Mobile

Google's mobile services in China are hit-or-miss Monday, the first change in the availability of the company's various services since the announcement last week of its decision to move Chinese search to Hong Kong.

As part of that announcement, Google also created a status page where it pledged to update Internet users on the availability of its services in China. Some services, such as YouTube and Blogger, have been completely blocked since last year, but now mobile services have joined the list of services that are partially blocked.

That includes mobile search, maps, and other services designed for … Read more

Sprint Nextel is using Wi-Fi to sell its 4G WiMax wireless broadband service.

The nation's third largest wireless carrier has at least a year-and-a-half head start over its closest competitor, Verizon Wireless, when it comes to 4G. But to capitalize on that lead, the company has to win as many subscribers for its service as quickly as it can. Verizon plans to launch its 4G network later this year.

In its race against the clock, Sprint is leveraging a tried-and-true technology, Wi-Fi, to help entice consumers to sign up for its service. The reason is simple. There are millions … Read more

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--Of all the reasons put forth asserting why Google's Nexus One is not selling, I subscribe to the most simple one: no brick-and-mortar stores.

When the estimates came out showing the initial 74-day sales tallies of the Google Nexus One were a fraction of the iPhone and Droid, it was fodder for a lot of opinion about why Google's phone had already failed--or not. (The Apple iPhone hit 1 million on day 74, according to Flurry).

Allow me to ignore a lot of well-reasoned arguments about how Google is trying to break the typical … Read more

An update was made to this story at 10:02 a.m. PDT: Google denied that it is sharing revenue with partners based on their usage of Google applications. See explanation in update at bottom of article.

Google's Android handset and carriers partners might have more than one reason to work with the company.

In its deals with wireless carriers and device makers, Google has agreed to share a cut of its mobile advertising revenue with those companies, according to a report from MocoNews. That's a potentially powerful incentive for those companies to adopt Android, which has grown quite strongly … Read more

In a bid to up its smartphone game, Nokia has acquired Chicago-based mobile Web browser firm Novarra.

Eleven-year-old Novarra is known for developing the Vision browser, as well as platforms to serve content, advertisements, and analytics. It previously supplied its technology to Palm and U.S. Cellular. [Official Nokia statement]

The acquisition makes sense for the world's largest phone maker, which has come under fire recently for not being aggressive enough in the emerging smartphone market.

Read more of "Nokia buys mobile web browser firm Novarra" at ZDNet's Between the Lines.

Patent No. 7,679,604--"Method and apparatus for controlling a computer system"--the broad motion-control patent I've been writing about this week, has passed through a number of hands over the years.

First assigned to ArrayComm in 2006, it was subsequently handed over to Durham Logistics, a limited liability company which is itself managed by another obscure Las Vegas LLC called Memscom. But there's one more company at the end of that oblique line of ownership: Intellectual Ventures, an "invention capital firm" or patent troll, depending on your views on innovation and intellectual … Read more

In the heyday of PDAs such as the Dell Axim and the Hewlett-Packard Jornada, companies such as TomTom and Navigon offered software that ran on other companies' hardware. The low installed base of PDAs prevented that solution from becoming a runaway success and gave way to integrated portable navigation devices, or PNDs, such as those from Garmin. PNDs sold in the millions, becoming hot gift items.

Now, though, the growing screen size and touch capabilities of smartphones are making them formidable rivals to standalone navigation devices. According to NPD Group's Mobile Phone Track, four out of five cell phones … Read more

Time Warner Cable has launched free Wi-Fi for all 1 million of its New York City customers.

According to Time Warner, customers can connect to "thousands" of high-speed Wi-Fi hot spots around the city starting Thursday. Time Warner Cable subscribers will have unlimited access to the Wi-Fi services, which run on Cablevision's Optimum Wi-Fi network that launched in 2008.

It should be noted that only New York City-based subscribers will be able to access the hot spots. In order to access a hot spot, customers will need to log in using their Road Runner username and password.… Read more

The mobile apps market has become a cash cow for carriers such as Apple but is turning increasingly competitive for developers trying to make a profit, according to a new In-Stat report.

Mobile subscribers are downloading apps in ever increasing numbers as they learn more about the capabilities of their smartphones, said the report, released Wednesday. As the company that set the standard for mobile apps, Apple and its App Store are seeing the most action, with iPhone and iPod Touch users downloading 2.4 times more apps than the other smartphone owners.

But although the news may be bright … Read more