05/08, 10:41am
RIM hires experienced executives for COO, CMO roles
After what seems like nothing but job cuts and execs leaving, Canadian smartphone maker Research In Motion (RIM) on Tuesday announced it is naming two new executives to its team. The new Chief Operating Officer is Kristian Tear, while Frank Boulben has become the Chief Marketing Officer. Both are said to bring an abundant amount of mobile computing experience to the table. RIM President and CEO Thorsten Heins said the two have a strong understanding of the emerging trends in mobile communications and computing.
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05/07, 11:45pm
Spectrum needed obtained from 1900MHz AT+T sale
T-Mobile has hired Ericsson and Nokia-Siemens today for the upcoming $4 billion LTE buildout. T-Mobile's current HSPA+ network covers 220 million people in 229 major markets, and the company argues that it can be called 4G based on speed alone. The LTE expansion is expected to be completed sometime in 2013.
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04/05, 7:40am
Hirai to unveil One Sony strategy in next week
Sony in a brief message called for a corporate strategy meeting on April 12 in which it would outline the company's new direction for the media. Details were short, but it would involve just-instated CEO Kaz Hirai. Most expect the discussion to center around Hirai's definition of a "One Sony" strategy meant to eliminate the 'silos' that have kept Sony divisions either isolated or even competing against each other.
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04/02, 3:45pm
Xperia S hit with screen bug when it gets hot
Sony's Xperia S smartphone has been plagued with an issue with its screen, Crave has found. When the phone gets too warm, its screen emits a yellow tint. Sony is aware of the problem, stating that only a "limited number" of Xperia S phones are affected when they reach 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
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03/14, 7:25pm
Products competitive with Qualcomm's Snapdragon
ST-Ericsson is expected to unveil its plans to restructure its operations within the next two weeks. Reuters sources now claim that the reorganization of the joint venture between Sweden's Ericsson and France's STMicroelectronics is in line with the company's plans to be acquired by another chipmaker. Potential buyers named include AMD, NVIDIA, Intel, and Texas Instruments.
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02/22, 6:30pm
Ericsson cobranding starts to be phased out
Last week, Sony
took complete control of its former joint venture with Ericsson. Sony has already begun to phase out the Ericsson name from its mobile products branding. Its first step has been to redirect online viewers from the Sony Ericsson site to the company's SonyMobile web portal.
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02/15, 11:40pm
Sony now controls phone strategy entirel
Sony at early Thursday Japanese time formally completed its buyout of Ericsson's stake in Sony Ericsson. The move now leaves Sony Mobile Communications as a completely Sony-owned company. Bert Nordberg would still be CEO of the mobile group, which it revealed had about 100 million euros ($130.3 million) in stated working capital.
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02/04, 1:25pm
Motorola royalty demands of Apple uncovered
Newly uncovered documents from Apple's opposition to a Motorola attempt to silence its requests have uncovered Motorola's demands for a 3G patent license. In explaining why it needed to get details of Qualcomm's patent deal with Motorola, Apple mentioned that Motorola had wanted a 2.25 percent royalty on Apple product sales as its attempt at a FRAND (fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory) patent licensing offer. Florian Mueller, who unearthed the details, saw it as likely an excessive rate given that Apple wouldn't only be licensing from Motorola and that it could significantly raise the price of selling an iPhone or 3G iPad.
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02/02, 11:10am
Qualcomm, Ericsson use SRVCC to handover call
Mobile device chipmaker Qualcomm and network and communications gear Ericsson on Thursday announced they've reached a significant milestone by handing over a call from an LTE network to a WCDMA network using a single radio. They used the Single Radio Voice Call Continuity (SRVCC) 3GPP specified feature to hand off the Voice-over-LTE (VoLTE) call when a user left the coverage area to the more widespread 3G network. The hand-off was made on December 23, 2011 on the Ericsson network on a handset using Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 MSM8960 processor at the heart of new phones and tablets.
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01/25, 6:10pm
Equiment provider can offer Wi-Fi + cell in 1 box
Cellular infrastructure equipment provider Ericsson is reportedly adding Wi-Fi capabilities to its catalog. GigaOM reports that the company is buying BelAir Networks, a provider of high-performance outdoor hotspot technology. Up until now, BelAir has been providing equipment mainly to the cable industry.
