Apr 29 2005 - 03:31 PM ET | In The News
Australian researchers are preparing a study that will use mobile phones to help monitor adolescent depression and suicidal factors. bq. Under the program, teenagers download specially-designed software on their mobile phones which asks a series of questions twice a day...
ALLTEL is giving away $1 million to one lucky customer for a, "Dream home." The TXT2WIN $1 Million Home Sweepstakes features Ty Pennington from the ABC show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. ALLTEL customers can enter the sweepstakes by sending the...
Apr 28 2005 - 04:12 PM ET | Camera, Unique
Some corporations ban camera phones for security purposes (corporate espionage!), but Matthew Stevens is alive because of the tiny camera embedded in his mobile phone. Mr. Stevens was bitten by a Brazilian Wandering Spider, which if not treated correctly can...
Apr 28 2005 - 03:49 PM ET | Nextel
Nextel's first quarter statement reveals healthy subscriber growth but lower profits. Late last year Nextel agreed to be purchased by Sprint, though the deal has not yet been completed. Highlights of the statement include: * Profit of $589 million, down...
Apr 27 2005 - 10:08 PM ET | Nokia, Rumor
The FCC has approved (FCC ID QMNRM-18) the Nokia 6638, the first CDMA Series 60 phone. Visually, it looks just like the Nokia 6630 with the addition of a [very long] antenna. Since the 6638 is a CDMA handset, Nokia...
Verizon Wireless posted excellent numbers for the first quarter of the year. Despite being the second largest carrier (behind Cingular), Verizon Wireless added more new customers than anyone else. * 1.64 million net additional subscribers * 45.5 million total subscribers...
Apr 27 2005 - 03:40 PM ET | Siemens
Siemens' mobile division will spin-off into its own company according to a plan released today during the Siemens Q1 earnings announcement. The unit has been losing money for over a year and was widely speculated to be in a transitional...
Apr 27 2005 - 11:46 AM ET | Nokia
Nokia has announced the N90, a high-end camera phone with Carl Zeiss optics. The twist-style phone features two displays and a lot of extras: * 352 x 416 pixel main display * Bluetooth * 2 megapixel autofocus camera with flash...
Apr 27 2005 - 11:37 AM ET | Nokia
Nokia today officially announced the N91 which was shown in spy shots earlier this week. It's a high-end music phone with a built-in hard drive. The case is made out of steel, like the 8801. Features of the Nokia N91...
Apr 27 2005 - 11:33 AM ET | Nokia
Nokia today took the wraps off the N70, a handset similar to the 6680. Like the other N series handsets announced today (N90 and N91), the N70 is a Series 60 handset. Features include: * 2-megapixel camera * RS-MMC card...
The May edition of Wired magazine features a mini-review of the Samsung A800 with a Sprint logo on it. The 2-megapixel camera phone was shown off at CTIA (see MobileTracker's coverage), but a carrier wasn't specified. Though magazines sometimes feature...
Sprint PCS on Tuesday began shipping the highly-anticipated LG MM-535. Sprint PCS announced that it would be carrying this phone back in March. Features of the MM-535 include: * Megapixel camera (with flash and video capture) * Slide-style design *...
Apr 26 2005 - 01:36 PM ET | Nokia
Rumors have been circulating of a Nokia branded music phone, but now there are spy shots being added to the mix. A Chinese forum user posted pictures of a Nokia handset that claims to sport a 2 megapixel camera and...
Apr 26 2005 - 01:26 PM ET | Nokia
Nokia today announced the 5140, which looks to be an updated version of the 5140. The Nokia 5140i is the first phone from Nokia to comply with upcoming EU environmental legislation (RoHS, 2002/95/EC). More information on the legislation is available...
Sprint today announced the introduction of the Sprint PCS Vision Phone VI-2300 by Sanyo. The Sanyo VI-2300 accompanies the Sanyo SCP-200 in Sanyo's new attempt to offer mobile phones in a variety of colors. The two phones come in a...
Apr 24 2005 - 02:40 PM ET | Rumor, Siemens
Seimens is still mulling over what to do with its money-losing mobile phone division. Months ago rumors swirled that the unit would either be sold or disbanded, but the company denied all reports. When Siemens reports first quarter earnings on...
UPDATE: The LG VX9800 has been announced by Verizon Wireless and it will begin shipping on October 1st 2005 Photos and specifications surrounding the LG VX9800 have been made public by the FCC. The VX9800 appears to be very similar...
