• Nokia has announced two new devices for China's TD-SCDMA market, the Nokia X5 and Nokia C5. The devices include the Mobile Market-Ovi Store and will debut at the World Expo Shanghai 2010. The X5 is a Symbian-based entertainment device with a 5.0-megapixel camera, dual LED flash and video recording functions. The C5 features a stainless-steel keypad and a 2.4 inch QVCA display.
• INSIDE Contactless, Sagem Orga and TazTag announced the joint development of a NFC contactless payment device. The TazCard device is a special-purpose, Java-based handheld unit capable of supporting a variety of NFC applications, including payments. For this new payment device, INSIDE's Java-based test payment application has been installed on a Single Wire Protocol (SWP)-enabled SIM card developed by Sagem Orga, which is connected to the INSIDE MicroRead NFC controller built into the TazCard.
• Hilton Worldwide says its guests will have the ability to print wirelessly from their BlackBerry devices at 1,300 of its hotels. Hotel guests can use HP ePrint to print from a BlackBerry smartphone to any printer in the PrinterOn network of public printers. Thirty percent of PrinterOn's printers are located at hotels within Hilton Worldwide's portfolio, allowing guests around the world to print documents from their BlackBerry smartphones to a printer at their hotel.
• Network optimization company PCTEL says its first-quarter sales rose 10 percent to $15.6 million. The company narrowed its losses to $795,000 compared to a net loss of $1.9 million last year. The $1.1 million difference is primarily attributed to the first quarter 2009 impairment of goodwill net of tax.
• Backhaul provider Overture Networks has closed a $17.2 million funding round led by QuestMark Partners, Intel Capital, Intersouth Partners, Morgenthaler Ventures, Tenaya Capital, TDF Fund and Gray Ventures. Tim Krongard from QuestMark Partners will take a seat on Overture's board of directors.
• Jennifer Pharris, founder and CEO of C$ cMoney, a development stage mobile technology company based in Houston, announced that she has acquired majority stock ownership of Bonfire Productions. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The previously announced intention of C$ cMoney to merge with Bonfire is currently pending. Bonfire will continue to be a legally independent and publicly listed stock corporation until such time as the merger is complete.