mobile

Start-up Wichro takes leap from obscurity

One morning in April, Wichro, a San Francisco-based start-up that develops software for mobile networking, noticed that people had started to use its service in the thousands. There was confusion at the office. Zkout had just been released as a first beta with no marketing efforts whatsoever.

"We got no warning," founder and CEO Christian Wiklund said in a recent interview with CNET News.com.

While the seven employees at the year-old company worked around the clock to make sure servers could cope with the traffic, the reason for the jump became clear: the folks at Apple had … Read more

Virgin Mobile offers first Samsung phone

After hiding out on Virgin Mobile's Web site for more than two weeks, the new Samsung Slash officially joined the carrier's lineup today. The Slash is the first Samsung handset for Virgin Mobile, which has long concentrated on Kyocera and UTStarcom models.

Offered at $79, the Slash has a thin slider design. The functional feature set includes Bluetooth, voice dialing, a speakerphone, messaging, a VGA camera, MP3 ringtones, and a wireless Web browser. We'll have a review model later in the week, so stay tuned for a full report.

Rumor: Dior phone coming in two weeks

A bunch of blogs were reporting last week that Christian Dior would unveil its first mobile phone last Friday. Didn't happen. Now there are rumors supposedly coming out of the phone industry that it will make its maiden appearance in two weeks instead. Whatever.

All we know is that it supposedly is festooned with Swarovski crystals (ugh) and, according to the ad pictured here, has some kind of built-in remote control. The latter feature could add an interesting twist, at least technologically, to the growing trend of phones emanating from the Europe's leading fashion houses, such as those … Read more

EMC: An old phone made new

I'm probably old enough (and dating myself) to remember a time when we used those black bakelite telephones with rotary dial to make calls at home. Today these antiques are considered vintage, and some collectors even pay good money to get one. Too bad mum tossed ours when we embraced the digital age and modernized to the sterile cordless phones. So there's something nostalgic about seeing the EMC (Easy Mobile Calling) phone by designer Matthias Pinkert.

It's a groovy clamshell take on ye old telephone, but Pinkert keeps it too simple with only the bare necessities. Besides … Read more

Qualcomm to take Mobile TV abroad?

Qualcomm may be preparing to launch its MediaFlo mobile TV service in the U.K.

The company this week said it has won 40MHz of wireless spectrum in the U.K. that would be ideal for mobile TV and broadband services. The spectrum is in what's known as the L-band, which is between the frequencies 1452MHz and 1492MHz.

Ofcom, the telecom regulator in the U.K., auctioned off the spectrum earlier this month. And Qualcomm, a wireless chipmaker and mobile patent holder, came away the big winner spending 8.3 million British pounds, or $16.1 million.

So far … Read more

T-Mobile Sidekick Slide Scarlet hits store shelves

If you're not a fan of the color purple, how about scarlet? Today, T-Mobile announced the immediate retail availability of the T-Mobile Sidekick Slide Scarlet. It's pretty much like the original T-Mobile Sidekick Slide, except, you guessed it; it has scarlet accents instead of purple. Everything else is pretty much the same. Features include strong e-mail and instant messaging functions, Bluetooth, built-in music player, Web browser, MyFaves, and MySpace Mobile integration. The Sidekick Slide Scarlet can be yours today for $199.99 with a two-year contract.

Garmin and BlackBerry: lifetime buddies, for a price

Today, Garmin announced a new plan that will give BlackBerry users unlimited, lifetime access to its Garmin Mobile for BlackBerry navigation application. Designed for those who don't want to be bothered by monthly subscription fees, the lifetime plan only requires a one-time fee of $99.99 and then you can get navigation assistance till you can drive or walk no more. Garmin Mobile for BlackBerry services includes Navteq maps, turn-by-turn, voice-guided directions, points of interest, as well as real-time traffic, weather, and fuel price data. You can use the service on the latest BlackBerry models, including the BlackBerry Pearl 8100 series, … Read more

Mozilla joins the mobile Linux revolution

Mozilla has started making noise about the mobile browser market, and just turned up the volume a bit more by joining the mobile Linux trade group, LiMo Foundation. It's not all that significant in and of itself, except that it clearly demonstrates that "Minimo" (now called Fennec) is finally set to break free of its Windows Mobile shackles.

Finally.

Dialed In 31: Behold the BlackBerry Bold

Have mercy. This week Research in Motion debuted the stunning BlackBerry Bold, and while we're enamored with it, we're not calling it an iPhone killer. Plus, Verizon joins the LiMo Foundation, T-Mobile's tops (again), and what's this about a 3G iPhone? All this and more cell phone reviews and reader questions answered. Listen now: Download today's podcast NewsRIM BlackBerry Bold debuts http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9940313-1.htmlVerizon to join LiMo Foundation http://www.news.com/8301-13579_3-9943458-37.htmlGoogle chooses 50 finalists in Android challenge http://www.news.com/8301-13579_3-9942958-37.htmlThe 3G iPhone is … Read more