Apr 22 2005 - 03:55 PM ET | In The News
Today, April 22nd, is Earth day. There's no better time to dig out that old mobile phone that you no longer use and give it to a recycling company. There are several organizations that make it simple: * RecycleMyCellphone.org *...
Apr 22 2005 - 03:48 PM ET | Rumor, Samsung
UPDATE: Samsung has officially shown off the SCH-V740. More photos are contained in our new report. Rumors started spreading earlier this week that Samsung was prepping a Motorola RAZR V3 lookalike--they were true. The Samsung SCH-V740 looks surprisingly like the...
Apr 22 2005 - 03:37 PM ET | T-Mobile
Through its website, T-Mobile USA has made detailed street level coverage maps of its wireless network public. If accurate, these maps add a whole new level of transparency to the US wireless industry. The maps use an 11 point scale...
Wireless carriers in Canada have agreed to let consumers keep their mobile number when switching carriers. The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association said that while the agreement has been made, a start date has not been set. Number portability has been...
Apr 21 2005 - 02:19 PM ET | Nokia
Mobile phone market leader Nokia today reports its first quarter earnings statement. The mobile division posted solid numbers: Net sales were EUR 4.53 billion, an increase of 11% vs. Q1 2004 Net profit EUR 869 million, down 16% from a...
Verizon Wireless today added the Samsung N330 to its lineup. The small phone sports a unique pop-up display feature that involves pressing on both sides of the phone to make the extended screen pop-up. Features of the N330 include: *...
Apr 21 2005 - 01:14 AM ET | In The News
By buying rival Blue Lava Wireless, Jamdat Mobile has secured the rights to selling Tetris. Not only is Tetris one of the world's most well known games, it's well suited for play on mobile phones. The cash and stock deal...
Apr 20 2005 - 05:34 PM ET | Panasonic
Panasonic has officially exited the US mobile phone market. Since the US division had little luck in finding carriers for its phones, the move comes at no surprise. Panasonic will continue operations in Europe and Japan. AT&T Wireless was the...
Apr 20 2005 - 05:22 PM ET | Motorola
Motorola had a great Q1 according to their financial statement that was released today. The mobile unit saw record first-quarter unit shipments, sales and operating earnings. Here are the details: * 28.7 million cell phones shipped, an increase of 13%...
Apr 20 2005 - 10:53 AM ET | Ringtones
Xingtone has launched mStore, a platform for individuals to sell their own ring tones. The company is marketing this to indie record labels as a way to easily accomplish marketing and make money. bq. Using the web-based Xingtone mStore builder,...
Apr 20 2005 - 10:47 AM ET | MVNO
The Cisneros Group has accelerated plans for its spanish MVNO called Movida, launching it today in Phoenix and San Diego. Because of response, the group plans to launch Movida in more markets ahead of schedule. Sold through Wal-Mart, Movida phones...
Apr 20 2005 - 10:39 AM ET | Sprint Nextel
Sprint saw a great first quarter due to a surge in profit from its wireless division that beat a downturn in its wired phone unit. Highlights of the release include: * $472 million net income, versus $225 million in the...
Apr 20 2005 - 10:28 AM ET | Cingular
Cingular Wireless today announced its Q1 2005 earnings, results of which were mixed. Highlights: * $240 million loss, down from a $215 million profit the same quarter a year ago. * Net subscribers up 1.4 million to 50.4 million in...
LG Electronics today anounced its first quarter earnings statement for 2005. It was poor thanks to a bad investments in LCDs, but as far as mobile phones go: * 11.1 million handsets shipped, up 27% from the same quarter last...
Verizon Wireless has expanded its popular "IN" calling plan (free calls to every other Verizon Wireless customer) to messaging. For $5 a month customers can have unlimited text, picture and video messaging to other Verizon Wireless users. A plan costing...
Apr 19 2005 - 12:53 PM ET | Palm
Celebrating more than 1 million Treo 600 smartphones sold worldwide (650s possible included), palmOne is giving away a Treo smartphone every 5 minutes for 12 hours, from 9AM PDT until 9PM PDT. The contest just started, so join in on...
Research In Motion announced three agreements concerning enterprise IM. Differing from consumer IM (such as MSN Messenger and AIM) by offering security and server software to run the IM server, enterprise IM is a fast growing market. The deals were...
Apr 18 2005 - 05:34 PM ET | Motorola
The Motorola MPx was way overdue, so today's confirmation that the MPx has been scrapped didn't come as too much of a surprise. The phone only shipped in Malaysia and other small Asian markets. The MPx line has had trouble...
