T-Mobile

Operators support AmberWatch Mobile

Mike Dolan — Fri, 30 May 2008 10:36:45 -0400

By Jason Ankeny

Proving the old adage that "There's safety in numbers," the five major U.S. mobile operators--AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile USA and Alltel Wireless--jointly committed to the AmberWatch Mobile Initiative, a charitable effort that generates funds for the national child welfare non-profit AmberWatch Foundation. Paul Jacobs, CEO of fellow AmberWatch partner Qualcomm, officially announced the operators' participation during his keynote appearance Thursday at BREW 2008.

Powered by location-based solutions provider WaveMarket, the AmberWatch Mobile Initiative will raise funding and awareness for the foundation, which is dedicated to keeping children safe from molestation and abduction by establishing partnerships with local law enforcement and other officials. AmberWatch's "Be Safe!" Education Program offers children and their parents tips on staying safe from predators, delivering presentations at no cost to the school, municipality or local community group that hosts the event.

Although the carrier members are scheduled to take part in a series of fundraising efforts to support the AmberWatch Mobile Initiative, details were scarce. "The wireless industry will roll out this program, which is great for kids," Jacobs said. "We'll give you updates as it progresses."

Presumably some funding will derive from WaveMarket's premium LBS services. The company will develop AmberWatch Mobile, a cross-carrier, GPS-based safety application enabling youngsters to reach out for assistance via mobile device. Alerts automatically include the child's location, viewable on a map from the web or a mobile phone. Family members can also track a child's whereabouts on-demand or using "scheduled checks.

QUICKLINKS: Microsoft settles up with Visto; Google again Opera's mobile search du jour;

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 06:59:55 -0500

> Microsoft settles up with Visto. FierceWireless

> Google again Opera's mobile search du jour. FierceMobileContent

> U.K. gives Nokia another win against Qualcomm. FierceWireless

> T-Mobile denies plot to dump Nokia Ovi devices. FierceMobileContent

> O2 Ireland confirms iPhone deal. FierceMobileContent

Where the Microsoft/Yahoo merger goes from here

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 06:59:59 -0500

The Microsoft/Yahoo drama transformed into a full-blown soap opera over the last week, complete with compelling new plot twists, cast changes and even a hint of stalker-like obsession. It all started when Yahoo formally rejected Microsoft's unsolicited $44.6 billion buyout bid, arguing the offer "substantially undervalues" its worth--Yahoo said it would still leave the door open for future negotiations, stating in a release its board of directors is "continually evaluating all of its strategic options in the context of the rapidly evolving industry environment and we remain committed to pursuing initiatives that maximize value for all stockholders." Microsoft responded with the kind of grim, "If I can't have you, no one will" determination typically reserved for spurned boyfriends in TV movies starring Tori Spelling--reiterating it "reserves the right to pursue all necessary steps to ensure that Yahoo's shareholders are provided with the opportunity to realize the value inherent in our proposal." Hours later, Yahoo made itself all the more desirable, significantly improving its position in the mobile web market by displacing rival Google as T-Mobile's exclusive mobile search services provider in the operator's northern and central European markets.

Things got all the more interesting mid-week, when Vodafone announced the hiring of Microsoft senior VP of mobile communications Pieter Knook, who will be charged with heading up a new Internet division guiding the telecom group's mobile web efforts. The 17-year Microsoft vet joins Vodafone March 10, opening the door for Microsoft to name Andrew Lees to head up its mobile division. The move was the most notable change in a series of dramatic executive comings and goings that seems to suggest Microsoft is fully convinced a Yahoo merger is on tap. Yahoo isn't going out without a fight, however--the web services giant is reportedly in negotiations with Rupert Murdoch-owned media goliath News Corp., secretly negotiating a deal to combine social networking site MySpace and related News Corp. digital properties in exchange for at least a 20 percent Yahoo stake.

