Google Inc. wants to bring mobile Internet to the masses. That's the philosophy behind its launching Android, its mobile-operating system. Creating a mobile OS that's simple, efficient and a great user experience full of useful applications will mean more people hooked to the web...
The wireless industry is clearly a money-making field and everyone's trying to get their hands on a piece of it, especially big box retailers. Establishments such as Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy, Circuit City and Radio Shack have been acting as third-party retailers for carriers...
PlayPhone Inc. notched its fourth and final major record label, securing a deal to distribute mastertones from Universal Music Group.A division of Vivendi, UMG claims nearly 20 subsidiary labels and artists such as 50 Cent, Kanye West, Mariah Carey, The Killers and U2. PlayPhone...
Leap Wireless International Inc. juggled its offerings with the launch of its new PayGo prepaid service, which will replace its previously offered Jump prepaid plans. The PayGo service is a daily, pay-as-you-go option that customers only pay for on the days that they access...
Virgin Mobile USA Inc. showed more enthusiasm toward its newer, postpaid offerings in its second-quarter report - not the normal behavior for a company that made its name with prepaid. When asked about average revenue per user (ARPU) results related to its recently launched...
A couple years ago, starting your very own mobile virtual network operations company was a sizzling hot idea and everybody was trying to cash in. But now, two years and a slue of MVNO closings later, the idea has fizzled. With the shut downs...
LAS VEGAS - The growing importance of wireless in the general telecom space was evident during this morning's keynote session at the NXTcomm08 trade show here, as AT&T Inc. chief Randall Stephenson referred to the recently introduced Apple Inc. 3G iPhone numerous times in...
When people think of domestic iDEN carriers, the most common name mentioned is Sprint Nextel Corp., which serves more than 13 million customers on its Motorola Inc.-designed network. But that shouldn’t be where the conversion ends; Atlanta-based SouthernLINC Wireless operates its own iDEN network...
Verizon Wireless tweaked its prepaid calling plans to add access to its music, navigation and other data services starting tomorrow. The carrier will offer three varieties of its INpulse plans. The INpulse Core plan looks much like a continuation of Verizon Wireless' basic prepaid...
Sprint Nextel Corp. is expanding the reach of its Boost Mobile L.L.C. unlimited calling offer to an additional 10 states.The carrier said that, based on the offer's success in trial markets in California and Texas, Unlimited by Boost will now be extended to participating...
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.--Google's YouTube...
FLAT-RATE WIRELESS carriers serving the sub-prime sector have seen their stocks plunge in recent weeks, reflecting fears about sub-prime customers who could affect the carriers' financial results.The financial markets have been rattled by fears about the extent to which the floundering sub-prime mortgage market...
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.--Google announced...
Big-box retail is second only to the network operators' own branded retail stores as the channel of choice among American consumers. Big-box retailers as a distribution channel are rapidly rising in importance among carriers as well. This evolution reflects the growing sophistication of the...
Safari SMSKenya's largest cellular operator, Safaricom, launched a money transfer service that allows its customers to transfer money using short message service technology. According to a Reuters report, in Kenya it is common for one member of a family to work in the city...
RadioShack announced it will sell Sprint Nextel Corp.'s youth-focused brand Boost Mobile through 672 retail stores. RadioShack joins Target, Wal-Mart and Best Buy in selling the iDEN-based offering."We are extremely pleased to partner with Boost Mobile, and are excited about giving wireless users this...
WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration suddenly finds itself confronting privacy and security issues associated with radio frequency identification technology, an awkward position for a U.S. government aggressively promoting RFID and contributing to a potentially huge commercial market for wireless tracking chips and infrastructure. While...
SEATTLE-Wireless users who buy handsets from carriers' stores are far more likely to spend more on monthly mobile service than those shopping at big-box retailers, according to new figures from M:Metrics. The market research firm found that 56 percent of consumers who bought a...
WASHINGTON-The Bush administration is moving aggressively to integrate radio-frequency identification technology into homeland security, defense and immigration policies, a posture expected to catalyze private-sector investment while inviting increased security and privacy concerns as the emerging wireless application gains traction. The Department of Defense has...
SCHAUMBURG, Ill.—The Inc. is laying down the ink—and nearly $4 billion in cash—to bulk up for the enterprise. Motorola Inc. and Symbol Technologies announced that the former would buy the latter for nearly $4 billion, a move deepening Motorola’s position in enterprise mobility and...
WASHINGTON—U.S. law enforcement officials are expected to continue scrutinizing large purchases of prepaid cell phones and possible links to terrorist activity on American soil, despite failing to make such a connection to a wireless buying behavior that may be far more widespread than initially...
WASHINGTON—U.S. officials in Michigan said their probe of large prepaid cell phone purchases will not end as a result of a federal magistrate’s decision to throw out conspiracy and money laundering charges against three Texas men. The men originally faced terrorism charges, which were...
The executive shuffle continued last week at RadioShack Corp. as President and Chief Operating Officer Claire Babrowski said she will step down at the end of the month. But the chain's woes go far beyond the front office's revolving door. Babrowski joined the company...
Resellers of inexpensive cellular phones risk being targeted as terrorists these days, since local and federal law enforcement officials are on the look-out for purchases of large numbers of prepaid cellular phones. Five men of Middle Eastern descent were recently arrested in Michigan and...
