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...
Another week, another Chinese controversy in official Washington.Congressional furor seemingly had begun to subside over imports of pet food, toys, toothpaste and seafood-all subjects of safety concerns-when 3Com Corp. announced it will be swallowed up by Bain Capital Partners L.L.C. in a $2.2 billion...
If you're wondering what shape WiMAX-enabled devices will take, you can hop a plane to South Korea and see Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.'s two models in action on SK Telecom's WiBro network. Samsung's M8100 is the world's first WiMAX-equipped PDA-style smartphone, a slider model...
The following list details this week's infrastructure awards for the cellular, Wi-Fi and WiMAX industries. The contracts are broken down by transmission technology, country and vendor. The value of the contract is included when available.Cellular--Indonesia: Telkom Indonesia has chosen ZTE Corp. to expand the...
Network operators increasingly will partner with small handset vendors to offer low-margin, ultra-low-cost handsets, particularly in emerging markets where new subscriber growth remains strong, according to ABI Research. Nokia Corp. and Motorola Inc. currently dominate the sub-$50 handset space, in part due to their...
The ZTE D90 handset-a "multimedia powerhouse" in the vendor's words-will be available from Canadian carrier Telus Mobility, priced at $218 without a contract and $76 with a three-year contract. The D90, a flip phone, supports the carrier's CDMA2000 1x EV-DO network speeds, sports a...
Network operators will earn more than $10 billion this year from selling self-branded handsets made by ODMs, according to ABI Research. That's a nearly 25% jump from the prior year. Within four years, that segment could grow to about 10% of the total handset...
ORLANDO, Fla.-Sprint Nextel Corp. shook up its mobile music service to be more competitive, and announced an expansion of its joint venture with its cable partners.The music offering includes the new Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. SPH-m620 phone, dubbed Upstage, that offers a slim form...
ORLANDO, Fla.-The competitive cauldron that is the domestic Chinese handset market has produced a few winners. And that has fueled a desire among those winners to enter the U.S. market.The prize? Prestige, profits and brand-building that could serve long-term, global growth, according to analysts.At...
IF NOKIA CORP. HAS TO REFRESH its efforts in the United States to solidify carrier relationships, as it said last week, two Chinese handset vendors entering the market may similarly have to gird for the long haul-though ambition is a good place to start.The...
A robust economy in China may be fueling robust ambitions. Two domestic Chinese handset makers will use the upcoming CTIA Wireless 2007 show to launch handsets in the United States, one under its own brand and the other under a well-recognized name, if not...
"Consolidation" is a well-worn phrase in business circles because it politely masks the fact that someone probably is going to get it in the neck.Typically, that means workers get hurt, though the game of executive heave-ho remains popular, particularly after a difficult quarter or...
The search for hotties never ends.Hot wireless markets, that is, with potential growth in first-time subscribers and prospects for high volumes of relatively low-cost handset sales, market share and, possibly, profits.A couple of currently hot markets will remain in contention-think China and, particularly, India-and...
Time was when the wireless industry's major, marketshaping impact in the telecom sphere was defined by the number of mobile phones that became substitutes for landline telephones, which historically consumers have relied on for day-to-day communications.Just as Ma Bell back in the day grossly...
ZTE USA Inc. signed a contract to supply ClearTalk Wireless with its all-IP CDMA2000 platform for third-generation voice, data and multimedia services.ClearTalk said it plans to offer 3G services in select markets within the five states where the company operates wireless networks. To date,...
First OFDMA and now MIMO. Qualcomm Inc.'s acquisition of Airgo Networks and its Multiple-Input, Multiple-Out technology, as well as the company's previous purchase of Flarion Technologies Inc., position Qualcomm to play big in future wireless broadband.The behemoth San Diego-based chipmaker last week announced it...
SAN DIEGO-Qualcomm Inc. apparently couldn't resist adding Multiple-Input, Multiple-Output technology to its already huge portfolio of wireless technology. The behemoth chipmaker announced it is buying MIMO creator Airgo Networks Inc. for an undisclosed amount to extend its mobile broadband offering by integrating Airgo's 802.11a/b/g...
As the world's more mature wireless markets shift to third-generation networks and beyond, it seems as if backers of CDMA technology and those who are pushing 3G flavors of GSM are racing each other to hype their respective market gains.The GSM Association recently published...
Just when it seemed like the world had stopped making predictions about when China's government would grant third-generation licenses to operators, reports surfaced in the Chinese press indicating that the government will make its move in February.An article published by ShanghaiDaily.com lays out that...
NEW DELHI—Motorola Inc. scored a glimmer of hope in India as a court there issued an injunction that temporarily stops India’s state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. from awarding its multibillion-dollar network expansion contract to eager vendors. Motorola had asked the Indian court for a...
Did anyone else notice that during the recent WiMAX World trade show, every vendor launching WiMAX gear touted Multiple Input, Multiple Output technology as part of its solution? Indeed, Aclatel Inc., Fujitsu Network Communications, Motorola Inc., Nortel Networks Ltd., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., and...
There's never a dull moment in India's wireless marketplace. Media reports streaming out of the country last week indicated that Motorola Inc. and ZTE Corp. had been eliminated from the bidding process for state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd.'s multibillion-dollar contract to build a GSM...
NEW DELHI—Reports are streaming out of India indicating that Motorola Inc. and ZTE Corp. have been eliminated from the bidding process for state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd.’s multibillion-dollar contract to build a GSM network that can handle 62 million subscribers. BSNL reportedly said it...
SHENZHEN, China-Reports are streaming out of China that ZTE Corp.'s net earnings fell 47 percent during the first half of 2006 compared to the same period last year. The company blamed its lackluster earnings on a slowdown in sales within its home turf along...