But for all of the challenges still facing a Microsoft/Yahoo merger, The New York Times suggests the real headaches will follow if the deal is indeed consummated. Beyond the philosophical schism separating the two companies' cultures and visions, each firm also boasts its own complex and almost entirely incompatible software system: Microsoft's proprietary software is completely at odds with Yahoo's open-source programs and applications, generating speculation Microsoft may allow Yahoo to continue operating its own infrastructure. The mark of a great soap opera is keeping the drama alive even after the "Will they or won't they?" speculation ends--looks like Microsoft and Yahoo are just getting started. -Jason

P.S. Because of an ice storm and dense fog here in the Midwest--combined with the usual incompetence of the air travel industry--FierceDeveloper was forced to cancel its planned live coverage from this week's GDC Mobile conference in San Francisco. Apologies for any confusion or inconvenience.

How Centro reinvigorated (and maybe reinvented) Palm

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 06:59:59 -0500

Don't look now, but Palm is making a comeback. The device maker ended 2007 on the ropes: After announcing in April plans to introduce a Linux-based mobile OS prior to year's end, Palm admitted in September that its first Linux smartphone was still 12 to 18 months from retail release, forcing the company to continue leaning on its Windows Mobile license in the meantime. The news got worse in mid-December: Following fiscal second quarter revenues some $30 million lower than forecasted, Palm said it would lay off more than 100 employees, roughly 10 percent of its global workforce. The blame fell in large part on shipping delays plaguing an unspecified Palm product, reportedly its Treo 755p device, finally issued by Verizon Wireless just days prior to the staff cuts.

Almost lost in the shuffle was Sprint's October 2007 introduction of Palm's Centro smart device, the first new Treo design issued in the U.S. market in several years and the smallest Palm smartphone to date. But now the device--featuring voice, text, IM, email, web, contact and calendar capabilities as well as a full-color touch screen and full keyboard--has proven to be an unexpected hit with users, and with Sprint's three-month exclusivity period drawing to a close, Palm is now in talks to launch the Centro via rival operators. According to Seeking Alpha, Palm is close to a deal with AT&T, adding that Palm CFO Andy Brown "giggled a little" when asked if an agreement with T-Mobile is in the works as well. The assumption is that Verizon Wireless is steering clear of the Centro following the extended delays that hampered the launch of the Treo 755p…but no one's giggling about that.

If nothing else, the Centro's initial success proves the Palm brand still carries some weight among U.S. wireless subscribers. But Seeking Alpha suggests Palm is poised to make further inroads into the consumer market, citing Brown's excitement over a new user interface and new application suite currently in development. Word is the Centro also heralds Palm's increasing willingness to experiment with the look and feel of new devices in an effort to distinguish its product line from Apple's iPhone and RIM's BlackBerry. The endgame seems to hinge on devices that simplify the user experience, with an emphasis on multimedia and entertainment--in short, smartphones that are lighter, cheaper and easier to use than Windows and Symbian devices. Maybe Palm will have the last laugh after all. -Jason

AT&T, LG turn spotlight on Shine

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 06:59:57 -0500

AT&T and LG Electronics announced the release of the handset maker's new Shine, a multimedia, sliding form-factor device boasting a sleek silver exterior. The LG Shine also features a 2 megapixel camera, a 2.2-inch LCD display, microSD storage for up to 4 GB of music, images and video, and 70 MB of integrated user memory--the device arrives pre-loaded with features including AT&T Video Share, Mobile Banking and AT&T Mobile Music (with support for MP3, WMA, AAC, AAC+ and eACC formats). Price tag: $149.99.

For more on the LG Shine:
-read this release

Related articles:
Sprint, LG duet on MUZIQ
LG's answer to the iPhone
Verizon to offer LG Prada

QUICKLINKS: Apple VP says third-party apps will employ digital signature authorization; AT&T's Ralph de la Vega on Android, dev

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 06:59:55 -0500

> Apple VP says third-party apps will employ digital signature authorization. Article

> AT&T's Ralph de la Vega on Android, devices and software development. Article

> China Mobile testing 3G Windows Mobile device. Article

> Zoho Creator Mobile debuts. Release

> T-Mobile Germany to sell unlocked iPhone--for €999. FierceMobileContent

QUICKLINKS: KDDI and Qualcomm complete KCP+ platform development; T-Mobile pulls Slide;

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 06:59:55 -0500

KDDI and Qualcomm complete KCP+ platform development. Article

T-Mobile pulls Slide. FierceWireless

Navteq launches development partner program. Release

Icahn increases stake in Motorola. FierceWireless

Hackers claim Apple spies on iPhone users. Article

Google launches Android. Now what?

