FirstNews
ITC Rules for Samsung, Bans iPhone 4 Imports
June 5, 2013 9:25 am | by Peter Svensson, AP Technology Writer | News | CommentsA U.S. trade agency on Tuesday issued a ban on imports of Apple's iPhone 4 and a variant of the iPad 2 after finding the devices violate a patent held by South Korean rival Samsung Electronics. Because the devices are assembled in China...
New BlackBerry with Keyboard to Hit US Stores
June 5, 2013 8:55 am | by Associated Press | News | CommentsThe first keyboard-equipped BlackBerry sporting the company's radically new operating system is hitting U.S. stores this week. T-Mobile USA will start selling the BlackBerry Q10 on Wednesday. Verizon Wireless started taking pre-orders last week and says it will ship by Thursday...
FreedomPop to Sell Phones, Offer Free Data, Voice and Messaging
June 5, 2013 8:45 am | by Ben Munson | News | CommentsFreedomPop is a data-only MVNO that, up to this point, has pushed its freemium service model on hotspots, routers, dongles and connected cases. But that changes soon as the company is getting ready to offer an IP-based voice and messaging service along with data on actual Android phones...
Verizon, NFL Expand and Extend Mobile Agreement
June 4, 2013 11:14 am | by Andrew Berg | News | CommentsThe National Football League (NFL) and Verizon have announced a renewed and expanded contract to eventually bring all NFL games to Verizon Wireless customers' mobile devices. Until now, a limited nummber of games were available through the Verizon Wireless' package...
IBM Buying Cloud Computing Company SoftLayer
June 4, 2013 10:54 am | by Associated Press | News | CommentsARMONK, N.Y. (AP) — IBM is buying cloud computing company SoftLayer Technologies Inc. to expand its online software business. Financial terms were not disclosed Tuesday. SoftLayer is a privately held company based in Dallas with 13 data centers in the U.S., Asia and Europe.
First News Briefs for June 4, 2013
June 4, 2013 10:10 am | by Wireless Week Staff | News | CommentsThe Small Cell Forum has announced early details of Release Two, its plan to accelerate enterprise small cell deployments, to be published in December 2013. These plans highlight the opportunities for operators to add value to their deployments through new services, as well as pinpointing the challenges and how they can be overcome.
Ahead of the Bell: Zynga
June 4, 2013 9:52 am | by Associated Press | News | CommentsZynga's rough path shows how difficult it is to consistently turn profits in the mobile gaming sector and while industry analysts say steep job cuts will buy more time, only landing the smash hits that, of late, have eluded the San Francisco company will turn its fortunes around...
HTC Loses Another Exec but May Sales Pick Up
June 4, 2013 9:38 am | by Ben Munson | News | CommentsThe high-level exodus continues for the flailing HTC as COO Matthew Costello has stepped down. Bloomberg reports that Fred Liu, president of engineering and operations, will have his duties expanded to cover the responsibilities of the departing Costello. This makes four senior executives who have left the company in the past two years.
Report: Apple Readies Mobile Ad Business for New Music Service
June 4, 2013 9:34 am | by Andrew Berg | News | CommentsApple is gearing up for the unveiling of a new streaming music service next week by shifting some of its iAd personnel over to the new service. The move is part of an effort to change the way Apple sells mobile advertising to cater to customers that might be looking to engage an listening audience, according to a report...
U.S. Blames Apple for 2010 e-Book Price Hike
June 4, 2013 9:08 am | by Larry Neumeister, Associated Press | News | CommentsA U.S. government lawyer opened a civil trial by portraying Apple Inc. as a corporate bully that swaggered into the market for electronic books in 2010, forcing an end to price competition and costing consumers hundreds of millions of dollars. The Justice Department attorney, Lawrence Buterman...
Foxconn Confirms Mozilla Partnership
June 3, 2013 3:09 pm | by Andrew Berg | News | CommentsThe Foxconn Technology Group today confirmed earlier reports of a partnership with Mozilla to produce devics based on that company's Firefox OS. In a press release, Foxconn called the partnership "wide-ranging." This is departure for Foxconn, which in the past has mainly contracted with companies like Apple to manufacture...
First News Briefs for June 3, 2013
June 3, 2013 10:33 am | by Wireless Week Staff | News | CommentsClearlake Capital Group, L.P. today announced definitive agreements to acquire the Retail Solutions Group of Agilysys, Inc., through a newly-formed affiliate, Kyrus Solutions, Inc. RSG, which will be renamed Kyrus Solutions upon the close of the transaction, is a managed services solution provider offering retail point-of-sale, self-service and wireless mobility solutions.
Mobile Broadband Subscriptions Hit 1.7 in 1Q
June 3, 2013 10:08 am | by Andrew Berg | News | CommentsGlobal mobile broadband subscriptions grew 45 percent in the first quarter of 2013 to 1.7 billion, according to Ericsson's latest mobility report. Including non-broadband mobile subscriptions, global mobile subscribers hit 6.4 billion in the most recent quarter, with Ericsson projecting...
