The Virgin IPO

Wireless communications company Virgin Mobile USA Inc., a joint venture of Sprint Nextel Corp. and the Virgin Group, expects to raise about $375.6 million after expenses from its planned initial public offering, according to a regulatory filing Tuesday.

In the Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Virgin Mobile said it expects the IPO, which totals 27.5 million shares, to price between $15 and $17 per share. The expected net proceeds assume a price of $16 per share.

The company is offering 25.6 million shares of Class A common stock. A group of shareholders, including Best Buy Inc. and Sprint Ventures, are selling an additional 1.9 million shares.

source: Forbes.com

Cy-Fi, the new wireless bicycle speaker (for the iPod)

PC World reports on a new wireless bicycle speaker .. for the iPod:

The Cy-Fi is a new wireless bicycle speaker for the iPod. It's being introduced at this week's Interbike 2007 Expo in Las Vegas and is expected to go on sale early in 2008 for US$149.95.

The Cy-fi includes a wireless speaker that connects to the bicycle's frame. It's slightly larger than a deck of cards, according to the manufacturer, and weighs less than five ounces. A transmitter connects to the 30-pin dock connector on the bottom of the iPod.

Job Search Frustrations

An article in the latest issue of RecruitingTrends.com references the contant challenges and frustrations of jobseekers.

The articles references a recent study jointly published by Kennedy Information, the Bureau of National Affairs, and Monster Intelligence. The resulting data suggest that...

"...job descriptions themselves may be single-handedly fueling the lion's share
of top talent's frustration."

Having seen my share of poorly written job descriptions, I can understand the frustration jobseekers might feel with regard to job-fit related challenges.

Check out the full Data Watch article to get a clear picture of the takeaway this info provides for recruiters and hiring organizations alike (click HERE).

Sr. MMS Engineer (Snoqualmie,WA) T-Mobile

Not only is Jodi Lovegrove the T-Mobile Recruiter with the coolest last name, she's also the one responsible for the nationwide recruiting activity that supports our National Engineering Operations team.

Wow, it's hard to say all that in one small breath.

Anyway, Jodi just opened an H3 campaign for one of her positions:

Sr. MMS Engineer, Snoqualmie, WA

If you are interested in this position, or, know somebody who is, please access Jodi's campaign by following the link HERE.

Please note: all T-Mobile Employees will follow the standard process (Employee Referral Program) for referring candidates. And, yes, they'll still get their big chunk of change if we make the hire.

However, everybody else can use Jodi's H3 campaign to refer someone for the job.

Did I just hear somebody say,

"Hey, what's in it for me?"

Well, if you refer the candidate that gets the job, Jodi's got a $1,000 dollar bill with your picture on it. And Jodi loves to give away money

So, c'mon, let's make Lovegrove happy,

Click on the campaign and let's get crankin'!

The Scoop On Cellphones

The Atlanta Journal Constitution's Soyia Ellison says there's so many flavors of cellphones available for the mobile connoisseur, that Baskin Robbin's should be ashamed for only offering up 31 flavors.

Want a phone to call home from the grocery store and ask your wife if you're out of milk? You got it.

Want one that'll capture video of that amazing back flip your cat does off the kitchen table when she thinks no one is looking? You got it.

Want a cellphone that will let you sync your home and work e-mail — and view it all on one tiny screen? You can have that, too.

Check out Soyia Ellison's AJC article HERE to see which phone she says is like

"Coffee (Ice Cream) with Chocolate Chunks!"

Taking Wireless to the WiMax

Sprint Nextel to launch network in Chicago that will offer Internet on the go with broadband-like speed

From the Chicago Tribune:

With the digital age increasingly going wireless, Chicago soon will become one of the first cities in the country to have access to the next generation of computer communication, in which people will keep connected to the Internet wherever they go.

The new network, constructed by Motorola Inc., will be operated by Sprint Nextel Corp. and will envelop the region in a digital signal as powerful as the broadband service used by many homes and businesses.

Get the complete read HERE.

HOT JOBS: Director, Engineering - RF (Parsippany, NJ) T-Mobile

Director, Engineering - RF

Manage a regional team that consists of the following core functions:

Automatic Frequency Planning (AFP), BSS Engineering, Capacity Planning, Data Engineering and TDOA.

The job duties include but are not limited to:

Frequency Planning, BSC/TCU/PCUSN dimensioning and forecasting, Radio Access Capacity planning, New technology rollouts, TDOA Administration including Network dimensioning, New deployments and KPI monitoring.

Director will play a key role in developing and managing regional markets network performance and KPI targets, serving as the subject matter experts to the local markets.

Requirements:
High level of competency in all aspects of Radio Network Design and optimization. Includes but not limited to: Antenna theory, GSM Call processing, RF propagation theory, Field based measurement systems and interpretation, understanding of GSM Radio based call statistics such as dropped calls, BER, and Handover.

The candidate must posses a strong financial understanding, be able to create and manage departmental budgets, prepare and adjudicate business cases, as well as manage large technical projects.

This candidate will have strong leadership skills, with the ability to conceive, communicate, and implement design and operation concepts that improve the performance of the network and the efficiency of the RF teams.

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, BSEE is preferred.

8+ years Cellular/PCS industry experience.

5+ years RF Management experience in heading a team of engineers and/or technicians.

Hands on experience with GSM technology strongly preferred.

