PLAINFIELD, Ind.-Brightpoint Inc. handled roughly 42 million mobile phones last year and may handle 60 million or more this year. But whatever you do, don't call the company a distributor. "If anything, we are a customized logistics company," Senior Vice President Anurag Gupta protested...
Qualcomm Inc. declared victory after a U.S. district court dismissed an antitrust lawsuit filed by fellow chipmaker Broadcom Corp. Broadcom's complaint, which was filed in July 2005, accused Qualcomm of violating antitrust laws by charging too much to license its UMTS chipset technology and...
BRISTOL, Conn.-Mobile ESPN L.L.C. reported plans to offer college football fans the chance to watch up to 25 live games each month during the season from their Mobile ESPN wireless phones. The mobile virtual network operator announced that it will offer live video from...
Valista Ltd. is vying for more space on the mobile payments playground with a hosted, WAP-based offering for carriers in the United States and Europe. The Dublin, Ireland-based developer this week plans to unveil a new platform designed to serve as a bridge between...
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission is moving closer to deciding whether to seek a rehearing or possibly a Supreme Court review of a federal appeals court's rejection of rules that pre-empt states from regulating certain line items on consumers' monthly bills, according to a top...
LOS ANGELES-Rhino Entertainment is targeting Generation X wireless users with content from classic children's television shows from the 1970s and `80s. The division of Warner Music Group unveiled Krofft Mobile, a suite of ringtones, ringback tones, video ringers and images based on programs from...
DENVER-Qwest Communications International Inc. said it plans to launch Sanyo Electronics Co. Ltd.'s Katana handset to its customers nationwide. The Katana, or model 6600, is a thin, clamshell phone that more than nods at Motorola Inc.'s Razr. "Katana," Sanyo points out, is the name...
ATLANTA-PC maker Lenovo is selling a laptop computer that has built-in support for Cingular Wireless L.L.C.'s EDGE- and UMTS/HSDPA-based networks. The laptop is selling online for around $1,900. "ThinkPad users can now enjoy wireless broadband Internet access via the Cingular BroadbandConnect service without needing...
Sprint Nextel Corp. last week launched a new program for enterprise customers, hoping to be a "one-stop shop" for a range of needs from fleet dispatch management to mobile device management, with additional aspects to be added to the program later this year. Although...
MIAMI-Mobile-phone distributor Brightstar Corp. said it has completed expansion of a $250 million credit facility. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. led syndication of the credit facility; other investors included HSBC, USBank, Fifth Third Bank, Western Bank, CIT and IBM. Brightstar, which claims to serve...
Since ditching merger negotiations and a takeover bid a few weeks ago, Andrew Corp. has been busy buying back 2.4 million shares of its common stock at an average price of $9.10 per share. "We believe the share repurchase program demonstrates our confidence in...
Virgin Mobile USA L.L.C. topped a new prepaid wireless customer satisfaction survey from J.D. Power & Associates. The rankings covered mobile virtual network operators and traditional wireless operators.The survey examined responses from about 4,000 current prepaid wireless customers on their experience in seven aspects...
In other Wi-Fi news, AeroScout Inc. announced the launch of its enhanced Wi-Fi-based active RFID chip, the T2 Tag, which is used primarily for asset-tracking in the healthcare and manufacturing industries. The company’s latest enhancements to the T2 include a built-in temperature monitor and...
The FLO Forum said it approved a specification for its mobile TV network technology, a move that will allow equipment makers to build gear designed to work on any FLO-based network and enable operators to choose products from multiple vendors. Designed to broadcast multimedia...
The executive shuffle continued last week at RadioShack Corp. as President and Chief Operating Officer Claire Babrowski said she will step down at the end of the month. But the chain's woes go far beyond the front office's revolving door. Babrowski joined the company...
Age, income, gender and location are among the familiar elements of demographic-based marketing across industries and, to an extent, the wireless industry has embraced the basics. One-touch dialing for pre-teens and seniors, feature-loaded, expensive gadgets for early adopters, pink handsets for (presumably) women, satellite...
NEW YORK-Virgin Mobile USA L.L.C. has tapped MX Telecom to support its off-deck content activity. The mobile virtual network operator said MX Telecom will deliver premium SMS support and provide short-code connectivity for third-party transactions. The London-based messaging company maintains direct connections to more...
As shareholders of Lucent Technologies Inc. and Alcatel Inc. get set to vote Sept. 7 on the companies' proposed merger, analyst opinions run the gamut on the infrastructure "merger of the season." "It has been a long, arduous year for (Lucent chief) Pat Russo...
PLAINFIELD, Ind.-Brightpoint Inc. inked a deal to supply wireless devices and accessories to online retailer Newegg Inc. Newegg operates a storefront for manufacturers of consumer electronics, communications equipment and hardware and software. The 5-year-old company claims nearly 6 million registered customers including IT professionals,...
NEW YORK-Comverse Inc. said it will pay $19 million in cash for privately held Netonomy, a developer of customer self-service, bill analysis and point of sale software for wireless communications. Comverse said Netonomy's self-service application suite enables subscribers, including consumers, enterprise and retailers, to...
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands-Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. launched a handset equipped with Unlicensed Mobile Access technology in Italy. Samsung's SGH-P200 phone runs on the Nexperia chip from Royal Philips' Philips Semiconductor division. Philips' Nexperia offering uses the company's low-power wireless local area network system-in-package that integrates...
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.-Mobile users continue to opt for streaming music services over full-track downloads and wireless video services, according to the latest figures from In-Stat. The market research firm found that consumer interest in mobile music has outpaced interest in wireless TV over the past...
Nortel Networks Ltd. came out of the closet last week touting dual-radio Wi-Fi gear that's being used in large-scale network deployments in Moscow and Taipei, Taiwan, as well as in small and medium-sized cities, counties and university campuses. Kyle Klassen, director of Mobility Marketing...
WASHINGTON-A New York federal judge refused to certify a potentially disruptive class-action lawsuit against the four national mobile-phone carriers, possibly removing from the line of fire for now the latest antitrust challenge to the standard industry practice of packaging wireless service and handsets in...
