In an unprecedented move by the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, the Manitoba tribe is seeking payment for cell phone signals that pass over the Manitoba’s land. This is a complicated matter, to say the least, as it involves Aboriginal, property, and communications law.

The Chiefs claim that since the Manitoba tribe claims sovereignty over its land, water and air space, cell phone signals should also apply. In addition, the Assembly is seeking for frequency blocks to be set aside for use by the First Nations member groups.

via: yahoo

Just one day after announcing that the mobile phone manufacturing giant will execute another round of employee lay-offs – this time to the tune of 4,000 employees – Motorola (NYSE: MOT)’s CEO, Ed Zander, says that he will turn the company around by releases a bevy of multimedia handsets. This represents a change in strategy – from relying solely on big-time hits, like the RAZR line, to spreading the risk with a diverse lineup of mobile phone offerings. Zander stated, “We’re not going to have another Razr. Every once in a while, something will pop, but there have been only three in recent years — the Microtec, the Startec, and the Razr.”

Motorola has the RAZR2, MOTO Z8, ROKR Z6, and Moto Q9 handsets in the June/July pipeline for European and Asian release – for which Zander stated, “So there are four of them, which proves we can still design some pretty wild things. But we need more of them at more price points with more geographies and more carriers.”

We’ll see if these job-cuts and new strategy plays out for the bleeding giant. Motorola was once a shining star in the mobile industry. Now they are fighting to barely glimmer in the bright lights of Nokia (NYSE: NOK) and Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE).

via: yahoo

After the discovery of the Samsung A717 Ultra Edition’s user’s guide on AT&T (NYSE: T) website, we have been expecting this pair of 3G phones to drop on AT&T network. Today, Samsung has announced that their Ultra Edition duo will be hitting AT&T with a one-two punch of beautifully thin, quad-band GSM, dual-band HSDPA, Bluetooth, microSD slot and Video Sharing (!) goodness. The Samsung A717 Ultra Edition will be serving up all that HSDPA goodness in a 13mm thin clamshell with a 2 megapixel camera and external OLED screen. The Samsung A727 Ultra Edition makes good with a 9mm (holy thinness, Batman!) candybar, sporting a 1.3MP shooter. The A717 will go live on June 4th for $150 and the A727 will hit stores a short time after with a $100 price point (both after contract, of course).

via:phonescoop

Good ole’ Steve Jobs sure is getting ready for the launch of his precious baby, the Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) iPhone. First he opens up the iPhone to limited third-party development, and now we find this Apple patent application that outlines an accessory detector for a “mobile handset” of some sort. We fairly certain that this “mobile handset” is a sideways mention at the Apple iPhone, and that Cupertino’s plans for an “accessory detector” is laying ground for a “Made for iPhone” certification program. The “accessory detector” will be “…coupled to the connector and configured to detect whether an external accessory coupled to the connector may interfere with wireless communication with the handheld device.” This would make it easy for Apple to lock down the iPhone for solely Apple-approved peripherals – triggering alarms and warnings when non-certified accessories gets intimate with the iPhone connector.

Oh, and it’s probably just a coincidence that the patent makes “Made for iPhone” taxation a breeze.

via: unwiredview

Looking to generate hype around his upcoming “Planet Earth” album, Prince has teamed up with Verizon (NYSE: VZ) Wireless to offer free downloads of his new single – Guitar. Verizon Wireless subscribers using the carrier’s Vcast song ID feature will be able to download the new single, free of charge. The innovative new feature allows users to hold their phone up to a speaker and the service will identify the song playing through said speaker.

If you’re a Verizon Wireless subscriber, simply download the new Vcast song ID service for free, and then hit up revver.com, myspace.com or veoh.com to play the Guitar music video. Just hold up the phone to the speaker that is playing the single, and the ID service will dig up song information and offer an option for a free wireless download.

via: yahoo 

We found this eBay auction from Mekasco. Merely weeks before the actual product launch, this guy sold a “real” Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) iPhone to an experienced buyer for $800! The interesting thing is that, even though the box and the actual Apple iPhone looks a bit fake, an eBay veteran seems to have picked this thing up. So, was this a hoax? If not, where the heck did the seller get their hands on an iPhone?! (and actually be able to part with it). We’d rather wait for a bona fide corporate-store-bought Apple iPhone.

via: newlaunches

With the newly opened 700Mhz wireless spectrum going up on the auction block soon, smaller players like Alltel and MetroPCS (NYSE: PCS) are making their intentions clear. Alltel has filed a petition with the FCC to keep the auctioning fair and open to bids for smaller, regional licenses. The FCC is planning to set aside a chunk of the spectrum for public safety/service communications, which could put the small-fish at a disadvantage.

