cell phone industry

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Prepaid Cell Phones Are New Frugal Chic

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

(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...

Universal Phone Charger Coming

(Newser) - This should make it easier to charge your phone: Most of the big players in the industry said today they will work toward a universal charger by 2012, Wired reports. That means a standard USB cable will do the trick, no matter the brand. However, Wired notes one notable absence...

Palm Pre Gets Big Thumbs Up
 Palm Pre Gets Big Thumbs Up 
PRODUCT REVIEW
Jan 9, 2009 4:54 AM CST

Palm Pre Gets Big Thumbs Up

Demo of new smartphone has revi

(Newser) - Palm's new Pre smartphone is the hottest product at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show by a long stretch, a smitten Lance Ulanoff writes at PC Magazine. Ulanoff heard a lot about the Pre before yesterday's rollout, but was still blown away by the smartphone's impressive specs, fresh interface, and groundbreaking...

Palm Unveils 'Pre' Smartphone
 Palm Unveils 'Pre' Smartphone 
Jan 8, 2009 6:03 PM CST

Palm Unveils 'Pre' Smartphone

(Newser) - Palm unveiled a new smartphone today, the Pre, which it hopes will compete with the iPhone and restore the company’s place in the market, the New York Times reports. Industry experts say it won't be easy. The Pre has a touchscreen, 8 gigs of storage, and a new operating...

Economy May Be Death Knell for Landlines ... Even Cable

If consumers are forced to pare down, high-speed internet connection has trump

(Newser) - An economy that’s stuck in “slow” could soon have consumers making choices about whether to keep their cable TV or Internet connections, and weighing whether they need a telephone landline, reports Advertising Age. A high-speed connection that can provide access to the Internet, phone service and even entertainment...

Ringback Tones a Goldmine
 Ringback Tones a Goldmine
Aug 20, 2008 9:39 PM CDT

Ringback Tones a Goldmine

Sales expected to triple, to $4.7B, by 2012, new report says

(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...

'Wearable' Gadgets Respond to Body Movements

Japanese wireless carrier tests new technologies

(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...

Nokia Moves to Counter iPhone
Nokia Moves to Counter iPhone
Jun 24, 2008 2:16 PM CDT

Nokia Moves to Counter iPhone

Focus on smartphones evident in $410M plan to swallow software maker Symbian

(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...

Samsung's Instinct: Smart, if Not an iPhone
Samsung's Instinct: Smart,
if Not an iPhone
product review
Jun 12, 2008 10:25 AM CDT

Samsung's Instinct: Smart, if Not an iPhone

Sprint's touchscreen phone's no giant killer, but it's a contender

(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...

New iPhone GPS Would Rock Nav System World

Added technology could spell doom for portable navigation devices

(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...

iPhone May Be Too Low-Tech for Japan

Consumers love their gizmos, and Apple has relatively few

(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...

Apple Ready With June 9 iPhone Splash

Millions of 3G versions already in US, ready to be uncloaked: analysts

(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...

FCC to Examine Cancellation Fees for Cable, Phone, Web

Agency responding to consumer complaints

(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 ...

Cell Phone Market Nears Saturation

Which means services for customers should get better

(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...

Sprint Loses 1M Customers, $505M in Q1

Embattled carrier will cut 4K jobs, close outlets, sell assets

(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...

T-Mobile Parent Mulling Bid for Sprint Nextel

Deutsche Telekom continues looking outside Germany for growth

(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...

Whew! Google Saved by the Highest Bidder

Search giant OK with not winning FCC spectrum auction

(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,...

Moto Slashes Workforce
Moto Slashes Workforce
Apr 4, 2008 8:35 AM CDT

Moto Slashes Workforce

Cell phone maker cuts more jobs as it readies spin off; takes $104M loss

(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...

Facebook App 'Nose' Where U R
 Facebook App 'Nose' Where U R 
Apr 3, 2008 12:02 PM CDT

Facebook App 'Nose' Where U R

SNIFF allows users to pinpoint cell phone locations

(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...

Google Android a Hit with AT&amp;T
Google Android a Hit with AT&T
Apr 3, 2008 12:01 PM CDT

Google Android a Hit with AT&T

Wireless chief praises open-source mobile system, but doesn't commit to it

(Newser) - Google’s Android mobile operating system may find a home with AT&T, the Wall Street Journal reports. Signalling what could be a major victory for the platform, the telecom’s wireless chief said he was “confident” Android “is something we are going to want in our portfolio....

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