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San Antonio — The Progressive Retailers Organization was at the Westin La Cantera Hill Coun
Las Vegas — Kyocera expanded its Hydro series of dust-proof, waterproof Android smartphones with the launch of two models that join a current model.
The company plans “soon” to further expand the series, a spokesperson told TWICE.
The phones tap into a consumer need for waterproof phones, said the spokesperson. Most insurance plans don’t cover damage from water, he noted.
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Bellevue, Wash. — Clearwire postponed today’s shareholder vote on Sprint’s acquisition bid after Sprint raised its bid to quell opposition by some Clearwire shareholder groups.
In a last-minute attempt to ensure the deal goes through, Sprint raised its bid to acquire the approximately 50 percent of Clearwire that it doesn’t own to $3.40 per share, up 14 percent from Sprint’s December 2012 offer of $2.97 per share, or about $2.2 billion.
Dish had previously bid $3.30 per share to acquire all Clearwire stock.
CTIA 2013 Las Vegas — Alcatel One Touch has an in depth plan to build its U.S. smartphone share over the next 12 months.
This will include providing affordable smartphones with high-end industrial design, practical high-technology features, and wholesale prices that will enable carriers to reduce their handset subsidies, said Steve Cistulli, the brand’s senior VP for the North American market.
San Francisco — Google announced plans to offer its own version of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and launched its first music-streaming service.
The company’s version of the S4 will run Android 4.2 and feature a Google-designed user experience, the company said here at its developers’ conference. Through its Google Play store, the company will offer the unlocked S4 beginning June 26 at $649. The LTE-equipped phone will operate on the AT&T and T-Mobile networks.
Port Washington, N.Y. – A total of 32 percent of all smartphones purchased at retail in the first quarter were prepaid phones, up from 21 percent in the year-ago quarter and 22 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012, The NPD Group found.
And national retailers were the trend’s biggest winners.
Seoul, South Korea — LG Electronics hopes to make greater inroads into the bring-your-own-device market with the addition of Privacy and Business Virtualization to its Optimus Vu, which is called the Intuition in the U.S. and available on the Verizon network.
Redwood City, Calif. – Startup MVNO Zact is launching a flexible-plan cellphone service through its web site but plans to add retail distribution, a spokesperson told TWICE.
The company is promoting flexible, adjustable voice, text and data plans that consumers can customize to their needs and adjust on the fly from their device at any time.
London – Nokia updated its flagship Lumia smartphone with the launch of the Lumia 925, which upgrades camera capabilities and adds AMOLED display and metal frame.
The smartphone will be available exclusively through T-Mobile sometime after June, making it the carrier’s first LTE-equipped Windows Phone 8 smartphone. In Europe, it will retail for 469 euros, or $608.
In the U.S., AT&T launched Nokia’s previous flagship, the Lumia 920, last December and currently offers it at $99.
Orlando, Fla. — BlackBerry announced a time frame for the launch of its long-awaited Q10 smartphone, during a Tuesday morning keynote at its Jam event, here.
Other news included the summertime launch of a third smartphone based on the BlackBerry 10 OS, and the planned extension of its BlackBerry Messaging (BBM) instant messaging service to iOS and Android devices.
London – Sony Mobile expanded its Xperia Z series of smartphones with a third model, which becomes the second water-resistant model in the series to survive for 30 minutes of underwater movie-making.
The new Xperia ZR, an LTE-equipped phone, will be available in various global markets starting in the second quarter, the company said without offering details. Price and an availability date for the U.S. market were not announced.
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