Please send your resume to Dennis @ wirelessheadhunter@gmail.com.

The Father of Wireless (and Wireless Jobs)

Martin Cooper. Just an average genius working for the man at Motorola .

But on April 3, 1973, Dr. Martin Cooper placed a call to rival Joel Engel, head of research at AT&T's Bell Labs, while walking the streets of New York City talking on the first Motorola DynaTAC prototype.

And so the levers of cell phone obsession began to turn.

10 years later, the Brick was born, and those who had the cash dropped almost $4,000 for the 10-inch, 28-ounce anchor created by Coop and his team of engineers at Moto.

The differences between Cooper's Brick and today's phone? Can you say, calendar, calculator, alarm clock, gps, video, web browser, and MP3 Player?

Dahl's article offers up a bit of history that I find seriously amusing:

Analysts in 1983 predicted that by 2000, there would be 900,000 wireless users in the United States.

Reality?

There were more than 100 million wireless users by the end of 2000, and 229 million at the end of last year. My family alone accounts for four of the 229 million (I'll be adding three more in the not-to-distant future).

Yes, my Blackberry is never far from reach. I exchange text messages with my team late at night and early in the morning (cut it out, Jen!) ; )

On the chance that I've misplaced it (along with my keys), I'm irritated 'til it's safely back in my front pocket.

I glance at my messages while driving to work (just kidding, Mr. State Farm Insurance Man!). I send my wife and children secret messages throughout the day. I am always connected.

Geez, thanks Mr. Cooper. No, really, thanks! We complain about being overly-connected, but if we're honest, most of us wouldn't have it any other way.

Don't get me wrong...I'm not saying it's healthy. But it's our reality (and I like it).

Reality also says that about one-fourth of all wireless calls have at least one problem (2006 study by J.D. Power and Associates). Whether it's dropped calls, disconnected calls, static, or interference, the problems exist. And if we're grumpy when we can't find our Blackberry, we're even grumpier when we drop a call.

Why?

Because we can't stand not being connected! Like I said, I'm not proud of this particular mental illness, but I'm not about to change. Even if that means I have to crawl on my roof line at midnight in the middle of a thunder storm, I'm going to make that phone call, by golly!

Even the Father of Wireless (Cooper) agrees with us. He's now 79 years old, owns six cell phones, carries three and pays the bills for 20. He was even talking on his cell phone for his interview with Dahl, explaining that he understands our obsession, our need, to have a signal:

"When you've got that phone, you feel connected, you feel part of a group,"

says Cooper.

"Who's the group? It's everyone in the world, on your cell phone."

Yep, Dr. Cooper still gets it.

Because the most important thing is being able to stay connected to the most important people in our lives.

Thanks Father Cooper Wireless.

Here's to 30 more years of wireless connectivity and the jobs that make it happen.


source: McClatchy Newspapers, Melissa Dahl

ZTE Gets Order for $3.1 Billion China Mobile Network

Bloomberg writes…ZTE Corp., China’s biggest publicly listed telephone equipment maker, won orders from China Mobile Communications Corp. to equip part of the nation’s first high- speed wireless network.

The company’s stock surged.

source: wirelessnews

Want a "WirelessJobs.com" Blog Badge? Anyone ... anyone....Bueller?

Want this badge?

I'm not really so presumptuous as to think anybody would want a "WirelessJobs.com" badge for their blog.

If I'm wrong, just click the "want this badge?" link above.

Create your own blog badge at WordofBlog.net.

Dennis

MetroPCS hoping to raise USD1 billion from IPO

I have some buddies at MetroPCS who used to ply their engineering wares at AT&T Wireless.

For their sakes, I hope their IPO just goes bananas.

Then, maybe they'll take me out to lunch, or send me a couple of Texas Lotto tickets.

Here's the story about their hopes for bringing in 1B in the IPO (courtesy of WirelessNews).

Elvis to Headline @ ERExpo 2007 (San Diego)

C'mon, meet me @ ERExpo 2007 and we'll talk Recruiting and eat a coupla' Peanut Butter 'n Banana sandwiches, eh?

It doesn't get much better than that.

source: WirelessJobs.com

20 Most Interesting Wireless Startups

Paul D. Kretkowski (DailyWireless) brings us a nice post today:

20 Most Interesting Wireless Startups

I'll list the 20 Wireless Startups here, and you can check out DailyWireless for the specifics on each HERE.

1) Admob

2) Blyk
The first free mobile virtual network operator (MVNO).

3) FON
A HotSpot in every pot.

4) Futuretxt

5) I'minlikewithyou
Interesting concept, just won't apply to me.

6) Jajah
I'm liking this one - make VoIP calls from your PC or landline w/o downloads or plug-ins - even w/o having broadband.

7) Jaiku Mobile

8) Jott
Dictation turned in to email?

9) Medio
Mobile search

10) Mozes
Send and receive mobile messages to and from your fave bands, social groups, friends.

11) MyGADS

12) myMobileMedia
Giving mobile subscribers access to their PC (music, pictures, video).

13) Obopay
This just might be my fave of the 20...will allow me to make $$ transfers alarmingly ez (backed/secured by MasterCard).

4 words: Money on your phone.

14) Radar
Instant picture conversations with your favorite people and no one else.

15) Streamverse

16) Teleflip
Email on your cell phone ... for free.

17) Twitter
If you don't know what Twitter is yet, I can't explain it to you. Well, yes I can. Twitter answers the question, "What are you doing?"

