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Microsoft goes after social networkers with Kin line up: Verizon Wireless gains exclusivity at launch

The “social” generation tallied another victory this morning as computing giant Microsoft Corp. unveiled the latest attempt to infiltrate this narcissist, though apparently dominate, market made up of consumers that need to share everything they are doing, every moment of the day.The foray involves...

Analyst Angle: Android in Japan

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.The iPhone zooms to No. 1. Competitors react to declining market share and diminishing average...

Nokia remains No. 1 in device sales, Symbian in OS

Nokia Corp. remained the wireless industry’s No. 1 handset vendor worldwide in 2009, but its lead over rivals continued to shrink, while LG Electronics Co. Ltd. overtook Motorola Inc. as the third largest handset vendor.According to a report from Gartner Inc., Nokia sold nearly...

High-quality mobile video needs high-quality audio, Dolby says: Audio expert introduces tools for mobile content creators

While wireless operators worldwide are clamoring to be able to build robust enough networks that can showcase video applications, one company –Dolby Laboratories – is quick to point out that video is only half of the equation. In short, good video needs good audio...

@MWC: VZW joins GSMA, updates LTE plans

BARCELONA – Verizon Wireless' metamorphosis from champion of CDMA technology among the world's largest carriers to a full-fledged member of the dominant GSM-based world took another step to completion today as the nation's largest operator announced its membership of the GSMA trade association.The decision...

Handset makers agree to JIL widget specification

The carrier-led Joint Innovation Lab project announced that four handset manufacturers have agreed to support its widget specification in devices beginning next year.The device manufacturers include LG Electronics Co. Ltd., Research In Motion Ltd., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and Sharp Corp. The JIL founding...

2009 Wireless Forecast: Handsets: The pain in Spain: Gloomy outlook likely to drive discussion at MWC

The short-term forecast for the handset market calls for pain and belt-tightening, no matter which market analysis you favor. And those analyses range from pretty harsh to very harsh. "We expect the first quarter of 2009 to be the absolute volume bottom in the...

Global semiconductor industry contracting

Revenue earned by the global semiconductor industry will contract by 2% this year compared to last year, according to iSuppli Corp., a sharp change from a similar forecast made just two months ago. For 2008, total chip revenue is projected to reach $266.6...

LG, others to pay $585M for fines for price-fixing LCDs

A unit of LG Electronics, the South Korean-based multinational giant with a major wireless handset business, and other Asian manufacturers agreed to pay $585 million in fines and plead guilty in connection with the Department of Justice and FBI's probe of price-fixing conspiracies in...

Patent lawsuits flying for the holidays

Spansion Inc., a pure-play Flash memory vendor, has filed two patent-infringement lawsuits against Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., one at the U.S. International Trade Commission, the other in a Delaware district court. Spansion seeks an exclusionary order from the ITC that would ban the import...

Nokia’s ‘unsettling’ warning : ‘Sharp pullback’ in consumer spending

NOKIA CORP. DELIVERED A SOBER WARNING Friday that a "rapid change" in consumer spending over past weeks led the handset giant to cut its estimates for mobile device volumes in the fourth quarter and for 2009.Nokia, with about 40% global share of the handset...

Handset horserace loses cachet: Margins and profits now the most critical metrics

Everyone loves a good horse race. But with macro-economic conditions reverberating throughout the wireless industry - handset vendors' aggregate volume growth in the third quarter appeared to be stagnating - the situation calls into question the health of the horses.No major competitors are likely...

More companies join Symbian Foundation: New members: Acrodea, Brycen, HI Corp., Ixonos, KTF, Opera Software, Sharp, TapRoot Systems and UIQ Technology

SAN FRANCISCO -- Nine more companies have joined the Symbian Foundation as its group members work toward developing an open and complete mobile software platform that will be free for its members.Acrodea, Brycen, HI Corp., Ixonos, KTF, Opera Software, Sharp, TapRoot Systems and UIQ...

The (new) American handset market: Fall brings debut launches, large displays, hot competition

American consumers may well be treated to "a moveable feast" this fall. Unlike the sketches of 1920s Paris by Ernest Hemingway by the same name, however, this one is more akin to a mobile smorgasbord for buyers: more choice, cutting-edge models, attractive prices and...

Complementary customers, technologies fuse STMicro-Ericsson tie-up

The pressures of the mobile chip business, plus a fit in products and customers, has driven Ericsson Mobile Platforms and ST Microelectronics-NXP Wireless to join forces, the two companies said today.The joint venture, subject to regulatory approvals, combines ST-NXP's 2G/EDGE and 3G offerings with...

Sierra Wireless diversifies enterprise, government offerings

Sierra Wireless Inc. has purchased the assets of Junxion Inc., to build on its delivery of mobile data solutions for enterprise and government, the company said today. Junxion is a Seattle-based, privately held company that offers managed wireless routers at 3G speeds. Jason Cohenour,...

Danger adds customization to Sidekick: Device is first since Microsoft acquisition

T-Mobile USA Inc.'s new Sidekick device is the first to launch since Microsoft Corp. bought the software company at the heart of the Danger Inc. franchise. Sharp makes the handset's hardware.The news: The messaging-happy, social networking crowd that patronizes the Sidekick devices at T-Mobile...

Nokia winning by two lengths: Samsung takes second, rest in pack

Nokia Corp. hit the second-quarter finish line (pun intended) with strong year-over-year growth in handset shipment volumes, a key metric for Wall Street and those given to horse-race analogies.The company's performance established that, despite global macro-economic woes, growth in shipments remains possible. Indeed, Nokia...

Financial ratings wrap-up: MetroPCS, Apple, SBA and more

The following list includes ratings changes and financial information for wireless companies announced this week by investment-banking and financial-services firms.Carrier--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services upgraded MetroPCS to B from B- with a stable outlook. "The upgrade reflects the company's improving financial leverage," said Standard...

Nokia to acquire Symbian in $411M deal: Firm looks to counter Linux, Microsoft, others

Nokia Corp. will acquire total ownership of Symbian Ltd., buying out current partners in a deal valued at about $411 million, the company said today.Nokia said it would combine its own S60 platform with the Symbian platform and provide the results - a single...

Analyst Angle: Why you shouldn’t buy the 2.0 iPhone

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' Peter Jarich, NPD Group's...

Apple’s New Deal?: Vodafone, America Movil take a bite

Apple Inc.'s foray into the global handset industry is a work-in-progress, judging by last week's events, just as its initial, domestic rollout was marked by adroit tactical shifts.A sudden avalanche of international market rollouts for the iPhone announced last week appeared to reflect that...

More crumbs for 2nd-tier handset vendors: Top-tier share losses create opening for regional OEMs

A sequential dip in shipments by Motorola Inc. and Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications between the fourth quarter and the first quarter spelled t-r-a-c-t-i-o-n for numerous second-tier handset makers, particularly in emerging markets. The opportunity for greater volumes among those outside the elite top tier...

AT&T sheds 4,600 employees : Job cuts follow integration of AT&T with SBC

AT&T Inc. announced it will be firing about 4,600 employees, or 1.5% of its workforce, as it continues to integrate staff between AT&T and SBC Communications Inc. SBC acquired AT&T in a $16 billion deal in 2005.The company said the bulk of the cuts...