SunCom, T-Mobile USA Agree to Tie The Knot
Deutsche Telekom, the parent company of T-Mobile USA, said Monday it had agreed to acquire Southeastern US carrier SunCom for $1.6 billion USD in cash.
The deal, announced Monday, is still subject to regulatory approval. It is guaranteed to have shareholder approval however, the two companies said, due to the fact that two investment companies owning more than 50 percent of the stock in the company have committed to vote in favor.
Verizon Re-enables Reggae Ringtones from Bob Marley
In the midst of debates with his estate over charges of trademark infringement, Bob Marley's ringtones are again available from Verizon, enabling a veritable throng of users to finally be able to pick up their phones to the tune of "I Shot the Sheriff."
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of his milestone album "Exodus," Verizon announced on August 28th it would make available Bob Marley and the Wailers ringtones. The list of 28 possible tracks included such hits as "Could You Be Loved," "Buffalo Soldier," as well as recording history's most famous musical confession.
Nokia Acquires Mobile Advertiser Enpocket
Nokia continued its push into the Internet services industry on Monday, announcing it has acquired Boston-based mobile marketing media provider Enpocket.
"Nokia has already announced its intention to be a leading company in consumer Internet services and we believe that mobile advertising will be an important element in monetizing those services for our customers and partners," Nokia CTO Tero Ojanpera said today.
Inside the EU Court's Ruling: Microsoft's Abuse of Dominance
This morning's ruling from the European Court of First Instance dissects both Microsoft's and the European Commission's arguments with logical, plain-spoken precision. It makes the point that Microsoft doesn't get to decide what "interoperability," "bundling," and "evolution" mean. But neither does the EC.
As an institution unto itself, the European Union is frankly not much older than Microsoft. America has a few hundred years of legal precedent to guide it, and the EU characterizes its heritage as the combination of thousands of years of legal foundation among its 27 member countries. But in actuality, the European Commission is bound by its own principles not to apply itself to any case, even if it affects the whole of the continent, unless it can prove to its people that it can do a better job than the legislative authorities of its member states can do collectively.
AOL Restructures Again, Moves to NYC
After 22 years in the Dulles/Reston area of Virginia, AOL will move the majority of its operations to New York City to be closer to the hub of worldwide advertising, which makes up a good deal of its new business model.
The company's new headquarters, as well as its advertising and programming operations, will be located at 770 Broadway, where it has leased office space. AOL said today it will continue to maintain a presence in Dulles, Va. and Mountain View, Calif., among other locations.
MediaDefender Used MiiVi to Trap Downloaders
The company that was hired by the MPAA to rein in leaks and catch downloaders of copyrighted material on BitTorrent networks is apparently the victim of a leak itself, with thousands of its own internal e-mails leaked to BitTorrent last week.
MediaDefender was hired by the Motion Picture Association of America to assist in its anti-piracy efforts. As part of the deal, the e-mails reveal, the company set up its own BitTorrent site named MiiVi. While its downloads were real, a program said to "speed" that download process was actually a Trojan horse.
EU Court: Microsoft Abused Power
The European Court of First Instance in Luxembourg has ruled against Microsoft in its appeal of a March 2004 finding of the European Commission. In so doing, the Court upholds the EC's finding that Microsoft abused its dominant market position in Europe, first by failing to supply access to its protocols for enabling interoperability with its communications software in Windows and Windows Server, and second by bundling its Media Player with Windows XP.
"The Court considers that the Commission was correct to conclude that the work group server operating systems of Microsoft's competitors must be able to interoperate with Windows domain architecture on an equal footing with Windows operating systems if they are to be capable of being marketed viably," reads a press release issued by the Luxembourg court this morning. "The absence of such interoperability has the effect of reinforcing Microsoft's competitive position on the market and creates a risk that competition will be eliminated."
