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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 »

AT&T not selling iPhone 4 until June 29

Though Apple stores will be carrying the iPhone 4 this Thursday, you’ll have to wait until next week if you want to buy it from its official U.S. wireless carrier, AT&T Inc.

AT&T said Tuesday that it will start selling the iPhone 4 on June 29 through its stores and website to anyone who wants to buy one, but was not able to order on June 15 — the first day that Apple and its partners took orders for the gadget. AT&T stopped taking orders the next day because of overwhelming demand. 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 »

J.C. Penney stepping up e-tailing push

J.C. Penney Co. (JCP) plans to grow its online sales by at least $1 billion in the next few years as the retailer restructures itself into a digital marketplace.

While the company isn’t giving up its roots as an operator of brick-and-mortar stores, J.C. Penney’s undertaking involves traditional online efforts, tie-ins with mobile devices, social-networking websites and structuring the more traditional stores as virtual shops. Get the full story »

Sun-Times in venture to compete with eBay

From Crain’s Chicago Business | Sun-Times Media and more than 300 media and broadcast companies have teamed up with Ranger Data Technologies Inc. to form a national online auction house, Boocoo.com. It is designed to compete with eBay and Craigslist.

Regulators move forward with broadband rules

Reuters | U.S. communications authorities Thursday took a small but significant
step toward regulating high-speed Internet in a bid to reclaim
oversight, setting the stage for an eventual legal showdown with
industry heavyweights. Big broadband providers like AT&T Inc,
Verizon Communications Inc and Comcast Corp oppose the move by the
Federal Communications Commission, fearing the agency may heavily
regulate their businesses in way that could crimp profits and cast a
cloud on investments.

Get the full story »

Verizon lifts the curtain on Droid X device

Droid-X-web-two.jpgBy Wailin Wong | Verizon Wireless has lifted the curtain on the next device in its Droid franchise, a phone by Motorola called the Droid X.

The carrier unveiled a teaser site for the new phone, which is expected to get its official launch next week. On the page, an image of the new phone is flanked on either side by two of its predecessors — the first Droid by Motorola, which was launched late last year, and Taiwanese manufacturer HTC’s Droid Incredible, which came out in late April.

Verizon Wireless uses the “Droid” moniker to describe its premiere line of smartphones powered by Google’s Android operating system. The Droid X will be Motorola’s second Droid device.

Get the full story »

Tellabs says it hasn’t lost AT&T business

Reuters | Communications equipment maker Tellabs Inc. on Thursday denied speculation that it was losing business from top U.S. phone company AT&T to a rival, and said orders were strong.

Competition had increased, but there were “no degradations” in the relationship with AT&T, Tellabs Chief Financial Officer Tim Wiggins said, adding that he was seeing stronger orders than expected.

Get the full story »

FTC sues companies for making ‘robocalls’

By Alejandra Cancino | The Federal Trade Commission  said Thursday that it has sued companies
that allegedly made millions of prerecorded calls offering to extend
auto warranties and lower credit card rates to consumers nationwide.

One was filed in Illinois May 24 against three companies that “operate
as a common enterprise”: Los Angeles-based SBN Peripherals Inc.,  Asia
Pacific Telecom Inc. and  Repo B.V.  The other was filed in Florida June
2 against Miami-based Dolce Group Worldwide LLC.

Get the full story »

Morgan Stanley downgrade trips Tellabs

Reuters | Shares in Tellabs Inc. fell 6.5 percent Tuesday after
Morgan Stanley downgraded the telecommunications equipment maker’s
shares citing an expectation that AT&T Inc would switch to Cisco
Systems.

Tellabs shares closed down 44 cents, to $6.31, on Nasdaq after Morgan
Stanley analyst Ehud Gelblum said AT&T is planning a “relatively
quick transition away from” Tellabs 8860 router to a product from Cisco
about a year from now.

Get the full story »

Motorola completes $138 million debt buyback

By Wailin Wong |
Motorola Inc. said Tuesday that it has completed one debt buyback of
$138 million and increased the size of its repurchase program to $500
million from $400 million.

In late May, Schaumburg-based Motorola announced it had launched two
offers to buy back up to $400 million in outstanding debt. One, which
involves bonds due in 2097, expired Monday. The $138 million tendered by
bondholders in the offer represents about 55 percent of the $252
million outstanding in the 2097 series.

Get the full story »

Slimmer, crisper Apple iPhone 4 out June 24

iphone44.jpg
Apple CEO Steve Jobs announces the new iPhone 4 as he delivers the opening keynote address at the 2010 Apple World Wide Developers conference June 7, 2010 in San Francisco. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Associated Press | The next iPhone comes out June 24 and will
have a higher-resolution screen, longer battery life and thinner design.

CEO
Steve Jobs opened Apple Inc.’s annual conference for software
developers Monday by revealing the iPhone 4, which will cost $199 or
$299 in the U.S. with a two-year AT&T contract, depending on the
capacity. The iPhone 3GS, which debuted last year, will still be
available, for $99.

The iPhone 4 is about three-eighths of an inch thick; the previous
iPhone was nearly half an inch. It is getting a camera on the front that
could be used for videoconferencing, in addition to a five-megapixel
camera and a flash on the back.

See also
1pixel.jpg
• Apple’s 3rd founder walked away for $800

1pixel.jpgiPhone v. Android: Who’s buying what?

Photos: Earlier versions of the iPhone

Get the full story »

Tellabs shares plunge on Barclays forecast

Barrons | Saying that Tellabs is unlikely to pickup business from AT&T on its latest high-speed wireless Internet network, Barclays  has cut its share price forecast for the telecommunications equipment maker. That has sent Tellabs stock plunging nearly 11.5 percent, to $6.97, in Friday afternoon NASDAQ trading.

See the full story: barrons.com

New Apple iPhone 4.0 expected Monday

Reuters | Apple Inc’s next-generation iPhone, which CEO Steve Jobs is widely expected to unveil Monday, will have to really set new standards in multimedia content and function to wow Wall Street and consumers.

Competition from a host of well-received smartphones based on Google Inc’s Android operating system is also growing, pressuring Apple to raise the bar even higher. The “iPhone 4.0 will keep them ahead of the game. Is it as easy as last year to stay ahead? No. I think Android has made huge progress,” said Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi.

Get the full story »

Investor bets on bearish Tellabs

From Bloomberg | Trading of Tellabs Inc. options jumped after an investor bought shares in the maker of telecommunications equipment and hedged the position with options, Interactive Brokers Group Inc.’s Caitlin Duffy said.

Get the full story: businessweek.com.