• Sprint announced several additions to its Application Developer Web site designed to give developers tools to create applications for Android-powered devices. Developers using the site and tools will be able to create and test applications for the Android platform on the Sprint network. The Sprint Open Developer Conference, Oct. 26-28 in Santa Clara, Calif., will include several sessions dedicated to Android development, including information from HTC and Google.
• Electronic Arts and Namco Bandai Networks Europe have signed a distribution agreement allowing EA Mobile to publish Namco Bandai's mobile content across Europe, Russia, India, Latin America, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. The deal will not impact Namco Bandai's North American distribution or its iPhone activities, both of which will continue to be handled by Namco Networks America.
• Leap Wireless International subsidiary Cricket Communications has launched the new Cricket CAPTR, its lowest-priced camera phone. The CAPTR features a zoom-enabled VGA camera, Bluetooth, voice activated dialing, along with text and picture messaging. The flip phone device also comes ready with the mobile Web, games, and a customizable home screen.
• ABI Research predicts that shipments of cellular modems are on track to exceed 46 million this year, with USB modems quickly outpacing PC cards. The firm also found that Chinese vendors dominate the dongle market, with Huawei accounting for 45 percent of all units shipped and ZTE with a 21 percent market share. ABI analyst Jeff Orr also predicted that so-called "Mi-Fi" mobile routers could slow the penetration rate of embedded modems if widely adopted.
• Mojiva has spun off its mobile advertising platform as a new, independent company, mOcean Mobile. MOcean offers services for mobile publishers, advertising networks and advertising campaign management. MOcean's advertising platform was built specifically for the mobile Web.
• SkyCross' iMAT antennas are now available for LTE, which requires multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) technology. The iMAT antennas handle MIMO by allowing a single antenna element to behave like multiple optimized antennas. SkyCross is already mass producing its 4G antenna solutions for global WiMAX networks.
• No-contract service provider Pocket Communications says its product lineup now includes the Smart TXT, Motorola Hint, Motorola Q and the Freeform from Samsung. Pocket says it now has the largest retail footprint in San Antonio and South Texas when compared to the four largest nationwide carriers.
• Samsung Electronics Co. announced its newest quarter-inch optical format, 5-megapixel (Mp) system-on-chip (SoC) image sensor, the S5K4EA, which brings digital still camera functionality to high-end mobile phones. The announcement was made at the Samsung Mobile Solutions Forum in Taipei, Taiwan.
• Ringleader Digital says the Travel Channel has selected its mobile advertising technologies to expand its reach across the mobile Web at m.travelchannel.com.
• LiveWire Mobile announced a mobile storefront that integrates full-track music, ringtones, wallpapers, games, applications and ringback tones for Bell Mobility.