Assuming somebody cares.

18) Thrrum

19) VoiceThread
Create a voicethread and collect the stories behind your pictures.

20) ZenZui
Stop surfing. Start Zooming.

Be Visible, Be Ziki

I mentioned in this post yesterday about the necessity for job seekers to create a web profile and join a community.

If you haven't been to Ziki yet, check it out. In fact,

Check out my Ziki HERE.

Then use this link to accept my invitation and register for a FREE Ziki account.

Once you've created your Ziki profile, please join my network!

Dennis

Slugging through the War for Talent

Take heart job seekers!

The chips are stacked on your side of the table, and in the war for talent, employers think they know what you want.

But most are still found wanting.

According to a study released today by Development Dimensions International (DDI), and Monster^®, today's job market is increasingly in the hands of the candidate.

The study, titled “Slugging Through the War for Talent: Selection Forecast 2006-2007,” reveals that 73 percent of staffing directors report competition for talent has increased since 2005, while 79 percent expect it to further intensify in 2007.

“Candidates are in a very powerful position—organizations need to think about hiring as a competitive practice if they want to attract the best people,”

said Scott Erker, senior vice president of DDI’s Selection Solutions.

“Right now, there is a significant gap between what candidates want and what employers think they want. That’s dangerous for organizations, because many don’t understand the motivations of the candidate sitting right in front of them.”

This is DDI’s third study of hiring and recruiting practice since 1999, providing perspective on the changing shape of the hiring market over the last eight years.

The report, which reflects responses from staffing directors, hiring managers and job seekers across five global regions, examines recruitment, selection and retention practices and reveals that a tightening labor market has subsequently led to a power shift toward job seekers.

In order to lure top talent in this increasingly competitive environment, the
findings suggest that employers must identify, understand
and respond to job seekers’ motivations and desires.

The study also outlines the tactics and strategies organizations can implement to improve their hiring systems and better meet job seekers’ needs.

“The recruiting industry has acknowledged for several years that retiring Baby Boomers, coupled with a tightening labor market, would eventually bring about an acute labor shortage. However, the survey findings indicate that this eventuality is already upon us,”

said Neal Bruce, vice president of alliances, Monster. “

Select Survey Highlights

• It’s a buyer’s market.

• There is a gap between employer perceptions and candidate realities.

• Turnover is rapid.
  

• Interviews can be dealmakers or deal breakers.

The executive summary, "Selection Forecast 2006-2007" is is currently available online from DDI HERE and the Monster Intelligence web site, HERE.

Check out the complete article on PRWeb.com.

Google Kicks Mobi Search in High Gear

Google, in response to Yahoo's oneSearch, has upgraded its WAP-based search to incorporate more data and information into results.

Check out Google's Blog where Yael Shacham gives the 411 on mobile search (HERE). Yael is the Product Mgr for Google's Mobile team).

Starting today, they've made the new mobile search openly available - take it for a spin here.

Sr. Manager, Engineering Development - TMobile Nashville, TN

At T-Mobile, we're looking for the next big idea. Yours.

Our job search is on, and we're looking for an extraordinary leader to join us in Nashville, TN as a Senior Manager of Engineering Development (click title for extended job description).

Check out the link, or send me an email expressing your interest.

Geeked-out-slamdunkin-engineering folks only need apply.

Dennis Smith
Sr. Manager, Recruiting
wirelessheadhunter@gmail.com
T-Mobile USA
WirelessJobs.com (Blog)

Business 2.0's 25 Startups to Watch

Click here to meet Business 2.0's pick of the litter in five categories that embody the spirit of the Next Net: social media, video, mobile, online advertising, and enterprise applications.

The list is pretty impressive.

Here's the top startups in each of the 5 categories (click each picture for a website view):

iPhone Engineering Jobs @ Apple

I got an email from Paul Galli at Apple asking for help to spread the word about iPhone engineering jobs at Apple .

Click HERE to check out the link.


source: WirelessJobs.com

Need a Job? Don't Call 1-800-SPRINTJOBS

Sprint Nextel, the third-largest wireless carrier in the United States, plans to lay off about

5, 000 employees in the coming months, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.

The company suffered a net loss of about 300,000 wireless subscribers in the last quarter of 2006, said company officials on Monday. They projected lower sales for 2007 than analysts has anticipated.

Most of the planned layoffs will be completed by early April, they said, and will be spread throughout the company, whose total employees are about 64,600.

Sprint and Nextel Communications merged in 2005 with the hope that the two wireless companies would become a vibrant force offering attractive new products and services. But the firm has struggled to manage its networks, and customers have increasingly turned to such rivals as Cingular and Verizon Wireless.

The company also said it plans to eliminate 300 retail stores and kiosks as well as one million square feet of leased space by the end of the year. Last year it relinquished two million square feet of office space.

source: People's Daily Online

Blog 1.0 + Resume 1.0 = Resume 2.0?

Nice post by The Social Revolution Blog, as he discusses the various factors of: Resume 2.0.

I agree with his thoughts about resumes in general: they've been around a long time and they aren't going anywhere.

Blogs will not replace resumes.

But one's blog might be the very reason I decide to reach out to a specific candidate. Bottomline, I can learn things about a candidate's blog (their opinions - passion - dislikes - even things they don't want me to know) that I might not be able to glean from their resume.

