Filed under: WIRELESS | Tags: American Idol, AT&T, Fox Broadcasting Company, iPhone, Kris Allen, New York, Satellite radio, Sirius XM Radio
Fox, “American Idol” producers and AT&T are defending themselves against charges of voting irregularities during the finale of the singing competition. Fox and “Idol” producers say in a statement that they are “absolutely certain” that Kris Allen is, “without a doubt, the American Idol.” (Iwantmedia 5/28, http://www.thrfeed.com/2009/05/fox-idol-att-voting-controversy.html 5/27)
Sirius XM is developing an application for the iPhone that will allow users to stream music from the satellite radio service directly to their handset, according to this report. The app will require listeners to sign up for a subscription to Sirius XM at a cost of $12.95 a month. The New York Times/VentureBeat (5/27)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=ae97566c-b730-460b-881b-d8611c006b28)
Filed under: WIRELESS | Tags: AdamLambert, AmericanIdol, Android Developer Challenge, Arkansas, AT&T, Google, Kris Allen, Text messaging
AT&T, one of the biggest sponsors of “American Idol,” might have influenced the outcome of this year’s competition by providing phones for free text-messaging services at parties organized by fans of Kris Allen, the Arkansas singer who won. Fox officials decline to comment. (Iwantmedia 5/27, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/27/business/media/27idol.html 5/26)
In an effort to continue fostering the Android development community, Google has announced the second round of its Android Developer Challenge class=”snap_preview_icon”> – a competition that rewards some of the platform’s best applications with large cash grants. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/05/27/google-kicks-off-android-developer-challenge-part-deux 5/27)
Mobile music will bring in $5.5 billion by 2013, compared with $2.5 billion today, according to a new Juniper Research report that pointed to a wide array of new streaming and downloading services in the pipeline. MediaPost Communications/OnlineMediaDaily (5/26)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=1fe9b85c-dd5c-4f24-9649-1552536e3532)
Filed under: WIRELESS | Tags: AT&T, Handheld, iPhone, Palm Pre, Smartphone, Sprint Nextel, Wall Street Journal, Yahoo
The Palm Pre’s official launch date is set to be unveiled tomorrow in the Wall Street Journal. But it looks like the New York Times may have one-upped its rival
class=”snap_preview_icon”> with a story today giving a launch window for the device. While it doesn’t give an exact date, NYT reports that Sprint will be released in the first week of June, citing people briefed with the company’s plans. (http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2009/05/18/the-pre-will-indeed-launch-days-before-a-likely-iphone-refresh 5/18)
Facing criticism that even the minimum iPhone monthly bill is too high for many consumers, AT&T is reportedly thinking about cutting its prices. The big rumored change is that AT&T would apparently offer a limited data package for $20-a-month, a $10-a-month reduction over the current all-you-can-eat plan. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/05/18/whats-funny-as-hell-about-the-supposed-att-iphone-plan-price-cut 5/18)
Yahoo is abandoning its mobile apps for the Blackberry and other smartphones in order to focus more on its recently relaunched iPhone app. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/05/18/yahoo-mobile-abandons-its-blackberry-app-to-focus-on-the-iphone 5/18)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=ce7e6ee4-56d0-47a5-ac88-c2c73f03800d)
Filed under: WIRELESS | Tags: AT&T, iPhone, Microsoft, Mobile phone, Nokia, Research In Motion, Smartphone, Wall Street Journal
The rise of the mobile-app market has helped send the popularity of games soaring, according to a new AT&T-sponsored survey that found 57% of cell phone users are gamers — with more than half of those playing at work. AT&T also released a list of the 10 most popular games and applications that were downloaded on its network from January to March. The Wall Street Journal (5/5) , TMCNet.com (5/5)
Say you’re a wireless carrier with an exclusive deal on the hottest wireless device with the most popular application store. What do you do? Well, up until now, AT&T’s answer has been basically nothing. It had released zero apps taking advantage of the fast growing iPhone platform. Today, it finally got around to releasing one. (http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2009/05/05/att-finally-releases-what-should-have-been-the-first-iphone-app 5/5)
Developers planning to write for Microsoft‘s new mobile market should forget about VoIP applications and programs that change the phone’s default browser or allow users to shop at rival app stores. Those are among the 12 rules Microsoft has spelled out for the downloadable-apps market the company is expected to launch — along with an operating system upgrade — in the second half of the year. PCWorld/IDG News Service (5/5)