SCO Files Chapter 11, Plans Reorganization, Lawsuits On Hold
After the close of business Friday, the SCO Group -- which was recently found not to own the UNIX trademark after all -- announced it would be filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
In a prepared statement, SCO President and CEO Darl McBride said, "We want to assure our customers and partners that they can continue to rely on SCO products, support and services for their business critical operations. Chapter 11 reorganization provides the Company with an opportunity to protect its assets during this time while focusing on building our future plans."
SoundExchange Rejects NAB Compromise Radio Royalties Proposal
In a public show of disappointment, National Association of Broadcasters President and CEO David Rehr wrote an open letter to SoundExchange Executive Director John Simson last Monday, indicating that SoundExchange had rejected its compromise royalties offer for radio stations with Internet streaming operations.
The rejection comes over three months after the NAB made its offer, which it claimed would enable the performance rights organization to meet its revenue goals while at the same time charging stations a more moderate amount.
Village People Not Laughing at YMCA Parody
YouTube may soon be facing yet another suit over the use of copyrighted music in one of its videos, this time from the company that owns the rights to the music produced by the Village People. Can't Stop Productions is apparently not too amused with a parody that has appeared on the social video site which edits footage of Adolf Hitler and other nazi soldiers appearing to dance and sing the group's hit song "YMCA." The video may be especially offensive to the group considering two of the performers are Jewish.
A search for "YMCA Hitler" brings up two copies of the video, although clicking them brings up the message "This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by CAN'T STOP PRODUCTIONS / SCORPIO MUSIC." Another video appears below it, with Hitler and others appearing to sing Patrick Hernandez's 1978 disco hit "Born to Be Alive." That video was still available as of press time.
Verizon Wireless' Strange Change of Heart in FCC Auction
When Verizon Wireless filed an almost perfunctorily brief lawsuit against the FCC in a federal appeals court on Monday, analysts and wireless industry observers were baffled. With the FCC having written up the 700 MHz spectrum auction order in late July, didn't the company have enough time to complain then? Surprisingly, a clue to its motives comes not from itself or its lawsuit but from the FCC.
When Google first indicated it would be willing to bid as much as $4.6 billion for prime real estate in the 700 MHz band presently belonging to UHF channels, if the US Federal Communications Commission would impose stipulations on how the winning bidder would use that spectrum, Verizon Wireless was one of several prospective bidders expressing outrage. A battle was expected in front of commissioners, and then suddenly the objections subsided.
Apple Details $100 iPhone Credit Offer
Apple will send its promised $100 store credit to early adopters of the iPhone by text message, the company said Friday.
Those eligible for the rebate must have purchased the phone before August 22, and have service activated. Those purchased between August 22 and September 4 are eligible for a full $200 cash refund under Apple's price protection policies.
Sales of Video Games, Hardware Up Sharply
Data from NPD indicates that video games and hardware sales in the US were up 46 percent in August from the previous year.
Nintendo's Wii again took the top spot, selling some 404,000 units. This was down five percent from July. Sales of the PlayStation 3 also fell to 131,000 units, down some 18 percent.
Nokia Leads Effort to Standardize Flash Memory
Nokia has joined forces with competitors Samsung and Sony Ericsson as well as memory chip makers Micron, Spansion, STMicroelectronics, and Texas Instruments to promote a single flash storage technology for mobile phones. Called Universal Flash Storage, the companies want to eliminate the need for various adaptors to read the multitude of different types of media now available.
While the standard is still in development, a final version is expected in 2009. It is hoped to provide a higher degree of performance and reliability than the formats currently available. "The proliferating use of flash memory as a storage medium underscores the importance of introducing a universal connectivity to memory cards where high performance and reliability are critical," Samsung president Jon Kang said in a statement.
Kyocera Close To Acquiring Sanyo Cell Biz
Kyocera is apparently close to acquiring Sanyo's mobile phone unit, which would render it the world's seventh largest phone manufacturer.
Separately, Kyocera was the 10th largest and Sanyo the 11th largest in the world. The deal will also make Kyocera a bigger brand in the US, due to Sanyo's strong relationship with Sprint Nextel.
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