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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: wireless industry

wireless industry stories: 25 news summaries

1 - 20 of 25 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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bloggers' first look

 Verizon Unveils 
 Droid Smartphone 

All looks promising, but some think OS is still no match for iPhone

Oct 28, 09 12:44 PM CDT
(Newser) - Verizon's Droid smartphone—built by Motorola and powered by Google's Android—goes on sale Nov. 6 for $200. Some early opinions on the iPhone challenger:
  • The phone is "almost not worth writing about," notes Chris Dannen in Fast Company . It's "fine" but "doesn't advance" the
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iraq • Verizon • Motorola • Google Maps • GPS • smartphones • consumer electronics • Google Android • wireless industry • Motorola Droid • Droid • Droid phones • Verizon Droid price • Verizon Droid review

 Court Backs Cell-Tower Haters 

Aesthetics a valid reason for town to deny permission, Calif. judges say

Oct 26, 09 1:48 PM CDT
(Newser) - Ghastly cell towers are proving to be little match for vista-loving communities: Palos Verdes Estates, a wealthy enclave near Los Angeles, took Sprint to court over proposed towers—and won, as have a number of other California towns. “You want cell coverage, but you also want beauty,” a... More »

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California • Sprint • wireless industry • cell phone towers • gated community • mobile phones • court ruling • aesthetic





 Google, Verizon 
 Team Up on 
 Smartphones 

Move to Android seen as real challenge to iPhone, BlackBerry

Oct 7, 09 9:33 AM CDT
(Newser) - Google and Verizon will partner on a line of smartphones and software running the search giant’s Android OS and served by the carrier. Verizon is the largest-yet wireless network to back Google, and the announcement could complicate what was once a simple smartphone rivalry between Apple and BlackBerry, BusinessWeek... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Verizon • iPhone • Apple • BlackBerry • application • smartphones • handsets • wireless industry • App Store • Android Market • Droid phones • Verizon Droid price • Verizon Droid review

Analysis

Great Network Won't Make Up for Boring Phones

Verizon has reach, but is way behind on sexy smartphones

Sep 17, 09 10:36 AM CDT
(Newser) - Verizon’s network may be the envy of its peers, but its smart phones definitely aren’t, writes Priya Ganapati. Caught off guard by the iPhone phenomenon, the carrier has taken a very cautious approach to new devices, subjecting them to a long testing process. As a result, while its... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Verizon • smartphones • Sprint • 3G wireless networks • wireless industry • AT&T • T-Mobile • Droid phones • Verizon Droid price • Verizon Droid review

(Newser) - 3G landed in the US in 2003. But it wasn’t until the iPhone came around five years later that “consumers finally had a device that showed them the power of mobile broadband networks,” Stephanie N. Mehta writes in Fortune. In fact, "a few executives at... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Verizon • telecom • Sprint Nextel • smartphones • 3G wireless networks • wireless industry • mobile devices • hype • 4G wireless networks

(Newser) - From all accounts, Radio Shack is set to rebrand itself “The Shack,” Joshua Topolsky writes for Engadget. “It makes perfect sense—radios aren’t exactly considered cutting edge these days,” Topolsky writes, and “the store is about to launch a full assault on the mobile... More »

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San Francisco • New York City • Radio Shack • retail stores • consumer electronics • wireless industry • rebranding

(Newser) - Apple and AT&T rejected the Google Voice app for the iPhone, driving TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington to drop the mobile device entirely. Why are Apple and its carrier blocking an innovative program that has amazing call-forwarding features and transcribes voicemail into text? “Because they absolutely don’t want... More »

MORE ABOUT:
technology • Internet • iPhone • Apple • smartphones • Michael Arrington • Google Android • wireless industry • AT&T • Google Voice

Prepaid Cell Phones Are
New Frugal Chic

Pay-as-you-go replaces contracts as consumers cut spending

Feb 22, 09 7:18 AM CST
(Newser) - More customers are turning to Tony Soprano-style, pay-as-you-go cell phones, and not just to avoid wiretaps. As the recession forces consumers to cut costs, all-inclusive prepaid plans are the new frugal option, reports the New York Times. "In today’s economy, it’s not cool to pay $120 a... More »

MORE ABOUT:
iPhone • recession • cell phone industry • savings • wireless industry

 Sprint Nextel to Cut 8K Jobs 

3rd-largest wireless outfit has lost millions of subscribers

Jan 26, 09 8:13 AM CST
(AP) - Sprint Nextel is eliminating about 8,000 positions in the first quarter as it seeks to cut annual costs by $1.2 billion. The third-largest US wireless provider said it will complete the layoffs, about 14% of its 56,000 employees, largely by March 31. About 850 of the reductions... More »

MORE ABOUT:
cell phones • layoffs • Sprint Nextel • telecommunications • job cuts • wireless industry • Dan Hesse

MARKETS

Dow Dips 81 on Autos, Building 

Several wireless and financial firms fall after downgrades

Jan 5, 09 3:20 PM CST
(Newser) - Stocks fell today as the markets digested poor, but better-than-forecast, reports in auto sales and construction spending, the Wall Street Journal reports. Though the Dow rose to an 8-week high Friday, it fell 81.80 today to close at 8,952.89. The Nasdaq lost 4.18, closing at 1,... More »

