Thai cellcos may offer 3G activations via SMS
Thai regulator NBTC is considering allowing mobile operators to offer 3G services to subscribers through SMS promotions, giving subscribers the ability to upgrade from 2G just by replying to the message.
Judge tosses part of Apple's suit vs Amazon
Amazon has won a victory in its battle against Apple to use the Appstore name for its Android-based app store, with a US judge agreeing to grant a partial summary judgement dismissing Apple's false advertising claims. Trademark infringement and other claims are still pending.
App downloads set to routinely hit 1b a week
Mobile analytics company Flurry estimates that 1.76 billion apps were downloaded in the period between Christmas and New Year's Eve, and predicts that downloads will soon regularly exceed 1 billion per week.
Google's Schmidt said to plan N Korea trip
Sources say Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt plans to visit South Korea as early as this month. It is speculated that Schmidt may seek to convince the establishment to loosen its bans on internet use by private citizens.
India may deactivate SIMs idle for 60 days
Most Indian mobile operators are pushing for provisions to allow them to deactivate SIMs and reallocate numbers if the accounts have not been used for 60 days. But the operators also favor a mechanism whereby subscribers can pay to keep their idle SIMs activated.
Invest AD to buy into $1.3b Asiacell IPO
Abu Dhabi's Invest AD plans to buy into Iraqi operator Asiacell's up to $1.3 billion IPO, and make the investment the top holding in its Iraq fund.
Aircel to focus efforts on strongest circles
Indian mobile operator Aircel's CMO has laid out plans to start focusing its efforts on the telecom circles where it has the largest customer bases and strongest growth prospects – including Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir and Northeast – rather than continuing with its pan-India strategy.
Ubuntu adapted to run on smartphones
Linux-based OS Ubuntu has been adapted to work on smartphones, capable of running full desktop apps. Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth is now in talks with handset makers over deals to have the OS pre-installed on devices to be sold in stores.