Continental to offer Wi-Fi on 21 aircraft in second quarter of 2010

Continental to offer Wi-Fi on 21 aircraft

HOUSTON — Continental Airlines Inc. said Wednesday it will offer in-flight Wi-Fi on some aircraft starting in the second quarter of next year.

Clearwire gets $1.5 billion in financing from Sprint and other investors

Sprint, others give Clearwire $1.5B in financing

Google pushes further into mobile advertising with $750 million bid for AdMob

Google to buy mobile ad network for $750 million

Pakistani Taliban chief urges fighters to resist army offensive, saying cowards go to hell

Pakistan Taliban chief urges troops to fight army

Deutsche Telekom says Q3 net income up 7 pct to euro959 million ($1.4 billion)

Deutsche Telekom Q3 net income up 7 pct

BERLIN — Deutsche Telekom AG reported third-quarter net income rose 7 percent as it remained focused on controlling costs and developing key markets in the U.S., Britain and Poland.

Ericsson profits slump 71 percent in 3rd quarter as financial crisis hits wireless market

STOCKHOLM — Wireless equipment maker LM Ericsson AB on Thursday said profits tumbled 71 percent in the third quarter, worse than markets expected, as cash-strapped mobile operators cut spending on their networks.

Wireless equipment maker Ericsson profits drop 71.5 percent in 3Q amid lessened demand

STOCKHOLM — Wireless equipment maker LM Ericsson AB’s profits dropped 71.5 percent in the third quarter as the global financial crisis hit demand for network equipment, the Swedish company said Thursday.

Cisco to buy Starent Networks for $2.9B, betting on mobile Internet demand

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Cisco Systems Inc. says it has agreed to buy Starent Networks Corp., which helps wireless carriers support smart phones, for $2.9 billion.

With 2,200 broadband applications, competition for billions in stimulus dollars is intense

Tough choices for feds giving out broadband money

Clearwire names Alvarion, ZTE as network infrastructure suppliers in launch of 4G WiMAX

KIRKLAND, Wash. — Clearwire Corp. said Tuesday it named telecoms equipment providers Alvarion Ltd. of Israel and ZTE Corp. of China as network infrastructure suppliers to support its launch of 4G WiMAX service in Spain next year.

Verizon Wireless, Google team up to develop new Android smart phones, tackle iPhone challenge

NEW YORK — Verizon Wireless and Google Inc. are teaming up to tackle the challenge posed by the iPhone, saying they will collaborate closely to create wireless devices that use Google’s software.

A computer-enhanced, information-rich view of the world around you? There’s an app for that

SAN FRANCISCO — You’re walking down the street, looking for a good place to eat. You hold up your cell phone and use it like the viewfinder on a camera, so the screen shows what’s in front of you. But it also shows things you couldn’t see before: Brightly colored markers indicating nearby restaurants and bars.

Court adviser backs EU law capping roaming rates, says other options failed to cut prices

BRUSSELS — The EU was entitled to cap roaming rates in 2007 as network operators pocketed huge profits but resisted less drastic ways to cut the sky-high costs of using mobile phones in Europe, the EU advocate general said Thursday.

Verizon Wireless discontinues the $150 ‘Hub,’ a home phone with a touch screen

NEW YORK — Verizon Wireless is pulling the “Hub,” an Internet-connected home phone with an iPhone-like touch screen, after just eight months on the market.

FCC likely to tangle with wireless carriers over proposed rule against blocking ‘Net traffic

NEW YORK — The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission on Monday proposed the most wide-ranging and specific rules so far for regulating how Internet service providers and wireless carriers handle subscriber traffic.

Cablevision gunning for New York Wi-Fi contract, hotspots to run to Long Island, Connecticut

BETHPAGE, N.Y. — Cablevision Systems Corp. is gunning for a state contract to build a high-speed wireless Internet network along two train lines in the New York metro area.

Review: If Wi-Fi doesn’t reach everywhere in your home, consider easy plug system

BOSTON — Setting up a Wi-Fi network at home has gotten much easier, yet the process can still be daunting. Or the wireless signal won’t reach everywhere. A good alternative that has gotten little attention involves your electric sockets.

What’s it really like spending the night in a hostel? Dispatches from 4 cities

About three years ago, Jim Williams, author of “Hostel Handbook” — www.hostelhandbook.com — noticed that new hostels were starting to open around the U.S., but “almost exclusively in destination cities — NYC, LA, Miami etc.,” he said. “Hostels are following the trend of becoming urban.”

New regulations could emerge from FCC inquiries into competition and innovation in wireless

WASHINGTON — The Federal Communications Commission is taking a closer look at the practices of the wireless industry, potentially the first step toward more regulations intended to push down prices and increase choices for consumers.

Southwest Airlines readies system wide onboard Wi-Fi Internet service rollout

DALLAS — Southwest Airlines is on its way to providing in-flight Wi-Fi access on all of its aircraft.

Verizon Wireless connects first call using next-generation network, to go commercial in 2010

NEW YORK — Verizon Wireless says it has completed the first calls using a brand-new network that’s planned to go live next year, offering faster Internet speeds.

Sprint expanding wireless broadband services to 17 cities

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Sprint Nextel Corp. is expanding its high-speed wireless broadband service to 17 new cities by the end of the year.

Engineering students at Mich. test cane that reads electronic tags to guide blind

DETROIT — A cane equipped with the technology that retailers use to tag merchandise could help blind people avoid obstacles.

Sprint Nextel to acquire Virgin Mobile USA in $483M deal that sharpens its focus on prepaid

NEW YORK — Sprint Nextel Corp. is intensifying its focus on the fast-growing market for prepaid cell phone service with a $483 million deal to buy Virgin Mobile USA Inc.

Verizon gives free Wi-Fi to some Internet customers with Windows PCs

NEW YORK — Verizon is giving some of its home broadband customers free access to thousands of Wi-Fi hotspots in airports and other public places, taking a page from competitors that already offer wireless Internet access.

Research In Motion hangs tough on Nortel Networks wireless bid, says fight for assets not over

TORONTO — Communication industry analysts say Research In Motion is refusing to budge in its pursuit of Nortel Networks’ wireless business because its key technology patents could help secure RIM’s future as a mobile phone technology leader.

How to keep your e-mail and other Web accounts safe while traveling

When Daniel Carter logged on to a shared computer at a hostel in Rome to check e-mail, he had no idea he was in a hacker’s sights. After his trip was over, he discovered someone had hijacked his e-mail account and sent a message to hundreds of his contacts asking for money.

New Tracfone brand experimenting with cheap ‘unlimited’ access to Verizon Wireless network

NEW YORK — Tracfone Wireless, the country’s largest provider of “prepaid” cell phones, is quietly testing a new service that appears to be a response to the fierce price competition in the prepaid market.

Alloy sleeves, passport covers urged to block identity thieves and hackers

To protect against skimming and eavesdropping attacks, federal and state officials recommend that Americans keep their e-passports tightly shut and store their RFID-tagged passport cards and enhanced driver’s licenses in “radio-opaque” sleeves.

As government tags passports, licenses, critics fear privacy is ‘chipped’ away

Climbing into his Volvo, outfitted with a Matrics antenna and a Motorola reader he’d bought on eBay for $190, Chris Paget cruised the streets of San Francisco with this objective: To read the identity cards of strangers, wirelessly, without ever leaving his car.