SAN DIEGO-Digital Orchid is looking to expand its portfolio and global footprint with the acquisition of mobile game publisher Blue Tech. Blue Tech is a 2-year-old vendor based in Madrid, Spain, and is the parent company of Java developer Kato Studios. Digital Orchid provides...
DUBLIN, Ireland-Those waiting anxiously for a .mobi domain needn't wait any longer. The company behind the controversial, mobile-exclusive top-level domain opened registration, allowing the general public to register wireless Internet sites with the suffix. Mobile Top Level Domain Ltd., which manages the domain, hopes...
ATLANTA-Air2Web said it snared $25 million in a financing round led by The Carlyle Group. The wireless software company said it will use the new funds to further its work in mobile marketing as well as expanding into other geographic markets. Existing investors Vantage...
NEW YORK-Nokia Corp. debuted three handsets targeting mobile music lovers at its Nokia Theater in Times Square. The phones are set to be available in select markets within weeks, but Nokia did not name the markets. The company also did not name any carriers...
GREENSBORO, N.C.-RF Micro Devices Inc. said it plans to sell its equity interest in Jazz Semiconductor for between $24 million and $27 million in cash. The company is divesting its interest in Jazz due to the pending merger of Jazz with a subsidiary of...
Just as the dust settled on ADC Telecommunications Inc.'s failed attempt to merge with Andrew Corp., ADC announced plans to lay off about 225 of its 8,200 employees as part of a restructuring effort. Interestingly, the news came on the heels of Andrew's own...
WASHINGTON-Two key Senate lawmakers suggested the Justice Department and Federal Communications Commissions consider imposing conditions-including the divestiture of WiMAX spectrum-on the proposed $67 billion merger of AT&T Inc. and BellSouth Corp. to prevent any anticompetitive warehousing of such spectrum by the combined telecom giants....
WASHINGTON-The House suspended an in-building wireless license to MobileAccess Networks, a move that comes two weeks after Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) admitted in a plea agreement with U.S. officials to backing the bid of MobileAccess-the client of convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff-after accepting free trips,...
BASKING RIDGE, N.J.-Verizon Wireless flexed its handset muscle with the launch of Motorola Inc.'s Krzr K1m phone, a music and video-playing handset similar to Motorola's Razr. Motorola gave the wireless industry its first peek at the Krzr in July, but Verizon Wireless is the...
DALLAS-The Open Mobile Alliance Ltd. (OMA) will lead a consortium of companies looking to create an open gaming specification for high-end wireless games. The OMA said the members of the mobile gaming initiative-which was launched early this year-will join the OMA's Game Services Working...
NEW YORK-The race to join the mobile marketing playground continued to heat up with separate announcements from Cascada Mobile and Crisp Wireless. Crisp Wireless said it will team with VML, a Kansas City, Mo.-based marketing technology firm to develop and market mobile advertising offerings...
TAIPEI, Taiwan-Enough already-that's the decision handed down from BenQ Corp. amid heavy losses at its mobile venture, BenQ Mobile. The company announced that it won't pour any more money into its German-based mobile-phone subsidiary. As a result, BenQ said its handset subsidiary may file...
WASHINGTON-Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) chairman of the House Commerce Committee, shocked, surprised and pleased lawmakers during two days of hearings on pretexting by announcing that a long-stalled bill to make the sale of telephone records illegal could come up for a vote at any...
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission officially launched its Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, naming Ken Moran as its acting chief. The agency has been in the process of creating the new bureau for about a year; FCC Chairman Kevin Martin announced his intent to...
SAN FRANCISCO-Mobile video upstart Veeker said it has acquired ThumbJive, a developer of youth-focused wireless applications. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.Veeker, which has been operating in stealth mode, hopes to gain traction with technology that allows users to communicate instantly over...
NEW YORK-Dada USA Inc. launched its social networking and entertainment community for the U.S. market. The company's Web site allows users to subscribe to a variety of services and content including personal blogging, profile matching, text messaging, ringtones, mobile gaming and wallpapers.Dada was founded...
BASKING RIDGE, N.J.-Chocolate phone users are able to get a software upgrade that will add speakerphone capabilities to their handsets. Users will be able to visit Verizon Wireless retail outlets to get the free software upgrade. Verizon recently introduced its music-focused Chocolate phone, which...
NEW YORK-Here's a sampling of the recent customer requests handled by service reps for Voce, the luxury mobile virtual network operator that apparently can do just about anything its subscribers ask of it. Ten customers wanted reservations at Wolfgang Puck's new steakhouse in Los...
FRAMINGHAM, Mass.-IDC said there is tremendous growth potential in the market for business-focused phones, and predicted that Microsoft Corp's involvement with Motorola Inc., Palm Inc., and others, as well as Nokia Corp.'s commitment to an end-to-end strategy, threatens to weaken Research in Motion Ltd.'s...
DENVER-Where should cell-phone enthusiasts go for the latest in handset technology? EBay, it appears. An eBay shopper recently purchased a dual-mode CDMA/iDEN phone from Motorola Inc. for $300. Sold by "Rager4208," the phone is dubbed the "Sprint Nextel Hybrid ic502" and offers "Walkie-Talkie, Off...
LOS ANGELES-Amp'd Mobile added another distribution partner, inking a deal to stock its handsets through more than 600 Circuit City Stores Inc. outlets beginning next month. The deal marks a concession of sorts for Amp'd, which had hoped to keep its brick-and-mortar distribution at...
IRVINE, Calif.-Mobile search vendor AskMeNow said it launched a national TV advertising campaign to promote its search service. The company's ad campaign includes 30-second spots that demonstrate the service. The spots will appear on channels including Comedy Central, VH1, ESPN and Fox News, said...
Exchanging data over wireless networks is expected to grow at a steady rate in North America, according to the latest data from ABI Research. The firm said it expects growth of 16 percent each year through 2011, with a bit of a boom in...
NEW YORK-Demand is strong at T-Mobile USA Inc. retail stores for the recently launched Research In Motion Ltd. BlackBerry Pearl, according to a national channel check by UBS analyst Maynard Um. The device, announced Sept. 7, combines productivity functions with multimedia and consumer-oriented style....