But if I'm the candidate, I want to send you my resume. You can read my blog and get a general feel for my recruiting philosophy. But many of the bell/whistle accomplishments that you would need to know about me, are not going to be communicated via my blog.

So, in my opinion, I have two resumes:

1. Soft copy
2. Blog copy

But you'll need both to fully understand this recruiting geek.

10 Predictions for Wireless in 2007

Dean Bubley (Disruptive Wireless) put together a nice list revealing his 10 predictions for wireless in 2007.

Get the complete list with his commentary HERE (from Wireless.SeekingAlpha.com).

Here's a quick run-down:

1) Increased focus on manufacturers selling multiple "diverged" devices to users.

It only makes sense that Nokia (NOK), Apple (AAPL), Motorola (MOT) would want to offer multiple, simple, well-designed devices....strong margins should follow.

2) A lot of noise about VoIP over 3G.

Sure to steal much of the spotlight in '07.

3) Emergence of corporate-focused MVNOs

Dean says that he's waited forever, but that this could finally happen in '07.

4) Continued uptake of various dual-mode services & handsets, but they won't change the world

Dean posted last week about UMA/non-UMA developments and gave his predictions (I hope he's wrong). But he's predicting that this is still too much of a niche game.

5) Spectrum lobbying noise, regulation momentum and lawsuits ratchet up several notches.

Dean predicts that the lawyers will stay busy (2.5GHz licenses - spectrum neutrality - getting 900Mhz GSM ready for UMTS, etc....)

6) IMS confounds both its critics and its evangelists, but needs to improve integration ASAP.

The key lesson for IMS advocates to learn during 2007 will be integration - come down from your ivory towers & learn how to blend IMS with non-IMS - the real Internet, enterprise networks, SDP's, music & TV platforms and so forth. If the IMS community doesn't wholeheartedly embrace these areas of integration, in both the network and on devices, it will stagnate in 2008 and die in 2009. Isolation and "purity" is doom.

7) Navigation becomes rather more important on mobiles. Mobile search doesn't.

Handset-based navigation will become more prevalent (I agree).

Mobile search is going to take some time.

8) The City WiFi bubble bursts

Deano's not a fan of the muni-wifi. Seeing how I'm a fan of the T-Mo Hotspot, I guess I'm not either.

9) Flat-rate data becomes the norm, with browsing the killer app, driven by high-res screens

All Dean comments in numbers 9 and 10 - too interesting to summarize:

I'm still waiting for my trial X-Series phone, but I've been increasingly impressed with browsing experience recently. While cheap data tariffs are one critical driver, another has been largely overlooked - increasing screen resolution. The standard for mid-to-high end phones is now QVGA (320x240 pixels). This will increase, either with Nokia's weird 416x352 (or something like that) or more standardized full VGA (640x480). I'm a firm believer that there is no "Mobile Web," and that most people would much prefer a mobile broadband ISP experience, accessing the one, real, Internet. And of course, that means their favorite web brands & downloadable add-on client software too. The signs are already there at the end of 2006, but 2007 will be the year the mobile industry stops fantasizing about beating Google and Yahoo and Skype, and instead just gets on with optimizing their performance for their customers. Long live the Smart Pipe strategy . . .

10) No, No, No, No, No

OK, this post is already long enough, so I don't have time to detail my reasons for all of these, but I'm sure they'll crop up on the blog in coming months. Mobile IM won't replace SMS (sorry VoIP fans . . . ). Laptops with built-in HSDPA won't sell much (and even where they do, the cellular bit won't be activated by most owners). WiMAX will get a few more major operator advocates, but still won't be seen as a threat to "normal cellular." Mobile TV won't make much headway. Web 2.0 stuff like social networking really won't be a big deal in mobile outside Japan, Korea & maybe the US, unless carriers work out a way to give decent Internet access & capable devices to prepay users.

Oh, and maybe Apple's Phone-i (hey, Linksys got the iPhone brand . . . won't play music at all, but will be "just a phone." See point 1.

New York City Cabs to Map Out Cell-Phone Dead Zones

Ericsson recently got approval from New York's taxi commission to place mobile sensors in the trunks of at least 50 cabs in an attempt to better map dead zones in mobile phone networks.

The small devices, about the size of a computer modem, will automatically feed information about signal strength and clarity to engineers.

Because taxis in New York are on the road all day and all night, and ostensibly travel into every corner of the city, company executives said they are a cheap way of covering vast amounts of territory with limited effort.

The research program is being conducted on behalf of an undisclosed wireless provider. Cab companies will be paid for participating.

Source: AP, FoxNews.com

Wireless service providers assess past, look to future

Source: ComputerWorld.com

As the year draws to a close some of the largest US wireless service providers spoke of their accomplishments in 2006 and are looking ahead to their goals for the New Year.

Cingular Wireless announced on Wednesday that its 3G network now reaches 160 markets, which was the company's goal for 2006. Cingular's 3G wireless technology is based on High-Speed Downlink Packet Access/Universal Mobile Telecommunications System more typically referred to as HSDPA/UMTS. The technology boosts download speeds of between 400Kbps and 700Kbps.

The wireless service provider says its 3G network now includes large cities including Chicago, Dallas, New York and San Francisco. Like other 3G wireless data services, customers can use Cingular's HSDPA/UMTS offering to access their e-mail, the Internet or corporate office applications.

