Filed under: Cell phones

Visit our Filed page for categories. To browse by specific topic, see our Inside page. For a list of companies covered on this site, visit our Companies page.

 

iPhone most wanted in Nielsen survey

According to recent data from The Nielsen Co., 29 percent of BlackBerry users and 21 percent of Android users have contemplated switching to an iPhone. Nearly 90 percent of iPhone owners plan to purchase another iPhone for their next mobile device, while 71 percent of Android users plan to continue using their current device, and only 42 percent of BlackBerry users want another one.

News Corp. developing daily newspaper for tablets

News Corp. Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch is embarking on an ambitious plan for a new national digital newspaper to be distributed exclusively as paid content for tablet computers such as Apple Inc.’s iPad and mobile phones.

The initiative, which would directly compete with the New York Times, USA Today and other national publications, is the latest attempt by a major media organization to harness sexy new devices to reach readers who increasingly consume their news on the go. The development underscores how the iPad is transforming reading habits much like the iPod changed how people listen to music.

Free computer, smartphone, iPad calls coming

The company behind the Internet phone gadget magicJack has another trick up its sleeve: free phone calls from computers, smartphones and iPads.

The cost of phone calls routed over the Internet has been on a long slide. Many programs allow free calling between computers, and some allow free, but short, calls to regular phone numbers. Get the full story »

PayPal reportedly seeking Android deal with Google

PayPal reportedly is in talks with Google to add is payment service to Android phones.  Users of  phones such as Motorola’s Droid X and HTC’s Droid Incredible may be able to buy apps with  PayPal by the end of this year.

Google amplifies voice commands for Android

Just because mobile phones are becoming more like small computers doesn’t mean you should have to do a lot of typing on them. That’s the thinking behind the latest update to Google’s popular Android software for mobile phones.

The latest version of Android 2.2, released Thursday, includes 10 new voice commands that can be used to operate phones without using a keypad.

Verizon compares its profitability to Tiger Woods

Verizon Communications Inc. Chief Financial Officer John Killian compared the wireless arm’s lead in profitability to Tiger Wood’s dominance on the golf course.

“We will maintain the Tiger Woods position on top of the world in terms of profitability,” Killian told analysts during an investor conference on Wednesday.

In reference to Woods’ recent struggles, Killian said that people keep wanting to chip away at the star athlete, much like critics are attempting to chip away at Verizon Wireless’s lead in profitability. Instead, the business is widening its lead, he said. Get the full story »

Fitch raises Motorola outlook on Droid popularity

Fitch Ratings affirmed its ratings on Motorola Inc. and raised its rating outlook to “stable” from “negative” Tuesday, saying it is more confident in the health of the company’s business. Get the full story »

Motorola unveils the Droid 2

Motorola unveiled Tuesday its follow-up to the Droid smartphone it released last year, introducing a new handset with a redesigned keyboard and other improvements.

The Droid 2 will be available for online pre-sales on Wednesday and in-store sales at Verizon Wireless on Thursday. It will cost $199.99 after a mail-in rebate and requires a two-year contract and a smartphone data plan.

The original Droid was released in November at Verizon Wireless to generally positive reviews, although some users had gripes with the keyboard. Motorola said the new Droid 2 has a new keyboard “with raised keys for more responsive typing,” and also features increased processing power and the ability to be a mobile hotspot for up to five WiFi-enabled devices. The hotspot feature costs an extra $20 per month. Get the full story »

Motorola backing away from Motoblur

Motorola is backing away from trying to market and promote its Motoblur feature, a Web-based service that aggregates updates from social-networking platforms and streams them to a phone, CEO Sanjay Jha said. “With Motoblur we have found that being able to convey the value proposition around Motoblur is not an easy thing to do in a 30-second ad spot,” Jha said on the company’s earnings call with analysts. Get the full story >>

U-verse coming to iPhone, BlackBerry

From Bloomberg News | AT&T is making its U-verse television service available to users of the Apple iPhone and Reasearch in Motion BlackBerry.

Apple to fix security hole in iPhone software

Apple is planning to release a fix for a security hole in the software that runs on its iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch devices. Hackers could gain access to data stored on Apple Inc.’s gadgets by putting a PDF file with hidden code onto a website and luring people to visit the site.

Clinton: U.S. to talk to UAE about BlackBerry ban

The United States will hold technical talks with the United Arab Emirates and other countries on the pending ban on the BlackBerry Messenger, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Thursday. Get the full story »

Vonage app calls Facebook friends for free

From The New York Times | Vonage has introduced two apps that allow you to make free phone calls to your Facebook friends nationally and internationally. The apps, called Vonage Mobile for Facebook, are available free for the iPhone and Android phones.

TDS, U.S. Cellular profits fall in 2Q

Second-quarter earnings at Telephone & Data Systems Inc. and its U.S. Cellular Corp. business declined, while U.S. Cellular lost fewer overall subscribers than it did a year earlier.

Earnings for both companies missed analysts’ expectations, and U.S. Cellular also lowered its guidance for full-year service revenue to $3.93 billion to $4 billion from $3.98 billion to $4.08 billion. Get the full story »

AT&T launches Wi-Fi hot zone in Wrigleyville

AT&T is launching a Wi-Fi “hot zone” in Chicago’s Wrigleyville as part of a pilot program that seeks to supplement the company’s beleaguered broadband network.

This will be the third Wi-Fi zone set up by the company, which is setting up the zones in area with the highest traffic and mobile data use. The first pilot was launched in New York City’s Times Square in May and was followed by a hot zone in downtown Charlotte, N.C. Get the full story »