Aug 31 2003 - 12:45 PM ET | In The News
Nextel is trying to bed with the big boys so it doesn't have to cut deals with local public safety agencies over its use of the 800MHz spectrum. You may recall when we noted the FCC is looking into the...
As spotted in this Sunday's CompUSA ad insert: Free 20" TV instantly with any cell phone purchase. You must get an activation, and it must be a non pre-pay (no Virgin Mobile or AT&T Wireless Go). There isn't a minimum...
Aug 29 2003 - 09:57 AM ET | Nokia
Nokia is in the process of buying out part of Motorola's stake in Symbian. This along with Nokia's previous holdings will mean that Nokia will own about 31% of the mobile software company. The other shares are going to Psion....
Back in March we posted details on a yet-to-be-announced phone from Motorola that was being looked at for approval by the FCC. It was called the A920, and it has officially been announced by Motorola. It's the most advanced 3G...
Aug 28 2003 - 12:41 AM ET | Unique
NewsFactor reports on what could be the next big thing in cellular networks--modified balloons that double as cell towers. One company is boasting that a single balloon could service an area as big as Oklahoma due to the fact that...
Aug 27 2003 - 08:23 AM ET | Unique
Wired reports on a Canadian university that is so pressed for on campus housing that it is willing to give a BlackBerry, laptop or a desktop PC to anyone willing to move off campus for at least a year. The...
Aug 27 2003 - 08:14 AM ET | Nokia
Nokia introduced two new phones at a simultaneous press events in Moscow, Russia and New Delhi, India. Nokia 1100 Nokia 1100 phone is a lower-end phone that's made to be portable. It weighs just 93 grams and sports anti-slip sides....
Aug 27 2003 - 12:59 AM ET | Camera
Forbes has a piece stating that camera phones aren't quite all they are made out to be. You know the commercials that feature smiling models who toss pictures back and forth before breakfast? According to Forbes it takes a lot...
Aug 27 2003 - 12:45 AM ET | In The News
Thanks to the recent outages, senator Schumer is calling for an official policy/standard on power backups for cellular communications. He also wants companies to upgrade so they can handle more capacity (typically less than a quarter of its customers). Here's...
Virgin Mobile has inked a deal with Sprint PCS to add its prepaid phones to some 550 Sprint PCS stores nationwide. This is a huge deal for the up-and-coming pre-paid company. Sprint PCS was one of the few companies that...
Aug 25 2003 - 05:13 PM ET | Review
Mobile Burn has a pretty in depth look of the new wrist phone from CEC. It was announced last about two weeks ago, but not much was known about it (mostly because it's out of China). At first look, it's...
Aug 25 2003 - 05:07 PM ET | 3G, DoCoMo
DoCoMo is working on perfecting a new-and-improved 3G technology that will boost speeds to an impressive 14 megabits. This is a 30-fold increase over today's 3G's handsets. It won't get here for a while though, DoCoMo is looking at 2005...
Here's another reason to not use a cell phone when you drive--it could catch fire. A woman in Amsterdam recently was treated for slight neck burns after her Nokia caught fire. Nokia of course blames all cases (yes, there has...
Here at MobileTracker HQ we've had a lot of extra time. Thanks mostly to not seeing Gigli. We may not be alone--Hollywood is blaming "texters" for bombs. Seems like the easy way out: bq. "Because movie-goers are so quick to...
If a normal polyphonic ring tone is too passé for you, check out what Sprint PCS is offering. The program is dubbed "name ringers" and it's basically a collection of ringtones made just for people with common names. Sounds crazy,...
MobileBurn takes a look at a new smartphone from GSL. The Xplore G18 has an impressive list of features: * Dual band GSM 900/1800 * Color LCD TFT (160x240 pixels) * 320x240 digital camera with digital zoom * 16MB memory...
Motorola launched its first Linux-based smartphone yesterday. While the desktop Linux world is in turmoil over a lawsuit from the US based SCO, there has been big progress in embedded Linux systems. The A760 sports a personal information management suite,...
Just as we reported late last week, Nextel has filed suit against rival Verizon. The case stems of Verizon's brash use of "Push-To-Talk" to describe its new walkie-talkie like service. Verizon claims that the phrase "Push-To-Talk" is common enough to...
Aug 21 2003 - 11:18 AM ET | In The News
Around 2.68 million handsets based on Symbian technology shipped during the first half of the year, up more than 1000% from the 230,000 that shipped in the first half of 2002. These are the numbers straight from the company, but...
Aug 20 2003 - 12:46 PM ET | Nokia
Nokia must not listen to popular opinion--it is still spending big bucks on the N-Gage. Its latest expenditure has been buying Sega.co for its "multi-player technology". If you want to see what all the hype is about, the N-Gage drops...
