mobile operator

HTC unveiled an advanced handset Wednesday that is powered by Qualcomm's Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless (BREW) platform -- which provides developers with the technology for porting their applications between all Qualcomm devices. The move marks a major departure for the Taiwan-based company, which has heavily invested in the development of handsets based on Google's Android platform and Microsoft's Windows Mobile OS.

In a move to compete for business from wireless carriers, Cisco Systems has reached an agreement to acquire Starent Networks for $2.9 billion. Starent supplies IP-based mobile infrastructure solutions.

It was a bold statement in small packages. On Aug. 5, Hewlett-Packard said it was planning to sell portable, Web-connected computers that can tap Japan's cellular networks without requiring users to be locked into a contract with a wireless operator. The computers -- laptops, netbooks, and touchscreen tablets -- will come with 100 minutes of free airtime and a built-in, pay-as-you-go wireless system when they go on sale next month.

INQ Mobile has unveiled two new 3G phones that promise to enhance the social-networking capabilities of users participating in popular online services such as Twitter and Facebook. The tweet-capable handsets also feature Skype, media sync, and instant-messaging capabilities.

INQ said it has been working closely with Twitter to develop an app for its 3G handsets so users will have an always-on connection to Twitter and Facebook after the initial log-in. The fledgling handset maker noted that this will let users tweet and re-tweet over the Internet instead of using SMS.

AT&T is poised to launch a new Motorola handset later this month that is expressly designed to deliver mobile socializing capabilities. Called the Karma, the 3G handset with QWERTY keyboard -- which will retail for $79.99 after the mail-in rebate -- combines text messaging and instant messaging with one-click Facebook and MySpace icons on the device's home screen.

On June 3 mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson used the occasion of the annual JavaOne software developers' conference in San Francisco to announce that it, too, will launch an online software applications store. By August, Sony Ericsson customers will be able to personalize their phones with a range of downloadable programs such as utilities, tools, and games.

T-Mobile's G1 smartphone, the first major Android device, will soon have a sibling. Reuters news service has reportedly received an e-mail from T-Mobile confirming that it will offer another Android device this summer.

The news follows a series of recent announcements from various companies indicating that the Google-backed, open-source mobile operating system may be gaining momentum in the smartphone industry and possibly in the booming category of netbooks.

More Than a Million Sold

Research in Motion wanted its BlackBerry Bold to be a hot item, but not the way it's happening in Japan. NTT DoCoMo, Japan's largest mobile operator, stopped selling the Bold on Friday because of overheating problems during battery recharging.

According to news media, DoCoMo reported about 30 customers had complained about the keyboard heating up, out of about 4,000 devices sold. The company added that there were no reports of injury or fire.

Launched Last Week

Apple's iPhone partners may be working overtime to enhance the phone maker's image.

Poland Orange, Poland's largest mobile operator, has launched a pre-iPhone 3G marketing campaign that is paying dozens of actors to stand in line to buy one of the new devices, according to a Reuters report. And Orange isn't trying to hide it, either.

"We have these fake queues in front of 20 stores around the country to drum up interest in the iPhone," a spokesman told Reuters. The wire service reported no queues at T-Mobile's Era stores, which will also began selling iPhone 3Gs on Friday.

Iayn Dobson, a computer technician from a suburb of Manchester, downloaded a 60-minute episode of the U.S. television show Prison Break last September using a 3G network and mobile data card. Wireless data are expensive in Europe, but Dobson's mistake was making the download while on vacation in Portugal.

That became clear when his monthly bill arrived from Yes Telecom, a subsidiary of Vodafone, the largest European mobile operator: pound(s)31,000, or about $61,000 -- most of it for international data-roaming charges from the video download.