Mobile

Net neutrality is dwarfing all other policy debates in the communications sector these days.

The issue has stirred the passions of liberal groups that see the fight for specific Net neutrality rules as one that pits big corporate interests against the average consumer. These groups have been lobbying Washington policymakers hard ever since President Obama took office.

These groups claim that without new rules to preserve the Internet's openness, the Net as we know it will soon no longer exist. They say big service providers, such as AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon Communications are looking to turn the … Read more

After three years of watching competitors such as Apple eat its lunch in the smartphone market, Nokia finally has its "aha" moment. But is it too late for the cell phone behemoth to regain its footing?

On Friday the Finnish cell phone maker ousted its CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, replacing him with Microsoft exec Stephen Elop. Elop, who is a Canadian citizen, will be the first non-Finnish CEO to head Nokia, the world's No. 1 mobile handset maker. He will start his new job as CEO on September 21.

The change in the executive ranks should come as … Read more

Mobile phone customers thinking of switching to a different carrier are pinning the blame on dropped calls, which have grown over the past six months, according to a new survey from J.D. Power and Associates.

For its survey, the market researcher questioned wireless customers across the U.S. to gauge the quality of cell phone calls. The study focused on different types of call problems, including dropped calls, static or interference, failed calls on the first attempt, voice distortion, no immediate voicemail notification, and no immediate text message notification.

Among those surveyed, 14 percent said they definitely or probably … Read more

Symbian and Android will dominate the mobile operating system market by 2014, research firm Gartner said Friday.

Gartner expects that Symbian and Android together will account for 59.8 percent of the total worldwide mobile OS market by 2014, split almost equally--Symbian with 30.2 percent, and Android with 29.6 percent.

Android is already closing the gap with the market leader. By the end of 2010, Gartner says, Google's Android will sneak into second place behind Nokia-backed Symbian with 17.7 percent market share, compared to Symbian's 40.1 percent. At the end of 2009, Android OS … Read more

Smartphones are supposed to liberate mobile phone users, but often they just give wireless subscribers big fat headaches.

A cool new phone comes out and you're dying to get it. But wait. You don't have the right carrier and therefore your dreams of a fancy upgrade are dashed unless you switch wireless service providers. This is an all too familiar scenario for almost every wireless customer.

In this week's Ask Maggie column, I answer one reader's question about when I think the new BlackBerry Torch might come to Sprint Nextel. Currently, the latest BlackBerry from Research … Read more

Apple's battle with developers might be heading toward a truce.

The company plans to allow developers to create applications with just about any tool they want. It will also publish its App Store Review Guidelines.

The changes could also mark a shift in Apple's contentious relationships with both Google and Adobe Systems.

Saying that it has "taken [developer] feedback to heart," Apple has decided to relax "restrictions we put in place earlier this year" on the company's iOS Developer Program license. Going forward, developers can use any development tool they want to build … Read more

The global smartphone market of 2014 could see Android in second place with a 25 percent share, followed by BlackBerry, Apple, and Windows Mobile, according to IDC's new "Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker."

Though annual growth in the hot smartphone market may slow in another four years, certain key players will continue to drive sales and grab more market share. No one vendor will dominate the landscape, but Android will enjoy the fastest growth, IDC forecasts.

Nokia's Symbian will hang on to its No. 1 spot with 32.9 percent of the market in 2014. But … Read more

Some customers of U.K. carrier O2 who upgraded their Dell Streak from Android OS 1.6 to 2.1 are encountering problems.

The Register reported that some Streak users have lost features such as Windows Media video playback, PC syncing, and the Facebook widget.

Other issues, noted in Dell and O2 forums, include problems with the touch screen, Web browsing and voice commands, the appearance of back-to-front volume keys, and erased contacts. For some people, the update didn't work and caused problems with the existing Android 1.6 OS.

The issues with the Streak update come only days … Read more

Verizon Wireless started selling the Samsung Fascinate smartphone online on Wednesday. To sweeten the deal for would-be buyers, the company is offering a buy-one, get-one-free deal.

Consumers looking to get their hands on two Fascinate devices will first need to buy one of them for $300 with a two-year contract. Upon doing so, they will receive a $100 mail-in rebate, dropping the price of that device to $200. Next, they will need to buy the second Fascinate for $100. That, too, will include a $100 mail-in rebate, effectively dropping the price of the second device to zero.

As with anything, … Read more