FierceWireless

Pastor Joel Osteen joins white spaces debate

Sue Marek — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:23:44 -0400

Joel Osteen, the pastor of Lakewood Church in Texas, who's weekly service attracts 40,000 people and a television audience of more than 7 million, has joined the white space debate and notified the FCC that he is concerned about the possibility that unlicensed white space devices may interfere with wireless systems, particularly wireless microphones.

In a letter to the FCC, Osteen said that his church services could not operate without wireless microphone technology, which allows pastors and musicians to interact more closely with members of the congregation. Osteen asks that the FCC protect wireless microphones by not authorizing unlicensed wireless devices that may cause interference.

The FCC is conducting tests of prototype devices that access unused television airwaves, called "white spaces," to see if they will interfere with television broadcasts. Companies such as Google and Microsoft want to use this spectrum to develop new mobile communications devices. However, the initiative has raised the ire of the National Association of Broadcasters, which argues that "white space" devices may interfere with existing television broadcasts.

For more:
- see a copy of Osteen's letter to the FCC

Related articles:
Professional sports leagues concerned about white space spectrum
Companies step up push to license white-space spectrum

Developer Contest Guide 2008--Industry searches for the next top apps

Phil Goldstein — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:19:14 -0400

Throughout 2008, handset makers, carriers and operating system providers have introduced developer competitions to inspire new mobile applications and content as well as generate interest in a particular handset or platform. FierceDeveloper has compiled a listing of all the latest developer contests in its Developer Contest Guide for 2008. Special Report

Verizon rolls out new Motorola handsets

Phil Goldstein — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:14:26 -0400

As the holiday shopping season starts to gear up, Verizon has launched two new mid-range handsets from Motorola.

The VU30 is a standard EV-DO flip phone with a 2-megapixel camera, V Cast Music with Rhapsody, VZ Navigator and external music controls. It retails for $129 with a two-year service contract and a $50 mail-in rebate. Verizon also unleashed the VU204, a scaled down version of VU30, with a VGA camera, PC syncing capability, Bluetooth and a personal organizer. It sells for $29.99 with a two-year service contract and a $50 mail-in rebate.

For more:
- see this article
- see a pic of the VU30
- see a pic of the VU204

Related Articles:
Report: Motorola to develop Android phones
Verizon debuts a slew of new devices

HTC 3Q sales rise 31%

Phil Goldstein — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 10:44:42 -0400

HTC said its sales rose 31 percent in the third quarter, but that its profit, while coming in at $220 million, was 4.9 percent lower than the same period last year.

The Taiwanese handset maker, which is manufacturing T-Mobile's G1, the first handset powered by Google's Android operating system, said its sales dipped because "typhoon weather" limited some shipments in September. The company's revenues rose 30 percent to $1.2 billion.

The handset maker has also been increasing its own line of phones, especially in its Touch series, and said it expected 20 percent to 30 percent revenue growth for 2008.

For more:
- see this article

Related Articles:
Video: T-Mobile G1 Ad
HTC: up to 2 million Android phones sold by end of '09
Google's Android phone to capture 4 percent of market

RIM downgraded because of Bold delays

Phil Goldstein — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 10:15:27 -0400

Deutsche Bank has downgraded Research In Motion, shortly after RIM's co-CEO announced that AT&T Mobility was still testing the much-anticipated and long-delayed BlackBerry Bold, a move that puts more pressure on the handset maker to deliver the device soon.

Deutsche Bank lowered its price target on RIM from $70 to $50, primarily on worries that RIM would keep pushing back the launch of the Bold, and miss its quarterly targets. Co-CEO Mike Lazaridis said this past week that AT&T was still testing the device on its 3G HSPA network to make sure it worked properly on the network.

The downgrade comes as RIM is trying to get both the Bold and the Blackberry Storm, which is being launched by Verizon Wireless, on the market before the holiday shopping season begins.

For more:
- see this article
- see this slideshow of the BlackBerry Bold

Related Articles:
RIM: AT&T still testing BlackBerry Bold
BlackBerry Bold delayed further