Wireless

Verizon suffers $2B loss on pensions, iPhone costs

Despite strong sales in wireless and its Fios broadband products, Verizon Communications posted a quarterly loss, which it attributed to noncash pension charges and high costs associated with selling the Apple iPhone.

The company today reported a fourth-quarter loss of $2.02 billion, or 71 cents per share, compared with a profit of $2.64 billion, or 93 cents a share, during the same quarter last year. Excluding a noncash pension-related charge, it earned 52 cents per share. Analysts had expected the company to earn 53 cents per share.

Still, revenue was strong: Verizon brought in $28.4 billion in … Read more

Ten things RIM's new CEO must do right away

Research In Motion's new CEO, Thorsten Heins, has his work cut out for him, and time is of the essence in this fast-paced market.

The company's stock price has plunged more than 75 percent in the past year as investors have lost confidence in the company. And competitors Apple and Google are dominating a market that RIM once owned.

RIM hasn't had a hit product in years. Its Playbook tablet, introduced in 2011, was a failure. Its more recent BlackBerry handsets were late to market. And now it says it won't have next-generation devices, sporting the … Read more

Is AT&T's data plan price hike justified?

AT&T has jacked up the prices of its data service, but it's giving customers more bandwidth each month. Is the carrier offering its subscribers more bang for their buck or simply trying to squeeze more cash from its customers?

In this edition of Ask Maggie, I offer my opinion and offer some advice to AT&T customers troubled by the new price increase.

AT&T's new data plan pricing

Dear Maggie, When AT&T first switched to the tiered pricing plans, they claimed only a fraction of their users ever use more than … Read more

EU sets February deadline to decide Google's bid for Motorola

European regulators said Thursday that they have set a new deadline of February 13 to decide the fate of Google's acquisition of Motorola Mobility, Reuters reported.

Regulators for the European Union originally said they'd make a decision on the merger by January 10. But in December, the EU Commission delayed the deadline stating that it wanted to review additional documents that Google had submitted to support its case.

Google announced its plans to buy Motorola in August for $12.5 billion. Google, which makes the mobile operating system, Android, said it plans to run Motorola as a separate … Read more

Will Verizon unlock my iPhone 4S?

Swapping out your SIM card on your iPhone 4S when you travel abroad is a good way to avoid expensive roaming charges. But whether you can do it, and on which carrier it's allowed, can be confusing.

In this edition of Ask Maggie I answer what should be a simple and straight-forward question about whether a Verizon Wireless iPhone 4S can be used overseas on a foreign carrier's network. I also offer some advice to another reader looking for voice-only service with a smartphone on T-Mobile's prepaid plans.

Confusion around unlocked iPhones

Hi Maggie, I love your … Read more

LightSquared says GPS interference testing was rigged

LightSquared, the company seeking final FCC approval to build a nationwide 4G wireless wholesale network, said that a test showing interference between its service and GPS systems was rigged by manufacturers of GPS receivers and government workers to produce bogus results.

On a conference call Wednesday with reporters, LightSquared executives Jeffrey Carlisle and Geoff Stearn, along with paid consultant Ed Thomas, a former chief engineer at the Federal Communications Commission, said that recent tests conducted by the Air Force Space Command on behalf of the Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Executive Committee (PNT EXCOM) were set up to produce negative … Read more

Sprint updates phones to eliminate Carrier IQ

Sprint is making good on its promise to eliminate the controversial Carrier IQ software from devices on its network.

On Monday Android Central reported that the HTC EVO 3D, which runs on Sprint's network, will get a new firmware update that will wipe the Carrier IQ software from the device. HTC confirmed on Tuesday its move in a statement to The Verge. The company said that the maintenance software update would "remove Carrier IQ and provide security enhancements and bug fixes beginning in January."

CNET and others reported in December that Sprint said it would disable the software in devices running on its network. … Read more

2012 an in-between year for digital health at CES

LAS VEGAS--Those who scoured the health and wellness zones at CES both this year and last may be wondering why they came at all in 2012. Many of the gadgets and services were either already in the works last year or being held behind the curtain for future reveals.

Within the designated Fitness TechZone in the North Hall, a few sub- or satellite genres were nearly empty or devoid of cutting-edge tech. Being six months pregnant, I had a personal interest in Mommy Tech this year. Yet when I approached BabyPlus(one of the only booths in the tiny Mommy … Read more

What's the best Windows Phone from CES 2012?

LAS VEGAS--Microsoft's handset partners are finally coming out with some interesting hardware for the Windows Phone operating system.

Nokia and HTC each announced new high-end smartphones using the OS. So which one is best? Ask Maggie shares some advice. Also in this edition of Ask Maggie, I offer some advice to a reader interested in the jumbo-sized Samsung Galaxy Note.

Finally, the U.S. gets decent Windows Phone hardware

Dear Maggie, I have an HTC Droid Incredible from Verizon Wireless. And to be honest I never really loved it. I've had all kinds of problems with it since … Read more