Just as Sprint did last year, T-Mobile USA has joined the Rural Cellular Association, an organization that traditionally caters to the needs of much smaller operators serving rural areas (as its name implies).

Of course, the RCA has found its philosophies particularly well-aligned with those of the smaller national carriers in recent years — like Sprint and T-Mobile, the RCA has been opposed to Verizon’s attempt to scoop up AWS spectrum from SpectrumCo and a congressional effort to limit the FCC’s ability to control bidding in spectrum auctions.

Until recently, AT&T’s attempted purchase of T-Mobile was clearly a conflict of interest preventing it from joining sooner than it did, but with that deal now officially off the table, the nation’s number four carrier has an entirely different set of needs on its hands as it pushes into an LTE deployment in the next couple years.

The RCA says that T-Mobile will be joining its annual meeting at the end of March “to discuss policy challenges ahead for the wireless industry,” and in all likelihood, Sprint will be there as well. Notably absent? Verizon and AT&T, who — barring a major power shift in wireless — won’t be looking to the RCA for help in Washington anytime soon.

Telefonica revealed via its BlueVia developer blog that it will be “closing its App Stores in Germany, Spain and Argentina” imminently, without stating its motivation for the move.

The company noted: “as you know we are constantly evolving BlueVia to make it the best we possibly can. Sometimes this means we add new stuff, and sometimes we take things out to help simplify things.”

As before, developers can still offer apps supporting various BlueVia APIs (for example enabling SMS support, mobile advertising or location services) via other stores, and BlueVia will also provide marketing support where appropriate.

Delivers 1GHz Smartphone Performance to US$100 Handsets

SHANGHAI, Jan. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ — Spreadtrum Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPRD; “Spreadtrum” or the “Company”), a leading fabless semiconductor provider in China with advanced technology in 2G and 3G wireless communications standards, today introduced a 1GHz Android smartphone platforms for TD-SCDMA (SC8810) and EDGE/WiFi (SC6820) and announced that both products are now sampling with customers. With these two new solutions, Spreadtrum is redefining the performance standard for low-cost smartphones, enabling OEMs to deliver 1GHz performance at US$100 retail prices.

“Our 1GHz Android platform sets a new bar for low-cost smartphone performance,” said Dr. Leo Li, Spreadtrum’s president and CEO.  ”The graphics and web browsing performance of the SC8810 and SC6820 compares favorably to one of the most popular smartphone models globally, delivering a high performance applications and gaming experience for consumers. This type of experience has previously been available only in mid- to high-end handset models and can now be delivered by OEMs in US$100 smartphone models.  This will reshape the definition of and consumer expectations for a low-cost handset.”

Spreadtrum’s 1GHz platform is the most highly integrated, lowest power smartphone platform for the TD-SCDMA market. The solution delivers the lowest chip count with a multimode single-chip RF transceiver supporting TD-SCDMA, EDGE, GPRS and GSM and integrates power management.  The platform’s Cortex A5 processor architecture delivers more than 40% lower power consumption compared to ARM11-based products and more than 70% lower power consumption than Cortex A9 products, delivering differentiated standby and talk time performance relative to other smartphone models.

Designed with 40nm CMOS silicon technology, the SC8810 and SC6820 baseband platforms are powered by a Cortex A5 1GHz processor and incorporate an advanced multimedia subsystem which includes a Mali GPU with 3D/2D graphics acceleration and supports high definition video playback, a 5 megapixel camera, a WVGA touch panel and connectivity features including Bluetooth, WiFi and GPS. The SC8810 supports TD-SCDMA with HSDPA at 2.8Mbps, HSUPA at 2.2Mbps as well as quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE with dual-mode auto handover, while the SC6820 supports quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM.  Both products combine silicon hardware with turnkey Android software that reduce both the design time and design resources required to deliver new handsets to market.

Spreadtrum’s expansion of its smartphone platform coincides with rapidly increasing demand in China for smartphone products.  Industry analysts expect the smartphone market in China to exceed 100 million units in 2012, leading global demand for smartphone products.

