JUDGING BY THE HANDSET NEWS out of CTIA Wireless 2008 last week, competition in the United States is a SKU vs. SKU battle -handset-to-handset combat, if you will. In the absence of anything earth-shattering, the variety of handset news really spoke more to the...
LAS VEGAS -- As usual, the CTIA Wireless show stood as a launch pad for a variety of new devices coming onto the market in the coming months.
First up is the Samsung Instinct, which is the handset maker's latest response to Apple's iPhone. The...
At the end of the day - the verbal pause du jour - a gathering of thousands of industry people bursting with innovative products, some of them handsets, will undoubtedly kick up a little dust in Las Vegas next week.Whether handset vendors are merely...
The notion that an ambitious Chinese handset vendor will make a bid for Motorola Inc. has received some press in the United States, perhaps aided by a touch of nationalistic horror.The Chinese government and Chinese banks already finance a big chunk of the American...
Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd. will sell its ailing handset business -- and wireless infrastructure assets -- to Kyocera Corp. for about $375 million, the two companies announced.Sanyo's handset unit had been among the top ten original equipment manufacturers (OEM) in the world and a...
As Virgin Mobile USA Inc. has endured, even thrived, over its five-year life, it has seen its customer base transition from a play for the 18- to 34-year-old crowd to a substantial proportion (nearly 50%) of over-35 subscribers.The mobile virtual network operator itself has...
Handset art Virgin Mobile USA and LG Electronics announced six specially commissioned handpanted Aloha handsets that will be auctioned off to support youth homeless charities. The project is part of the "National Homeless Youth Awareness Month" in November. Artists Daniel Davidson, Caroline Hwang, Rich...
Verizon Wireless has added the ability to update software on new phones on-the-fly, a new offering that may stand as a key competitive advantage. The carrier is working with InnoPath Software Inc. to deliver its firmware-over-the-air (FOTA) service, which saves consumers a visit to...
Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd. announced it is in negotiations to sell its cellphone business to fellow Japanese electronics maker Kyocera Wireless Corp. If the deal is completed, it would further consolidate the world's hotly contested mobile phone business, as well as bolster Kyocera's market...
WiMAX World USA is underway this week in Chicago and, not surprisingly, vendors rushed out news of their exploits, or plans for such exploits, in the mobile broadband arena in conjunction with the show.One might require an extensive cheat-sheet to grasp the technical definitions...
Amid rumors of suitors for its handset manufacturing business, Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd. has sold its mobile-phone sales and distribution unit in a deal reportedly worth up to $85 million.Japanese handset distributor Telepark Corp. confirmed that it purchased Sanyo's mobile phone sales and distribution...
YOU CAN'T HAVE A HOLIDAY PARTY without a potent punch bowl for all comers.The news from last week: Some of the latest models of 3G handsets will indeed appear in the United States in time for the retail party just getting under way.Specifically, the...
Qualcomm Inc. can exhale now, and so can a number of its key customers. Holiday sales of imported 3G phones that had been banned by a federal agency can proceed. A ban on the importation of new 3G handsets containing Qualcomm chips will be...
Regional wireless carrier Cellular South said it will roll out an m-commerce initiative early next year across all its markets following a successful three-month trial of mobile transaction technology.The carrier, which offers service in four southeastern states, partnered with Bank of America and others...
Editor's Note: Welcome to our Monday 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. In the coming weeks look for columns from Jupiter Research's Julie Ask, iGR's Iain...
Network operators increasingly will partner with small handset vendors to offer low-margin, ultra-low-cost handsets, particularly in emerging markets where new subscriber growth remains strong, according to ABI Research. Nokia Corp. and Motorola Inc. currently dominate the sub-$50 handset space, in part due to their...
There's good news for a beleaguered American handset giant named Motorola Inc.The company's Razr handset-beefed up on functionality and spun off in customized form in myriad colors for all four of the top-tier network operators-represented two of the top five bestselling handsets last quarter...
A partial ban on the importation of new handset models containing Qualcomm Inc.'s 3G chips will remain in effect as the chip vendor's appeal is heard in a federal court and considered by the Bush administration.The United States International Trade Commission ruled yesterday that...
A partial ban on the importation of new handset models containing Qualcomm Inc.'s 3G chips will remain in effect as the chip vendor's appeal is heard in a federal court and considered by the Bush administration.The United States International Trade Commission ruled yesterday that...
Growth in the handset market in the United States remains healthy, and recent market-share figures for vendors paint a markedly different picture than the global scene. Handset sales in the first quarter grew 12% from the year-ago quarter, with the sale of about 39...
The handset market in the United States in the first quarter grew 12% over the year-ago quarter, with the sale of about 39 million units valued at nearly $3 billion, according to The NPD Group. That growth is roughly similar to the year-ago quarter's...
Amp'd Mobile Inc. jacked up its handset prices across the board on all five of its proffered models.For instance, the Motorola Inc. Q soared to $220 (from $100), two models of Razrs went to $70 and $80, respectively (from $50 and $60), and the...
LAS VEGAS-Apple Inc.'s influence has apparently spread far and wide as various speakers at the Rural Cellular Association's annual convention cited the company and its products as something to aspire to.Consultant Mark Landiak of Corporate Dynamics Inc. urged small carriers to think about maximizing...
LAS VEGAS-New technologies and trends are trickling down to impact the businesses of rural carriers, bringing with them a host of new opportunities and challenges. The common theme among sessions at the Rural Cellular Assocation annual convention in Las Vegas last week was how...
