The problem that the original iPhone had in cracking the potentially lucrative Chinese market was that it came leashed with a now-unreasonable revenue-sharing business model from Cupertino. China Mobile wasn’t too keen on sharing revenue on a handset that it couldn’t be guaranteed would be a China Mobile exclusive. Now, with the iPhone 3G following…
Helio posts Q&A to inform customers about Virgin Mobile takeover
It’s basically a done deal, pending regulatory approval, that is. Virgin Mobile USA’s acquisition of Helio has been expected to happen for some time now, and now that it’s finally official, there are bound to be handfuls of Helio customers with questions about the takeover. More like 170,000 handfuls of Helio customers, to be more…
Rogers Wireless shows us how NOT to do business
Virtually the whole world over has adopted, or is rumored to be adopting, unlimited data pricing structures in anticipation of the iPhone 3G launch. That is, except Canada. Well, not Canada, per se, but Canada’s oft mis-guided and confusingly business un-savvy wireless carriers. Today’s example of how NOT to do business in a competitive wireless…
Virgin Mobile USA to acquire Helio in $39 million deal
Not completely unexpected, Virgin Mobile USA has today announced that it will indeed be taking over Helio. The MVNO joint-venture between SK Telecom and Earthlink has struggled to find even a modicum of success in a competitive and cut-throat US wireless market. And, it seems that Helio’s financial troubles have finally come to a head…
LiMo Foundation and LiPS Forum combine to battle open-source competitors
As smaller competitors in an growing open-source mobile OS market, LiMo Foundation and LiPS (Linux Phone Standards) Forum members are in for a serious battle for open-source marketshare. With Nokia buying out Symbian to essentially seed the open-source Symbian mobile platform, and the OHA backing Google’s Android platform, there isn’t much hope for small-game. Oh,…
Alltel expands WiFi service – Alltel WiFi expands to 25,000 hotspots in US
It seems that Alltel is picking up their game in the face of acquisition from Verizon Wireless. Following on their announcement that they’ll be rolling out EVDO Rev. A on their network, Alltel is expanding their Alltel WiFi service in the US. For those times when WiFi is a better fit for your needs, Alltel…
Virgin Mobile USA to take over Helio
While no official announcement has yet been made, the Financial Times is reporting that a source close to the situation has indicated that a tentative agreement has been struck between Virgin Mobile USA and Helio. The deal would have Helio essentially being absorbed within Virgin Mobile USA’s larger wireless network. Virgin Mobile USA and Helio…
Mobile handset manufacturers bringing Symbian together for new open-source mobile platform – Symbian OS, S60, UIQ united
With news that Google’s Android-push will take just a bit longer than we would prefer, it’s fitting that Nokia has just announced that it will be working to bring together the fragmented Symbian environment under a single, open-source umbrella. Nokia has been working closely with Symbian for years with S60 development, and it seems that…
Helio shutting down retail stores and kiosks – another MVNO’s death in the making?
With SK Telecom’s Helio MVNO talking to Virgin Mobile over possible merger or buy-out deals, it seems an odd move to actually shutdown much of Helio’s operations throughout the US. But, we’re hearing that the negotiations between Helio and Virgin Mobile aren’t exactly making waves. Add to that the rumor that Virgin Mobile is planning…
ASUS tapped to manufacture Garmin Nuvifone
Garmin, one of the biggest names in GPS navigation hardware, has announced that it has, for the first time ever, outsourced production of a device. The Garmin Nuvifone, long-expected to marry Garmin’s GPS navigation prowess with the convenience of a mobile phone, will apparently be manufactured by ASUS. DigiTimes cites mysterious “industry sources” as indicating…