cellphone

Qualcomm said Monday that its top lawyer is leaving the company.

Lou Lupin, who has served as Qualcomm's executive vice president and general counsel since 2000, is stepping down from his post, the company said. The company didn't provide any details about why Lupin is leaving. But his departure comes just a week after the company was dealt another legal blow in its ongoing battle with Broadcom.

Last week, the Bush administration declined to step in to veto a ban imposed by the Federal Trade Commission on importing cell phones using Qualcomm chips that have been found to … Read more

The Bush administration has dealt another blow to chipmaker Qualcomm in its battle to dodge an International Trade Commission's ban on the importation of its advanced cell phone chips into the U.S.

On Monday, the Bush administration ruled it would not intervene and veto the ITC's decision, which was handed down in June. The ITC banned the importation of all cell phones using 3G chipsets from Qualcomm, because Qualcomm was found to have infringed on patents held by rival Broadcom.

The ban still hasn't gone into effect, but it looks like Qualcomm is running out of … Read more

Hundreds of cell phone users in Minneapolis on Wednesday evening complained that they were unable to make or receive phone calls during the aftermath of the I-35 bridge collapse. But many people said they could still contact loved ones via text messaging.

This is not unusual, experts say. People in London and New York City after terrorist attacks in those cities reported similar issues. So did some students during the massacre at Virginia Tech earlier this year. While some of these issues can be blamed on damage to infrastructure, as was the case after the September 11 attacks and during … Read more

Nokia, the No. 1 cell phone maker in the world, reported another strong quarter of growth, as it capitalizes on poor sales from one of its main competitors, Motorola.

Nokia said Thursday that it shipped 100.8 million handsets during the quarter, an increase of 29 percent compared with the previous year. The company now boasts that it has roughly 38 percent of the worldwide handset market. Meanwhile, Motorola's market share has slipped in the second quarter, placing it in third place behind rival Samsung Electronics.

Nokia's success was driven mostly by sales in Europe, the Middle East … Read more

A heated battle is brewing between AT&T and Verizon Wireless, the No. 1 and No.2 cell phone operators in the U.S., as they duke it out for new cell phone subscribers. And things will likely only get more intense as AT&T ramps up iPhone sales.

On Monday, Verizon Wireless, which is jointly owned by Verizon Communications and European cell phone company Vodafone, announced it had added 1.3 million net customers to its roster for the second quarter of 2007. Meanwhile AT&T, which reported earnings last week, racked up 1.5 million … Read more

AT&T's Video Share service has gone nationwide.

The service, which the company launched last month, lets cell phone users send one-way video clips during a conversation. The service costs $4.99 a month for 25 minutes of video sharing usage or $9.99 for 60 minutes of sharing. The company also offers a pay as you go plan for 35 cents per minute.

Starting Monday the service is now available in 160 markets around the country. And eventually, AT&T says it will be integrated with AT&T's TV service called U-Verse.

Video Share … Read more

Motorola reported a second-quarter loss when it announced earnings Thursday, as sales of wireless handsets dropped by about 40 percent.

The company has some new products in the pipeline that should boost sales in the next two quarters, but executives still don't think the company's handset business will turn a profit in 2007.

Motorola reported it had lost $28 million, or 1 cent a share, compared with net income of $1.38 million, or 55 cents a share, in the same quarter a year earlier. Revenue was down 19 percent to $8.73 billion from $10.82 billion … Read more

Sprint Nextel said Tuesday it will use Loopt's "friend finding" technology to let subscribers track their friends.

Loopt, which also offers its location-based service on Boost Mobile, a subsidiary of Sprint, uses Global Positioning System chips in phones to allow subscribers to see where their friends are located.

To address privacy concerns, Loopt subscribers must give other Loopt users permission to track them. Subscribers also can hide from anyone in their "buddy" list at any time.

Loopt has been available on Boost Mobile since last year. And earlier this year the company said it had … Read more

A group of investors in Vodafone Group want the European cell phone operator to spin off its stake in U.S.-based Verizon Wireless.

Vodafone owns a 45 percent stake in Verizon Wireless, which has been adding subscribers rapidly and posting huge profits. Meanwhile, Vodafone's own global cell phone services have come under financial pressures.

A group of investors called ECS Assets, or Efficient Capital Structures, wants to see Vodafone's stake in Verizon Wireless spun off into a separate tracking stock. The group is getting help and support from the U.S. proxy firm Glass, Lewis & Co.… Read more