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energy • Verizon • Dow Jones • Nasdaq • auto industry • wireless service • wireless industry • S&P 500 • AT&T • oil futures • oil prices

Sprint Tries
to Open Up
to Customers 

Struggling telco's CEO seeks suggestions for improvement

Jun 9, 08 10:19 AM CDT
(Newser) - You won’t get Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse if you email “Dan@Sprint.com,” but you will get the company’s attention, reports the New York Times. In an ad campaign designed to get Sprint in touch with its customers, Hesse asks “If you could change... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Sprint Nextel • Sprint • wireless industry • customer service • Dan Hesse

Verizon Seeks Alltel Deal, Challenge to Top Dog AT&T

Wireless companies are in negotiations to cover 80 million customers

Jun 4, 08 4:06 PM CDT
(Newser) - Verizon Communications is in negotiations to buy wireless carrier Alltel, a merger that would cover 80 million US subscribers and create the nation's biggest cell-phone company, the Wall Street Journal reports—though the potential $27 billion deal could easily fall through. But if it's consummated, and the feds see no... More »

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cell phones • Verizon • wireless service • wireless industry • Alltel • AT&T

Sprint in Talks to Sell Struggling Nextel Unit

Wireless carrier reportedly ready to give up on troubled acquisition

May 6, 08 8:03 AM CDT
(Newser) - Sprint is considering selling or spinning off its Nextel division, signaling the end of a troubled, disappointing merger, the Wall Street Journal reports. Talks are already under way with Nextel founder Morgan O'Brien, who would integrate the unit into his new wireless public-safety network, and other prospective buyers, including... More »

MORE ABOUT:
telecom industry • mergers and acquisitions • Sprint Nextel • Sprint • wireless industry • Nextel

earnings report

 Wireless Drives AT&T Growth 

Company posts 22% increase in net income for Q1 despite dip in landline earnings

Apr 22, 08 2:43 PM CDT
(Newser) - AT&T posted a 22% increase in net income during the first quarter, thanks to strong growth in its wireless unit. Its wireless earnings nearly doubled, while landline earnings dropped 2.1%. The company’s net income was $3.46 billion (57 cents a share), compared to $2.85 billion... More »

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telecom industry • earnings reports • wireless industry • land lines • telephone • AT&T

Whew! Google Saved by the Highest Bidder

Search giant OK with not winning FCC spectrum auction

Apr 4, 08 1:02 PM CDT
(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,... More »

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

FCC Boss Nixes Bid to Open Up Wireless Networks

Systems already 'open enough,' he says

Apr 2, 08 6:42 AM CDT
(Newser) - The head of the FCC has rejected a request from Skype to open up wireless networks to outside devices, AP reports. The Internet phone provider wanted wireless operations included in a 1968 FCC decision that required AT&T to open up its network beyond its own devices that paved the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
FCC • wireless • Verizon • Skype • telecommunications • Michael Copps • Kevin Martin • wireless industry • networks

 In the Works:
 Wireless Bill of Rights 

States fight feds over who will regulate

Mar 21, 08 3:33 PM CDT
(Newser) - Wireless carriers seem to have angered a few too many consumers with hidden fees and surprise charges. Politicians in 22 states are considering various versions of a wireless consumers’ bill of rights, reports BusinessWeek. But the wireless industry, daunted at facing different regulations in every state, is throwing its... More »

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Congress • cell phones • legislation • Minnesota • consumer protection • lobbying • cell phone industry • state legislature • wireless industry • consumer advocacy

AT&T, Verizon Will Dominate New Airwaves

Wireless spectrum auction saw no major first-time entrant

Mar 21, 08 1:37 PM CDT
(Newser) - AT&T and Verizon were the two top bidders in the airwaves auction that ended this week, representing 80% of the FCC’s record $19.6 billion haul and positioning themselves to offer advanced wireless Internet services, reports the Wall Street Journal. Google, sans licenses, was another winner,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Google • FCC • Verizon • cell phone industry • spectrum auction • wireless industry • mobile Internet • AT&T

Verizon Opens Its Network to Outside Phones

Provider answers
calls for more open industry

Mar 20, 08 10:51 AM CDT
(Newser) - Verizon will open its cell-phone service to any phone builder willing to meet its technical specs, the Wall Street Journal reports. The provider has so far restricted access to its own retailer, but hopes to stave off pressure from regulators, consumers, and tech companies pushing for a more universal industry. More »

MORE ABOUT:
cell phones • Verizon • airwaves • cell phone industry • wireless industry

Sprint May
Go Lower
Than $99.99

Mobile provider expected to undercut flat-rate calling plans

Feb 20, 08 10:42 PM CST
(Newser) - With both AT&T and Verizon unveiling $99.99 flat-rate unlimited calling plans this week, Sprint's is expected to undercut its rivals by up to 40%, plunging the wireless industry headlong into a price war. Sprint isn't telling yet, but analysts predict it will offer unlimited calling for roughly $60... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Verizon • price war • Sprint Nextel • wireless industry • AT&T • unlimited calling plans

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