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01/23, 12:00pm
Apple wants ex parte discovery of Ericsson patents
Apple on Friday is now known to have called on information from Ericsson to help defend against Motorola's patent lawsuits in the US and Germany. An ex parte request for discovery is asking Ericsson whether or not it has a license to the same Motorola patents that are being used to sue Apple. The requests would be used primarily in German courts, where Apple has so far lost to Motorola.
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01/20, 9:35pm
Ericsson and ZTE drop patent suits on GSM, 3G
Ericsson and ZTE on Friday made peace and dropped lawsuits against each other over cellular technology. In return for stopping legal action, they agreed to license some of each other's technology patents. ZTE would take a license of Ericsson's patents for GSM and 3G under lower standards-based rates; it's not clear what if anything Ericsson would be paying ZTE.
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01/16, 3:30pm
Kopin shows early version of wearable computer
A company called Kopin has shown off its wearable, Motorola-branded computer, the Golden-i. It connects to the cloud using 4G and has many possible uses, from law enforcement, to medicine (such as surgery) to mechanical work at home. It sports Kopin's uniquely dense one-inch display, which equates to a traditional 15-inch monitor due to its proximity to the wearer's eye, and the display appears to be 18 inches away.
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10/27, 5:30am
Sony to develop mobile phones solo
(Updated with end of basic phones) Sony has announced it has acquired Ericsson’s interest in what had been their ten-year old joint mobile phone venture. Previously rumored, the move ultimately came at a cost of €1.05 billion ($1.47 billion) as Sony bought Ericsson’s 50 percent stake in the company. The purchase also grants Sony access to what it calls a broad IP cross-licensing agreement and ownership of “five essential patent families.”
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10/13, 3:25pm
Ericsson finds mobile data use doubled in a year
Mobile data traffic has more than doubled in one year, Ericsson found. According to a GigaOM report, the doubling came between the second quarter of 2010 and the same quarter in 2011. Ericsson found than an active smartphone owner uses more than 1MB per day.
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10/06, 12:50pm
Sony Ericsson may split through Sony buyout
Sony Ericsson is on the verge of splitting up as Sony hopes to get a more Apple-like control of its phones, insiders disclosed Thursday. Under the terms slipped to the WSJ, Sony would buy Ericsson's 50 percent stake. Little is known other than that the Ericsson share could be worth as much as $1.7 billion and that Ericsson's mobile-focused patents might be involved.
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09/09, 5:55pm
InterDigital may be bought by top Android backers
(Update: clarification on Google role) InterDigital's attempt at a sell-off is getting close and attracting key Android phone makers, insiders claimed Friday. HTC and returning candidate Samsung are considering initial bids when they start in an auction now said to be starting in two weeks. Ericsson and Intel were also involved in the Bloomberg version of events.
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08/30, 5:10pm
Apple fights Samsung on patent terms in lawsuit
Apple in a response to Samsung's countersuit late Monday accused the Korean company of abusing its stance on patent licensing terms. The firm accused Samsung of "serial standard-setting abuses" by illegally getting monopoly status in fields where its patents are billed as essential to the technology and promptly 'tricking' standards bodies by hiding its requirements around Fair, Reasonable, and Non-Discriminatory (FRAND) licensing terms, letting it abuse its claims against others. Apple contended that Samsung's lawsuit was an "anticompetitive ambush" and was exploiting this to try and make Apple drop its self-proclaimed legitimate anti-copying complaints.
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07/19, 5:55pm
Canada won't look into $4.5b Nortel patent sale
Unlike the rumored investigation by the Department of Justice and the FTC of the recent Nortel patent buy, the Canadian government won't review it, the Industry Minister Christian Paradis said on Tuesday. While the Investment Canada Act requires foreign investments of more than $328 million must be reviewed, the book value of the $4.5 billion deal may be much lower, said a Tuesday report.
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07/07, 4:05pm
Our Rogers LTE test shows fast speeds
We've had the opportunity to use Rogers' new LTE 4G network both on our own equipment as well as on a handful of devices the company had at its live event. Regardless of the hardware, we've seen speeds that even put Verizon's LTE network to shame. Read ahead for our first takes -- as well as some big concerns about the bandwidth limits being put on such a fast service.