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 06:59:59 -0500

Monday was G-Day as Google finally made public the worst-kept secret in wireless, announcing the development of Android, a Linux-based open software platform for mobile devices. Google also will lead a broad industry group, dubbed the Open Handset Alliance, formed with the stated goal of "fostering innovation on mobile devices and giving consumers a far better user experience than much of what is available on today's mobile platforms." The 34 members of the Open Handset Alliance include HTC, LG, Motorola and Samsung, which will reportedly manufacture Google OS-based handsets for commercial release sometime next year; operators Sprint, T-Mobile USA, NTT DoCoMo, KDDI and China Telecom; chipmakers Broadcom, Intel, Qualcomm and Texas Instruments; and related firms including SiRF Technology Holdings, Marvell Technology Group, Nvidia, Synaptics, Skype-owner eBay and Nuance Communications. (Somewhat conspicuous by its absence is Verizon Wireless, which was rumored to be in discussions with Google last week--but as I suggested a few days back in our sister publication FierceMobileContent, a VZW/Google deal always seemed remote at best, anyway.)

The Open Handset Alliance turns upside-down the conventional mobile revenue model--Google will virtually give away software and services in exchange for income derived from targeted mobile advertising efforts. In its official press statement, Google promises the Android platform "will be made available under one of the most progressive, developer-friendly open-source licenses, which gives mobile operators and device manufacturers significant freedom and flexibility to design products." As early as next week, the Open Handset Alliance will issue its first SDK.

The gauntlet has officially been thrown. Google is in effect challenging developers to create their most cutting-edge, consumer-friendly mobile applications, promising total access to handset capabilities and tools. After all the complaining over the iPhone and Apple's Draconian approach to independent development, Google is unleashing a platform created specifically to support and reward innovation from any and all directions. What more could a developer realistically ask for? To paraphrase the familiar adage, G-Day is the first day of the rest of your life. -Jason

Google launches Android. Now what?

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 06:59:59 -0500

Facebook sells stake to Microsoft, partners with RIM

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 07:59:58 -0400

Microsoft acquired a 1.6 percent stake in social networking service Facebook for $240 million, a deal that values the website at $15 billion. Microsoft will now sell Internet ads across the Facebook platform both inside and outside the U.S., expanding a marketing alliance first launched last year.

The news followed hours after Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz's keynote appearance at the CTIA Wireless I.T. and Entertainment event in San Francisco, where he announced the debut of Facebook for BlackBerry Smartphones, a mobile social networking software application developed in collaboration with device maker Research In Motion. According to RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridus, who joined Moskovitz onstage at CTIA, Facebook for BlackBerry Smartphones leverages the push-based BlackBerry system architecture with the open Facebook Platform--the app will make its carrier debut via an exclusive deal with T-Mobile.

"Mobile is the next frontier in social networking," Moskovitz said.

Facebook for BlackBerry Smartphones enables Facebook users to send and view messages, photos and related content via mobile--it automatically pushes notifications to the BlackBerry device, allowing users to upload photos complete with captions and tags. The app also enables users to send event invites, manage photo albums and manage their Facebook status away from the PC.

Facebook and Research In Motion inaugurated their collaboration about six months earlier. "Within two days, we had our first working prototype, and we realized we were really on to something," Lazaridus said Thursday. "We realized that with two open platforms, we could start intimately linking them together."

According to Moskovitz, Facebook now boasts an active membership close to 50 million--after crunching numbers in the Microsoft deal, each of those members is worth roughly $300. It is also the most trafficked photo site on the web, housing close to four billion images.

Related articles:
Will mobility revolutionize social networking?
Getting to know user-generated content