While Cingular has made strides this year upgrading its network to 3G, it's still behind its two rivals Sprint Nextel and Verizon Wireless.

Sprint announced Wednesday that it has put its US$7 billion network investment to good work this year surpassing its 3G deployment goals.

While Verizon Wireless didn't announce its year-end accomplishments Wednesday, the service provider did announce a $2 billion five-year deal with Nortel Networks. Verizon will be using Nortel Code Division Multiple Access 2000 (CDMA2000)- based gear to upgrade its network. They will be deploying new base stations, switching and optical network gear from Nortel.

Verizon also said that it is offering EV-DO Rev 0 services throughout the United States potentially reaching as many as 150 million customers. Despite requests, the carrier would not say exactly how many cities or markets it is currently offering EV-DO services.

Verizon Wireless, like Sprint, announced earlier this year that it would be rolling out EV-DO Rev A services. But Verizon has not revealed the cities or markets it is targeting for its initial Rev A upgrades.

The top 7 mobile and wireless trends for 2007

The top mobile and wireless trends that will emerge in 2007 wouldn't be possible without the two biggest stories of 2006:

the advent of the cheap smart phone, and Sprint Nextel's bodacious announcement that it is building a nationwide mobile WiMax network.

So before looking ahead, let's take a brief look behind.

Toward the end of 2006, a glut of competent smart phones costing $200 or less hit the market, which is two to three times less expensive than similar phones had been previously. These phones include the BlackBerry Pearl, Samsung's BlackJack, Nokia's E62 and the Treo 680. This trend will lead to far broader adoption not just of smart phones but also of many applications.

The other top mobile and wireless story for 2006 was Sprint's announcement that it would build a $3 billion nationwide mobile WiMax network, which it expects to start rolling out by the end of 2007. Sprint will use an enormous chunk of wireless spectrum it inherited when it merged with Nextel in 2005. No other U.S. mobile operator comes close to having that amount of spectrum available, making it highly unlikely that any of Sprint's competitors could launch a competing network.

These two top stories of 2006 lead us to my predictions of the seven top mobile and wireless trends for 2007. Some of these trends will fully flower in 2007, while in other cases we'll just see the start of a big trend that will develop more fully in years to come.

1. More mobile access, more competition
2. The era of 'the big bundle'
3. The democratization of mobile e-mail
4. Search and discovery
5. Mobility gets social
6. Convergence: One phone, many places
7. Media, media, media

For the complete details of these top 7 mobile trends for 2007, check out this ComputerWorld article in its entirety, HERE.

Cingular turns cell phones into wallets in NY

Some Cingular Wireless cardholders in New York City will be testing a new service that allows them to make purchases with their cell phones.

read more | digg story

Man sentenced for disrupting wireless Internet services

A Utah man who brought down the wireless Internet services offered by a former employer has been sentenced to two years in prison, the Department of Justice announced Thursday.

read more | digg story

How an iPhone could rock wireless

(Fortune) -- If Steve Jobs' Apple decides to build a wireless phone, as widely rumored, the company has the chance to shake up not just the wireless device business - an industry dominated by the likes of Motorola and Nokia - it also could upend the entire wireless distribution model in the United States.

read more | digg story

Mobile Pay Pass - Is It Safe?

Pre-selected Citi MasterCard cardholders with Cingular Wireless accounts are participating in the trial and will receive Nokia NFC-enabled mobile phones with MasterCard PayPass payment functionality.

read more | digg story

Not a Fan of Cingular, But You Gotta Love the Touchdown Dance School Commercial

Students produce movies with cellphones

The cameras capture the young man walking down the stairs, reciting a monologue about the three things people should know about him: His favorite movie is Gone with the Wind, he loves roller coasters and he hates when people don't take him seriously.

read more | digg story

What Is Wireless Security?

This article covers the types of attacks wireless networks encounter, preventive measures to reduce the chance of attack, guidelines administrators can follow to protect their company's wireless LAN, and an excellent supply of online resources for setting up a secure wireless network.

read more | digg story

Watch cable TV on your cell phone? Soon.

Embracing a technology that has unnerved media and telecommunications companies, a major European wireless provider will let customers watch their home cable TV on a cell phone if they also have a device called the Slingbox back at the house.

read more | digg story

Can a cell phone make your work out better?

I'll come out and say it, I am not a huge fan of exercising. Houston's hot summers don't encourage me any either. So when Verizon Wireless approached me to test the BiM Active program from Bones in Motion on its Chocolate Phone, I was curious. Could this service actually get me off the couch and out the door now that temperatures have fallen?

read more | digg story

Slingbox coming to European cell phones

NEW YORK - Embracing a technology that has unnerved media and telecommunications companies, a major European wireless provider will let customers watch their home cable TV on a cell phone if they also have a device called the Slingbox back at the house.



read more | digg story

The cell phones of tomorrow

Live television channels by next year, tagging in two years and much more.

Future mobile phones will entertain, amaze - and even make calls.

read more

Cellular Banking: Cellphones Take Over for Banking in Certain Countries

About half a million South Africans now use their mobile phones as a bank. Apparently, while most South Africans do not have traditional bank accounts, most do have mobile phones.

If this technology continues to spread, it could change the way banking is done in certain countries (namely, most of Africa).