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07/02, 2:45am
Apple key to winning Nortel bids
The consortium win in Nortel's auction was headed by Apple against a Google that was at times difficult to take seriously, uncovered details from the inside have shown. The group, nicknamed "Rockstar," led almost from the start and was facing off against just Google by the very end. After already reaching $3 billion, the two sides seen by Reuters' observer bid in $100 million increments up to $4 billion, where Google "tapped out" even after getting special permission to continue past an earlier $3 billion limit.
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06/24, 12:10pm
Apple, Google and Ericsson also potential suitors
Intel has reportedly received blessings from the Federal Trade Commission to acquire Nortel's patent portfolio, though the chip maker must outbid several competitors to secure the bankrupt company's intellectual property. The latest report corroborates earlier rumors, which pointed to a possible bidding war between Google, Intel, Apple, Ericsson, and RPX, a company that buys patents defensively to protect clients against patent trolls.
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06/23, 3:50pm
FTC approves Apple chance at buying Nortel patents
The FTC on Thursday gave the go-ahead to Apple participating in a Nortel patent auction. Confirming recent rumors, it determined that Apple's bids wouldn't pose a competitive threat. Concerns had existed that Apple might over-aggressively pursue lawsuits with the patents in tow, particularly against Android phone makers.
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06/21, 1:15pm
Apple and Nordic take top spots in Bluetooth SIG
The Bluetooth Special Interest Group on Tuesday marked unusual additions as it brought both Apple and Nordic Semiconductor to its board of directors. The move gave the two greater control over how the short-range wireless standard works. Apple would be there to help with "platform development" for technologies like Bluetooth 4.0 while Nordic would help refine sensor chips.
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06/17, 3:10pm
Apple and Intel cleared to bid on Nortel
Both Apple and Intel have been cleared to bid in Nortel's vital wireless patent auction, contacts slipped out on Friday. After investigations, both have been allowed to go ahead. Ericsson had also been greenlit, according to the Wall Street Journal, and was being accompanied by RPX, a proxy company that buys patents to avoid them being used against its clients.
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05/18, 4:30pm
7-year deal moves 700 workers to Ericsson
Clearwire has announced that it will transfer operational responsibility for its 4G network to Ericsson. Under the seven-year agreement, Ericsson will take over day-to-day responsibility for the network, while Clearwire will still retain physical ownership. Clearwire has taken this action in an effort to reduce its operating costs while maintaining network quality.
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05/12, 11:45am
Verizon short on network outage details
At the Business Innovation Forum in California on Wednesday, Verizon Wireless executive director of LTE didn't provide any direct reasons for the network's outage late in April. When pressed, Brian Higgins told the audience Verizon took steps to ensure the problem won't reoccur, but did not provide any details on why it happened or which of its vendors is to blame, ConnectedPlanet wrote on Wednesday. The company's 3G and LTE networks went out for 24 hours across the US.
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03/17, 6:55pm
Codec promises improved voice quality
Ericsson has announced that it has successfully demonstrated its "HD voice" technology on a CDMA network. The new technology, which was first previewed using an HSPA network, promises to bring significant improvements to voice quality and intelligibility, while expanding the spectral range to reach from 50Hz to 7kHz.
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01/31, 3:40pm
Ericsson shows 168Mbps on prototype device
Ericsson on Monday showed off new record speeds for 3G. The network gear designer said it had successfully tested HSPA service running at 168Mbps downstream and 24Mbps upstream using a real "prototype consumer device" and practical networking hardware. Its speed, achieved by using bonding an unnamed number of channels together, was about four times the 42Mbps peak of the very latest cellular networks.
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01/05, 11:55pm
Sony and Ericsson team up to build Xperia Arc
Whether needed or not, the world has one more smart phone to choose from thanks to the latest collaboration between Sony and Ericsson: the Xperia Arc. This new smartphone is based on the Android platform, but hopes to stand out from the pack thanks to its Sony Bravia engine that the electronics maker claims will make it the brightest display on the market.
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10/07, 6:35pm
Rogers, Ericsson test LTE alongside Bell
Rogers and Bell this week said they were trialling Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks for 4G. The technical trial for Rogers is being conducted in cooperation with Ericsson Canada in Ottawa, the country's capital. The theoretical maximum wireless transfer speeds of LTE are 150Mbps.
