Filed under: Cell phones

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Apple: iPhone signal formula ‘totally wrong’

Apple Inc. said Friday its formula to calculate signal strength is “totally wrong,” and that it will start using a new formula by AT&T to calculate how many bars to display to represent signal strength.

The announcement comes as customers continue to complain of a significant loss in signal when holding the iPhone G4 in a certain way that seems to interfere with the phone’s antenna. Unlike previous iPhones, the new phone’s antenna is a steel frame that wraps around the device. Get the full story »

Motorola spinoff to be named Motorola Mobility

Motorola Inc. said its spun-off mobile devices and home company will be called Motorola Mobility, with the remaining business being named Motorola Solutions Inc.

The new names were disclosed in a Thursday filing with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission that outlined more details of Motorola’s planned separation into two companies. The split is scheduled for the first quarter of 2011, and the registration filing with the SEC marked an important step in the process. Get the full story »

Microsoft drops Kin phones after 3 months

Microsoft Corp. has pulled the plug on a new generation of smartphones less than three months after unveiling the devices that were part of its efforts to catch-up with Apple Inc. and Google Inc. in the fast-growing mobile market. Get the full story »

Report: Verizon to carry iPhone in 2011

Verizon Wireless is due to start selling Apple Inc’s iPhone next year, bringing an end to AT&T Inc’s role as the exclusive service provider for the blockbuster device, Bloomberg reported Tuesday. Get the full story »

Sprint Nextel says EVO 4G phone in short supply

Sprint Nextel Corp. has been seeing shortages of its EVO high-speed phone from HTC Corp. in some places due to better-than-expected demand, Chief Executive Dan Hesse said Tuesday.

Hesse said he wished he had more  EVOs, which launched  June 4, after his keynote presentation at a Forrester Customer Experience conference. Get the full story »

Motorola’s Droid 2 coming Aug. 23?

From Android and Me | Motorola’s Droid 2 will hit shelves Aug. 23 and will be the first phone to ship with updated Android 2.2 software, according to one source cited by cell phone blog Android and Me.

Samsung smartphone coming to all major carriers

In the shadow of the latest blockbuster Apple Inc.   iPhone launch, Samsung Electronics Co.  has quietly positioned its own marquee smartphone with all of the national carriers in an attempt to regain its position with high-end cellphones.

Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel Corp.  and T-Mobile USA said  Monday that they would be carrying a version of Samsung’s Galaxy S.  AT&T Inc.  previously said it would sell a version of the device  later this year. Of all the carriers, only T-Mobile would commit to a firm launch date of July 21. Get the full story »

Apple sells more than 1.7M iPhones in 3 days

Apple Inc. had sold 1.7 million units of the iPhone 4 worldwide by Saturday, June 26, its most successful product launch yet, the company said Monday.

Sales of the touchscreen smartphone, which competes with devices from Nokia, Research In Motion and Motorola, surpassed some analysts’ expectations, as well as those of Apple itself, which has been having trouble keeping up with demand. Get the full story »

iPhone 4 sells briskly as lines ring stores

Chicago resident Matt Garlock celebrates after purchasing an iPhone 4 today at the Apple Store on Michigan Avenue. (Chris Walker/Chicago Tribune)

Several thousand people in a half-mile-long line waited outside the Apple store on North Michigan Avenue this morning to buy the new iPhone.

Some had waited patiently all night long. Others impatiently all night long. But all felt compelled to be among the first with an iPhone 4.

Get the full story »

With iPhone 4 excitement comes complaints

From CNN | As iPhone 4 buyers prepared to unbox their new smartphones on Thursday morning, some screamed with joy. Others trumpeted vuvuzelas. But shortly after testing out the world’s new “it” phone, some of those consumers turned to the internet to report problems with the new Apple product.

On Web forums and on blogs, some consumers posted videos and rants about the iPhone 4’s new antenna, which is built into a metal rim around the phone and, some claim, causes the phone to get unnecessarily bad reception.
Get the full story »

Droid X bows with shutter camera, high-def video

Motorola and Verizon Wireless on Wednesday unveiled the Droid X, a new smartphone running Google’s Android operating system.

Verizon is using the Droid name to denote a series of Android devices. Motorola was the first manufacturer with Droid, released late last year, and Taiwanese company HTC has two devices under the Droid moniker at the carrier.

The Droid X has a 4.3-inch screen and an 8-megapixel camera with a shutter. It  is the first device in Verizon’s line-up with a camera shutter and the ability to capture high-definition video at 720p. As part of the phone’s emphasis on video, Verizon introduced an embedded Blockbuster application that allows users to download feature-length films and rent movies. Get the full story »

Google Voice released to public

Google Inc. said it will open its potentially disruptive Google Voice technology to the public. Get the full story »

AT&T to build 80 new cell towers in Illinois

AT&T said it plans to build more than 80 new cell sites in Illinois this year and will also upgrade almost 300 cell sites to its third-generation, or 3G, wireless network.
Get the full story »

Motorola to pump cash into spinoff

Motorola Inc. is planning to funnel billions of dollars to its money-losing cellphone business when it splits off into a separate company next year.

Under a structure now taking shape, Motorola is planning to buy back most of its debt and give the bulk of its remaining cash — roughly $3 billion to $4 billion — to a new company centered on the cellphone unit, according to people familiar with the matter.
Get the full story »

New Droid X to debut day before iPhone 4 launch

From the San Jose Business Journal | Verizon Wireless and Motorola Inc. have set the launch of their next generation Droid smartphone for June 23, the day before Apple Inc.’s iPhone 4 hits stores. An invitation to the announcement of the Motorola Droid X indicates that Adobe Systems Inc. CEO Shantanu Narayen will be among those participating in the launch. This comes after his company’s public debate with Apple CEO Steve Jobs over the absence of Flash support on iPhones and iPads.

Get the
full story: sanjose.bizjournals.com.