After losing its reign on Push-To-Talk (PTT), Nextel has found another way to make its service stand out--coverage inside your building. They have partnered with a company called RadioFrame to basically build base stations that are small cell towers AND...
Aug 19 2003 - 02:08 PM ET | 3G, T-Mobile
Rumors of T-Mobile UK launching 3G services continue to echo around the web. The latest is that the telecom giant will have the service up-and-running by Christmas, but that date may be affected by what handsets are available at that...
Aug 19 2003 - 12:34 PM ET | In The News
Although it has failed for the most part to make inroads in US and Euro sales, Microsoft is trumpeting its mobile technology. Its inked a deal with Dopod (a Chinese handset maker) to sell a phone using the latest version...
Aug 19 2003 - 12:30 PM ET | Nokia
We're not even out of Q3 of 2003 yet, but analysts are busy making predictions about sales totals for 2004. The study which was released today boasts that Nokia will ship an astounding 200 million handsets throughout '04. Overall the...
Aug 19 2003 - 12:12 AM ET | Samsung
AT&T Wireless has added Samsung phones to its network--starting off with the v206 (clam-shell cam phone). bq. "This is primarily focused on the high end. It's not a mainstream product," said Bear Stearns analyst Wojtek Uzdelewicz" It's mostly dubbed high-end...
Millions of people are looking forward to November 24th--US carriers won't be able to lock your phone number. It hasn't come freely though... You've been paying for it since Q2 of this year. It varies by carrier, but it is...
The rumor was true--Palm Inc. will rename itself to palmOne. This all has to do with the spinoff of the OS side of the company (partners like Sony want to make sure Palm has no advantage in making hardware, and...
Aug 17 2003 - 11:09 PM ET | In The News
An article in the Washington Post states that interference from cell phones is causing trouble with emergency radio services (police and fire). Reports of officers calling for backup only to not be heard because of wireless interference are surfacing. bq....
MobileTracker's Jon Gales recently got a chance to ask Josh Carroll, President of Jeyo Inc., a few questions. Jeyo Inc. makes a product called Jeyo Remote that lets Windows users turn their Bluetooth phone (currently Sony Ericsson models) into a...
Aug 15 2003 - 03:14 PM ET | T-Mobile
T-Mobile had a strong quarter--19% subscriber growth against a year ago. Most of the growth came from the US, where it almost doubled its size. It now boasts over 56 million customers with revenue of $12.3 billion US....
Aug 15 2003 - 03:03 PM ET | In The News
A massive power outage in the North East region of North America caused millions of people to turn to their cellphones, and then turn to their home phones. Between towers being powerless, and the few powered towers being overwhelmed at...
The latest rumor is the Nextel is looking to sue Verizon over its new push-to-talk service that was launched yesterday. The problem is said to be over the use of "push-to-talk", a phrase Nextel says it trademarked a few months...
As expected, Verizon Wireless has launched push-to-talk (PTT) services throughout the US. Unlike Nextel's service (launched some ten years ago), Verizon is using Voice over IP (VoIP) to send the data. For those unfamiliar with PTT, it allows users to...
Until today, the only carrier you could have a color Blackberry on was T-Mobile. Not so anymore--AT&T Wireless has inked a deal to become a reseller for the BlackBerry 7210. It runs on GSM/GPRS and like other devices from Research...
Aug 13 2003 - 03:24 PM ET | Camera, Unique
NTT DoCoMo was the first company to introduce a wristphone (dubbed the Wristomo) and Samsung soon followed suit ny showing off a watch sized phone that is promised for later this year. Now it's China's turn--meet the F88. It's the...
Aug 12 2003 - 07:13 PM ET | Smartphone
MiTAC has revealed plans to introduce the first Intel/Microsoft powered phone next month. It will only be available in Europe. The Mio 8380, runs Microsoft's Smartphone 2002 software on a 200MHz Intel CPU backed by 16MB of RAM. Like earlier...
Aug 12 2003 - 07:06 PM ET | In The News
According to the latest reports, the number of new cellphones shipped in Japan has increased for the 8th straight month. This June, Japan saw nearly 5 million new handsets (up some 19% from a year ago). The growth is attributed...
Samsung's newest offering for the Sprint PCS network isthe VGA1000. This is the 6th picture phone that Sprint has launched in the US, making it a leader among the major carriers (Verizon Wireless only hopped on the picture bandwagon a...
Aug 12 2003 - 11:25 AM ET | Smartphone
After rogue information about the upcoming Orange SPV2 surfaced, official info was found on the Orange France website. It looks like the SPV2 will run Smartphone 2002 and have built-in Bluetooth even though it's not supported by the OS. Its...
Last week we mentioned that Amazon.com is selling the Treo 270 for $49.99 after rebate. Well the Treo deals keep coming. Handspring just let us know that today marks a new promotion with Sprint--Treo 300's for $99. The device costs...
