News

Nokia Siemens Joins Auction for Nortel Assets

Friday, 2:09 PM   by Eric M. Zeman

According to the Associated Press, Nokia Siemens Networks is bidding against Ciena for some of insolvent Nortel's networking assets. Ciena placed a "stalking horse" bid of $521 million for Nortel's optical networking and carrier ethernet businesses. Nokia Siemens Networks has entered a bid for the assets, but the amount of that bid was not disclosed. The auction is being held today, and the winner will still need to gain regulatory approval to complete any asset acquisitions.

Motorola Plans Droid Camera Fix Via OTA Update

Friday, 12:05 PM   by Eric M. Zeman

In response to an email, Motorola spokesperson Juli Burda told Phone Scoop that Motorola is planning an over-the-air software update to make improvements to the Droid's camera. She said, "With Droid, and with the rest of our growing portfolio of Android-based devices, we will continue to evolve and improve the overall consumer experience with periodic software updates. The feedback we've been hearing on the Droid camera is one of those items that will be addressed permanently with an upcoming OTA software update. The advanced technology of the Droid means customers will only have to accept the download to their phones for continued use and enjoyment of this feature packed Android phone."

Motorola Picks Up RadioFrame's iDEN Assets

Friday, 9:26 AM   by Eric M. Zeman

Today Motorola announced that it has acquired the iDEN network assets of RadioFrame. RadioFrame makes lower-cost and power-efficient iDEN base stations. Motorola believes that RadioFrames' base station technology will help it to improve upon its iDEN network and push-to-talk services. RadioFrame Networks' iDEN business will be integrated into Motorola's Home & Networks Mobility business. Terms were not disclosed.

U.S. Cellular Now Offering Overage Protection

Friday, 8:53 AM   by Eric M. Zeman

U.S. Cellular recently announced a new program that will alert its customers when they are approaching or have reached their limit for voice minutes and/or messaging. Users must sign up for the program, which will evaluate usage each night. It will offer both preventative alerts and overage alerts. Users will receive a text message when they have reached 75% of their minutes or text messages, and another when they reach 100%. The Overage Protection service is free to use.

Quickie:
Nokia Plans Further Staff Reductions

Friday, 8:41 AM   by Eric M. Zeman

Nokia has said that it plans to reduce its research and development staff by about 2%, which will affect 330 employees at several facilities in Finland and Denmark. Nokia recently reorganized its internal structure.

Windows Live Messenger Added to Nokia Messaging

Friday, 8:35 AM   by Eric M. Zeman

Today Nokia announced that it has made Microsoft's Windows Live Messenger instant messaging application available to Nokia handsets via its Nokia Messaging service. It can be found in the chat application and includes tabbed chat windows, the ability to call directly from the buddy list, and notifications of new messages that pop up while the application is in the background. The application supports some desktop features, such as grouped contacts, emoticons and sounds, and allows users to log in invisible. Windows Live Messenger will be preloaded on the E72. The E63, E71 and E75 can get Windows Live Messenger by downloading it from the Ovi Store.

Kyocera Intros a Trio of New Handsets

Thursday, 6:00 PM   by Eric M. Zeman

Today Kyocera announced three new phones for the U.S. market.

• SCP-6760 Incognito: This Sanyo-branded handset is a sideways clamshell that has both a touch display and full QWERTY keyboard. Its main display measures 2.6 inches and has 240 x 320 resolution. It also has what Kyocera is calling a "glow-thru" keypad and OLED secondary display. The Incognito features 3G, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, a 2 megapixel camera, and support for microSD cards up to 16GB. It runs Sprint's OneClick user interface, has threaded messaging, and supports an array of Sprint services. It will be available from Sprint on November 30.
• S2300 Torino: This bar-style messaging phone has a full QWERTY keyboard, 1.3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, threaded messaging, speakerphone, and has 1xRTT data. It should be available in February.
• S1310 Domino: This monoblock phone is a tri-band CDMA device that is also limited to 1xRTT data. It features Bluetooth 2.0, WAP browser, speakerphone, and basic SMS/MMS messaging. The Domino will launch in December.

Motorola Crush Headed to U.S. Cellular

Thursday, 4:46 PM   by Eric M. Zeman   updated Thursday, 4:55 PM

Today Motorola announced that the touch-based Crush is for sale from U.S. Cellular. The Crush has a 2.8-inch display with 240 x 400 WQVGA resolution. It has a virtual QWERTY keyboard, two megapixel camera, stereo Bluetooth, and 3.5mm headset jack. It supports microSD cards up to 16GB and has a built-in pedometer.

Google Revamps Mobile News for iPhone, Android and webOS

Thursday, 4:22 PM   by Eric M. Zeman

Today Google announced a new version of Google News for Mobile that has been optimized for the iPhone, Android and webOS platforms. The major improvements include more stories on the homepage and more sources and images. Google has also reduced the number of clicks it takes to find articles and play videos. The mobile version now also reflects each users' desktop settings on their mobile.

Verizon Wireless Axing Alltel Vets

Thursday, 12:17 PM   by Eric M. Zeman

Verizon Wireless plans to eliminate many of the management positions, including finance, marketing and legal, at the former Alltel's headquarters in Little Rock. The positions became redundant with Verizon's purchase of Alltel in 2008. Verizon didn't say exactly how many positions were being eliminated, but said the affected employees are welcome to apply for other jobs in the Little Rock facility, including call center positions.

Quickie:
Three More Towns Now Have T-Mo 3G

Thursday, 10:41 AM   by Eric M. Zeman

Today T-Mobile noted that it has added Abilene and Amarillo, Texas, and Albany, Georgia, to its 3G footprint.

Samsung to Sell First LiMo Handset in S. Korea

Thursday, 9:24 AM   by Eric M. Zeman

Today Samsung, SK Telecom and the LiMo Foundation announced that Samsung will bring S. Korea's first LiMo compliant handset to market by the end of the year. The Samsung SCH-M510 features a 3.5-inch WVGA AMOLED display and a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus. It also comes with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and is armed with a slew of sensors, including proximity, accelerometer and ambient light. It is the third LiMo handset from Samsung, and the 45th LiMo handset overall.

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