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Wireless & Mobile Breaking News

  • Verizon suit a 'gamble worth taking' for AT&T, says IP lawyer
    Although AT&T's false-advertising lawsuit against Verizon is a major risk for the company, intellectual property attorney Thomas Zellerbach thinks it's a risk worth taking.
  • The under-hyped tech that's changing the world
    I was asked recently whether I thought any wireless technologies were currently being over-hyped. The cynic in me was ready to tick several off of my fingers. But the more I thought about it, I realized there's actually one I consider under-hyped. That would be the wireless sensor. These little gizmos are quietly on a path to change civilization as we know it.
  • The 5 best, and 5 worst, features of Google Chrome OS
    Today, Google released the source code for Chrome OS and promised that devices will be shipping in about a year, in time for the 2010 holiday season. Chrome OS will run only on devices specifically manufactured for it and Google is dictating to manufacturers the hardware specifications. For instance, Chrome OS devices will be netbooks, will not include a hard drive, will have only solid state disks, will rely on specified WiFi chipsets/adapters for connectivity and must have full-sized keyboards, says Sundar Pichai, Google's vice president of product management.
  • Verizon ups the smarm, mocks AT&T
    This week, Verizon filed a sarcastic and defiant response to the lawsuit filed by AT&T earlier this month alleging that Verizon's "There's a Map for That" ads falsely assert that AT&T has major gaps in its wireless coverage.
  • Wireless turns inside out
    Cellular networks were originally built to keep people connected when away from their wired indoor phones. For its part, Wi-Fi's genesis was to eliminate cabling to desktop PCs, then later to provide data mobility in and around the home and office. Now, the respective technologies' goals are flip-flopping. Cellular is doing its darnedest to affordably cover indoor locations, while Wi-Fi is making a hard push outside. What gives?
  • Shifting mobile cost to employees? Think twice
    I've noticed a disturbing anecdotal trend in talking to enterprise customers lately, and some recent IDC numbers I just stumbled across seem to back it up. The unfortunate movement is away from corporate-liable mobile phone models and towards individual-liable setups, where employees procure their own wireless devices and services and may be reimbursed for their expenses by their employer.
  • Shifting mobile cost to employees? Think twice
    I've noticed a disturbing anecdotal trend in talking to enterprise customers lately, and some recent IDC numbers I just stumbled across seem to back it up. The unfortunate movement is away from corporate-liable mobile phone models and towards individual-liable setups, where employees procure their own wireless devices and services and may be reimbursed for their expenses by their employer.
  • What's next for Wi-Fi?
    The approval of the 802.11n wireless standard marks not the end but the start of a wave of Wi-Fi innovation. Here are eight ways it will change in the next three to five years.
  • New 11n chips could soon make 802.11abg gear extinct
    Setting the stage for a new generation of 802.11n wireless networks, Wi-Fi chipmaker Atheros last week launched a family of enhanced chips that include some of the optional features of the recently ratified final 11n standard. Many enterprise-class wireless LAN makers base their systems on Atheros chips, and with the enhanced standards-based components available, it likely won’t be long until 802.11abg products start disappearing from vendor inventories altogether.
  • Apple seeks new sheriff to lock up iPhones
    Just as a new hack, blacksn0w, promises to unlock iPhones with the latest Apple software from AT&T's wireless network, Apple is looking for a sheriff to lock the smartphones back up again, permanently.
  • How not to get 'royally screwed' on wireless costs
    Wireless plans are a great place to start for companies looking to cut communications costs, with one firm reporting at VoiceCon that it saved $33,000 per month by renegotiating unfavorable contracts.
  • AT&T sues Verizon over TV ads
    The nation's two largest wireless carriers already battle fiercely on smartphone devices and customers, but AT&T took matters to federal court, claiming Verizon Wireless' latest TV ads are misleading, and falsely indicate that AT&T has gaps in wireless coverage.
  • Possible relief for cellular capacity crunch
    Mobile WAN operators are battling in-building coverage and network capacity problems that have generated a spate of unfavorable press. Start-up SpiderCloud Wireless, though, has emerged from stealth mode this week with an alternative in-building wireless platform it says can alleviate these problems for mobile operators' enterprise customers.
  • iPhone helps forge new relationship between IT and users at Kraft Foods
    Kraft Foods uses iPhones in part as a peace offering between users and IT by letting some workers use the devices even though they are not optimal for many corporate uses, VoiceCon attendees were told Monday.
  • New look Juniper opens up, readies for next decade
    Juniper Networks' wide-ranging announcements last week, billed as the most significant since its founding in 1996, included a sweeping array of software, silicon, systems and partnerships designed to take the company and its customers into the next decade of networking.
  • Wireless sensors: A potential 'hot' data center trend
    Let's be honest: In many companies, green initiatives have as much to do with saving money as saving the planet. But you don't want to reduce energy so much that it compromises the functioning of your data center equipment. Shutdowns and poor operation can be just as costly to the business.
  • LTE is on track to rock your world
    LTE is shaping up to be a major network technology, and Infonetics Research this week released a report demonstrating just how big it will be.
  • RIM develops a better BlackBerry browser
    RIM is expanding its effort to redefine the Web browsing experience for BlackBerry users. In a recent job posting on LinkedIn, RIM asked for an expert C++ programmer who is firmly grounded in the open source Webkit browser engine.
  • First public white spaces broadband network is alive in Virginia
    The first public white spaces network officially launched on Wednesday in Claudville, Virginia. It is uses sensing technology from Spectrum Bridge with software and Web cams supplied by Microsoft and PCs supplied by Dell. The project was funded the TDF Foundation.
  • Gaping security hole turned 64,000 Time Warner cable modems into hacker prey
    A blogger helping to tune a friend's wi-fi network uncovered a gaping security hole in Wi-Fi cable modem routers installed in 64,000 Time Warner subscribers' homes, leaving them open to attack.
  • 802.11n price wars already underway
    The ink is barely dry on the final IEEE 802.11n standard, and already vendors are slashing their equipment prices to encourage wide-scale enterprise deployments.
  • Brocade taps Motorola for Wi-Fi
    Brocade Tuesday said it is refreshing its Wi-Fi product line via a five-year strategic partnership with Motorola.
  • 802.11n price wars already underway
    The ink is barely dry on the final IEEE 802.11n standard, and already vendors are slashing their equipment prices to encourage wide-scale enterprise deployments.
  • Sidekick users livid over Microsoft server failure
    Sidekick users have blasted Microsoft in thousands of messages on T-Mobile USA's support forum over the server failure that lost their smartphones' data.
  • Mobile WAN operators raise 'openness' bar
    It was a productive week for mobile WANs, with AT&T, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile and Sprint all making announcements that broke new ground for the licensed operators.

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