Life in the Inland Empire is about to get a little sweeter. The booming city of Riverside, CA., with its 300,000 residents, will happy to hear that AT&T is working with MetroFi to bring free public wireless internet access to the entire city. MetroFi’s experience in deploying city-wide wireless networks will prove invaluable in covering…
YouTube, LG team up for ‘YouTube Phone’
The South Korean company that redefined what it means to be a “candybar” phone (yes, we know it’s a slider – just play along, ok?) has announced they’ve inked a deal with YouTube to bring an exclusive YouTube-compatible handset to Europe in 2H 2008. The joint venture will realize a handset that allows YouTube users…
Broadcom asks White House to let ITC ruling stand
It looks like Broadcom is hedging their bets and asking President Bush to let the ITC ruling stand. The ITC ruled that all phones manufactured using Qualcomm’s 3G chips will be banned from US import. Broadcom tried to bully Qualcomm into settling for $6 for each mobile phone that Qualcomm sold – twisting Qualcomm’s arm…
Helio gets another cash infusion from SK Telecom and Earthlink
Since Helio won’t be getting any revenue from the YouTube application, Video Virus, that was recently offered free-of-charge, the MVNO is going to need another influx of cash. It’s a good thing SK Telecom and Earthlink just dropped a $200 million care packaged in Helio’s lap. Reuters is reporting that the green-behind-the-ears MVNO has spent…
AT&T buys Dobson Communications for $2.8 Billion
AT&T must have been anticipating the Apple iPhone to be a huge success, because, on Friday, it agreed to buy-out Dobson Communications for a cool $2.8 Billion. The rural wireless carrier does business under the name Cellular One and has had a working relationship with AT&T since 1990. This new deal represents a $13 per…
Wells Fargo and Visa team up for mobile payment tests
Visa USA and Wells Fargo & Co. are teaming up for an experimental pilot program that will have up to 50 Wells Fargo employees paying for some products and services with their tricked-out (NFC?) mobile phones. Forget debit or credit cards, mobile phone wallets are the way to go! If the pilot program proves successful,…
Apple to offer Google Apps on the iPhone?
We all know that iPhone will come with preinstalled Google Maps. But what about other Google’s applications and services, such as Picasa, Docs and Spreadsheets, Notebook, GMail, etc? Speaking at the event in Paris, Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt said: “iPhone is a powerful new device and is going to be particularly good for the apps…
Amp’d Mobile signs deal with Verizon Wireless to stay alive
The now-bankrupt MVNO, Amp’d Mobile, has just inked a deal with Verizon Wireless that will allow the MVNO to continue operations during its Chapter 11 re-organization. According to Forbes, the deal will allow Amp’d subscribers to access the Verizon Wireless network, but stipulates that Amp’d Mobile will drop the lawsuit that it filed against Verizon…
Verizon, MTV take full-length movies mobile
Here’s something that could push further the adoption of the mobile video in the States. MTV and Verizon have partnered to take full-length movies to the mobile screen — “Super Sweet 16: The Movie”, an extension of the MTV series “My Super Sweet 16”, will premiere on Verizon’s mobile TV service V Cast TV. This…
YouTube WILL be available on iPhone
Apple today announced that iPhone users will be able to watch the content from YouTube. YouTube is already available for mobile users, but our guess is that Apple will add its twist to it — just like they’ve did with Google Maps. Note that this doesn’t involve Flash video — iPhone will rather use YouTube’s…