Nortel exits mobile WiMAX business.

"Bankrupt Nortel announced its intention to end its mobile WiMAX strategic agreement with Alvarion and exit the mobile WiMAX business altogether... Now most of the major operators have chosen LTE as their 4G path."

1981 TV Report On Birth Of Internet News.

Zumba phone: best voice recognition ever?

"According to TechRadar, IA Technologies has developed the Zumba phone, which it claims is the world's first fully accurate voice recognition handset."

...watch the video here. Read Wired's take on it here.

RIM CEO: Buggy smartphone software here to stay.

"Software glitches that require fixing are part of the 'new reality' of making smartphones in large volumes, according to RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie. "

Mountain View-Based Carrier IQ Raises $20M in Third Round.

"Carrier IQ's software, which consists of embedded software on mobile devices and server-side analytics applications, is designed to help users understand in detail a wide range of performance and usage characteristics of mobile services and devices. The software currently is embedded in 35 million mobile handsets worldwide."

Apple’s Tim Cook Warns Competitors: If You Rip Off The iPhone, We’ll Go After You.

"This threat seems directed squarely at Palm, which recently launched it’s own answer to the iPhone: the Palm Pre. The Pre has a multi-touch interface, something which Apple holds patents on, and from which other competitors have steered clear."

Haier Telecom Selects Red Bend's Mobile Software Management Solution.

"Haier (Qing Dao) Telecom Co., Ltd. has licensed Red Bend's vCurrent(R) Mobile firmware over-the-air (FOTA) client software and vDirect Mobile(TM) device management software for its HG-V70 GSM mobile phone available for China Mobile Communications Corp. (CMCC) subscribers... Haier is one of three recent Red Bend customers in China, along with Lenovo Mobile and Nollec, that has selected Red Bend."

New phone features 'baffle users'.

"Some 61% of those interviewed in the UK and US said setting up a new handset is as challenging as moving bank accounts.

Compiled by mobile firm Mformation, the survey found 85% of users reporting they were frustrated by the difficulty of getting a new phone up and working.

Of the 4,000 people questioned, 95% said they would try more new services if phones were easier to set up. "

Piracy prompts iPhone developer to put ads in game.

"These pirated apps run only on iPhones that have been jailbroken, or opened up to third-party applications without Apple's authorization. "

Tangoe, Inc. Acquires InterNoded, Inc.

"The addition of MDM capabilities now enables an organization to manage, through a single solution provider, all aspects of its mobile communication environment including: procurement, invoice processing, rate optimization, end user help desk support, device activation and deactivation, device network and application management, and device and data security.

Using Tangoe’s MDM solution, employees can provision and support their own devices and applications without help desk intervention. Similarly, IT departments and mobile communications administrators can now effectively manage their entire mobile network from one centralized interface... Tangoe’s MDM solutions enable a comprehensive range of solutions from self-service activations, application loading and control, device inventory, and data and device security. In addition, over-the-air management provides clients with unparalleled access and control of their enterprise smart devices without the need to physically handle or configure each unit.

With the capability to support multiple wireless platforms (including Blackberry Enterprise Server, Windows Mobile, Good Mobile Messaging, iPhone, and others), Tangoe’s MDM solutions offer capabilities for any enterprise smartphone, are enabled for any carrier, and support leading messaging platforms. MDM is delivered via a single server that integrates with the customers’ device servers and corporate directory. Accessed via an easy-to-use portal environment, over-the-air management functionality is made available to both end users and to system administrators through a web interface."

Apple App Store hits 500 million downloads.

"After launching in July of '08 and hitting 100 million downloads in September, the App Store has just crossed the 500 million download mark -- a mere six months after opening."

Nuance Takes On Microsoft and Google With IBM Deal.

"Nuance Communications said today it’s bought several patents related to IBM’s speech recognition technology, joining Microsoft as one of the two the largest licensors of such technology. IBM, Nuance and Microsoft all provide speech-to-text and voice recognition products, an industry that’s growing in importance as devices makers seek more intuitive user interfaces."

