BROWSING: HTC

Slowdown may snag smartphone newbies: U.S. market now focus of global battle

Like cartoon coyotes that draw themselves to full height before an exaggerated pounce on prey, handset vendors have offered little this year - but portended much - before an expected lunge at the market.Major vendors, particularly smartphone purveyors, have largely passed up the first...

Nokia invites 1,000 to leave: ‘Voluntary resignations’ trim workforce

In an ongoing effort to cut costs, Nokia Corp. today invited 1,000 workers worldwide to voluntarily resign. The Finnish handset maker, which had about 128,000 employees at the end of 2008, said that between March 1 and May 31 all employees except "direct labor"...

By the numbers: Top 10 most popular U.S. handsets in December

Editor's Note: The following lists ranks the 10 most popular handsets in the United States for the month of December. Rankings were provided by AvianResearch L.L.C. The firm derives its ranking via its Monthly Retail Store Survey, which is based on responses from 100 service...

Why the wireless ecosystem won’t open up much soon

AT&T Mobility President Ralph De la Vega opined the benefits of an open wireless ecosystem at last week's Mobile World Congress show in Barcelona, Spain, noting that wireless customers want it.And he's right. Wireless consumers likely would be better off with a common set...

‘Other’ vendors surge on smartphones, niches: Top 5 momentum stalled by focus on feature phones

FOR YEARS, THE TOP FIVE HANDSET VENDORS in the world took an ever-increasing slice of global market share. But something happened on their way to global hegemony. Between 2007 and 2008, that trend reversed itself and the "other" category - all vendors outside the...

AT&T to offer smart Matrix from Pantech

AT&T Mobility will offer Pantech Wireless' Matrix Pro - a smart version of last fall's dual-sliding messaging phone - on Feb. 24 for $180, with a service contract and a $50 mail-in rebate good only for AT&T service.The handset runs Windows Mobile 6.1, offers...

@MWC Worst of the Week: All touched out

BARCELONA, Spain — 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 RCRWireless.com to rant and rave about whatever rubs us the...

@MWC PHOTOGUIDE: The phones of Mobile World Congress

BARCELONA, Spain - The world's handset makers pulled out all the stops this year in their attempts to grab attention and generate interest in their products. At this year's Mobile World Congress trade show, Nokia Corp., LG Electronics Co. Ltd., HTC Corp. and others...

@MWC: Google´s Android arrives in Europe, courtesy Vodafone, HTC

BARCELONA, Spain - Vodafone and HTC Corp. announced they will sell the world

@MWC: Acer lays out Windows Mobile smartphone plans: A new entrant into the mobile device marketplace

BARCELONA, Spain - The smartphone market got just a little more crowded as laptop maker Acer Inc. announced a lineup of four new Windows Mobile-based smartphones, the first of its efforts to cash in on the growing sector. Acer will run up against a...

@MWC: Microsoft updates Windows Mobile, intros app store, supports Flash

BARCELONA, Spain - As Research in Motion Ltd., Opera Software, Apple Inc. and others encroach on its territory, Microsoft Corp. sought to fight back with an updated version of its mobile-phone operating system, along with an app store and support for Flash technology on...

@MWC: As Samsung looms, LG promises Android, Windows Mobile phones: Mobile device maker to release app store by Q2

BARCELONA, Spain - LG Electronics Co. Ltd. said it will make smartphones running both the Windows Mobile and Android operating systems, and will release an application storefront in the second quarter.LG also announced a new touch-based, 3D user interface - dubbed "3D S-Class" and...

Motorola promises next-gen smartphones by fourth quarter

Handset manufacturer Motorola Inc. is likely to pin its future on smartphones based on Google Inc.'s Android operating system, while ceding its low-end, high-volume business to others.Amid a fourth-quarter where Motorola Inc. posted a $3.6 billion loss, handset chief Sanjay Jha said its next-generation...

Smarter phones require smarter employees

Now that retailers have honed in on wireless, realizing that it can serve as an integral part of its business, they've also begun to notice that customers need more help understanding the new devices. In a recent survey from Mformation Technologies Inc., the company...

Moto promises next-gen smartphones by Q4, analyst expects firm to cede entry-level handset biz: Mobile device business continues to drag on company, brand

Motorola Inc. today posted a $3.6 billion loss for the fourth quarter, down from $100 million earned in the year-ago quarter. The news - and weaker than expected guidance on the current quarter - sent the ailing company's stock tumbling more than 11% in...

Hero handsets = ARPU and ROI: Platform battle beginning in earnest

The fourth-quarter slugfest between Research In Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry Storm, HTC Corp's G1 and Apple Inc.'s iPhone 3G - all heavily subsidized and marketed exclusives - reflected several major currents running through the consumer-based wireless industry. Carriers need to drive data usage to pay...

Analyst: Apple’s IP battle over iPhone’s multi-touch capabilities is ill-advised: Firm reviews Apple’s patent filings for wireless technology

Apple Inc.'s threat to sue competitors over multi-touch capabilities that violate its patents, a warning made during the company's earnings call last month, may not be wise or even have a solid foundation, according to a leading telecom analyst. "Initiating multi-touch infringement litigation may...

2009 Wireless Forecast: Handsets: The pain in Spain: Gloomy outlook likely to drive discussion at MWC

The short-term forecast for the handset market calls for pain and belt-tightening, no matter which market analysis you favor. And those analyses range from pretty harsh to very harsh. "We expect the first quarter of 2009 to be the absolute volume bottom in the...

Battle for No. 1 rages: VZW tops, but AT&T Mobility closing the gap

With full fourth-quarter results in for the top two U.S. wireless providers, one thing is clear, Apple Inc.'s iPhone is still playing a large role in AT&T Mobility's success. The carrier posted 2.1 million net adds during the fourth quarter and 1.9 million 3G...

More devices with Android OS likely to hit market in 2009

A handful of forces appear to be shaping a year to come that is likely to include numerous device launches featuring the fledgling Android operating system. Whether that will spell success for the license-free, Linux-based, open source OS is far from assured, though at...

Analysts seek vendor commentary to clarify handset picture: 2009 could be ‘year of decision’ for mobile devices

In about two weeks, when the world's leading handset vendors deliver their earnings statements for fourth-quarter 2008, analysts will be expecting not just numbers but some critical commentary to understand how the world may have changed. With mobile phones and service increasingly becoming a...

Hands on at CES: Palm Pre functions well, but questions remain: No price for new touchscreen mobile device

LAS VEGAS-Following a one-on-one meeting with Palm Inc. executives today and a chance to play with the company's new Pre device, I found the new operating system to be pretty well baked. For instance, the accelerometer worked very quickly to rotate pictures, much faster...

By the numbers: Top 10 most popular U.S. handsets in November

Editor's Note: The following lists ranks the 10 most popular handsets in the United States for the month of November. Rankings were provided by AvianResearch L.L.C. The firm derives its ranking via its Monthly Retail Store Survey, which is based on responses from 100 service...

Moto, HTC prep for CES, Best Buy to sell refurb’d iPhone 3G

Looking to turn around its struggling handset division, Motorola Inc. unveiled three new handsets it plans to show off at this week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.The company, which has had to cut its workforce amid a company restructuring, is touting its new...