Cellular banking could become the norm.

read more digg story

Cellphones Are Crime Busters

An audio interview about the use of Cellphone images and video for crime solving.

read more digg story

Pew Research: 1 in 10 Americans Have Cut the Cord and are Cellphone Only

Pew Research: 1 in 10 Americans Have Cut the Cord

This story relates how this fact effects political polling and studies the political and demographic make up for Cell phone only users.



read more digg story

What you need to know before you sign a cellphone contract

What you need to know before you sign up for a new cellphone plan.

read more | digg story

Used phones drive Third World wireless boom

With the number of cell phones in use worldwide hitting 2.5 billion and rising, recycled phones are playing a growing role in the spread of wireless communications across the developing world, where land lines can be costly or unavailable.

read more | digg story

Slingbox - home TV pictures on your mobile

Sling Media, the company behind Slingbox, the broadband TV broadcast box, was at the Smartphone Show in London this week, telling everyone it will have a viewing client for smartphone mobile phones available by the end of the year.

read more | digg story

T-Mobile Tattoos MOTORAZR V3s

Just launched from T-Mobile, these tattooed MOTO RAZRs let everyone know that even though they've been around the block a few times, they can still break a pool cue over someone's head with the best of them.

read more | digg story

Watch Google Video on your phone

A Web application that lets you search for and play Google videos on your phone. Well, on some phones, anyway.

read more | digg story

Mobile Phones Deliver Beauty Tips

Mobile phone users can now get beauty tips via their device. As the cell phone market expands and new features are added, manufacturers are going all out to beat the competition.

read more | digg story

One billion cellphones to ship this year

Despite a soft second quarter, both in terms of units and average selling prices, the mobile phone market is expected to achieve shipments of one billion units this year, according to ABI Research. Over 245 million mobile handsets shipped in Q3, and 4Q is expected to be a "bumper quarter."

read more | digg story

Can Cellphones Use the Web 2.0 Applications?

Experts said that mobile phones will not be able to use many of Web 2.0 services due to some constraints. For example, Google Maps is built on Ajax (like many other Web 2.0 services). Ajax pushes data to the client device which speeds up future user requests but on a mobile phone, decreases fast battery life and chuck up the limited memory onboard.

read more | digg story

mDive Mobile Polling Reaches Elusive Markets

scenarioDNA and Mobile Transit Authority, announced today that they have extended their strategic partnership and launched a new mobile opinion solution called mDive. mDive is a turnkey mobile-based market research solution that engages consumers on their cell phones. mDive provides a timely and enhanced method of understanding critical marketing n

read more | digg story

Shots Heard in Mobile WiMAX Revolution

High Speed, Low Cost At last week's conference, Nortel Networks Corp. showcased a cellular base station transceiver for mobile WiMax applications that it plans to start selling to wireless carriers next year.

Cut through the buzz and the message is pretty clear: Mobile WiMAX is not yet ready for prime time.

read more | digg story

Ohhh Nooo... IBM RFID Demo Disrupts Nearby Cell Phone Signals

IBM had to stop a recent RFID demo at the Australian Tennis Open after the tech was found to be blocking signals from a nearby Vodafone tower -- the incident confirmed long-running concerns that RFID readers could disrupt towers in Vodafone's mobile phone network because of overlaps in the frequencies used...

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Quitting Your Cellphone Service: Make a New Plan, Stan

Our Consumerist comrades point to handy tips showing how to get out of a cellular service contract that no longer pleases you.

Say you want that latest cellphone but your plan doesn't offer it. Unfortunately, sometimes it's easier to get a divorce than it is to get away from Verizon Wireless (or any other provider). Here's our favorite ways...

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Verizon Broadband Wireless "Unlimited" Scam

Verizon has been marketing it's broadband wireless as "unlimited"; however, it is actually limited. Customers who pass the secret threshold of 5GB usage per month for 3 months in a row are immediately terminated without question.

Quite a scam.

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Warning: Tears can damage your cell phone

Source: Cellular Blog (News.com)

A good friend of mine learned something about the vulnerability of technology this week when her cell phone died after she cried into it.

"You're kidding?!" I said incredulously as my friend Amy told me the reason I couldn't reach her on the phone most of the week. Unlike some of her more effusive phone conversations, the call in question had lasted only around 10 minutes, with maybe five minutes of actual water flow, she said.

Amy knew something was wrong almost immediately--and this time it wasn't her relationship.
"The keypad started to malfunction. I couldn't hit the 'send' button, and that was very sad," she said. The next day the Sprint customer support people told her the phone had water corrosion.
"I was told I had one to two days to get my phone numbers off the (old) phone," said Amy, who hurriedly transferred the data before it was lost. But she wasn't able to save the 150-plus "supersweet" text messages from her boyfriend. That was "truly the worst thing" about the whole ordeal, Amy said.

The phone meltdown "was a big deal," she said, with no small amount of anguish. "It affected several of my jobs and affected my relationship."

But later her boyfriend laughed it off, even joking that he should get her a waterproof cover for her new cell phone.

Eight states to pilot Mobile VoIP over xMax/WiFi

The VoIP Service Blog tells us that Far Reach Technologies is set to deploy mobile VoIP services in 76 markets across eight states, starting with Volusia County, Florida in March 2007.

The wireless networks will use xMax technology, developed by xG, and access will be offered for a flat rate.

T-Mobile and Apple Deal in the Works? We Think Not.