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09/21, 7:25pm
Novatel shows smallest dual carrier HSPA+ modem
Novatel Wireless on Tuesday announced it will soon bring out the smallest dual carrier HSPA+ USB modem. It will initially be available at Spain's Telefonica Moviles network before arriving at other carriers around the world. The Ovation MC545 was demonstrated to provide a maximum download speed of 40.5Mbps when running on Ericsson’s DC-HSPA+ network.
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07/21, 9:50am
InNova claims Apple and others copy spam filter
Little-known patent holder InNova hoped to seize on the success of others today as it filed a lawsuit claiming that a large range of companies violate a patent on e-mail spam filtering. It accused high-profile technology firms such as Apple, Google and RIM as well as 3Com, AOL, Dell, Ericsson, HP, Symantec and Yahoo of copying technology allegedly invented by InNova founder Robert Uomini 15 years ago. Companies as diverse as Capital One Auto Finance and Frito-Lay were also implicated in the suit.
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07/12, 1:10pm
VoLGA Forum outs new specifications for LTE calls
The VoLGA Forum has updated specifications for its Voice Over LTE standard. The new specs include mobile voice and SMS service over 4G, unlike the current standard, which only supports data. The changes will bring with them Voice over LTE via Generic Access (VoLGA) using 3G, HSPA-based networks, with users also getting the option of emergency calls even when there isn't a SIM card.
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02/09, 8:10am
Netgear MBRN3300 shares 3G with the home
Netgear on Tuesday made an unusual branch into 3G this morning through teamwork with Ericsson. The MBRN3300 can use an internal 3G modem, including HSPA+ at roughly 20Mbps, and share the link through either 802.11n Wi-Fi or through four 100Mbps Ethernet ports. The companies envision it as a modem for homes where regular cable, DSL or fiber isn't available, or for completely mobile local networks; it even has the option of a car charger or a battery pack to run free of a traditional plug.
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01/20, 1:50pm
3 Scandinavia and Ericsson to out 84Mbps network
Wireless network operator 3 and Ericsson on Wednesday said they would introduce the first 84Mbps HSPA+ 3G wireless network in the world. The rollout will cover Denmark and four major Swedish cities. Significantly, the move means customers will see a theoretical fourfold increase in mobile broadband speeds even while they stay on a similar network standard.
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10/23, 2:00pm
Samsung shows first LTE 4G USB modem
As part of a just-announced partnership between Ericsson and Samsung, the latter has released the first USB modem fully compatible with the new Long Term Evolution (LTE) 4G standard. The Samsung GT-B3710 modem will be sold commercially through provider TeliaSonera in 2010 in Norway and Sweden. It promises to bring peak speeds of 150Mbps downstream as well as 50Mbps uploads.
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10/02, 4:45pm
O2 set to test LTE technology in six countries
Telefonica, which owns the UK-based wireless provider O2, announced that it will begin trial testing of its Long Term Evolution mobile broadband technology in six European countries. The 4G technology will allow for faster wireless data speeds, and the trials will involve hardware from six manufacturers including Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, Huawei, NEC, Nokia Siemens Network, and ZTE.
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10/01, 4:00pm
Rogers reveals Ericsson-made Rocket Hub
Rogers today counted itself as one of the first North American carriers to offer an officially-sanctioned 3G wired and wireless router on its network. Rebadged as the Rocket Hub, the Ericsson-designed router can take cellular data, up to 7.2Mbps 3G over HSPA, and share it both over Wi-Fi as well as for those on an Ethernet link. The Hub is deemed particularly important for users who can't get Internet access for multiple devices but expect to remain in one place.
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09/25, 3:35pm
FCC sets Oct. 23rd deadline for spectrum feedback
As part of its ongoing attempt to expand the wireless spectrum for its national broadband plan, the FCC has now opened comments to the public asking whether the so-called "prime bands" below 3.7GHz, considered ideal for wireless data and video, are sufficient for the near- and long-term demands of wireless broadband. The FCC seeks to get information from industry players by October 23rd regarding the ability of the current spectrum to support future build-outs and which bands are best suited for mobile or fixed wireless broadband.
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09/15, 3:20pm
MetroPCS to launch 4G LTE network late in 2010
Wireless provider MetroPCS on Tuesday announced some details on its upcoming high-speed 4G LTE mobile broadband network. Due for a release in the second half of 2010, MetroPCS will partner with Ericsson and Samsung to power the provider's 4G LTE service. Along with the service, which will be released thanks to Ericsson infrastructure, MetroPCS plans on launching a dual-mode LTE/CDMA smartphone built by Samsung in the major cities that MetroPCS offers its service late in 2010.
