India wants Google and Skype servers too

Pandora doesn’t have anything on Research in Motion (RIM). Several middle eastern countries have been threatening BlackBerry data bans if RIM did not make accommodations that would allow the governments to monitor secure communications made via the devices. The bans would include e-mail, text messages, instant messages, and Web surfing, turning the powerful devices into plain old phones. Without mobile data services, there’s really no incentive to buy a BlackBerry, right? So these bans were going to do heavy damage ..read more

RIM averts India BlackBerry ban

And the middle east BlackBerry ban threat continues. Research In Motion (RIM), maker of the BlackBerry, has been responding to threats from several middle eastern countries to ban BlackBerry data services if they could not monitor communications performed via the devices. They’re not talking about monitoring cell phone calls—that’s easily done with the right equipment. Instead, the governments of India, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), just to name a few, were stymied by RIM’s security, which made ..read more

U.S. Government concerned about lack of wireless competition

Yet another arm of the government is turning its attention to the wireless industry. Obviously, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has a long history with wireless carriers. But lately things have been a little tense with the FCC investigating carriers for their billing practices and, after Google decided to levy their own Equipment Recovery Fee on the now-defunct Nexus One, for exorbitant Early Termination Fees (ETFs). A little over a year ago, the Justice Department began a review of whether ..read more

Broadcast industry wants mandatory FM tuners in all mobile phones

It seems when video killed the radio star, they didn’t do a very thorough job. Radio, and the music industry, are trying desperately to hold onto their existence and former glory. The thing is, rather than finding new ways to do this through innovation and ingenuity within their own industries, they continue to try to whittle away at, and worm their way into the wireless industry. First, they tried a couple of lawsuits. Now, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) ..read more

Bank of America testing smartphone payments

It seems the banking industry isn’t going to sit by quietly while the wireless carriers try to horn in on their action. Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile are in the process of building a system, along with Discover and Barclays, to allow shoppers to pay with smartphones rather than credit or debit cards. But that venture is a ways off yet, as the companies aren’t set to even start testing it until the middle of next year. Bank of America got ..read more

Nokia Launches the 5250 Mid-Range Phone

With the proliferation of highly advanced smartphones, it’s amazin how Nokia still continues to produce low-end phones yet possessing some nice, advanced features. One of these phones is the Nokia 5250, a touchscreen phone powered by Symbian and is being geared as a music-centric mobile phone.

The Nokia 5250 main feature has got to be its music player which has its own icon on the phone’s homescreen. The music player app supports Nokia’s Ovi Music Store, meaning you can purchase music ..read more

Verizon invests in CardStar

Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile recently announced a joint venture (along with Discover and Barclays) that will eventually allow consumers to get rid of traditional credit and debit cards and pay with a smartphone instead. It’s a smart project for a few reasons. Most people never go anywhere without their cell phones anymore, and more people than ever are buying smartphones. Being able to pay with their smartphones means people will be able to carry fewer cards in their wallets. In ..read more

Sign language phone being tested

Web cams and programs like Skype revolutionized communication. Now, not only can we hear someone during a phone call, we can see them. It’s done wonders for people separated by distance. Deployed military members can see and talk to their families back home. Divorced parents can still spend quality time with their kids if they don’t live in the same city. And the technology has even made business meetings easier. As great as this technology is, it’s still not quite ..read more

Android phones using more data than iPhones

Part of the reason AT&T went from unlimited data plans to data caps with tiered pricing was iPhone users. Or so they said. According to AT&T, iPhone users constitute roughly three percent of their customer base, yet were responsible for 40 percent of data usage on the carrier’s network. To hear AT&T tell it, all those dropped calls and other network issues that people love to complain about were because of their iPhone customers. We have yet to see whether ..read more

RIM to give India access to BlackBerry messenger metadata

While Research In Motion (RIM), maker of BlackBerry devices, has been very tight-lipped about the compromises it’s offering to prevent countries from instituting BlackBerry data bans, not everyone is so concerned about keeping those details quiet.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that an Indian source provided the media outlet with access to minutes taken during several meetings held between RIM representatives and Indian officials. The Journal says one summary of a discussion about e-mail indicated that “after some persuasion, the ..read more

Next Page »