Apr 18 2005 - 12:54 PM ET | Nextel, SMS
Many Nextel users are experiencing very long delays when sending or receiving text messages. Nextel claims that it's because their network is being flooded with millions of spam messages and the filters are bogged down. More hardware was supposed to...
Verizon Wireless has started shipping the Kyocera Passport KPC650 BroadbandAccess PC card. Kyocera claims that their card performs 30% faster than the AirCard 580 from Sierra Wireless (Sprint signed up to carry that exact card). bq. The superior performance of...
Apr 18 2005 - 01:08 AM ET | Data
Following on the heels of Clear Channel, Infinity has announced that it will start to broadcast some of its content to mobile phones. It will be based on Nokia's Visual Radio service, which besides audio includes textual data: bq. The...
Cingular launched the Samsung P207 today, confirming rumors that the jet black flip-phone was close to market. Priced in the mid-range at $79.99 with activation, the Samsung P207 packs a unqiue feature: Speech-to-text conversion. Features of the Samsung P207: *...
Apr 15 2005 - 12:31 PM ET | In The News
It's April 15th, the last day US tax returns can be post marked, but income tax isn't everything. CTIA notes that the average tax rate on wireless service in the US is 17%. In some states, like Florida and New...
Apr 15 2005 - 11:56 AM ET | Sony Ericsson
Sony Ericsson has announced earnings for Q1 2005. Highlights of the statement include: * Net profit of $41 million, down 61% from a year ago * 9.4 million handsets shipped, up 7% versus last year As the above numbers show,...
Apr 15 2005 - 01:12 AM ET | Samsung
Samsung's first quarter 2005 earnings came in below expectations thanks to falling LCD prices and lower prices for mobile phones. Here are the key points for mobile phones in Samsung's Q1 2005 statement: * 24.5 million mobile phone handsets shipped...
Apr 14 2005 - 04:32 PM ET | T-Mobile
T-Mobile USA is launching a new national advertising campaign for T-Mobile To Go, its prepaid service. The campaign will cover cable and broadcast TV, radio, and online. The tagline, "T-Mobile To Go. Straight Up Prepaid" will be used throughout all...
Apr 14 2005 - 02:49 PM ET | DoCoMo, Motorola
The Motorola M1000 has begun shipping on NTT DoCoMo. We noted earlier this year that the FCC had approved the M1000 for use in the US (it's both 3G and GSM). It's also the first Motorola handset for DoCoMo. Features...
After a lengthy legal battle, Research in Motion paid patent holding firm NTP for infringement and future use of NTP's patents related to wireless handheld devices. The settlement was announced about a month ago, to the tune of a $450...
Apr 13 2005 - 05:11 PM ET | Data
Clear Channel Communications intends to begin offering some of its radio programs to cell phones this year. Clear Channel is the largest owner of radio stations in the US. bq. The San Antonio, Texas, company said it plans to let...
Apr 13 2005 - 03:45 PM ET | Data
Qualcomm today announced an ontime sample delivery of a CDMA2000 1xEV-DO Revision A chipset. The Mobile Station Modem (MSM) MSM6800 is the first chipset for mobile phones enabled for the second generation EV-DO technology. EV-DO Rev A supports downloads of...
Palm guru Larry Becker returns to bring you the top 10 essential accessories for your Treo 650 (most will work on the 600 if you haven't upgraded yet). If you haven't already, read Larry's Treo 650 review. If you want...
Apr 13 2005 - 12:44 PM ET | Data
NextWave is officially free of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Its $3 billion sale of PCS licenses to Verizon Wireless has been completed, giving the company enough cash to settle its debts. The company has been re-organized under the name Nextwave...
Apr 13 2005 - 12:34 PM ET | Sony Ericsson
Sony Ericsson has devoted [paid subscription req.] 75% of its upcoming North American ad budget for commercials before movies. The ads will be shown on over 11,000 screens around the country. One of the largest benefits of ads before movies...
Apr 12 2005 - 10:26 PM ET | In The News
USA Today ran a lengthy piece today about Macromedia's mobile version of Flash. The techology isn't new, earlier this year Nokia announced plans to ship a version of Flash on upcoming Series 60 phones, but this year could be the...
Apr 12 2005 - 08:11 PM ET | Nokia
Nokia USA has added the 7280 fashion phone to its US online store. The uniquely designed phone lacks a keyboard and sports a vanity mirror. At $600, it's not for everybody, but neither is the design. Nokia sees the 7280...
Cingular Wireless today announced Cingular Sounds, an initiative to launch music ringtones at or before the actual release of the music. Case in point, Coldplay's upcoming single Speed of Sound is now available as a Cingular ringtone, even though the...