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08/17, 8:40am
Sony Ericsson Gets New CEO
Sony Ericsson this morning set in motion a significant change in its strategy with news that its existing CEO Hideki Komiyama is being replaced. The executive will retire at the end of the year and is being replaced by Ericsson's Bert Nordberg on October 15th. The Swedish official specializes in "business realignment" and was responsible for growing that telecom company's business earlier this decade.
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08/12, 10:30am
Sony Ericcson Jalou phone
Sony Ericcson has debuted its latest clamshell handset, the Jalou, along with a Dolce&Gabbana special edition. The handsets are designed for the style-conscious, with a small form-factor measuring 73mm long. The two-inch display doubles as a mirror after pressing a dedicated key.
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07/09, 1:25pm
Sprint hands off network
Sprint has signed a deal to hand over daily network operations to Swedish firm Ericsson, according to an announcement. Set to last at least seven years, the agreement will see Ericsson manage services, provisioning and maintenance for CDMA, iDEN and wired connections. Although Sprint is expected to maintain full ownership and control of its network, and operate all aspects seen by customers, some 6,000 Sprint workers will find themselves under Ericsson's aegis in the third quarter of 2009.
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06/10, 3:55pm
Elektrobit Moorestown MID
Finland-based Elektrobit has recently demonstrated a cellular-voice-enabled mobile Internet device (MID) known as the Reference Device and based on Intel's next-generation Atom processor, codenamed Moorestown. The device will also sport a special build of the Linux-based Moblin v2 operating system optimized for use in MIDs and with cellular phone support. The EB design was co-developed along with Intel and Ericsson, and will be offered to companies in custom specs.
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05/26, 10:40am
TeliaSonera 1st 4G Site
TeliaSonera has become the first carrier to set up a commercial-ready 4G site based on the Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard. Located in Stockholm, Sweden, the tower is part of a larger network that will be ready in 2010 and promises much faster Internet than 3G. Ericsson, which helped build the site, says 4G can reach a theoretical peak of 160Mbps; real-world speeds are likely to be much slower but still above the 7.2Mbps peak of existing 3G.
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05/19, 4:15pm
Sony Ericsson Wants 136m
Sony today said that its cellphone joint-partnership Sony Ericsson is likely to ask for 100 million Euros ($136.5 million) before the end of its current fiscal year in March 2010. The injection, which could come from either Sony or Ericsson themselves, would be prompted both by Sony Ericsson's own struggling health as well as Sony's own dropping sales, which resulted in its first loss in 14 years and has reduced the Japanese firm's ability to support its phone offshoot. How Sony Ericsson will raise the funds will be decided by the two parent companies.
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05/07, 10:05am
S Ericsson on X1 and PS Ph
Sony Ericsson chief Hideki Komiyama today said that his company had made several key mistakes that have contributed to the company's rapid decline in market share. Speaking to FT, the executive now says that the XPERIA X1, once intended as a flagship that would rival the iPhone, is one of these. The full touchscreen Windows Mobile phone was "a kind of experiment" and is no longer expected to carry Sony Ericsson's high-end phone business.
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03/31, 4:10pm
Ericsson shows 56Mbps HSPA
Ericsson announced on Tuesday that it will demonstrate HSPA data speeds as fast as 56Mbps at the CTIA Wireless convention, which kicks off on Wednesday. The speeds should double those of 28Mbps-capable networks launching in North America, Germany and Italy. At Mobile World Congress in February, Ericsson successfully demonstrated speeds in a similar network operating at a peak of 42Mbps. The next step in the evolution of the HSPA technology, dubbed HSPA+, involves the use of a combination of multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) and multi-carrier HSPA technology.
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03/24, 5:10pm
Ericsson W3x HSPA routers
A pair of HSPA mobile broadband routers from Ericsson have just passed through the FCC, indicating the Swedish electronics maker will soon release them. The routers consist of the W30 Data Router (left) and the W35 Data and Voice Router (right). Either is capable of allowing access to HSPA, UMTS or GSM network data over a Wi-Fi or Ethernet home networks or share a USB-connected printer, with the W35 adding the capability of sending voice and fax information over the wireless data network.
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