We were listening in on the conference last friday, and honestly, didn't get the vibe that the CEO was talking about a partnership. He was just talking about making T-Mobile more Apple-like, and not hinting at a future iPhone release on their network.

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Those Awful Hats - 1909's Please Turn Off Your Cellphone

Even back in 1909, watching in theaters had problems like cellphones in today's theaters.
A gentleman with a top hat, and a series of women with ever more ludicrous hats enter a movie theatre. They refuse to remove them, until a giant bucket forcibly removes one hat...

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Cell Phone Tracking

Cheating spouse? Paranoid about your kids? This is definitely a hot topic for those individuals looking to see where their family members are going. New services are starting to emerge such as WORLD-TRACKER.COM in the UK and AccuTracking in the US...

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Cingular Wireless sues telemarketers for unsolicited calls

"Cingular Wireless, a joint venture between AT&T Inc. and BellSouth Corp. on Tuesday said it filed three lawsuits in a U.S. federal court against telemarketers to stop them from making unsolicited and illegal calls to Cingular customers."

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Wireless iPod?

Rumors of a widescreen wireless ipod

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Cell Phone Keypad Lights Way For Helicopter Hiker Rescue

Listen to the 9-1-1 call as a pair of young adults are rescued from the wilderness near Los Angeles thanks to the keypad *light* from a nearly dead cellphone.

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Condoms get high-tech: make love to the sound of cellphone music

A Ukrainian scientist has invented a condom that plays music during sex. A miniature loudspeaker and motion sensor implanted in the condom's upper cuff provides a range of musical tones during sex. Music volume depends on intensity of love-making and tone varies based on the sexual position.

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Tired of sneaking your cellphone in class?

Change your ringtone to a high frequency sound! Most people over 30 are unable to hear the sound. Click the mp3 and find out if you can hear the noise.

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Survey: West Coasters most polite cellphone users

Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung) announced today the findings of a survey focused on consumer cell phone etiquette.

Surprisingly, the survey revealed that while the West Coast was a little less tolerant of public cell phone use, there seemed to be a general agreement on when and where not to make or receive cell phone calls.

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Beer on Your Phone

I've written a simple page that allows for queries of all beer related locations in the beermapping.com database. I kept the page extremely simple with the intention of it being easily readable on my own cell phone. I've never done markup for mobile pages so feel free to comment if you have experience.

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Windows Mobile "Crossbow" in the wild

Here ya go WinMo lovers, a screen shot of the purported next generation Windows Mobile OS codenamed Crossbow, courtesy of MS Mobile News.

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T-Mobile hearts Apple. Deal in the works?

T-Mobile's CEO (USA), Robert Dotson, spent a bit of time at a press conference last Friday discussing what a shining example of innovation Apple is and how "Apple's and T-Mobile's visions seem to be aligned."

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Wireless tower operators face off

Crown Castle will advance to the top spot with the acquisition of Global Signal. Now it's nearest rival American Tower's play

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First Ever Under-Sea WiFi

Because radio waves don't travel through salt water, divers can't talk to or text each other without using clumsy wired devices. But now British firm Wireless Fibre Systems, based in Livingston, claims it has developed a wireless modem that works underwater.

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The PS3's gaming engine -- now in your cellphone!

The Cell processor sits at the heart of the PlayStation 3, most powerful game console yet developed, and a high-performance computer from IBM and now Toshiba wants to put that power into mobile devices and cellphones.

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Dialed In: Nokia Brings the Keyboard Back

Every now and then, Nokia launches a phone that flies under the radar and develops a small but loyal following. Such was the case with the company's 6800 series of phones. Launched a few years back, these compact phones were novel for their flip-out keyboards. The series went away, but now Nokia is bringing it back with the similarly styled E70.

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T-Mobile Dash Product and User Guide

Catwoman broke into the T-Mobile servers and dropped a whole load of internal documents down our chimneys for all to see. The notable ones are the product guide (posted below), sales guides (to help them sell the product), a comparison to the Motorola Q on Verizon (posted below), and a FAQ to answer customer's questions.

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Open Source Mobile Phoney

Is the DLink V-CLICK an open source Linux powered cellphone revolution, or just old news with a new name?

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Comparison Of Verizon, Sprint and Cingular's High Speed Data Networks

If you were wondering what the difference between Sprint, Verizon and Cingular's high speed cellular data network was, you've come to the right place. A Sprint employee did a comparison of the three, pitting them in a deathmatch based on coverage, performance, terms of service, and pricing.

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Hacking Wireless Computers

Fox News shows how hackers access your wireless network for free...
Incredible filmclip.

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Why Americans Don't Get the Coolest Gizmos

For years we have been reading about the latest greatest gadgets on Gizmodo or Engadget only for the product never to see the light of day here in the US. Everything from ultra-portable laptops to the car that can parallel park itself not to mention high-speed wireless networks. So why don't American's always get the newest and coolest gizmos?

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Runners Can Easily Track, Store, and Share Training Info on Cell Phones

A wireless training resource, enables runners to track and store their workouts -- including mileage, split times, caloric burn, elevation changes and other information -- as well as to share running route information from cities around the country, all with the push of a button on their wireless phones.

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Sweet Wifi Finder/Google Maps Mashup..

This is a community-driven listing of cafes with wireless internet access. Browse listings, share reviews and ratings, and add your own cafes.