In their filing, Alltel states that they are “very interested in the upcoming 700 MHz auction and the enormous potential of the 700 MHz spectrum to bring innovative new services to rural areas given the exceptional propagation characteristics of this band,” further requesting that the FCC “should consider imposing ‘bid premiums’ in this auction on bidders affiliated with incumbent local exchange carriers that hold significant CMRS [commercial mobile radio service] spectrum.”

Alltel also wants to block a “last-minute, self-serving” move from Frontline Wireless, LLC. to set aside a 10Mhz block for setting up an interoperable, broadband network that is to be built by the buyer for public-safety use.

MetroPCS is putting their name on the list of interested bidders with their Security and Exchange Commission filing that detailed plans to offer $300 million in notes, in addition to $1 billion in notes offered last fall, for corporate use, “which could include financing participation in and acquisition of additional spectrum in the Federal Communications Commission’s upcoming 700 MHz auction.”

via: rcrnews

In the Chinese’ mobile equivalent of the Million Man March, citizens of the Chinese province of Xiamen used 1,000,000 (1 Million) SMS text messages to organize a protest to halt the construction of a $1.4 billion industrial facility, by Tenglong Aromatic PX (Xiamen) Co. Ltd. The plant was slated to produce paraxylene – an eye, nose, and throat irritant to humans under the slightest exposure. Paraxylene is used in the manufacture of plastics, polyester, and film – and is known to cause central nervous system damage and even death from chronic exposure. 

Chinese officials stopped the plant’s construction after the flurry of SMS text messages prompted them to step back and actually consider more than just the economic benefit. The plant was planned to be built just 10 miles from the center of Xiamen, with homes only 1 mile away.

Deputy Mayor, Ding Guoyan, told Xinhua News Agency, “The Xiamen city government has decided to suspend construction of the PX (paraxylene) plant in Haicang District.”

This could be the first case of a text message protest, not to mention a successful intervention into the Chinese government’s plans – which isn’t easy, by any means.

via: bbc

You read correctly! One of the world’s most infamous, and prolific, spammers has been arrested and faces a litany of charges – including from fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion. Robert Alan Soloway has been indicted by a Seattle, Washington Grand Jury on the aforementioned charges and awaits trial. The “Spam King” has been pursued by various federal agencies for quite some time now, and we’re glad to see that they finally got this guy pinned down.

You might be asking yourself just how this relates to mobile technology, so here’s the link. Aside from our collective loathing for spam on our desktop and laptops, the problem of spam on our smartphones is equally, if not more, aggravating.

UK anti-spam firm, Spamhaus first blacklisted Soloway in 2001 and upgraded his status to their worst of the worst list in 2003. Over the years, this scoundrel has been sued over and over again, only to skip out on his trials or fail to honor judgments against him.

It makes us happy to think about how this low-life will be spending the rest of his natural life being harassed by a different kind of nuisance gunning for his “inbox”.

via: theinquirer

No more pre-ordering, spy-shooting anticipation folks. Nokia (NYSE: NOK) has announced their Nokia 8600 Luna to start shipping this quarter! This thing just oozes so much sexiness that we just had to dedicate a whole separate post to this super-slick handset. The translucent black slider, crafted out of steel and glass, rocks-out like the high-end designer phone that it is. We love the incredible display paired up with the smooth, clean lines and that 2 megapixel camera!

The melding of nearly opaque smoked glass with unique, soft-touch stainless steel makes the Nokia 8600 Luna as enchanting to behold as it is a joy to touch. Adding to its mysterious allure, a gentle keypad illumination pulsates from beneath the glass case while the phone awaits a call. Combined with the warmth of its glass and stainless steel body, this “heartbeat” transforms the Nokia 8600 Luna from an inanimate object into a trusted companion with an organic, virtually alive form. When a call does beckon, the signature slide movement is carefully balanced to smoothly raise the ergonomic keypad from within its glass cocoon.

We couldn’t have put it better ourselves! The Luna’s “heartbeat” feature gives this thing that living-art feel that only 700 Euros could buy.

And, here’s a quick rundown on what that kind of cheese can get you:

• S40 Operating System
• Quad-band GSM (850/900/1800/1900 Mhz)
• 107Ñ…45Ñ…15.9 мм
• 143 g
• 240×320 TFT screen @ 16M colors
• 2 Megapixel camera
• microUSB
• Bluetooth
• 900 mAh battery

Nokia 8600 Luna glamor shots on the link! (be warned, they might be more “sexy” than you can handle!)

Read the full article »