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Starbucks Corp. will allow customers at U.S. company-operated stores to use some smartphones to pay for their purchases in an effort to drive sales.
Customers with Research in Motion Ltd.’s BlackBerry or Apple Inc.’s iPhone or iPod touch will be able to pay using a Starbuck card mobile app at nearly 6,800 company-operated stores and 1,000 Starbucks in U.S. Target Corp. locations. Get the full story »
Apple Inc. reported better-than-expected results, fueled by blockbuster holiday sales of the iPhone and iPad that may help ease investor concern about Chief Executive Steve Jobs’ decision to take medical leave.
Shares in Apple, halted before the release, rose 4 percent, to about $354, after-hours, from a regular-session close of $340.65. Get the full story »
Sprint is applying an additional $10 per month data fee on new smart phones, starting Jan. 30. Overland Park, Kan.-based Sprint Nextel Corp. says it needs to apply the fee to maintain its network while offering unlimited data consumption. Get the full story »
The Citizens Utility Board on Monday urged consumers to shop for better deals after AT&T’s increased its land line rates Jan. 3.
The company says the hikes spread costs among fewer land line customers. AT&T spokeswoman Brooke Vane says more than a quarter of households are wireless only. AT&T says Chicago has one of the lowest phone rates in the nation. Get the full story »
Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc., the newly independent cell phone and set-top box business of the former Motorola Inc., appointed Nike Inc. executive Jeanne P. Jackson to its board Thursday. Get the full story »
Carl Icahn in 2007. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
Activist investor Carl Icahn owns 11.4 percent of the newly formed Motorola Mobility, according to regulatory documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Icahn had been steadily building his stake in the old Motorola Inc. prior to the company’s separation into two independent, publicly traded companies on Jan. 4. Motorola Mobility, which makes mobile phones and TV set-top boxes, was spun off from Motorola. The remaining company, which makes communications equipment for government and business customers, was renamed Motorola Solutions.
According to regulatory filings, Icahn has 33.5 million shares in Motorola Mobility. His stake in the new company is roughly on par with his stake in the old Motorola. Get the full story »
Investors in Verizon Communications Inc. have been betting big on the company’s newly announced deal to sell Apple Inc.’s iPhone product — pushing the stock to some of its highest valuation levels in the past decade.
That has sparked debate on Wall Street about how economically beneficial the device will be to the carrier, despite widespread projections calling for the sale of 10 million units or more this year.
In particular, the iPhone likely will be heavily dilutive to Verizon’s earnings this year, given the subsidies the carrier will have to shell out to Apple for the device. Get the full story »
From The Wall Street Journal | One day after announcing it will start selling an iPhone, Verizon confirms that it is ending its program that allows subscribers to upgrade their phones every two years. The carrier also is ending its early upgrade policy, starting next week.
Verizon Wireless has announced that the iPhone will be available on its network in early February. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
After waiting three-and-a-half years, Verizon Wireless customers will finally get their hands on Apple’s iPhone next month.
The top U.S. wireless operator ended months of speculation and anticipation from impatient consumers on Tuesday by announcing that it would begin selling a version of the iPhone on Feb. 10 at the same prices as AT&T.
“I’m going to switch right away. I’m going to go back to Verizon,” said Raheem Noble, 24, a New York City rapper, who was on his way to buy the device before being told that preorders would not begin until Feb. 3. Get the full story »
From Bloomberg | Libertyville-based Motorola Mobility Holdings and Research In Motion may lose more than 6.5 million in combined phone shipments this year as Verizon Wireless begins to offer Apple’s iPhone, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.
The Verizon iPhone could lead to a 55 percent drop in Motorola’s earnings per share, Rod Hall, an analyst at JPMorgan in San Francisco, wrote in a research note.
Mobile broadband subscriptions are on track to surpass 1 billion in 2011 only months after reaching half a billion, Ericsson said on Tuesday, highlighting a key growth driver for the telecom sector.
“During the course of 2010, a significant milestone in terms of mobile broadband subscriptions was reached as their number surpassed the half-a-billion mark globally,” Ericsson, the world’s biggest mobile network gear maker, said in a statement. “Ericsson estimates that this number will double before 2011 ends.” Get the full story »
Verizon Wireless is expected to announce Tuesday that it will start selling a version of Apple Inc.’s iPhone, ending AT&T Inc.’s exclusive relationship with Apple.
A version of the iPhone for Verizon’s network has been long expected, and Verizon Wireless has invited the press to an event at 10 a.m. Get the full story »
(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Verizon Wireless has been beefing up its network and believes it will have no problem handling iPhone-type loads, a claim that could be put to the test this year if the carrier signs up millions of subscribers using the Apple Inc. device.
Verizon Wireless, the country’s largest wireless carrier, is confident enough in its network that it will offer unlimited data-use plans when it starts selling the iPhone around the end of this month, a person familiar with the matter said. Such plans would provide a key means of distinguishing its service from rival AT&T Inc., which limits how much Internet data such as videos and photos its customers may use each month. Get the full story »
Until recently, consumers wanting to take advantage of 4G wireless network speeds didn’t have much choice in devices. Carriers offered laptop cards and USB dongles, but the selection of smart phones and other gadgets was minimal.
This dynamic will change dramatically this year, thanks to a flurry of product launches from mobile operators that are eager to meet increasing consumer demand for fast wireless broadband and draw more revenue from data traffic. At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, carriers announced more than 15 new 4G devices, many of them smart phones or tablets. Get the full story »
Skype has agreed to buy Qik, a service that lets users stream video from their smart phones, for an undisclosed amount.
The price tag has been reported to be about $100 million, though Skype said it won’t provide terms. The deal is expected to close this month. Get the full story »
