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The CES handset scene: 150-inch televisions cast long shadows, handset news didn’t ‘pop’

An informal survey of four analysts on the mobile devices on display at the International Consumer Electronics show this week in Las Vegas quickly took different directions with a common theme. Mobile, handheld devices on offer were "evolutionary," not "revolutionary" and that ratcheted up...

Executive Interview: Ross Cox

Cartoon Network New Media sounds like a fun place to work. Take Ross Cox's word for it. The network's senior director of entertainment products said it often feels like he's working at a toy store. That analogy came through when RCR Wireless News had...

Financial ratings wrap-up: Leap, RIM, Qualcomm 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 affirmed its ratings on Leap Wireless, including its B- corporate credit rating, and removed the company from CreditWatch. The outlook...

Palm toils on turnaround: Two new devices echo past, presage future

Palm Inc. almost looks like two companies these days, depending on which way the light strikes.Palm is focused on keeping the productivity-based Treo line from slipping into irrelevance, while it experiments with form factors and features for a future in the consumer market.This past/future...

Palm CEO: ‘We’re working on it’: Colligan promises ‘breakthrough’ products

Palm Inc.'s fiscal second-quarter results and its outlook for the next quarter, announced yesterday, took its stock down nearly 10%, to the lowest point in four years. The smartphone company reported a net loss of $9.6 million on modest revenue. The company's revenue reached...

LG Viewty racking up Euro sales

LG Electronics Co. Ltd. announced recently that the company's new Viewty handset has sold more than 310,000 units over its first five weeks in the European market, where it is on sale in 14 countries. The phone with a 5-megapixel camera launched in late...

Palm’s Treo 755p arrives at Verizon Wireless

The day before Palm Inc. delivers its latest quarterly results-for the fiscal second quarter ending Nov. 30-a "key product" it missed delivering earlier in the holiday spending season has arrived at Verizon Wireless.The Treo 755p, priced at $300 online, with contract, will also be...

Palm cuts undisclosed number of jobs: Treo maker slimming down after series of missteps

Palm Inc., which employs about 1,250 people, yesterday made job cuts of undisclosed magnitude, the company said."Palm is working to sharpen its focus and better align resources behind core initiatives that will make the greatest impact to our business," the company said in a...

Palm stock down on product miss: Delayed Treo at Verizon Wireless the likely culprit

Palm Inc.'s stock plunged more than 16% after the company acknowledged that "a key product" failed to launch in the lucrative fourth quarter, that sales would badly miss its own estimates and that a financial loss loomed.The company's quarterly revenue is now expected in...

Opera Mini now available for BREW devices

Opera Software ASA introduced a BREW-enabled version of its popular Mini browser for mobile phones.Opera Mini, which has been downloaded by more than 27 million mobile users, formats Internet content for the smaller screens and limited memory of wireless handsets. The offering is designed...

OPENING UP: VZW cracks open network door

It was no coincidence that Verizon Wireless chose to make two major announcements last week-each one laid out a separate step toward a 4G future driven by connectivity for consumer-electronics devices.Dick Lynch, Verizon Wireless' CTO, said that the two announcements are "inextricably tied ....

AT&T Mobility embraces ‘Cyber Monday’: Carrier’s deep online discounts led its December push

Conventional wisdom has American shoppers descending like locusts on brick-and-mortar retail stores on the Friday after Thanksgiving-presumably working off the turkey-and-gravy by lightening their wallets-then returning to work on Monday, where they resume spending online.AT&T Mobility appeared to make the most of "Cyber Monday,"...

Hedgehogging: hedge*hog*ging v. Interrupting conversations in an office environment by poking your head over the top of the cube.

So Amazon.com released a new electronic book reader called the "Kindle." It's pretty neat stuff: You can download new books wirelessly via Sprint Nextel's EV-DO network. However, the device goes for a whopping $400, a price that does not include the additional $10 you...

Locked down: Enterprises continue struggle to secure information

In this era of genius hackers and malware that can bring an entire corporation to its knees, the scariest threat to mobile security is. the users themselves.Software developers generally have done a good job keeping evil-doers at bay, according to a study of 789...

Brain whispers ‘iPhone,’ wallet says ‘free clamshell’ : Most-researched phones range from dream to reality

Two sources that track American consumers' online research into handsets paint a dual portrait of yearning and practicality this holiday season.While the data differs between the two sources in some respects, common themes arise. There's good news generally for AT&T Mobility and Apple Inc.,...

J.D. Power lauds Sony Ericsson

J.D. Power announced Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications' handsets scored highest in overall customer satisfaction among U.S. and Canadian consumers in the consumer research firm's latest survey.SEMC ranked highest in features, battery life, physical design, operation and durability among U.S. consumers. Najmi Jarwala, president of...

Financial ratings wrap-up: Leap, Nortel, Brightpoint 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 placed the ratings of Leap Wireless International on CreditWatch with negative implications after the company said it plans to...

Smartphone sales outpace laptops: Business use spurs ARPU, if companies cover cost

Just as we suspected: Smartphone sales far outpace the overall handset market in growth and will continue to do so over the next five years, according to new data from In-Stat. Projections call for a 30% compound annual growth rate for smartphones, in contrast...

Freedom of choice: Google’s plans open door for innovation, confusion

Like Daryl Hannah in "Blade Runner," Google Inc. last week showcased an attention-grabbing Android. But while the Internet giant garnered headlines and wowed fanboys with its latest move in wireless, some developers reacted with a big yawn.Google ended weeks of speculation about its mobile...

Android floats in space: gPhone a no-show, handsets not due til late ’08

Google Inc. drew considerable media attention last week with an idea and 33 influential friends.Missing was its long-rumored gPhone, whose actual fate remains a closely guarded secret. Instead, Google announced a consortium of 34 companies-the Open Handset Alliance (OHA)-and a common goal of producing...

Antennas: Where the rubber meets the road: Handset market demands low-cost volumes, sophisticated innovation

You've undoubtedly noticed, with pleasure, that the telescoping, whip antenna of yore has long ago disappeared inside the increasingly sleek device you slip into your pocket. Technology is supposed to be invisible. Out-of-sight, out-of-mind is fine for the consumer, blissfully unaware of the complexity...

Financial ratings wrap-up: Sprint Nextel, Research In Motion, Crown Castle 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--RBC Capital Markets lowered its price target on Embarq to $60 from $67 after the company reported in-line third-quarter results.--R.W. Baird lowered its estimates on...

Google leads OS alliance, demurs on device

Google Inc. is the new E.F. Hutton-when the Internet search giant talks, everybody listens. Many observers today expected to hear about a long-rumored Google phone-it didn't happen. Nor were any specific handset models announced. But listeners probably included likely competitors to the new Open...

BlackBerry users satisfied: J.D. Power confirms business users like their smartphones

A new survey finds that U.S.-based users of Research In Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry devices are the most satisfied with their handsets among smartphone users. That may not sound like a surprise to anyone who knows that RIM is by far the largest market share...