FirstNews
B&N Reports Ugly Holiday Sales All Around
January 3, 2013 10:41 am | by Andrew Berg | News | CommentsAhead of its Feb. 19 fiscal second quarter earnings call, Barnes & Noble is reporting a disappointing nine-week holiday period. The book seller said today that its retail segment, which consists of the Barnes & Noble bookstores and BN.com businesses...
WiGig, Wi-Fi Alliances Join Forces
January 3, 2013 10:20 am | by Andrew Berg | News | CommentsThe Wi-Fi Alliance and the Wireless Gigabit (WiGig) Alliance announced today that they will merge the two entities into one organziation that will operate under the Wi-Fi Alliance. The Wi-Fi Alliance and WiGig Alliance have been collaborating for over two years on the WiGig Alliance's work to develop...
Report: 2012 Global Telecom Revenues Hit $2T
January 3, 2013 10:16 am | by Andrew Berg | News | CommentsGlobal telecom operator revenues exceeded $2 trillion in 2012, with 60 percent going to mobile operators, according to research firm Ovum. While Ovum seem minimal growth overall in the coming year, the firm believes some segments will still have above-average growth...
The 451 Group Buys Yankee Group
January 3, 2013 10:07 am | by Andrew Berg | News | CommentsThe 451 Group, the corporate parent of 451 Research and Uptime Institute, today announced that it has acquired Yankee Group, the mobile research, data and advisory firm, which was owened by Alta Communications, a Boston-based private equity firm.
Google Chairman Heading to North Korea
January 3, 2013 9:54 am | by Jean H. Lee and Youkyung Lee, Associated Press | News | CommentsEric Schmidt is a staunch advocate of global Internet access and the power of Internet connectivity in lifting people out of poverty and political oppression. This month, he plans to travel to the country with the world's most restrictive Internet policies, where locals need government permission to interact with foreigners — in person, by phone or by email.
First News Briefs for January 3, 2013
January 3, 2013 9:43 am | by Wireless Week Staff | News | CommentsInterDigital, Inc. and Sony Corporation of America today announced the launch of a joint venture to combine Sony’s consumer electronics experience with InterDigital’s wireless machine-to-machine and bandwidth management research. The joint venture, called Convida Wireless, will focus on driving new research in the field of M2M.
RIM, InterDigital Extend Patent Agreements
January 2, 2013 11:14 am | by Andrew Berg | News | CommentsInterDigital and RIM have reached an agreement to extend thet temr of their patent licensing agreement. In addition, the companies said in a statement that they have agreed to amend the patent license to add coverage for 4G products, including LTE and LTE-Advanced products...
Man Files Lawsuit Against LinkedIn
January 2, 2013 10:51 am | by Associated Press | News | CommentsA Pittsburgh-area man has filed a federal lawsuit against the networking company LinkedIn, claiming that it must tell him who put his name, personal cell phone and personal email on the site. Rick D. Senft, president of Passavant Memorial Homes, claims in the...
RIM Turns to Complex Market in Southeast Asia to Grow Subscribers
January 2, 2013 10:40 am | by David Friend, The Canadian Press | News | CommentsWhile BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion claws for a diminishing market share in North America, the smartphone maker maintains a reputation in Southeast Asia that in some places harkens back to its glory days. It's sometimes hard to remember that RIM was once the darling of the tech industry...
First News Briefs for January 2, 2013
January 2, 2013 10:33 am | by Wireless Week Staff | News | CommentsKia Motors America today announced it will work with Google to provide content and search-based solutions enabled by Application Program Interfaces (APIs) for the second-generation of the automaker's UVO eServices telematics system. These new solutions will initially be introduced on the new 2014 Sorento CUV.
Judge Rules Samsung Can't Keep Sales Data from Apple
January 2, 2013 10:30 am | by Ben Munson | News | CommentsU.S. District Judge Lucy Koh last Sunday denied Samsung's request to keep certain sales numbers secret from Apple as the two company's U.S. Patent dispute continues to play out. According to a Bloomberg report, "Koh ruled on Dec. 10 that Samsung must file an exhibit which lists the total number of units of certain Samsung products sold during certain time periods."
CTIA Announces 2014 'Super Show'
January 2, 2013 10:07 am | by Andrew Berg | News | CommentsCTIA today announced plans to merge its spring and fall shows, creating what the association is referring to as a “super” mobile industry trade show. Beginning in 2014, CTIA will combine the best of its CTIA Wireless show, which is focused on technology and consumer electronics and its recently...
