Like a hard-luck gambler who can’t walk away from the table, Sony Ericsson is once again raising the stakes despite holding an ugly hand. The joint venture said it has secured $676 million in new funding — primarily from parent companies Sony and Ericsson — even […] Read more »
Sony Ericsson is hoping that a brand makeover can somehow heal its critically wounded handset business. The joint venture between Ericsson and Sony said today that it will adopt Sony’s “make.believe” tagline in its marketing campaigns to “reinforce its entertainment credentials” with consumers. The company promises […] Read more »
[qi:gigaom_icon_mobile] The Linley Group released a report last night in which it claims that about 150 million handsets are missing from the official calculations of phones sold in 2008. The research firm notes that while some 1.2 billion cell phones shipped last year, 1.43 billion cellular […] Read more »
The mobile content distribution industry began to undergo a seismic shift last year with the launch of Apple’s App Store, and a host of competitors from across the mobile spectrum are in various stages of following Apple’s lead. Google was first with Android Market, which is built on an open-source platform backed by a consortium of dozens of key players in wireless. Research In Motion jumped on the bandwagon in recent weeks with its BlackBerry App World, and Microsoft, Nokia and Palm – among others — are set to launch offerings this year.The motivation to build an application-distribution channel varies from segment to segment, of course. This report identifies the major players in the application-distribution model and looks at how the trend will affect carriers, handset manufacturers, developers, content owners and end users. It also examines key factors that will contribute to the success or failure of specific app stores, general shortcomings in the new app-store model, what solutions are already needed and how the space will evolve over the next several years.
UPDATED Aug. 31, 2009 (9:31a.m.): Report re-posted with summary table included Read more »
Nokia, Motorola, Research in Motion, Apple (yes, even Apple) and six other cell phone makers have agreed to a European Commission request to develop a universal charger. The agreement was announced today by the the EC. The new handsets will use Micro-USB connectors, and will be […] Read more »
The U.S. wireless data market grew 5 percent quarter over quarter and 32 percent from first quarter 2008 to reach $10 billion in mobile data service revenues. It marked the first time the U.S .market has achieved the $10 billion milestone. Given the strong growth in data revenues shown by the top carriers and the increase in service revenues overall, it appears that (at least for the time being) the worst is over for the mobile industry. In summary, the recession has been all but a tiny blip (from the service revenue perspective) in its growth trend, and the U.S. mobile market has weathered the downward spiral in the economy better than its counterparts in other developing nations. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Research firm ABI has said that most cell phone makers’ green phone intentions often fade “like a wireless signal in an underground parking lot,” but some phone makers are still launching green-branded product lines. This morning Sony Ericsson is announcing its “GreenHeart” phones and phone gear, […] Read more »
