• Cricket Communications has launched the Samsung Stunt bar phone. The Stunt features mobile Internet access, Bluetooth and voice commands. It also comes equipped with MyBackup, which automatically protects mobile contacts without the use of data cables. The handset is now available for $99.99.
• ABI Research says mobile capital expenditures will rise more than 4 percent in 2010 after two years of declines. Investment in 3.5G technologies like HSPA+ and 4G network deployments will help drive sales. The research firm also expects mobile service revenues to continue to rise, with a compound annual growth rate of 9.4 percent between 2009 and 2015.
• Mu Dynamics has launched xtractr, a collaborative cloud application that allows network engineers to index, search, extract and report on packet captures up to 250MB in size. Xtractr enables network engineers and testers to take huge packet captures and classify them into smaller parts, while sharing their troubleshooting queries with the xtractr community. The service is most frequently used for network troubleshooting, problem isolation and field resolution and network forensics.
• IDC expects shipments of WiMAX-embedded computers will surpass shipments of portable PCs with 3G connectivity over the next year. The company also says that Apple's launch of the iPad will not spur increased sales of Windows-based tablets, although forthcoming tablet products from traditional PC makers such as HP and Lenovo are likely to garner interest, but not high shipment figures.
• MasterCard has renewed its payment technology agreement with Transaction Network Services. Transaction Network Services provides the payment server software for MasterCard's e-commerce platform, the MasterCard Internet Gateway Service (MiGS), which is used worldwide by more than 70 bank acquirers and over 17,000 merchants. MasterCard and Transaction Network Services have been working together since 2007.
• Satellite-based communications infrastructure company Globecomm Systems has acquired Carrier to Carrier Telecom (C2C) and the assets of Evolution Communication for $15 million in cash. C2C provides satellite services across Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Asia, and maritime services in the Atlantic, Mediterranean, Gulf of Mexico and the Indian Ocean regions. Globecomm expects to begin making money on the deal by the end of its 2010 fiscal year in June.
• Mobile broadband optimization company Venturi Wireless has been granted a patent for its application optimization technology. The new patent, "Method and Apparatus for Increasing Performance of HTTP Over Long-Latency Links," allows applications and protocols that the Internet is built on to operate effectively on wireless networks and is a part of Venturi's Optimization Engine solution.
• Mobile satellite communications company Inmarsat posted sales of $1.04 billion for the full year 2009. The company posted earnings before taxes, interest, depreciation and amortization of $594.2 million. Inmarsat expects "solid revenue growth" in 2010 as demand for its global services from commercial and government clients continues to expand.