenue in the new year and may lead...
The Chinese government has approved plans to issue licenses for 3G-based wireless services, a decision that will result in billions of dollars spent there on infrastructure during the next two years. The move stands as a massive opportunity for network and handset vendors hoping...
Three people with a healthy obsession for cellphones; that's all it took to start Rentobile, a young company that rents popular handsets to U.S. consumers who want a shiny new device, but are stuck in the middle of a lengthy contract.Two years was much...
Shares of Glu Mobile Inc. edged upward after the game maker restructured earnout and bonus obligations for last year's acquisition of the Chinese publisher MIG.Glu converted the entire $25 million of payments to cash, deferring $11 million of the payments to 2010. The San...
In 2009, the wireless industry is apt to suffer many of the same consequences exacted upon others by the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression: layoffs (likely giving way to stepped-up outsourcing), reduced capital spending, lower revenues and slimmer profit margins, tight credit,...
AT&T Mobility has put refurbished Apple Inc. iPhone 3G handsets on sale for $99 and $199, respectively. A potentially eye-popping offer of an additional $50 off the price of the device was available on the carrier's site Monday, and a spokesman initially confirmed the...
Research indicates that 2010 will be the year that femtocell technology will boom, and the major carriers are positioning themselves to take advantage by selling a product that boosts wireless signals in homes and offices that have spotty coverage.Sprint Nextel Corp. was the first...
Social networking applications that take advantage of location information could become a key driver for growing the location-based services market, according to a new report from ABI Research.The firm predicts the market for fully mobile location-based social networking sites will support more than 82...
Palm Inc. said yesterday that it is operating in an "extremely tough climate" with "continued challenges in coming months" as it prepares to launch a next-generation platform dubbed Nova along with new handsets.Palm is widely expected to present its new OS and, possibly, devices...
Hello! And welcome to a special edition of our Thursday column, Worst of the Week. As 2008 draws to a close and we take stock of all the changes that have happened in the wireless industry, we can't help but wonder how things will...
Sprint Nextel Corp. and Verizon Wireless each appear to be easing their stance on sharing subscribers' location information with partners, efforts that put weight behind their bluster about openness.Sprint Nextel announced it will open its location platform to location aggregators WaveMarket Inc. and uLocate...
A new carrier is set to enter the competitive no-contract, unlimited calling market, this time with some help from the Chinese. Smart PCS is stepping into the fray with service in parts of northwest Georgia and Tennessee. Similar to offerings from segment stalwarts Leap...
Editor's Note: Welcome to our weekly Reality Check column. We've gathered a group of visionaries and veterans in the mobile industry to give their insights into the marketplace.Up until very recently, proprietary handset platforms, walled gardens and expensive data tariffs have served well as...
Memory cards are proving to be the largest revenue generator of all mobile handset accessories, despite shipping fewer units than other accessories like chargers and batteries, according to a new study from ABI Research.The overall accessory market is valued at $58 billion, said ABI.The...
Mobile data is exploding as consumers are flocking to cutting-edge, high-end software platforms like Apple's iPhone and Google's Android. But Everypoint is hoping to gain traction with users - and, more importantly, developers - with a new offering for feature phones.The Boston-based startup introduced...
Editor's Note: Welcome to our weekly 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.The migration to mobile messaging and data was the story of the first half of...
Wireless video services and trials are spinning their wheels all over the world, but MobiTV Inc. somehow continues to gain traction. The Emeryville, Calif.-based firm has parlayed $100-plus million in venture capital into an impressive, 5-million-strong subscriber base. We chatted with Ray DeRenzo, MobiTV's...
Handango Inc. announced an expansion of its distribution deal with Best Buy Co. Inc. that will see the big-box retailer selling smartphone applications through its in-store Mobile Genie system.Best Buy Mobile customers will be offered a catalog of business and enterprise applications for BlackBerry,...
Best Buy Co. Inc. has recently taken a deeper step into the wireless industry. The retailer sells 90 different handsets from nine different carriers in its stores and recently began opening standalone Best Buy Mobile stores. The company also completed a mobile life survey...
Sprint Nextel Corp. continued to woo desktop developers with the launch of an open software platform in advance of its annual Application Developer Conference later this week.The platform promises to help computer developers bring their wares to wireless using the same codes, tools and...
StarHub and Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. announced the launch of a new, commercially available 3G femtocell network in Singapore, which they said provides mobile-phone services through the carrier's cable network.StarHub has launched Home Zone to its customers and uses 3G femtocells, portable cellular access...
The twin engines of global handset growth - China and India - are experiencing economic slowdowns that threaten "serious harm" to 2009 sales, according to a prominent financial analyst. The slowing of those emerging economies could drag global handset sales below negative 10% growth...