RIM Sells NewBay to Synchronoss
December 28, 2012 9:28 am | by Ben Munson | News | CommentsAs RIM continues to slim down for 2013, Synchronoss Technologies announced today it has purchased a subsidiary of RIM, NewBay, for $55.5 million in cash. The transaction closed at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012. It's been a little more than a year since RIM purchased the cloud service NewBay for $100 million.
China Court Orders Apple To Pay in Rights Dispute
December 28, 2012 9:18 am | by Joe McDonald, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsA Chinese court has ordered Apple Inc. to pay 1.03 million yuan ($165,000) to eight Chinese writers and two companies who say unlicensed copies of their work were distributed through Apple's online store. The Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court ruled Thursday that Apple violated the writers' copyright...
Dish Asks for More Time on Sprint, Clearwire Deal
December 27, 2012 10:59 am | by Ben Munson | News | CommentsDish Network this week repeated a previous request for an extension to the time allotted for commenting on Sprint's proposed buy out of Clearwire. Sprint intends to purchase the remaining 50 percent share of Clearwire it doesn't already own for $2.2 billion.
Iraqi Telecom Asiacell Hopes To Raise $1.3 Billion
December 27, 2012 9:40 am | by Adam Schreck, Associated Press | News | CommentsAsiacell, one of Iraq's three mobile service providers, said Tuesday it is looking to raise $1.3 billion through what would be the country's biggest stock offering yet. A successful floatation on Baghdad's low-volume stock exchange could...
Samsung Continues Evolution of ChatON to Version 2.0
December 27, 2012 9:27 am | by Andrew Berg | News | CommentsSamsung today announced the launch of version 2.0 of ChatON, the company’s Over-the-Top (OTT) messaging service. Much like Apple’s iMessage and FaceTime products, ChatOn allows users of the service to connect with others via voice, video...
Nokia, RIM Settle Old Disputes in New Patent Pact
December 21, 2012 10:12 am | by Matti Huuhtanen, Associated Press | News | CommentsNokia Corp. and Canadian smartphone rival RIM have agreed on a new patent licensing pact which will end all existing litigation between the two struggling companies, the Finnish firm said Friday. The agreement includes a "one-time payment and on-going payments, all from RIM to Nokia," Nokia said.
First News Briefs for December 21, 2012
December 21, 2012 9:51 am | by Wireless Week Staff | News | CommentsGreenPeak Technologies, a Smart Home RF-communication semiconductor company, today announced its new GP410 chip offering the new ZigBee PRO Green Power feature for low cost energy harvesting and long battery life ZigBee applications for the Smart Home.
Deutsche Telekom CEO Obermann Resigns, CFO Höttges to Succeed
December 21, 2012 8:52 am | by Ben Munson | News | CommentsDeutsche Telekom CEO René Obermann's request for termination of his contract has been approved by the company's board, according to a statement released on its website. As of Dec. 31, 2012, Obermann will no longer serve as CEO and CFO Timotheus Höttges has been tapped to take his place.
First News Briefs for December 20, 2012
December 20, 2012 10:30 am | News | CommentsNuance Communications, Inc. today announced that its Dragon Mobile Assistant for Android has expanded its personal assistant capabilities and extended its beta offering to the broader Android community. Now supporting devices running Android 2.3 and higher, Dragon enables...
Report: Windows Phones Will Own Nine Percent Market Share by 2017
December 20, 2012 10:10 am | by Ben Munson | News | CommentsA recent report from Analysys Mason predicts the numbers of Windows Phone units shipped will jump from 11 million in 2011 to 136 million in 2017, effectively giving the OS a nine percent market share. The report also predicts that Android will grow to 58 percent market share by the end of 2013...
Tips for Speeding up High Traffic Mobile News Sites
December 20, 2012 9:50 am | by WIreless Week Staff | News | CommentsAfter a general slowdown in performance in last month’s report, the Keynote Mobile News and Portal Index showed overall improvements in performance in the past month (November 16-December 15). One standout is USA Today which showed the most significant improvement...
Verizon Launches LTE in 29 New Markets, Expands Service in 36
December 20, 2012 9:32 am | by Ben Munson | News | CommentsVerizon today announced the launch of its 4G LTE service in 29 new markets, as well as the expansion of service in 36 of its existing markets. Verizon's LTE deployment has been consistently ahead schedule. The carrier says it plans to have its rollout completed by the middle of 2013.
Google Launches 'Scan and Match' Music Service
December 20, 2012 8:44 am | by Associated Press | News | CommentsGoogle is turning on a "scan and match" service for Google Music users to store copies of their songs online, offering for free what Apple charges $25 a year for. The service, which launched Tuesday, cuts uploading time for those who want to save their music...