AT&T is putting some of its smartphones on a diet: The carrier said Monday that it would begin selling in early summer Research in Motion‘s new BlackBerry Curve 8900 — at 0.53 inches deep, the phone is said to be RIM’s thinnest full-QWERTY release ever — and has put Nokia‘s new e71x on sale for $100. At 0.39 inches in depth, the Nokia 3G-enabled handset might be the world’s slimmest and is the first keyboard-equipped phone that Nokia has released in the U.S. in more than two years. TWICE (5/4) , xchange (5/4)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=463ab41b-2b52-41b1-8503-538f40477b62)
Filed under: WIRELESS | Tags: Android, AT&T, Google, iPhone, Smartphone, United States, Verizon, World of Warcraft
At the risk of repeating myself for the millionth time, in many peoples’ minds, the Achilles’ heel of the iPhone is the network it’s on in the US: AT&T. Since the day it was announced as being exclusive to that provider, people have been wondering one thing: How long until it’s on Verizon? Rumors have surfaced time and again about the possibility, but today brings perhaps the most concrete news yet that the two sides are talking. The two sides are discussing the possibility of getting Verizon version of the iPhone ready for 2010, sources tell USA Today
. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/26/apple-may-hear-verizon-now 4/26)
Samsung is close to bringing its first Android-based smartphone to market, according to reports, which say the Samsung i7500 that O2 is expected to launch in Germany in June will be less than 12 millimeters thick, not include a hardware keypad and run on the Android 1.5 (Cupcake) operating system. Relatedly, Google will release its first Android-powered netbook in the next three months at a cost of $250, according to several reports. Softpedia (Romania) (4/27) , CNET (4/26) , Computerworld (4/25)
A mammoth application comes to an iPhone near you: World of Warcraft. (http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/04/25/world-of-warcraft-on-the-iphone-heralds-end-of-civilization-as-we-know-it 4/25)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=90b67e07-4c42-4637-a6f5-f184a7739759)
Filed under: TECHNOLOGY | Tags: AT&T, Atlanta, BusinessWeek, Mobile phone, Netbook, Philadelphia, Verizon Wireless, WIRELESS
AT&T said it was “very pleased with the early results” of its 2-week-old trial of selling laptops in Atlanta and Philadelphia, a further sign of how aggressively cell phone operators are moving into the traditional bailiwick of retailers such as Best Buy. AT&T said it was considering expanding the program nationwide, while Verizon Wireless plans to begin offering netbooks to customers before July. BusinessWeek (4/13)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=79cb9af2-2118-4207-9e22-69c35ee075c0)
Filed under: TECHNOLOGY | Tags: Amazon.com, AT&T, HD Radio, New York Times, News Corporation, Rupert Murdoch, The New York Times Company, Wall Street Journal
(Below) Um…don’t Amazon and Sony have pretty good versions of these already?
News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch says his company is investing in a mobile reading device for newspaper content. Murdoch didn’t delve into details but hinted the reader might be part of a plan to increase revenues for the flailing media companies. “People are used to reading everything on the net for free, and that’s going to have to change,” Murdoch said. The Wall Street Journal (4/2)
This morning’s news about the latest unemployment statistics was dismal and quite sobering. The U.S. has lost 5 million jobs in the past 16 months, and the unemployment rate has hit a 25 year high, reaching 8.5%. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/03/dicecom-shows-45-drop-in-tech-jobs/ 4/3)
AT&T says connectivity will soon be a major component of every type of consumer-electronics device, forcing the company to look for new pricing strategies to accommodate users who want wireless service for multiple devices. AT&T President of Emerging Devices Glenn Lurie said he did not think customers would be willing to pay a flat monthly fee for most connectivity services, but might be willing to pay on a per-use basis. Computerworld (4/2) , InformationWeek (4/2) , The New York Times (free registration) (4/2)
TomTom, in the midst of building its first wireless navigation device for the U.S., has reached a deal with TrafficCast International for real-time data on traffic and weather as well as the closest low-cost fuel stop, the Dutch company said. Navigation companies are under pressure from telecoms, which increasingly are offering similar services at more convenience and a lower cost. The Wall Street Journal (4/1)
HD Radio will be optional in 11 Mercedes models for the 2010 model year. The HD Radio will be packaged with other premium features. TWICE (3/30)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=d6c6297c-940e-47b0-8d88-517ef46d9f1c)
