handset

The Open Handset Alliance, which promotes the use of Google's Android mobile operating system, added 14 new members this week, including Vodafone, the world's largest mobile operator.

In addition to Vodafone, new members of the alliance are AKM Semiconductor, ARM, ASUSTek Computer, Atheros Communications, Borqs, Ericsson, Garmin International, Huawei Technologies, Omron Software, Softbank Mobile, Sony Ericsson, Teleca, and Toshiba.

Members in the alliance are expected to either "deploy compatible Android devices, contribute significant code to the Android Open Source Project, or support the ecosystem through products and services that will accelerate the availability of Android-based devices," … Read more

Iridium has begun delivering its latest generation handset, which signals a new era for the global satellite carrier. It has been several years since any significant changes have been made in its handheld equipment, so for current users, this should be welcome news. I received one of the first 9555's that was delivered to World Communications in Chandler, Ariz., by Iridium. It has been a primary vendor for Iridium from the first implementation of the network. The new handsets, with accessories, sell for about $1,700, and according to Iridium, are available now.

The Iridium network, conceived, engineered, and … Read more

China Mobile, China's largest cell phone operator, plans to establish a research and development facility in Silicon Valley in 2009, according to a report from ChinaTechNews.com.

This is the first overseas research and development facility that China Mobile has set up, the news site reported.

Like mobile operators throughout the world, China Mobile is looking to add new data services to its offerings. The president of China Mobile's Institute of Research, Huang Xiaoqing, told the news site that it sees most of its revenue today coming from voice services, but the company recognizes that data services are … Read more

The talk of the tech town lately has been Android, Google's cell phone operating system. Last week, Google and T-Mobile showed off the forthcoming G1--the first phone that will be powered by the open platform.

But the plan was never about just one Google phone, as Google CEO Eric Schmidt said in a statement last fall: "Our vision is that the powerful platform we're unveiling will power thousands of different phone models." Thus, Google formed the Open Handset Alliance--big players in the wireless industry charged with helping form the development community for Android devices.

So it'… Read more

In spite of the economic slowdown, worldwide mobile-phone sales rose nearly 12 percent in the second quarter of 2008 from the same period in 2007, market research firm Gartner said Thursday.

Growth was driven largely by the Asia-Pacific region, in which sales grew 20.5 percent from the second quarter of 2007, and the Middle East and Africa, where handset sales increased 18 percent.

In the United States and Canada, 6.5 percent year-over-year growth was driven largely by sales of replacement handsets, as new subscribers only trickled in, Gartner said. (Fellow research firm NPD Group, by contrast, reported earlier this month … Read more

Mobile-phone makers are already feeling the pinch in the U.S. market of an economic slowdown amid tough competition.

U.S. mobile-handset sales were down 13 percent in the second quarter compared to the same quarter in 2007, NPD Group said in a study released Tuesday.

In total, mobile manufacturers sold 28 million units in the U.S. in the second quarter of 2008, with sales of roughly $2.4 billion, marking a decline of about 2 percent compared to last year's second quarter, NPD said.

Samsung warned investors this summer, following the close of the second quarter, that … Read more

Motorola has picked an industry veteran to take the helm of its troubled cell phone divison.

On Monday, the company announced that Sanjay Jha will be co-chief executive and head of the mobile-device business. Motorola said earlier this year that it will separate the mobile-device business from the rest of the company. And since the split was announced, it had been searching for someone to head up the division.

Greg Brown, who only came on board as Motorola's chief executive late last year, will act as co-CEO. Brown will head up the company's broadband network division.

Jha, 45, … Read more

Correction, 10:20 a.m. PDT: An earlier version of this story gave the incorrect quarter for the iPhone 3G's release. It was released in the third quarter of the calendar year.

Motorola surprised Wall Street Thursday by reporting a small profit and steady market share in its beleaguered handset business for the second quarter of 2008.

The key to Motorola's success for the quarter was cost-cutting and strong performance from businesses other than its handset division. As a result, the company was able to squeak out a $4 million profit, or less than 1 cent a share, … Read more

In the best circumstances, there are some social benefits from the technology industry's hypercompetitive nature. When companies try to find new markets, for example, they sometimes create products aimed specifically at consumers with physical disabilities-- occasionally with some bold innovation as well.

Nowhere is that truer than in the overcrowded mobile phone business, as we saw last week with a Nokia device that can turn a hearing aid into a Bluetooth headset. And now a London-based designer has developed a new concept phone for the visually impaired: Takumi Yoshida's SENS handset would "talk" when buttons are … Read more