Apr 12 2005 - 01:43 AM ET | Data
Google today launched a mobile version of its local search service. This move is seen as an effort to compete with Yahoo, which already offers a similar service. bq. Google Local for mobile will enable users to see 10 local...
Apr 11 2005 - 04:45 PM ET | Data
Select professional baseball games will be presented as cartoons for DoCoMo subscribers in Japan. The games (both American and Japanese) will be shown in real time, but in the look of a video game. bq. This is not fantasy baseball,...
Apr 11 2005 - 04:03 PM ET | In The News
MarketWatch has an interesting article on the state of mobile 3D games. With VCast as a distribution method, Verizon Wireless has created a steady income stream by selling 3D titles. With prices up to $8 per game, gaming is a...
Apr 11 2005 - 03:54 PM ET | Samsung, Unique
Samsung has announced the SCH-B200, a satellite Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) phone. The B200 joins two other models, the B100 and B130, in Samsung's DMB collection. Features of the Samsung B200 include: * 2 Megapixel camera with flash * 240...
Apr 08 2005 - 02:20 PM ET | Nokia
Nokia's CEO Jorma Ollila was criticized by investors yesterday for the lack of nicely desiged clamshell handsets. Mr. Ollila countered that market share should prove that its design decisions are correct: bq. "Our market share last year of 33-34 percent...
Apr 08 2005 - 01:58 PM ET | In The News
Though not a big shock, a recent survey has found that most fliers do not want mobile phones allowed during flight. We've reported on this story several times in the past, including that the FCC and FAA are currently investigating...
Apr 07 2005 - 11:50 AM ET | Nokia
Nokia to announced the 8800 and 8801 (US version). The Nokia 8801 is a very high-end fashion type phone. The body of the phone is stainless steel and it uses high-grade ball bearings for the unique pop up action. Features...
Virgin Mobile USA has debuted the Kyocera K10 Royale. The K10 Royale is based off the Kyocera K400 series of phones and is the first phone from Kyocera that includes Java. Features of the Kyocera K10 Royale include: * Voice-activated...
Apr 06 2005 - 10:17 AM ET | Ringtones, SMS
Jamster, a ringtone and mobile content sales company, has been sued for false advertising. The suit which was filed in San Diego states that Jamster falsely advertises that users can get a free ringtone. In reality said ringtones cost $1.99....
Apr 06 2005 - 09:41 AM ET | Camera
In the April 2005 issue of Wired, Sunny Bains writes about what could be the next major step forward for camera phones, liquid lenses. We previously mentioned that Philips was working on a liquid focused lens, but not much more...
Research In Motion, maker of the popular BlackBerry line of mobile phones, today announced a fiscal fourth quarter loss due to excessive legal fees. Due to the lawsuit by NTP , RIM took a litigation charge of $294.2 million that...
Verizon Wireless put up a teaser page on its web store for the upcoming Treo 650. Currently Sprint PCS has an exclusive on the CDMA Treo 650 (it has been shipping the device since November 2004). bq. The Treo 650...
Sprint PCS today announced the launch of a streaming radio service powered by a new company called MSpot. MSpot Radio brings satellite-quality streaming audio to mobile phones. For $5.95/mo Sprint PCS Vision subscribers have access to 16 channels, including 8...
Apr 04 2005 - 09:07 AM ET | Motorola, Nextel
Nextel has launched the Motorola i265, a mid-range phone with a color screen. Features of the iDEN device include: * 65K color 128 x 128 pixel display * Java * GPS Look for the Motorola i265 anywhere Nextel is sold...
By Jon Gales -- Can you hear me now? Ask anyone under thirty the first thing they think of after hearing that phrase and you'll likely hear back Verizon Wireless. For good or evil, the ads portraying a lonely Verizon...
Apr 03 2005 - 09:51 PM ET | Accessories
If you travel often and have a laptop, there is no reason to not have a cable that charges your phone via USB. Road warriors often hit the streets with more than a handful of gadgets (Laptop, music player, phone,...
Apr 03 2005 - 12:31 PM ET | SMS
We've heard a lot about a company called SMS.ac from our readers. Online investigation reveals a lot of angry former customers (and a few employees). We'd like to hear what you have to say, either positive or negative. For unfamiliar...
Apr 01 2005 - 09:17 PM ET | In The News
Investor's Business Daily has an article about the future growth of GSM and third world nations. GSM has the advantage because the handsets are cheaper. Motorola and Hop-On have been courting these emerging markets with phones under $40. bq. The...