About Spreadtrum Communications, Inc.

Spreadtrum Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPRD; “Spreadtrum”) is a fabless semiconductor company that develops baseband and RF processor solutions for the wireless communications market. Spreadtrum combines its semiconductor design expertise with its software development capabilities to deliver highly integrated baseband processors with multimedia functionality and power management. Spreadtrum has developed solutions based on an open development platform, enabling its customers to develop customized wireless products that are feature-rich to meet their cost and time-to-market requirements.

Safe Harbor Statements:

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the ability of SC8810 and SC6820 to enable OEMs to deliver 1GHz performance at US$100 retail prices; the ability of SC8810 and SC6820 to deliver a high performance applications and gaming experience for consumers; the effectiveness of SC8810 and SC6820 in reshaping the definition of and consumer expectations for a low-cost handset; the ability of SC8810 and SC6820 to reduce both the design time and design resources required to deliver new handsets to market; the rapidly increasing demand in China for smartphone products; and the expectation of the Industry analysts with respect to smartphone market in China exceeding 100 million units in 2012, leading global demand for smartphone products. The Company uses words like “believe,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “expect,” “project” and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. These statements are forward-looking in nature and involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual market trends and the Company’s actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements for a variety of reasons. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the pace of commercial deployment of SC8810 and SC6820, market acceptance of SC8810 and SC6820, continuing competitive pressure in the semiconductor industry and the effect of such pressure on prices; unpredictable changes in technology and consumer demand for Android platform smart phones; the rate at which the commercial deployment of TD-SCDMA and EDGE/WiFi technology will grow; the state of and any change in the Company’s relationship with its major customers; and changes in political, economic, legal and social conditions in China. For additional discussion of these risks and uncertainties and other factors, please consider the information contained in the Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and the annual report on Form 20-F filed on April 6, 2011, as amended, especially the section under “Risk Factors” and such other documents that the Company may file with the SEC from time to time, including on Form 6-K. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of this press release, and does not intend to update any forward-looking statement whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise except as required by law.

This is from www.prnewswire.com

Nokia (NYSE:NOK) has acquired Smarterphone AS, a developer of software optimized for feature phones. Financial terms were not disclosed. Smarterphone investor Ferd Capital announced the transaction, which was completed in November 2011.

The Smarterphone operating system promises a smartphone-caliber user experience across more basic feature phone devices and is designed to run on limited-resource hardware. Smarterphone (previously known as Kvaleberg) also touts greater flexibility for tailoring handset software to different markets. Partners include Taiwanese manufacturers Compal Communications and Wistron NeWeb.

Although Nokia has made substantial bets on smartphones running Microsoft’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows Phone operating system, the manufacturer has vowed to continue building lower-end feature phones, with an emphasis on emerging international markets. In September, The Wall Street Journal reported Nokia is building a new Linux-based OS to advance its feature phone aspirations.

Some analysts have questioned the longevity of the feature phone business, however. Low-cost, feature-rich smartphones running Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android operating system are becoming increasingly commonplace, with Chinese manufacturer Spreadtrum poised to introduce Android devices priced below $50.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India estimates that there will be an additional 200 million new mobile subscribers in the coming year.

According to research aggregated by wearesocial.net, there are more than 898 million mobile subscribers in India, 292 million of these living in rural areas.

The same data showed that 346 million Indian mobile users had subscribed to data packages, with more than half of all internet users in the country accessing the web via their mobile phone.

“The mobile phone will drive internet use in India in 2012,” says Mr Agarwal the editor of the Indian gadget blog onlygizmo.com. “Computing begins with the mobile and its growth is fast in India.”

He believes that the increase in smartphone and internet capable phones, selling below Rs5,000 (£61; $94)and built by Indian manufacturers, is making it easier and more affordable to own such devices.

Remember the social messaging app, Zlango, which was launched last week? Well it looks like the company behind the app has managed to stir up quite a bit of interest, as Vringo, a provider of software platforms for mobile social and video apps has signed a letter of intent to acquire and merge with Zlango.

