Editor's Note: Welcome to On the Margins, a feature for RCR Wireless News' new weekly e-mail service, Mobile Content and Culture. Every week, the RCR Wireless News staff considers events in the wider business world and how they could affect the wireless industry.--AOL purchased...
Yet another set of mobile advertising guidelines will be released this week as the dotMobi Advisory Group (MAG) unveils a 44-page document for companies looking to target wireless users.The group, a nonprofit offshoot of mTLD Top Level Domain Ltd., hopes to foster growth of...
Online advertising is quickly moving toward cost-per-action models, but in the mobile world it's all about the eyeballs. For now, at least.A recent study by NetElixir and the e-tailing group inc. found that a majority of U.S. online retailers reported up to 40% of...
SAN FRANCISCO-Direct-to-consumer is going directly, well, nowhere.Approaching mobile users directly has long been seen as the path to riches for outfits too small-or too edgy-for placement on carrier decks. But the U.S. market for off-deck mobile content is shackled by inadequate billing systems, onerous...
SAN FRANCISCO-Sprint Nextel Corp. understands that its technology choice for a mobile broadband world will require heavy lifting, measured in the billions of dollars, and that attracting others to its vision is crucial."It's not something that one company can build," said Atish Gude, senior...
The buzzword du jour: presence. "Presence" is getting a lot of play, from the focus of Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's opening keynote address on Tuesday to a panel discussion Wednesday. But what the heck does it mean? Like most buzzwords, that depends on...
WiMAX could be the technology that fuels the fusion of all sorts of mobile applications, integrating video, location-based services and a host of other offerings.And analysts generally agree that speedy access to the wireless Web will be the key."When I talk WiMAX, I always...
The direct-to-consumer mobile content space is being shackled by inadequate billing systems and an overall lack of traffic, content providers and mobile software developers said Monday.The market for off-deck mobile content was once seen as a kind of equalizer for publishers and brands too...
Nokia Corp. inched toward its long-held goal of 40% global market share in the third quarter, shipped more phones than its three largest rivals combined and earned revenue and profit to match. With near-complete dominance over incumbent handset makers, Nokia is moving to address...
Want one of those ".mobi" suffixes for your wireless Web site? Get out your checkbook.The company behind the mobile-only top-level domain closed its first online auction earlier this month, raking in more than $850,000 as it hawked 100 mobile Web addresses to the highest...
Mobile advertising recently got a boost from two announcements: the launch of advertising-subsidized mobile access to MySpace.com, and the advent of a U.K. mobile virtual network operator offering free wireless calls in exchange for viewing ads.Both developments offer new avenues for brands seeking to...
Southeastern wireless provider Cellular South has introduced a new flat-rate plan that includes unlimited calls and data services.The carrier's True Unlimited Plan costs $80 per month for phones and $100 per month for PDA devices or smartphones. The offering includes unlimited local and long...
Nokia Corp. snared the first carrier customer for its broad multimedia business, inking a deal with Spain's Telefonica.The world's largest handset manufacturer said it will help build a customized user interface for Telefonica users, allowing them access to the carrier's services and to Nokia's...
Clearwire Corp. may not have the father of WiMAX under its wing in Chief Strategy Officer Scott Richardson, but he could very well be considered the father-in-law of WiMAX, Richardson said in a keynote last week at WiMAX World USA in Chicago. Clearwire's mission...
The Federal Communications Commission launched a rulemaking on the highly-sought 2155 MHz-2175 MHz spectrum band, setting the stage for a resumption of a wireless open-access debate that gained strength during in the agency's 700 MHz proceeding.Late last month, the FCC tossed out applications of...
Editor's Note: Welcome to Yay or Nay, a feature for RCR Wireless New' new weekly e-mail service, Mobile Content and Culture. Every week we'll review a new wireless application or service from the user's point of view, with the goal of highlighting what works...
What a tome: 312 pages, including appendices. Why, already the number of printed copies of the Federal Communications Commission's 700 MHz decision would keep Dunder-Mifflin afloat a little longer.But what would you expect? The Martin FCC-eagerly egged on by Cyren Call, Frontline Wireless, Google...
Editor's Note: Welcome to our weekly 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 Current Analysis' Avi Greengart, Jupiter Research's...
Virgin Mobile USA L.L.C. has partnered with Intercasting to offer its customers direct access from select handsets to a range of social-networking sites. The service is initially available on three handsets, with more to come. The sites include general blog and networking sites such...
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, Current Analysis'...
User-generated content is finding an audience in mobile. But it appears the early successes in the space may have more to do with connecting with others and less to do with the content itself.MySpace and Facebook are leveraging valuable deck space to extend their...
THE IPHONE HAS given birth to the iEcosystem. Whether that's a good thing, though, is debatable.Apple Inc.'s decision to bar third-party developers from building applications for its high-profile device has drawn scorn in the software world. But there is no shortage of Internet-based applications...
Gannett Co. Inc. stepped up its mobile efforts, launching more than 100 mobile Internet sites from its local newspaper and broadcast franchises.The sites, which are free aside from carrier data charges, are updated by local Gannett "information centers" that deliver real-time information to the...
WHEN A BEHEMOTH SHAKES ITS TAIL, some rise, some fall. The behemoth benefits.That appears to be the upshot of Nokia Corp.'s announcement last week that it had selected four main chipset suppliers for future business. The move boosted some fortunes and cast off others,...