Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

October 12, 2008 2:42:15 AM CDT

Learn about Newser Points »

Stories related to: cell phone industry

Stories

Stories 1 - 20 of 43

1 2 3 Next >>
  • August 2008

    • Ringback Tones a Goldmine

      CNET  |  Aug 20, 08 9:39 PM CDT

      Ringback Tones a Goldmine

      (Newser) - Ringback tones—the music callers hear while waiting for the party they’re calling to answer the phone—are sounding less like Justin Timberlake and more like a cash register to wireless providers. Sales of ringback tones should triple to $4.7 billion by 2012, CNET reports. That’s almost what mobile games bring in, making ringback tones the second-most-lucrative premium service available. More »

      Tags

      music industry  • cell phone industry  • digital music  • ringtones

  • June 2008

    • 'Wearable' Gadgets Respond to Body Movements

      Associated Press  |  Jun 26, 08 4:37 PM CDT

      'Wearable' Gadgets Respond to Body Movements

      (Newser) - Someday, you may be able to tap your fingers to control your DVD player or roll your eyes to pump up your music player’s volume—if technology under development by Japan's top mobile carrier comes to fruition, the AP reports. A cell phone shaped like a large ring that wearers can hear by sticking their fingers in their ears is another of NTT DoCoMo's inventions. More »

      Tags

      cell phone industry  • wireless technology  • wearable computers  • NTT DoCoMo

    • Nokia Moves to Counter iPhone

      Wall Street Journal  |  Jun 24, 08 2:16 PM CDT

      Nokia Moves to Counter iPhone

      (Newser) - In a move aimed at bolstering its ability to compete with Apple's iPhone, Nokia is acquiring smartphone software-maker Symbian and moving toward increased cooperation with other mobile-phone industry veterans. Top handset makers and providers will participate in a nonprofit foundation to handle marketing and coordination for developers, and Symbian will combine its software into one open-source platform, the Wall Street Journal reports. More »

      Tags

      iPhone  • cell phone industry  • Nokia  • smartphones

    • Samsung's Instinct: Smart, if Not an iPhone

      New York Times  |  Jun 12, 08 10:25 AM CDT

      Samsung's Instinct: Smart, if Not an iPhone

      (Newser) - It isn’t an iPhone. But, says New York Times technology writer David Pogue, Samsung’s soon-to-be released touchscreen phone, called Instinct—while a little less sleek than the iconic iPhone—isn’t a bad effort. The newest iPhone wannabe debuts June 20 when Sprint Nextel rolls it out at half the price of a $199 iPhone, after the $100 rebate. More »

      Tags

      Apple  • iPhone  • cell phone industry  • Sprint Nextel  • smartphones  • Samsung

    • New iPhone GPS Would Rock Nav System World

      Wired  |  Jun 8, 08 6:10 AM CDT

      New iPhone GPS Would Rock Nav System World

      (Newser) - Apple is likely to announce the addition of GPS to the iPhone tomorrow—and that’s bad news for makers of portable satellite-navigation systems, Wired reports. It could also be a dangerous distraction for those on the road, as drivers increasingly turn to tiny mobile-phone screens for directions. The number of users of GPS-enabled phones is expected to quadruple by 2011. More »

      Tags

      Apple  • iPhone  • cell phone industry  • consumer electronics  • satellite navigation

    • iPhone May Be Too Low-Tech for Japan

      Wired  |  Jun 6, 08 4:09 PM CDT

      iPhone May Be Too Low-Tech for Japan

      (Newser) - The new iPhone will be in Japan at the end of the year, but it may not be souped up enough for consumers there, Wired reports. Japanese phones tend to have an endless array of cool features such as live TV and Wii-style games. Even though most people hardly ever use all those bells and whistles, that doesn't mean the simpler iPhone will be welcomed. More »

      Tags

      Japan  • cell phones  • iPhone  • cell phone industry  • Asian cell phone market

    • Apple Ready With June 9 iPhone Splash

      Forbes  |  Jun 2, 08 9:54 AM CDT

      Apple Ready With June 9 iPhone Splash

      (Newser) - The much-anticipated next generation of iPhones, which are expected to be faster and built around a more robust communications chip, may already be positioned in major US markets, Forbes reports. Analysts believe the 3G version will debut—or, given unprecedented secrecy even for Apple, be uncloaked—at a conference next Monday; Apple's aiming to sell 10 million this year. More »