Q&A: Drew Kelton, executive vice president of B2B, T-Mobile
June 3, 2013 10:05 am | by Ben Munson | Articles | CommentsFive weeks in, the new executive vice president of B2B for T-Mobile and Drew Kelton already seems to have a clear vision of the direction he wants to go. Kelton comes to T-Mobile from Bharti Airtel Business where he served as president for three years in the ultra-competitive carrier market of India. He plans to put that experience toward differentiating T-Mobile in the B2B market by focusing on providing services instead of economics.
Apple Antitrust Suit over e-Books Set for NY Trial
June 3, 2013 9:14 am | by Larry Neumeister, Associated Press | News | CommentsIn a civil case where the words of Steve Jobs play prominently, the government and Apple Inc. are set to square off over allegations that Apple Inc. conspired with the country's largest book publishers to make consumers pay more for electronic books. U.S. District Judge Denise Cote is scheduled to begin hearing the price-fixing case...
Ahead of the Bell: Adviser Supports Sprint Deal
June 3, 2013 9:12 am | by Associated Press | News | CommentsA shareholder advisory firm is backing Softbank in its attempted acquisition of a huge chunk of Sprint Nextel. The $20.1 billion bid from Japan's second-biggest mobile company would ease Sprint's debt burden and provide ample cash to improve its network and become a serious competitor, according to Institutional Shareholder Services...
Report: HTC Scraps Plans for Full-Sized Windows RT Tablet
May 31, 2013 10:46 am | by Ben Munson | News | CommentsHTC is tossing out its plans for a full-sized Windows RT tablet, citing weak demand for devices running the RT operating system and the overall cost of producing a large tablet. Bloomberg cited people familiar with the matter who indicated that HTC still plans to release a 7-inch Windows 8 tablet optimized for ARM chipsets later this year.
Friday Flick: Tim Cook Defends Apple's Tax Strategy
May 31, 2013 10:30 am | Videos | CommentsWatch Apple CEO Tim Cook defend his company's tax strategy. Cook is aggressively questioned by Senator Karl Levin (D-Mich.). He reiterated Apple's position that his company pays all of its taxes, while Levin argued that Apple has cash sheltered in Irish companies that don't pay taxes...
Verizon's Shammo Says T-Mobile, Sprint Not Threats
May 31, 2013 10:15 am | by Andrew Berg | News | CommentsFran Shammo, executive vice president and chief financial officer for Verizon, says the strengthening positions of Sprint and T-Mobile will be mitigated by continued growth in connected devices. Speaking yesterday at the Nomura Global Media & Telecom conference...
First News Briefs for May 31, 2013
May 31, 2013 10:13 am | by Wireless Week Staff | News | CommentsWhitePages, a provider of contact information for people and businesses in the U.S., today announced the acquisition of Mr. Number, a call blocking and spam identification Android app, further expanding WhitePages’ mobile offerings and providing users with caller ID features.
Clearwire Postpones Sprint Vote, Could Force SoftBank’s Hand
May 31, 2013 9:36 am | by Ben Munson | News | CommentsIn light of Dish’s offer yesterday financially trumping Sprint’s existing bid for Clearwire, the wireless broadband carrier has rescheduled a shareholder vote on Sprint’s bid to buyout Clearwire. Clearwire’s shareholders were scheduled to vote on the Sprint transaction May 31. Sprint last week raised its offer to $3.40 per share (up from $2.97), but Dish swooped in with a $4.40 per share tender offer at the last minute.
Google to Sell HTC One with Unmodified Android
May 31, 2013 9:35 am | by Associated Press | News | CommentsGoogle is adding the recently released HTC One to its lineup of smartphones running on an unmodified version of its latest Android software. An HTC One model relying on the same version of Android as Google's Nexus brand will go on sale on June 26 for $599...
Dell Board Recommends Michael Dell Buyout Offer
May 31, 2013 9:34 am | by Associated Press | News | CommentsThe board at Dell said that a takeover bid led the company's founder and CEO is in the best interest of shareholders at the slumping PC maker, and asked them to approve the deal when it's put to a vote in July. The board unanimously recommended the offer from Michael Dell...
Motorola Announces Moto X Smartphone, Will Make it in the U.S.
May 30, 2013 10:38 am | by Ben Munson | News | CommentsSpeaking Wednesday at All Things Digital’s D11 conference, Motorola head Dennis Woodside revealed his company’s new flagship smartphone will be called Moto X. He added that it will be manufactured in Fort Worth, Texas and should see a fall release.
Ahead of the Bell: Analyst Upgrades Facebook
May 30, 2013 10:25 am | by Associated Press | News | CommentsVideo ads could become the next billion-dollar business for Facebook, according to Jefferies & Co., which upped its rating on the stock Thursday. A recent decline in share price creates a buying opportunity for investors, particularly before the company launches video ads, said analyst Brian Pitz. He upgraded his rating on...