Vringo, Zlango and two leading venture capital firms: Benchmark Capital and DAG Ventures, plan to take Zlango’s rich media messaging services, combined with Vringo’s strong social and video apps to create a new leader in the mobile social arena. It wasn’t mentioned what the coalition be planning to do next, but with the backing of Benchmark Capital (investors in eBay, Twitter and Red Hat Software), and DAG Ventures (investors in AdMob, Plaxo and Yelp) it’s probably going to be something big.

This is from ubergizmo.com

eBay has acquired mobile payments company Zong for $240 million in cash. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2011.

Zong has been one of the pioneers in the mobile payments space, adding a compelling new way for consumers to pay for items online. Simply put, it lets you pay for things, particularly virtual goods online, via direct billing to your mobile phone. Consumers simply enter their mobile phone numbers in the payments process.

When a user wants to purchase an item, he can enters his cell phone number on a site, the site sends a text message to the phone, the user confirms the transaction with a short reply, and all the charges show up on his phone bill. Zong powers this entire transaction. The company has partnered with over 250 carriers worldwide to offer the technology to mobile phone users.

eBay says that Zong will add ‘complementary technology and talent’ to its PayPal division, giving consumers more ways to pay for virtual goods and products online. Scott Thompson, president of PayPal, said this in a release: “Commerce is changing. With mobile phones, we walk around with a mall in our pockets. PayPal helps to make money work better for customers in this new commerce reality – no matter how they want to pay or what device they’re using…We believe that Zong will strengthen this value by helping us reach the more than 4 billion people who have mobile phones, giving them more choice and security when they pay.”

Zong, which was founded in 2008 by entrepreneur David Marcus, has raised a total of$27.5 million in funding. Matrix Partners’ Dana Stalder, who was the former CTO of PayPal, is on Zong’s board of directors.

Microsoft is not letting Apple scoop away the prize of the the exclusive use of the trademark  ”App Store”.  For once seems that Microsoft is defending us all.

Microsoft has filed an objection to the filing of Apple’s trademark application in the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, or TTAB, on the grounds that “app store” is a generic term in common parlance. If Microsoft is successful in its bid to block Apple’s trademark, then anyone selling applications could call the virtual storefront an app store.

“If the term ‘app store’ is just describing what it is, unless it has been in use for at least five years, Apple cannot get a trademark on this,” Michael Feigin, attorney at Feigin and Associates, New York.

“I’m surprised that it was accepted by the patent office, because it seems to be a fairly straight-forward description,” he said. “If it is a store that sells apps, ‘app store’ is a description, and everyone knows that ‘app’ means ‘application’—that is common usage.

“Microsoft has the better position here—the patent office should rule that the trademark should not be allowed.”

Microsoft vs. Apple
Apple’s argument is that it was first-to-market and has spend millions of dollars on advertising featuring the App Store moniker.

In the complaint filed against Apple with the USPTO, Microsoft argues that “app” is a common generic name for the goods offered at Apple’s store, as shown in dictionary definitions and by widespread use by Apple and others, and that “store” is generic for the retail store services for which Apple seeks registration, and indeed, Apple refers to its App Store as a store.

Furthermore, “the undisputed facts further show that the combined term ‘app store’ is commonly used in the trade, by the general press, by consumers, by Apple’s competitors and even by Apple’s founder and CEO Steve Jobs, as the generic name for online stores featuring apps,” per Microsoft’s filing.

Based on the fact that the App Store is indeed a store that sells apps, Microsoft claims Apple should not be allowed to have a trademark on the “App Store” name.

With its Windows Phone 7 operating system jostling with Apple’s iOS and others for market share, Microsoft is seeking any leg up it can get.

If its complaint proves successful, Microsoft would undoubtedly like to market its WP7 “App Marketplace” as an “app store.”

Which argument holds water?
So which titan should win out? Should Apple’s first-mover advantage take precedence, or should Microsoft’s point about common usage win the day?

The answer could have repercussions for the entire mobile content distribution ecosystem.

