From the Chicago Sun-Times | Motorola and Exelon saw customer satisfaction scores improve 2.9 percent and 5.4 percent, respectively, from May 2009, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index released today.
Get the full story: suntimes.com
Filed under: Telecommunications
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Exelon, Motorola satisfaction scores up
Google to stop selling Nexus One phone on Web
By Wailin Wong
| Google is phasing out its online mobile phone store, ending an
experiment in selling devices directly to consumers.
The technology giant had been selling its Nexus One device via its Web
store since the phone’s launch in January. This retail channel marked a
significant difference from the way the vast majority of U.S. consumers
purchase their mobile phones — that is, subsidized through a wireless
service provider. The Nexus One was sold unlocked for $529 without a
plan or contract, although customers could buy it for a subsidized $179
if they signed up for a two-year contract with T-Mobile.
Cell phones used for data more than voice
From the New York Times | For the first time in the United States, the amount of data in text, e-mail messages, streaming video, music and other services on mobile devices in 2009 surpassed the amount of voice data in cellphone calls, according to the CTIA, the wireless
industry association. The number of text messages sent per user increased by nearly 50
percent nationwide last year alone, it said.
Get the full story: nytimes.com
U.S. Internet users blanketed with online ads
By Mary Ellen Podmolik
| If it seems like you’ve been inundated with online ads this year, you were.
U.S. Internet users received a record 1.1 trillion display ads during the year’s first quarter, a 15 percent increase versus a year ago, according to comScore’s Ad Metrix.
May 12, 2010 at 2:07 p.m.
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Filed under: Litigation, Technology, Telecommunications, Wireless Taiwanese cell phone maker countersues Apple
Associated Press | Taiwanese cell phone maker HTC Corp. said it
filed a legal complaint against Apple Inc., saying its iPhone, iPod and
iPad devices infringe on HTC patents.
The move escalates a patent dispute between the two electronics
companies, as Apple tries to maintain the iPhone’s supremacy against
Android, the increasingly popular mobile software upstart from Google
Inc.
May 12, 2010 at 5:51 a.m.
Filed under: Computers, Consumer electronics, Technology, Telecommunications Google, Verizon working on iPad rival
McClatchy-Tribune Newspapers | Verizon Wireless said it is working with Google on a new tablet computer to compete with
Apple’s iPad, whose early success has sent rival tech companies
scrambling to catch the next big wave in mobile computing.
Dell and Toshiba have also said they’re working on tablets that would
run on Google’s Android software. Hewlett-Packard, meanwhile, recently
announced plans to buy Palm and use that smart-phone maker’s software
in its own line of tablets and similar devices.
Kraft tries ‘Bring Your Own Computer’ program
By Alejandra Cancino |
It started with the smartphones. Last year, Kraft Foods Inc. offered a
stipend to employees who wanted to use their own iPhone, Android or
BlackBerry and ditch their company-issued phone.
That idea gave way to the creation of the “Bring Your Own Computer”
program, in which the company gives some employees a “substantial”
stipend to buy a computer of their choice, said Ana Paula Cruz, a Kraft
spokeswoman. In turn, employees will solve their own problems with help
from blogs and discussion boards written by the company’s information
systems department.
Cruz said the program will give flexibility to thousands of U.S. salary
employees who don’t deal with sensitive or confidential information and
use a computer to perform their job.
Carl Icahn boosts stake in Motorola to 8.8%
By Wailin Wong
| Activist investor Carl Icahn has raised his stake in
Schaumburg-based
Motorola Inc. to 8.75 percent, according to a Friday filing with the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Icahn and his investment vehicles last disclosed their Motorola holdings
in May 2008, reporting a 7.6 percent stake.
Verizon spending $121M on Illinois 3G upgrades
By Wailin Wong |
Verizon Wireless is planning to spend $121 million this year on its
third-generation network in Illinois, beefing up its network to meet
growing demand from data-hungry consumers.
Of the $121 million, $24 million will go toward increasing the
network’s 3G data capacity by 34 percent, the carrier said in a
release. The overall investment also covers the construction of new
cell sites. Since Verizon Wireless was formed in 2000, the company has
spent an average $140 million per year on its Illinois network.
FCC: Warn consumers nearing roaming, data limits
Associated Press | Federal regulators are considering rules that
would require wireless phone companies to alert consumers before they
reach roaming or data usage limits on their wireless plans.
The Federal Communications Commission says it is seeking input on ways
to head off “bill shock,” which it describes as “the experience of
getting an unexpectedly high wireless phone bill.” The FCC says it has
received hundreds of complaints from across the country involving all
the major carriers.
May 10, 2010 at 5:06 p.m.
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Filed under: Advertising/Marketing, Cell phones, Chicago executives, Management, Telecommunications Dillon leaves McD to be U.S. Cellular’s CEO
By Wailin Wong | McDonald’s Corp. marketing chief Mary Dillon is leaving the fast food giant to take the top job at U.S. Cellular Corp., replacing John “Jack” Rooney as chief executive of the country’s sixth-largest wireless carrier.
Dillon, 48, will start her new role as president and CEO on June 1. She also will join Chicago-based U.S. Cellular’s board.
Twitter fixes glitch that afflicted followers
Associated Press | Twitter says it has fixed a glitch that has
allowed users to seem more popular by making it appear that celebrities
had subscribed to read their mini-blog postings known as tweets.
The flaw allowed some Twitter users to game the popularity contest. It
allowed users to add anyone else as a follower of their tweets.
Normally, the other person has to initiate such “following.”
McDonald’s Dillon named U.S. Cellular CEO
Mary Dillon (second from right), the chief marketing officer for McDonald’s, with winners of a McDonald’s “global spokesman contest” in 2007.
Tribune staff report | U.S. Cellular Corp. named McDonald’s Corp.
marketing chief Mary N. Dillon as president and chief executive officer
of the Chicago-based wireless carrier. Dillon starts at U.S. Cellular
on June 1, and will replace retiring president and CEO John E. Rooney.
She will also join U.S. Cellular’s board.
Dillon, 48, was most recently global chief marketing officer at
Oakbrook-based McDonald’s. Before that, Dillon was president of the
Quaker foods division of PepsiCo Corp. Dillon is on the board of Target
Corp.
May 7, 2010 at 4:49 p.m.
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Filed under: Cell phones, Earnings, Investing, Management, Stock activity, Telecommunications, Wireless Carl Icahn increases his stake in Motorola
By Wailin Wong
| Activist investor Carl Icahn has raised his stake in Schaumburg-based
Motorola Inc. to 8.75 percent, according to a Friday filing with the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Icahn and his investment vehicles last disclosed their Motorola holdings
in May 2008, reporting a 7.6 percent stake.
Bill updating Illinois telecom laws on way to Quinn
By Wailin Wong and Monique Garcia | State
legislators approved Thursday a revised version of the Illinois
Telecommunications Act that is designed to bring regulations up to date
with broadband and mobile phone technology.
The Senate passed the bill with a unanimous 59-0 vote after sailing
through the House with a 118-0 vote on Wednesday. The legislation now
goes to the governor’s desk.
