RCR Wireless News articles from January 2009

RCR Wireless News archives from January 2009

To restrict or not to restrict.
January 5, 2009... Byline: Colin Gibbs Apple continues to draw flak for keeping a tight rein on its App Store, but T-Mobile USA is learning that Google's free-for-all marketplace can be a dangerous place to play. The latest offering to get the boot from...

Despite economy, budgets holding; RCR Wireless News readers moderately concerned about economy's impact on wireless.
January 5, 2009... Byline: KRISTEN BECKMAN The difficult macro economic environment is having a neutral to moderately negative impact on current wireless technology initiatives, according to a recent study commissioned by RCR Wireless News. Nearly half...

2 Years Ago this Week.
January 5, 2009... AT&T Inc. completed its $86 billion acquisition of BellSouth that united the parent companies of then-named wireless operator Cingular Wireless. AT&T quickly renamed its wireless division AT&T Mobility.

Android rumblings for next year; Google's open platform gaining steam BY PHIL CARSON.
January 5, 2009... Byline: Phil Carson It's no secret that numerous companies have joined the Open Handset Alliance, which promotes Google Inc.'s Android handset platform. Specifics are harder to come by. But it appeared recently, from various media...

Palm's new millions raise questions; New OS seen as key to revival.
January 5, 2009... Byline: PHIL CARSON Elevation Partners, the VC firm that invested $325 million in 2007 to revive Palm Inc., left $100 million under the tree for the handset pioneer. But that tree is bedecked with candycanes in the shape of question...

iPhone heads to Wal-Mart; AT&T Mobility offers refurbished units at $99.
January 5, 2009... Byline: PHIL CARSON Apple Inc. continued to attack the domestic smartphone market as Wal-Mart began retailing the iPhone 3G across 2,500 stores in the United States. The newsworthiness of this deal seemed to reflect not just wider...

Pressure on chips; Shakeout possible among small WiMAX silicon providers.
January 5, 2009... Byline: PHIL CARSON As goes the handset market, so goes the chip market with a few notable variations on the theme. The slackening demand for handsets has caused an inventory buildup among chip suppliers' channels, will dampen those...

Handset sales sluggish; Smartphones slowing, but still positive.
January 5, 2009... Byline: PHIL CARSON The first half of 2009 may see alarmingly slow handset sales worldwide and, even if the back half of the year improves markedly, all sources point to negative growth for the coming year. Forecasts for the magnitude...

Despite economic woes, wireless sales remain brisk; Big box retailers, independents report strong holiday business.
January 5, 2009... Byline: ALLIE WINTER The holidays are over and that usually calls for a sigh of relief. Unless of course you're a retailer who lost money. Each year, from Black Friday until the end of December, retailers in the wireless industry shove...

...ETC...
January 5, 2009... Mobile vroom Czech auto maker Skoda is using MyClick's mobile image matching service to promote its latest mini Fabia model cars. The promotion asks for customers to photograph the Fabia logo via their mobile device and send it via MMS...

Mobile space to challenge social networks; Rapid growth in 2008 expected to ease in 2009.
January 5, 2009... Byline: COLIN GIBBS It appears there's room for plenty of winners in the booming segment of mobile social networking sites. But it's still unclear how lucrative the space will be. Virtual, on-the-go communities are a driving force as...

Bear trap; Wireless industry punished on Wall Street in "08.
January 5, 2009... Byline: ALLIE WINTER Not to belabor the obvious, but 2008 was a brutal year for the stock market. And while the wireless industry seemed to be withstanding the current economic downturn better than most segments, there was still blood to...

Savings in the air; Mobile coupons show promise, adoption remains modest.
January 5, 2009... Byline: COLIN GIBBS Plenty of application developers and content owners are spinning their wheels as they try to convince users to shell out for mobile goodies. But a small and very optimistic segment is hoping to get consumers to save...

M2Z "pressing ahead' amid AWS-3 auction delay.
January 5, 2009... Byline: ALLIE WINTER A cancelled hearing has not slowed down M2Z Networks Inc. John Muleta, CEO of M2Z, insists that the FCC's recent cancellation of a hearing to discuss auction plans for the AWS-3 spectrum has not weakened the...

Top carriers.
January 5, 2009... Byline: KRISTEN BECKMAN The companies listed below represent the 12 largest national and regional licensed wireless carriers and mobile virtual network operators based on subscriber numbers at the end of the third quarter of 2008. ...

Why buy when you can rent? Phone rental startup targets gadget-obsessed.
January 5, 2009... Byline: ALLIE WINTER Three people with a healthy obsession for cellphones; that's all it took to start Rentobile, a young company that rents popular handsets to U.S. consumers who want a shiny new device, but are stuck in the middle of a...

PSST wants $15B of stimulus package for 700 MHz shared-use network; Trust claims funds could create millions of jobs.
January 5, 2009... Byline: GARY E. SALAZAR As President-Elect Obama's administration continues to work on a financial plan to stimulate the country's sagging economy, the Public Safety Spectrum Trust Corp. is asking that $15 billion be included in the plan...

Another dumb pipe column.(Column)
January 5, 2009... Byline: Mike Dano For those watching the wireless industry over the past decade or so, the branding emphasis has always been squarely on the carrier. You purchased service from your carrier, you purchased phones from your carrier (in some...

AT&T Mobility, VZW swap spectrum.
January 5, 2009... Byline: GARY E. SALAZAR The Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice approved wireless asset swaps between AT&T Mobility and Verizon Wireless. The swaps were related to AT&T Mobility's $2.8 billion acquisition of...

Wireless growth continues, linked to better health.
January 5, 2009... Byline: GARY E. SALAZAR More Americans are pulling the plug on their landline telephone service and opting to live in households with only wireless devices, according to a recent federal report. In a survey conducted during the first...

Wi-Fi pie in the sky? New entrant sees clear flying for broadband offering.
January 5, 2009... Byline: GARY E. SALAZAR Aircell L.L.C. CEO Jack Blumenstein looks into the future of in-flight Internet services and sees an aircraft devoid of television monitors or screens on the back of seats. Blumenstein envisions travelers watching...

By the Numbers.
January 5, 2009... Report: 95M M2M modules shipped by 2013 A new report from ABI Research predicts 95 million cellular machine-to-machine modules will ship in 2013. Of those, about 34 million devices are expected to be for telematics and 39 million for...

China to issue 3G licenses, 3 technologies approved for deployment; China-developed TD-SCDMA, Europe's W-CDMA, N.A.'s CDMA2000 are a go.
January 5, 2009... Byline: GARY E. SALAZAR The Chinese government has approved plans to issue licenses for 3G-based wireless services, a decision that will result in billions of dollars spent there on infrastructure during the next two years. The move stands...