Like rival Nokia Corp., Sony Ericsson is stepping up its direct-to-consumer content business.The London-based handset manufacturer said it will expand its PlayNow business, adding a song-identification application and "millions of music tracks and thousands of mastertones from both major and independent labels." Sony Ericsson...
Editor's Note: Welcome to Reality Check, a feature for RCR Wireless News' new weekly e-mail service, Mobile Content and Culture. We've gathered a group of visionaries and veterans in the mobile content industry to give their insights into the marketplace. In the coming weeks...
Synchronica acquired GoodServer to boost its ability to target mobile device synchronization and management, the company announced. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.GoodServer's technology was already a key component of Synchronica's Mobile Gateway and the purchase will give Synchronica the sole rights to...
When Microsoft Corp.'s CEO Steve Ballmer publicly mentions someone's name as a respected veteran who will run a new company in partnership with his juggernaut, people listen. At CTIA I.T. & Entertainment 2007 in late October, Ballmer told a standing-room-only crowd that Mort Rosenthal...
Just days after the smoke cleared from last week's devastating fires, Los Angeles began bracing for another firestorm-this time from the entertainment industry.The union representing the 12,000 film and TV writers who make the world laugh, cry and sing is going on strike for...
LITIGATION SURROUNDING RULES for auction-bound 700 MHz wireless licenses took an unexpected turn last week.Verizon Wireless filed to withdraw its appeal of the Federal Communications Commission's 700 MHz open-access rule, only to have cellphone industry trade association CTIA immediately fill the void by challenging...
With more than 15% of wireless carriers' revenue coming from data services, operators are eyeing the next leap in usage. Executives from the big-five carriers were all on hand yesterday for a panel discussion on the state of mobile content, spelling out their strengths,...
The Mad Ballmer remained out of sight for Tuesday's keynote address before a standing-room-only crowd.Instead, a calm, determined Steve Ballmer, Microsoft Corp.'s CEO, offered a new, enterprise-friendly, mobile-device-management suite, touched device maker HTC Corp. with his magic wand and just said no to spectrum...
Litigation surrounding rules for the Jan. 24-scheduled 700 MHz auction has taken a sudden turn. Verizon Wireless filed to withdraw its appeal of the Federal Communications Commission's 700 MHz open-access rule, only to have cellphone association CTIA immediately fill the void by challenging the...
Editor's Note: Welcome to a special CTIA I.T. Show Daily edition of our weekly online feature, Analyst Angle. Every Monday at www.RCRNews.com you can find columns from the industry's leading analysts, including iGR's Iain Gillott, JupiterResearch's Julie Ask and more. Visit www.RCRNews.com/analyst for more...
Virgin Mobile rings the bellFlanked by Virgin Mobile Angels on Wall Street are (l to r): Peter Lurie, chief counsel; Jonathan Marchbank, COO; Howard Handler, CMO; John Thain, NY Stock Exchange president; Mrs. Dan Schulman; Tim Evans, VP handset operations; Molly Schulman (Dan Schulman's...
Wireless carriers are heading into the all-important holiday selling season, flashing new handsets designed to dazzle consumers and riding sales trends which have been building over the past year.The Apple Inc. iPhone craze has, as expected, prompted interest in touch-screen technology-and competitors are taking...
WHILE IT WAS NOT A MAJOR COUP THAT WIRELESS carriers found a Democratic lawmaker to sponsor a wireless consumer- protection bill less regulatory than another measure with more backing by Congress' ruling party, Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) could pick up a powerful political ally...
SAN DIEGO-Qualcomm Inc. spared no expense on its MediaFLO USA Inc. subsidiary. From the outside, MediaFLO's Operations Center looks like any other box-shaped lackluster office building, but a few steps inside and the love for TV is all around.Hanging from the ceiling in the...
Steve Jobs has given in.Apple Inc.'s CEO said the company will let outside developers create applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch, reversing a policy that allowed the devices to run only Web-based third-party applications. The company in February will release a software development...
"You can't just build a device without understanding what that customer really wants," says Cathy Quaciari, director of B2B devices for AT&T Mobility. Quaciari's role is to help business users-be it an individual or an IT manager overseeing 1,000 workers-shop for wireless devices.
Indeed, Quaciari...
Music and messaging may be the mantra for holiday sales, according to conventional wisdom, but Sprint Nextel Corp. is taking no chances. The carrier will offer the HTC-branded Touch on Nov. 4, for $250 with a two-year contract and mail-in rebate. The Touch, naturally,...
The following list includes venture capital and other investments into wireless companies announced during the past week. The value of the investment is included when available.--Bluestreak: Iris Capital led a $20 million Series D financing round into Bluestreak Technology Inc., developer of the MachBlue...
Nokia Corp. will answer the iPhone's splashy user interface with advancements in its own Series 60 UI that runs its smartphone offerings, the Finnish giant said at the Symbian Smartphone Show in London.Nokia will offer the upgraded UI to rivals on a licensing basis,...
PHOENIX-With rival Nokia Corp. moving aggressively to build its worldwide lead through marketing, and the iPhone rattling the handset marketplace, struggling Motorola Inc. has begun to restructure its marketing, from its agency alignment to its internal organization.Marketing chief Casey Keller, in an interview with...
Triple-play bundles work, but the quadplay is as yet unproven as a strategy by which operators can improve revenues and reduce churn, according to a new report by global telecom advisory firm Analysys.Analysys found that triple-play packages have helped U.S. cable operators to double...
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. reported $2.39 billion in earnings for the third quarter, an increase of 1% from the same period last year, due largely to growth in its cellphone and chip-making businesses.The world's No. 2 handset manufacturer brought in $5.2 billion in sales...
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...
Mozilla Corp. is looking to jump onto the mobile browser playground with a version of its popular open-source Firefox offering.The Mountain View, Calif.-based developer is stepping up its wireless efforts, expanding its team of developers and building an application that will run Firefox extensions...
