smartphone

iSkoot is trying to make cheap cell phones smarter.

The company, which provides mobile Web services, announced Wednesday that it is offering a software development kit to mobile handset manufacturers so that they can turn their inexpensive feature-phones into Web-enabled devices that can access and get live updates for popular Web services like Facebook, IM, e-mail, Twitter and other social media sites.

The iSkoot KalaidaLive SDK will be available to any handset maker, such as LG, Samsung, Motorola or any other device maker. The purpose is to provide more Web services for these inexpensive devices at a low cost. The … Read more

Corporate software makers SAP and Sybase are teaming up to make it easier for business users to access SAP's software on mobile devices such as Apple's iPhone.

SAP, which is the world's biggest maker of business management software, is already working with Research In Motion to develop applications for the BlackBerry. But now SAP says it will extend its software to other devices like the iPhone.

Sybase, which provides database software to large companies, already sells programs that let users access corporate applications and information on their mobile devices. But now it says it will work closely … Read more

Nokia is still by far the No. 1 mobile handset maker in the world, but as competition heats up in the smartphone market, Nokia has become increasingly vulnerable to smaller players such as Apple and Research In Motion, which are increasing market share.

New market share figures released by Gartner this week indicate that the mighty Nokia is losing market share at the high end to Apple, RIM, and HTC. No one expects Nokia to tumble out of first place anytime soon, but the new competition is putting more pressure on the company to address some nagging issues like improving … Read more

Palm shares rose sharply in early morning trading Tuesday, after the smartphone maker increased the size of its secondary offering and netted $83.9 million.

Palm resold 23.13 million shares, as part of a follow-on offering it announced the previous day. Although the company had initially anticipated offering only 18.5 million shares held by its investor Elevation Partners, Palm added more stock to the deal, which it priced at $6 a share.

Elevation received $49 million from the offering, while Palm netted $83.9 million. Palm plans to use the proceeds for working capital, as well as for … Read more

Palm announced Monday plans to offer up a bundle of stock, as it seeks to raise capital for the launch of its highly anticipated Pre smartphone.

The handheld device maker, depending on market conditions, plans to offer 18.5 million shares in a secondary offering between now and March 31, a Palm spokeswoman said.

Proceeds from the sale will be used to repay $49 million to its investor Elevation Partners, with the remainder going toward working capital for the launch of the Pre and future product development.

With Palm currently trading at $6.38 a share, the offering would be … Read more

Correction, 11:06 a.m. PST: This story initially misstated the day the report was released. It was Friday.

Update at 10:31 a.m. PST, with more information from the analyst report and a chart.

A J.P. Morgan analyst cut his financial estimates for Apple's fiscal second quarter and fiscal 2009 on Friday, pointing to expectations that its iPhone and Mac sales may be weaker than previously anticipated.

Apple fell as low as 7.3 percent in early morning trading Friday to $82.33 a share.

"We are lowering our estimates for the March quarter and … Read more

Intel is making a bid to become a force in smartphones. This will test its ability to compete in arguably the most important chip market outside of PCs.

The deal struck this week with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. will put the Intel architecture into the same factories that churn out chips for companies like Qualcomm and Texas Instruments, which use an alternative architecture called ARM--the choice for many small devices, cell phones, and most smartphones, including the Apple iPhone, BlackBerry Storm, and Google-based Android phones.

ARM has always been a thorn in Intel's side. So much so that Intel … Read more

Just a day after Sprint announced the March 15 availability of the Palm Treo Pro, Alltel did one better and revealed on Thursday the immediate availability of the smartphone.

The Treo Pro can be purchased online or at Alltel retail stores for $199.99 with a service agreement and after discounts. The device runs Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional Edition and has Wi-Fi, GPS, and EV-DO Rev. A support. You'll also be able to use the smartphone as a modem for your laptop.

Like the Sprint version, Alltel's model offers Internet Explorer Mobile 6, as well as a … Read more

Struggling handset maker Motorola now characterizes the dismissal of its chief financial officer as "for cause," marking a shift from its initial explanation last month, according to a report Thursday in The Wall Street Journal.

In the company's quarterly financial report early last month, Motorola announced that CFO Paul Liska would be immediately replaced and noted its decision stemmed from postponing the spin-off of its cell phone unit, according to the Journal.

Liska, who was hired by Motorola last year, had previously worked at private equity firms, where he was tasked with running troubled companies and turning … Read more