      Tags

      Apple  • iPhone  • Steve Jobs  • cell phone industry  • smartphones

  • May 2008

    • FCC to Examine Cancellation Fees for Cable, Phone, Web

      Washington Post  |  May 31, 08 1:02 PM CDT

      FCC to Examine Cancellation Fees for Cable, Phone, Web

      (Newser) - The FCC says next month’s hearing on cell phone cancellation fees may also include similar charges leveled by cable and Internet providers. Chairman Kevin Martin hopes the hearing will ease consumer tension over the fees, which were among cell phone users’ five most common complaints last year, the Washington Post reports. The fees typically range from $150-200. More »

      Tags

      FCC  • Verizon  • cell phone industry  • AT&T  • Kevin Martin  • Sprint  • T-Mobile  • fees

    • Cell Phone Market Nears Saturation

      USA Today  |  May 30, 08 8:46 AM CDT

      Cell Phone Market Nears Saturation

      (Newser) - The number of Americans signing up for cell phone service is slowing down after more than a decade of explosive growth, reports USA Today . Within a couple of years, experts say, just about everybody who wants a cell phone will have one, meaning good news for consumers as companies focus on luring each other's customers away instead of signing up new ones. More »

      Tags

      cell phones  • Verizon  • cell phone industry  • wireless  • AT&T  • Sprint Nextel

    • Sprint Loses 1M Customers, $505M in Q1

      Bloomberg  |  May 12, 08 8:11 AM CDT

      Sprint Loses 1M Customers, $505M in Q1

      (Newser) - Sprint Nextel continued to hemorrhage customers in the first quarter, losing more than 1 million subscribers and tallying losses of $505 million, more than double its losses in the same period last year, reports Bloomberg. Sales slipped nearly 8% to $9.33 billion. The carrier, rumored to be a takeover target of Deutsche Telekom, said it would likely sell assets. More »

      Tags

      corporate earnings  • cell phone industry  • Sprint Nextel  • Clearwire  • Dan Hesse

    • T-Mobile Parent Mulling Bid for Sprint Nextel

      Wall Street Journal  |  May 5, 08 7:54 AM CDT

      T-Mobile Parent Mulling Bid for Sprint Nextel

      (Newser) - T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom may bid for troubled Sprint-Nextel, a deal that would move the German telecom to the top of the US mobile communications heap, ahead of AT&T and Verizon, reports the Wall Street Journal. DT increasingly has looked to global options to help fuel earnings hurt by competition and sagging landline revenue at home. More »

      Tags

      mergers and acquisitions  • cell phone industry  • Sprint Nextel  • T-Mobile  • Deutsche Telekom

  • April 2008

    • Whew! Google Saved by the Highest Bidder

      New York Times  |  Apr 4, 08 1:02 PM CDT

      Whew! Google Saved by the Highest Bidder

      (Newser) - Google nearly became the unenthused owner of a $4.71 billion slice of wireless airwaves in a recent Federal Communications Commission auction, the New York Times reports. Its bid was part of a deal with the FCC to open some spectrum to third-party services, but for much of the bidding, Google had the top price—until Verizon swooped in with the $4.74 billion winner. More »

      Tags

      Google  • FCC  • Verizon  • cell phone industry  • wireless industry  • spectrum auction  • AT&T Wireless

    • Moto Slashes Workforce

      Associated Press  |  Apr 4, 08 8:35 AM CDT

      Moto Slashes Workforce

      (Newser) - Troubled cell phone maker Motorola is laying off another 2,600 workers and will take a first quarter pretax charge of some $104 million to cover severance costs, reports the AP. Moto has cut its workforce by more than 10,000 workers since January 2007, as the company's . mobile phone business has crashed. More »

      Tags

      cell phone industry  • layoffs  • Motorola  • Razr

    • Facebook App 'Nose' Where U R

      Times (UK)  |  Apr 3, 08 12:02 PM CDT

      Facebook App 'Nose' Where U R

      (Newser) - A Facebook application launching in the UK will put people’s friends on the map—in real time, reports the Times . The Social Network Integrated Friend Finder or ‘Sniff’ app lets users pinpoint a friend’s cell phone down to the nearest 650 feet. Privacy is a priority: users need to give permission before they can be tracked, and they can specify who can and can't zero in on them. More »

      Tags