AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega said he feels good about the future of the company’s shared family data plans. “I’m very comfortable with the plan that will be offered to our customers,” de la Vega told CNET at the CTIA Wireless trade show. The comments mark a 180-degree reversal from previous statements the CEO made in January. De la Vega had said the company had run into complications over IT and billing issues, as well as complications regarding how the carrier would subsidize devices. “We want to make sure we get it right,” he said in January. A shared data plan would allow families to buy a larger bucket of data that can be shared by multiple devices, like
Samsung looks beyond Android
Android has been good to Samsung. Very, very good. Samsung recently reported its second consecutive quarter of record earnings, thanks in no small part to its wildly popular line of Android-powered Galaxy smartphones. The South Korea-based vendor also just took the wraps off its next-generation flagship Android smartphone, the Galaxy S III. While the device may have opened the door for rivals to make some moves if they can act quickly enough, Samsung is currently the No.1 smartphone vendor in the world by volume and the Galaxy S III should help it retain that title. As good as Android has been for Samsung, however, the vendor continues to make it clear that it does not want to put all its
If the iPhone won’t come to T-Mobile, T-Mobile will go to the iPhone
T-Mobile has acknowledged internally that Apple’s iPhone offers a “poor customer experience” on its network, but the nation’s No.4 carrier is working as quickly as it can to change that. The company announced this past February that it will be performing upgrades to its network that bring faster data speeds to users who purchase an iPhone on their own and unlock it for use on T-Mobile, and on Tuesday the carrier said the work will be performed ahead of schedule. Apple has tested an iPhone compatible with T-Mobile’s network, as BGR exclusively revealed more than a year ago, but such a device has yet to launch for reasons unknown. T-Mobile executives have stated publicly on a number of occasions that not
AT&T CEO blames Google for slow Android updates, Google fires back
When asked about the slow roll-out of updates for its Android-powered smartphones and tablets, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson claimed Google was at fault and the carrier could do nothing about it. “Google determines what platform gets the newest releases and when,” the executive said. “A lot of times, that’s a negotiated arrangement and that’s something we work at hard. We know that’s important to our customers. That’s kind of an ambiguous answer because I can’t give you a direct answer in this setting.” The Mountain View-based company has fired back, however, and said the CEO’s statements are not accurate. “Mr. Stephenson’s carefully worded quote caught our attention and frankly we don’t understand what he is referring to. Google does not have any agreements
Wireless carriers continue to battle phone subsidies
Wireless carriers have traditionally made money off lengthy two-year service agreements, rather than physical device sales. In the age of smartphones, however, carriers are footing the bill for expensive handsets that result in smaller margins, while phone makers such as Apple reap the benefits. To combat traditional phone subsidies, carriers in the U.S. have continued to raise monthly rates and employ new and higher fees. In Europe, service providers are taking more aggressive measures, with some carriers refusing to subsidize devices for new customers. The carriers’ latest cries of resistance are drawing applause from investors and analysts alike, who say carriers could benefit more from the smartphone boom if they raise contract prices and slow the rate at which customers
Angry Birds generated $106 million for Rovio in 2011
Rovio on Monday announced the company’s financial results for 2011. The mobile game developer generated $106.3 million in sales based on the success of its Angry Birds games and strong merchandising business. “The strong growth in revenue clearly demonstrates the popularity of the Angry Birds brand.” Mikael Hed, Rovio CEO said. “The heavy investments made in 2011 to all business areas will be seen in future products. To ensure continuous success we need to be creative and stay focused on entertaining our millions of fans by continuously developing new and innovative products and services.” Rovio’s three Angry Birds offerings in 2011 — Angry Birds, Angry Birds Seasons and Angry Birds Rio — were downloaded 648 million times and featured 200 million
More than 50% of U.S. mobile users own smartphones
The majority of mobile subscribers in the United Stated now own a smartphone according to the latest numbers from Nielsen. The research firm found that 50.4% of all U.S. mobile subscribers owned smartphones in March, up from 47.8% in December 2011. Co…
Microsoft may be forced to give Nokia a bail out
Nokia continues to struggle as the once dominant cell phone maker continues to lose share in both the smartphone and broader mobile market. The Finnish vendor’s Lumia handsets have yet to take off and Nokia’s stock has tumbled 90% over the past five years. Nokia CEO Stephen Elop may look toward his former employer, Microsoft, to step in and help the troubled handset maker, Reuters suggests. The company’s partnership with the software giant is seen as a last chance to turn its business around. Microsoft is already paying Nokia $1 billion a year to use the Windows Phone platform, and many analysts believe the company may be willing to help out further if Nokia’s problems were to intensify. “If Nokia ends up
Share Of OS Smartphone Sales Continues To Be A Two Horse Race
Not many surprises here. According to the latest research from the NPD Group, Android and iOS continue to dominate the OS arms race. Combined, these two powerhouse operating systems account for 90% of smartphone sales. Report after report, we continue to see the same thing: Android an iOS on top. I’m starting to wonder if [...]
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