If Bluetooth is to slow for you, read up on ultrawideband (UWB). It's not new (originally developed by the US military back in the 60's) but due to the falling cost of chips, it's getting cheap. It boasts speeds of...
Research In Motion is facing serious legal trouble (could mean no more BlackBerries...), but that's not enough to slow down the sales team. They just inked a deal with T-Mobile USA to sell the new BlackBerry 7230. It's the first...
Aug 11 2003 - 12:33 PM ET | Sprint Nextel
Sprint PCS teamed up with RealNetworks to launch RealOne video services on the Sprint PCS network. Sprint PCS users can subscribe for $4.95 a month and get breaking news, market reports, sports highlights, weather forecasts, and entertainment services, right on...
MobileTracker friend and Unwired member Sean Bonner has come aboard to write a review of his new baby—the Sony Ericsson's T616. As you might know the T616 is the US version of the popular T610. Feel free to discuss the...
Aug 10 2003 - 06:25 PM ET | In The News
If you're looking to get a phone, this is a great time to start looking. Wireless co's are beefing up customer service, giving away decent phones, and actually trying to not piss you off. Why the sudden change? Number portability....
Palm announced today that the waiting period for a U.S. Justice Department review of its proposed acquisition of rival Handspring has expired. This moves the two companies one more step closer to closing the deal which is valued at $200...
Aug 08 2003 - 04:27 PM ET | Unique
If you're in Taiwan and want to see what the roads look like before you venture out, you can now watch 'em in real-time on your phone. According to C|Net the network consists of 42 cameras in the most congested...
Aug 06 2003 - 04:51 PM ET | In The News
The number of cell phone users worldwide will rise twofold in the next few years, but there will still be a dramatic slowdown in growth, according to a new study. Not a major revelation, but a worthwhile read....
Some progress in the Research In Motion legal case (a suit to stop the sale of Blackberries--see this report for more information). A key ruling delivered by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in the...
Aug 06 2003 - 11:49 AM ET | 3G, Nokia
Nokia has inked a deal to deliver a WCDMA (known simply as 3G) core network to sunrise in Switzerland. Things have moved quickly, and Nokia has already delivered hardware. The network is expected to be commercially launched by the end...
Aug 06 2003 - 11:33 AM ET | Camera, DoCoMo
NTT DoCoMo announced today that it will start marketing the P505i on August 8. At a scant 19.9 mm closed, the new clamshell model is the slimmest in the 505i series. Even though its thin doesn't mean it lacks features:...
Aug 05 2003 - 02:56 PM ET | In The News
Wired has an AP article on something most people already knew--the amount of people who have had enough of landlines. According to the article, there are "as many as 7.5 million Americans who have "cut the cord" and gone solo...
Siemens has introduced the ST55, an integrated camera phone with a 4x zoom. According to the company, the ST55 "combines state-of-the-art technology with modern, elegant design". We have to agree--it's one of the prettiest phones we've seen in a long...
Aug 05 2003 - 11:30 AM ET | Motorola
Phonescoop has a great feature on Motorola's fall lineup for 2003. It covers all the models they will be launching. There are some really interesting looking phones, and lots of high-quality pictures. Make sure to take a look at the...
Gizmodo spotted the Treo 270 for a mere $49.99 after rebate over at Amazon.com. If you're a Treo fan and can't justify spending the $500 the Treo 600 will cost, this is a great bargain. Note: To get the rebate...
Aug 04 2003 - 11:45 AM ET | Cingular
Last week we noted that Cingular looks like it wants to take over NextWave's 34 spectrum licenses. Well, Cingular has commented: bq. "A definitive agreement has not been reached and there can be no assurance that an agreement will be...
Cingular is all excited about offering so called "Super Tones" which are nothing more than pre-recorded bits of audio. Not polyphonic, real bits of music/voice. Websites have been selling these tones for a while, so it's not clear what the...
Research In Motion (maker of the popular Blackberry device) is the subject of the latest Wallstreet rumor. Word on the street is HP will buy it up to get access to the Blackberry which is very popular in the corporate...
Aug 03 2003 - 10:08 AM ET | Unique
Wired has the scoop on a prototype fridge from a Swedish company that includes the ability for cell phone users to request an image of its contents via MMS. No matter how lazy you think we are, don't expect this...
Aug 01 2003 - 09:59 PM ET | Camera
According to CNN, an unidentified 15-year-old boy used his Sprint camera phone to take pictures of a man who allegedly tried to lure him into his car, leading to the man's arrest. Maybe this will take some of the heat...
The very spiffy looking Samsung SPH-A600 (pictured at right) is now shipping through Sprint PCS. It looks like a typical clamshell, but it sports a rotating color screen as well as a camera. It costs $349.99 and can be purchased...