“I believe Microsoft has the better argument here because the words ‘app store’ are individually and collective generic for a retail store featuring apps, because the term ‘app store’ has been used by so many others in the marketplace to describe their app stores such that the term cannot function as a single-source identifier such as iPad or iPhone, where thereis only one recognizable source linked to such marks,” said Harris Wolin, partner at Myers Wolin LLC, Morristown, NJ.

“Generic terms by their very nature should be in the public domain and free for all to use,” he said.

Mr. Wolin noted that this is only an opposition within the Trademark Office, which means that the final result is the life or death of only the trademark application.

Monetary damages or an injunction are not within the jurisdiction of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.

In other words, Apple filed an application for “app store,” and Microsoft objected and asserts that the application should be refused on the basis of genericness, and therefore the application should be abandoned.

This result would allow Microsoft and others to continue to use the term “app store” without being concerned about a lawsuit from Apple.

“Microsoft filed the opposition because it—and others—would be damaged if Apple was allowed to claim exclusive use to the term ‘app store’ in connection with retail store services featuring apps, especially because the mark has experienced widespread adoption by others, and more especially since the terms ‘app’ and ‘store’ are each generic in their own right,” Mr. Wolin said.

“Even though Apple sent out cease-and-desist letters to some smaller players that tried to register trademarks, including the terms ‘app store,’ it has not really reigned in the widespread public generic use of such terms,” he said. “In fact, Microsoft was able to point out that even Apple uses such terms generically in press releases, etcetera.

“The fame of Apple’s App Store cannot negate a finding of genericness.”

While many consumers do associate the term “App Store” with Apple, that may not be enough for the company to win the trademark battle.

Attorneys interviewed by this publication were unanimous in coming to the conclusion that Microsoft has the stronger argument here.

If the USPTO aggress that “app” is the equivalent of “application,” it seems as if it must find in favor of Microsoft. However, as with most legal arguments, there is some grey area.

“I’m very surprised that the trademark examiner passed along Apple’s trademark application for publication,” said Andrea Calvaruso, partner at Kelley Drye & Warren LLP, New York. “The trademark examiner never objected to the application on the basis that it is generic, which is Microsoft’s argument—he found it to be descriptive.

“A generic mark is the definition of the product or service itself, but if it is merely descriptive, then a company could get a trademark if it has used the term for many years and can prove that consumers have come to identify the terms strictly with one source,” she said. “‘App store’ could be an abbreviation for Apple Store, a term which it owns—‘app store’ has also acquired that secondary meaning.”

Microsoft has put in a ton of evidence in its filing, and it remains to be seen what Apple will argue in response.

Most likely, Apple will argue that it has become associated with the term by the consumer and stress the fact that it has spent so much money advertising its App Store.

Distributors of applications nationwide are eagerly awaiting the result of the dispute.

“In its trademark filing, Apple did not even assert that they have had exclusive use of the term, so I am surprised that the trademark examiner did not find ‘app store’ to be generic,  as many other companies do use ‘app’ or ‘app store’ generically,” Ms. Calvaruso said.

“Microsoft is saying ‘This term is generic, and we and everyone else that creates applications will be harmed if you let Apple have this patent,’” she said.

“If the term is generic, Apple might have been the first company to use the term ‘app store,’ but if, as Micrtosoft alleges, everyone uses the term ‘app’ to mean ‘application,’ and Apple hasn’t used it exclusively, I think that Apple is going to have a hard time convincing the trademark office that ‘app store’ is not a generic term.”

By Nisha Tillas :

The FT reports that the Taiwanese handset-maker has been hiring “content editors” to help manage an “online application store,” citing two unnamed sources. The store will sell e-books, magazines and apps. Recruitment is underway in Taiwan, and the aim is to eventually staff up to 100 people worldwide. HTC did not comment on the report.

In the past HTC scoffed at the idea of starting an App store but that seems to have changed in the recent past! Already HTC has tried, quite successfully to edge into the higher echelons of the Smartphone market.

The real question is how will consumers handle so many different app stores ? Is this what consumer’s want ? Can a company like HTC actually make money selling apps on a  go it alone model ?