Handsets

Following the failure of its U.S. mobile virtual network operator business, the Walt Disney Co. is now turning its attention to the east with plans to launch an MVNO service …

While mobile-phone carriers and manufacturers face a key hearing-aid compatibility deadline in early 2008, Apple’s Inc. wildly popular iPhone will get a pass on a major government disability access mandate …

Two sources that track American consumers’ online research into handsets paint a dual portrait of yearning and practicality this holiday season.While the data differs between the two sources in some …

THE MOBILE BANKING SPACE saw several shifts last week, as Qualcomm Inc. announced that it will acquire mobile banking company Firethorn Holdings L.L.C. for $210 million, and AT&T Mobility launched …

TERMINATING A LETTER OF INTENT-as Sprint Nextel Corp. and Clearwire Corp. did Nov. 9-doesn’t lend itself to gauging possible impacts to Sprint Nextel’s ambitious, multibillion-dollar WiMAX plans. Assessing impacts to …

Performing artists are increasingly looking to mobile to prop up flagging recorded music revenues. And record labels are increasingly being left out of the loop. Digital offerings such as ringtones …

Publishers are trying to strike a delicate balance in these early days of the mobile Web: How do you offer enough eye candy to a make a site compelling without …

Motorola Inc. said its venture capital arm, Motorola Ventures, would invest in Tilefile Ltd., which has developed a social-media platform. Terms were not disclosed. Leading handset companies such as Motorola …

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 …

J.D. Power announced Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications’ handsets scored highest in overall customer satisfaction among U.S. and Canadian consumers in the consumer research firm’s latest survey.SEMC ranked highest in features, …

AT&T Mobility launched a mobile banking platform that will be preloaded on its handsets starting later this year. The offering is now available for download to more than 30 of …

ZenZui is rebranding as it prepares to release an open-access beta version of its widget-based application.The Microsoft Corp. spinoff changed its name to Zumobi to underscore the “zooming” user interface …

Editor’s Note: Welcome to Reality Check, a feature for RCR Wireless News’ new weekly e-mail service, Mobile Content and Culture. We’ve gathered a group of visionaries and veterans in the …

LONDON-A handful of people queued overnight in the cold and rain outside Apple’s flagship store on London’s Regent Street to be among the first to legally buy an iPhone outside …

Microsoft Inc. announced it has acquired the right to buy Musiwave SA from Openwave Systems Inc., which has struggled with management changes in light of stock-option backdating woes and proxy …

Like Daryl Hannah in “Blade Runner,” Google Inc. last week showcased an attention-grabbing Android. But while the Internet giant garnered headlines and wowed fanboys with its latest move in wireless, …

Google Inc. drew considerable media attention last week with an idea and 33 influential friends.Missing was its long-rumored gPhone, whose actual fate remains a closely guarded secret. Instead, Google announced …

You’ve undoubtedly noticed, with pleasure, that the telescoping, whip antenna of yore has long ago disappeared inside the increasingly sleek device you slip into your pocket. Technology is supposed to …

As the pace of convergence quickens, Nokia Corp. cut a deal with wireless telecom giant Vodafone Group plc to integrate mutual service offerings designed to grab eyes, ears and wallets-as …

Google Inc. is the new E.F. Hutton-when the Internet search giant talks, everybody listens. Many observers today expected to hear about a long-rumored Google phone-it didn’t happen. Nor were any …

A new survey finds that U.S.-based users of Research In Motion Ltd.’s BlackBerry devices are the most satisfied with their handsets among smartphone users. That may not sound like a …

Quarterly results from Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp. came as no surprise: Verizon Wireless did well and Sprint Nextel didn’t.Although Verizon Wireless was outpaced in net customer additions by …

THE MOBILE-PHONE INDUSTRY’S BUSINESS MODEL continues to come under attack, with challenges to carrier control increasingly playing out in the courts, Congress and at the Federal Communications Commission.National wireless carriers …

Like former Yankee Alex Rodriguez, Tele Atlas N.V. plans to cash in on the free-agent market.The Netherlands-based digital mapping company in July accepted a bid of $2.8 billion from TomTom …

Here’s just one reason the mobile-phone industry wants Congress to approve expanded federal pre-emption: lawsuits galore in a California state court that have ensnarled national carriers and prompted some to …