BARCELONA, Spain-The show is in Spain, but last week's 3GSM World Congress was all about emerging markets in Africa, Asia and South America.After rising by an average of 25 percent for the last three years, global handset growth will slow to a 13-percent clip...
BARCELONA, Spain-The show is in Europe, but Wednesday afternoon's keynote address at 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, was all about emerging markets in Africa, Asia and South America.While handset penetration nears-and perhaps surpasses-100 percent in more advanced markets, carriers, content providers and phone...
Alltel Corp. wireless customers who just can't get enough of personalizing their wireless phones now have a new option: ringback tones. The carrier introduced a ringback tone service, and will charge $1 per month for the offering. The fee includes one complimentary ringback tone;...
Editor's Note: Welcome 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 Strategy Analytics' Chris Ambrosio, M:Metrics' Seamus McAteer...
WASHINGTON-TracFone Wireless Inc., the nation's largest prepaid wireless company, said it is considering filing a lawsuit in federal court to repeal a new Library of Congress rule that exempts mobile-phone locking software from U.S. copyright law."Although TracFone believes that the exemption to the Digital...
WASHINGTON-TracFone Wireless Inc., the nation's largest pre-paid wireless company, said it is considering filing suit in federal court to repeal a new Library of Congress rule exempting mobile phone locking software from U.S. copyright law. The ruling essentially allows an individual to unlock his...
DENVER-Qwest Communications International Inc. revamped its wireless calling plans, striving to make a competitive family-plan offering while including converged service options. The operator, which offers wireless service as a stand-alone product or part of a service bundle, now has national plans that eliminate automatic...
SAN DIEGO—PacketVideo Corp. hopes to increase its European presence with the acquisition of Berlin-based software developer TwonkyVision GmbH. Terms of the deal were not announced.PacketVideo produces multimedia software for mobile phones and counts the world’s 10 largest manufacturers among its customers. Key to the...
"Idealistic" isn't a word commonly associated with venture capitalists. But Brian Biniak, founder of the new wireless venture-capital firm Provenance Ventures L.L.C., believes there is a business case for making the world a better place. "Some people complain about it, and I decided that...
SUNNYVALE, Calif.—Following Google Inc.'s lead, Yahoo Inc. said it expanded its sponsored-search offering to wireless phones in the United States and United Kingdom. The Internet giant announced the beta launch of a service that returns sponsored, clickable links with search results. Advertisers can develop...
SUNNYVALE, Calif.—Following Google Inc.’s lead, Yahoo Inc. said it expanded its sponsored-search offering to wireless phones in the United States and United Kingdom. The Internet giant announced the beta launch of a service that returns sponsored, clickable links with search results. Advertisers can develop...
CINCINNATI—MobileVoiceControl Inc. is entering the voice-driven search market with an application for smart phones from Sprint Nextel Corp. The developer launched VoiceControl, which allows users to search for mobile content, local business listings and information from the Internet; users can also give voice commands...
Vodafone Germany launched a downloadable Java-based mapping application that features hi-resolution aerial photos and a searchable database of more than 4,000 German points of interest. Like Google Earth and other mapping applications for computers, Mobile Earth allows users to access satellite images of specific...
TOKYO—Japanese wireless operator NTT DoCoMo Inc. plans to dissolve a small subsidiary that focused on helping businesses use wireless phones more efficiently. Allucher Inc. had two employees and $384,000 in capital, and had been established in 2004 under an internal system to encourage entrepreneurship...
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.-Alltel Corp. and Melodeo Inc. announced they are working together to offer podcasts to Alltel subscribers. The Axcess Mobilcast service is expected to allow Alltel subscribers to search and listen to thousands of podcasts on their wireless phones for $4 a month....
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.—Alltel Corp. and Melodeo Inc. announced they are working together to offer podcasts to Alltel subscribers. The Axcess Mobilcast service is expected to allow Alltel subscribers to search and listen to thousands of podcasts on their wireless phones for $4 a month....
Camella Price, a mother of two girls, is one of eight parents of New York City school children who consider wireless phones a lifeline to their youngsters—and they're suing Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the chancellor of the city schools and the city department of education...
WASHINGTON—An influential House Democrat said policy-makers should consider requiring wireless carriers and other communications service providers to participate in any overhaul of a Cold War-era emergency alert system. At a hearing last Thursday, Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), ranking member of the House telecom and...
Time to play "Guess the mobile virtual network operator." Your clues: U.S.-based, postpaid but requires no contract and relies on Internet sales and telephone sales for distribution. The MVNO is hosted by a national carrier and has nearly doubled its customer base within the...
JENKINTOWN, Pa.-Despite the growing reliance on wireless phones as a primary communications device among an increasing number of households, a good percentage of Americans still believe wireline phones are the most important communications product in their home. Thirty-seven percent of respondents to a new...
WASHINGTON-A new study claims mobile-phone use while driving is as dangerous as drinking while behind the wheel, reinforcing previous research on distracted driving and further complicating industry's message the wireless phones are a safety tool. "We found that people are as impaired when they...
JENKINTOWN, Pa.—Despite the growing reliance on wireless phones as a primary communications device among an increasing number of households, a good percentage of Americans still believe wireline phones are the most important communications product in their home. Thirty-seven percent of respondents to a new...
Flash Lite-essentially a stripped-down, mobile version of the popular Flash Player for computers-has quietly gained impressive ground since NTT DoCoMo Inc. introduced handsets enabled with the software in 2003. DoCoMo recently touted surpassing the 2 million subscriber mark to its i-channel service, which uses...
WASHINGTON-Despite legal setbacks in court jurisdictional rulings, including the Supreme Court's refusal to review a 4th Circuit headset ruling that rejected industry's federal pre-emption arguments, headset and brain-cancer litigation have failed to gain traction in state and federal courts. The reasons industry has been...