InnoPath Receives Product of the Year Award Presented by Customer Interaction Solutions Magazine.

"With the growth of over-the-air manageable phones, MDM is increasingly critical to mobile network operator frontline support organizations because of the ability of the technology to reduce costs while increasing customer satisfaction. The award acknowledges the crucial role MDM now plays as part of the operator’s overall customer support strategy. "

How Would You Like Your Own, Personal iPhone App?

"CEO of InfoMedia Joel Comm claims that the iPhone applications platform is ripe for personal, branded applications which will help users stay in touch with your persona or company. As an example, Joel has created his own, personal application which can be found in the App Store.

They’ve taken the concept a step further, however, allowing everyone to create their own personal app without any effort or programming knowledge. "

Motorola Cuts Could Be Bad News for Windows Mobile.

"Motorola will soon lay off as much as 50 percent of its handset division, according to mobile industry blog, PhoneScoop, citing an unnamed source said to be familiar with Motorola’s plans. The post also claims that Motorola will skip the CTIA Wireless trade show in April, and will slash the number of new phones it releases this year down to a dozen. And going forward, at least according to PhoneScoop, the company will only make Google Android-based smartphones. (Microsoft has already removed Motorola from the list of Windows Mobile smart phones on its website.)"

Nokia ends production of its only WiMax device.

"Nokia Siemens wouldn't be alone, if it is indeed shifting away from WiMax. Altcatel-Lucent, which Manjaro considered a leader in the market, recently said it planned to reduce spending on WiMax. Both companies may be deciding that they need to focus their efforts under stress from the faltering economic conditions, she said. "

Clearwire launches WiMAX service in Portland.

"Clearwire has indicated it will launch mobile WiMAX in more markets in 2009, including Atlanta, Chicago and Boston, but has yet to give firm dates for more launches. Some analysts have cautioned that Clearwire, despite receiving $3.2 billion in capital investments from Intel, Google, Comcast and others, may not have enough capital to proceed with an overly ambitious rollout plan and may have to scale back its plans. "

Nokia responds to SMS "Curse of Silence" glitch.

"Nokia is asking operators to filter or block certain malicious SMS messages that can be sent to Symbian-based phones and used to block the phone from receiving further SMS or MMS messages, according to reports... The company may also try to solve the problem via firmware update."

Reflections on 2008; Anticipation of 'the Day After'.

Yoram Salinger, CEO of Red Bend Software, writes: "According to ARCchart, by 2013 non-handset devices—everything from data cards to game consoles to ebooks and M2M applications—will account for $93 billion in service revenue generated by operators. This is an exciting area of growth for our industry."

Verizon Wireless: M2M push.

"Tony Lewis, Verizon’s VP of open development, tells Unstrung that the first two devices that have been certified for open use over Verizon’s CDMA wireless network are a storage tank-monitoring device from SupplyNet Communications and a prisoner-tracking electronic ankle bracelet.

This will be followed by a wireless router for the insurance industry and a $69 speech and texting device. Lewis, speaking at the CTIA show last week, noted that this neatly reflected the early devices that are coming up for certification under the open access plans."

Verizon, Why You Gotta Mess With My Settings?

Stacey Higginbotham writes: "A quick call to Verizon’s customer service elicited no information, other than a guess that the phone had been updated and it erased the settings. Beyond the irritation, the unexpected and unauthorized change to my settings was a reminder that the phone still exists in a completely different world from that of the desktop or the notebook."

VixML: A Revolutionary New iPhone Development Platform For The Masses.

"Viximo has released a landmark new development platform called VixML that allows talented designers to create basic applications with a minimal amount of programming knowledge. The new development platform could easily turn into one of the most important tools for novice iPhone developers."

Google asking users for mobile device ideas.

"Google launched a new website last week called Product Ideas, which will allow consumers to provide ideas for improving Google's mobile presence. Users then vote on the idea and those that receive the strongest support may eventually be considered by Google for development. "