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T-Mobile outlines plans for 3G network

T-Mobile USA, the fourth largest cell phone provider in the U.S., said Friday it will spend roughly $2.66 billion over the next couple of years to deploy a 3G wireless network. The company, owned by the German carrier Deutsche Telekom, will use the $4.2 billion worth of spectrum licenses it recently bought in the Federal Communications...

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T-Mobile's plans: MySpace, YouTube, iPhone?

The carrier announced plans to roll-out a nationwide UMTS network to enable user-generated content and social networking applications, which follow the Web 2.0 trend, like MySpace and YouTube.

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Yahoo serving up search ads on mobile phones

Like Yahoo's sponsored search results on the Web, advertisers will bid in an auction on keywords that will display their ads on the search results page. The service will work on most mobile phones and handhelds that have Web browsing capabilities.

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Wireless Bills Continue to Rise

Overall spending for wireless service has increased significantly from 2004 as customers continue to try new non-voice services a new study finds. During the past three-years, the average monthly wireless bill has increased $11 to reach $66 this year, up from $55 in 2004 J.D Power and Associates reports.

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Hidden dangers of free public WiFi

Research shows that free wireless public networks located in airports and other public places are ripe for exploitation by hackers.

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Sprint's next leap in wireless: WiMax

Sprint Nextel has given WiMax technology a green light, becoming the first major U.S. carrier to back WiMax for its fourth-generation (4G) wireless data network.

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5.1 channel cellphone from japan

They're still prototypes at this point, so don't expect an official roll-out anytime soon, but these two handsets from NTT DoCoMo are pretty darn hot, considering that they support digital radio in glorious 5.1 surround sound. After all, cell phones aren't just communication devices anymore; they are just as important for their picture-taking, music-jamming, and video-playing capabilities.

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Peep Show: Samsung Trace t519 for T-Mobile

The Samsung Trace (t519) is being sold exclusively at T-Mobile, and has added to the busy release calendar the company has had in the month of September. Check out the peep show...

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Nokia Opens Up Bluetooth Competitor

Looking to take on Bluetooth, Nokia said Tuesday it was open-sourcing its "Wibree" wireless technology. According to the company, Wibree uses a fraction of the power of other radio solutions, and is easily integrated with Bluetooth.

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Your Mobile Phone is Such a Scream! No, Really!

A new service launched Monday is designed to deter mobile phone theft by equipping telephones with an ear-piercing scream.

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Nakama - Post Mobile Photos to MySpace, Blogs

Toronto startup Nakama is another new media-sharing site for mobile phones - essentially a more mobile version of Webshots or YouTube. The service, which launched last week, supports mobile uploading of images and videos from your phone via a unique email address.

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Cingular Launches Mobile Podcasting

Cingular Wireless subscribers can now search, download and subscribe to podcasts from their mobile phones for $5/month.

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Wireless Cities

C/Net has a special report on wireless cities, describing communities around the country that are experimenting with wireless networking and counting on Wi-Fi's popularity as a way to revive moribund downtowns that have steadily lost business to suburban malls for decades.

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CSI Wireless: Miami Wireless Customers Make Most Calls

If you think people in Miami make a lot of calls on their wireless phones, you're right.
The average Verizon Wireless customer from Miami makes and receives more calls than Verizon Wireless customers from any other major U.S. city, according to the first Big City Wireless Use Study by Verizon Wireless.

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Milwaukee's Goin' Wireless with a $20m WiFi Network

This week, the clock starts ticking on the 18-month window for Midwest Fiber Networks to complete installation work on the city's wireless Internet service.

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T-Mobile - Releasing new Smartphone: DASH - Oct 16th

T-Mobile DASH to launch in all markets on October 16th 2006.
DASH details: Windows 5.0 Smartphone - 2.4 inch 320x240 QVGA TFT LCD - Memory: ROM 128MB / RAM 64MB - TI OMAP 850 200MHz - WIFI - EDGE / GMS / GPRS Quad-band (850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz) - Bluetooth - Infrared IrDA - Camera: 1.3MP - Battery 970 mAh - mini USB.

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Get Your Hands on a Condom via SMS

MobileMistress brings us a lil' condom-sms-talk, saying there's a new sheriff in town that apparently offers condoms directly to your door by simple text messaging.

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SEO for Mobile Search

Google Mobile Web Search allows you to search for websites that are specifically designed for mobile phones and devices. If the website isn't formatted correctly, then it won't appear in the Mobile SERP's. This article describes the necessity to SEO Mobile websites.

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Why is there no Skype Mobile?

skype CEO talks about issues with mobile phones

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Mobile phones help check drunk driving in Japan

A mobile phone with a breath analyzer is getting popular among transport firms in Japan as it can help the companies conduct tele-checks on the drivers' breath to prevent drunk driving.
The system, developed by NTT DoCoMo Inc, has been introduced to 15 companies since its launch about three months ago.

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New symbol for 'wireless internet access'

Wired is working with NYC Wireless and other organizations to distribute the icon and have it gain global acceptance as the standard symbol of wireless internet access.(Image)

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Is the WiFi Revolution Underway?

A shift in how entertainment is delivered to the home will increase demand for consumer electronics products with wireless networking capabilities and ignite explosive growth for WiFi Latest News about WiFi, according to a study released this week by ABI Research Latest News about ABI Research.

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Verizon's BlackBerry 8703e, Hot or Not?

The hottest or nottest new BlackBerry device reviewed for all you fellow CrackBerry addicts!

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