Qualcomm Plays Favorites With Nokia

Nokia, the world's largest handset maker, and Qualcomm, the world's largest maker of chips that run cell phones, agreed to settle a high-stakes licensing dispute and drop all legal complaints against each other in the U.S., Europe and Asia. The 15-year licensing deal gives Nokia rights to a wide portfolio of Qualcomm's patents. Nokia will pay Qualcomm an upfront sum and ongoing royalties, but the companies did not elaborate on the terms. Nokia, based in Finland, said it will withdraw its antitrust complaint filed against Qualcomm at the European Commission. Nokia filed the complaint in October 2005 with five other companies, which led to a flurry of lawsuits between Qualcomm and its rivals and several regulatory probes into Qualcomm's licensing practices. The stakes were especially high for Qualcomm, which gets about two-thirds of its profits from licensing fees on its patents. Nearly all the rest of its profit comes from making chips. "We believe that this agreement is positive for the industry, enabling the market to benefit from innovation and new technologies," said Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, Nokia CEO.

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Judge Rules Sprint Early Terimation Fees are Illegal

Early termination fees that cell phone carriers charge customers who break service contracts took a big hit when a judge said charges by Sprint Nextel violate California state law. In a tentative ruling issued today, the judge said Sprint will have to pay $18.3 million to customers who sued over the fees and credit $54.8 million to those who were charged but did not pay the fees. Alameda County Superior Court Judge Bonnie Sabraw rejected Sprint's argument that a state court had no business deciding an issue the company said should be left for federal authorities. And while her ruling isn't legally binding outside the state, it cut to the heart of an ongoing debate in other state courthouses and in Washington, D.C., over the fairness of the fees. Wireless carriers say early termination fees are necessary so the companies can recover the cost of mobile phones, which they subsidize when customers sign long-term service contracts.

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Sprint Nextel to Sell Their Cell Phone Towers

Sprint Nextel has agreed to sell nearly all its cell phone towers to a private-equity-backed firm called TowerCo in a deal that will generate about $670 million in cash for the struggling wireless carrier. The nation's third-largest wireless provider said Wednesday it plans to lease space on the towers for its wireless phone and broadband operations, which it said was cheaper than owning the towers outright. Major cell phone companies selling their towers is actually common. In recent years, wireless carriers have moved away from owning their own cellphone towers. Instead, companies like American Tower and Crown Castle International and smaller players like TowerCo have taken over ownership of towers and leased them to carriers. So what does this mean to all of Sprint's customers? Don't worry, Sprint selling their towers wont effect your service. You should still have the same service in the same areas. TowerCo taking ownership shouldn't hurt you and your calling at all.

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Hands Free Law

Unless you have been living in a cave, you are probably aware that California's hands-free cellphone laws go went into effect July 1, 2008. It appears that different agencies may enforce the law differently, according to my colleagues David Pierson and Hector Becerra in a story at The Times' website. First, the gist of the laws: you cannot hold a phone and have a conversation when driving, although you can touch the phone to dial. If you are 16 or 17, you can't use a phone period. And, the law fails to address text messaging. Second, I wanted to address the most important point of such a law: will it make the roads safer? My former colleague Myron Levin, whose story in March in The Times has this juicy detail: Indeed, federal highway safety officials drafted a letter from then-Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta to the nation's governors in 2003 to warn against laws like California's that allow hands-free calling. For reasons never fully explained, the letter was neither signed by Mineta nor sent. According to the bluntly worded letter, obtained by The Times, "overwhelmingly, research worldwide indicates that both hand-held and hands-free phones increase the risk of a crash."

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Samsung's Blackjack II

The Samsung BlackJack II not only features a revamped design that includes a slightly larger screen and a better keyboard, but there's been work done under the hood to solve some of the performance issues of the past: more memory, a faster processor, and a larger battery. And let's not forget to mention the added GPS, Windows Mobile 6 upgrade, and 2-megapixel camera. In all, we don't think there's anything too compelling for current BlackJack owners to make the switch. However, if you're eligible for an upgrade or are looking to purchase a sleek messaging smartphone, the Samsung BlackJack II is definitely a worthy choice, especially at its wallet-friendly price of $149.99 with a two-year contract and after rebates. It's available through AT&T now and comes in black or burgundy (the burgundy version will be available in mid-December).

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Extra Battery

Tired of your battery running out in the middle of a conversation. Tired of the constant need of recharging your sell phone. Tired of the need of a use of cellphone right when you run out of battery. Well if these are the words that come to mind when you think about the battery of your Samsung cellphone than it is time to order a new battery. An extra battery will fit as a backup. It will be there when your battery suddenly without notice runs out. The battery will be there for your emergencies and be with you to help you in the tough times. It will be there when your conversation is ended because of the short life of your original battery. It will be there to save your life when you need it most. The Samsung E315/316/317 STD Lithium Battery will be your connection to the outside world. It will bring a new found life to your cellphone.

LG enV2

The enV2 by LG is now available. The first impressions of the phone are favorable for the large bright interior screen, texting/email capabilities, QWERTY keyboard, bigger external key pad, and added turn-by-turn directions. Reviewers have revealed minor weaknesses are of the enV2. Although it does not upgrade all the features of the original enV the new design has been called "chic" and "sexy." The outside numbers are easier to use and the music player can be activated without opening the phone. The email functions are text-only, causing some reviewers to comment that it is not as robust as it should be. But where all the reviewers agree that this phone is a texting powerhouse and has great call quality.

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Apple iPhone

The Apple phone combines intelligent voice calling, and a full-blown iPod, with a beautiful new interface for music and video playback. It offers the best Web browser we have seen on a smart phone, and robust email software. And it synchronizes easily and well with both Windows and Macintosh computers using Apple’s iTunes software. It has the largest and highest-resolution screen of any smart phone we’ve seen, and the most internal memory by far. Yet it is one of the thinnest smart phones available and offers impressive battery life, better than its key competitors claim. It feels solid and comfortable in the hand and the way it displays photos, videos and Web pages on its gorgeous screen makes other smart phones look primitive.The iPhone’s most controversial feature, the omission of a physical keyboard in favor of a virtual keyboard on the screen, turned out in our tests to be a nonissue, despite our deep initial skepticism. After five days of use, Walt — who did most of the testing for this review — was able to type on it as quickly and accurately as he could on the Palm Treo he has used for years. This was partly because of smart software that corrects typing errors on the fly.

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Verizon's Voyager

The LG Voyager* is the first phone from Verizon Wireless that features a large external touch screen. Packaged in a lateral-clamshell design that hides a full QWERTY keypad, The LG Voyager is exclusive to Verizon Wireless and comes packed with a number of cool features, including a HTML browser for enhanced Internet browsing, full V CAST-capabilities - including V CAST Mobile TV, V CAST Music and the ability to play .mp3, .wma and unprotected .aac files, and V CAST Video. These capabilities, coupled with Verizon Wireless' high-speed wireless broadband network, make downloading music or surfing the Web while on-the-go quick and easy.

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