Sony Ericsson

Phone forecast calls for sales decline in 2009

By Scott Moritz

With clouds of economic gloom darkening the tech horizon, mobile phone sales - a former bright spot in the gadget world - look to be slowing.

Tech buyers went away early this fall, and as recession fears intensified, orders have continued to dry up.

There have been a number of ominous signs. First Cisco (CSCO) slashed its outlook and froze hiring. Then Wall Street analysts slashed Google's (GOOG) search ad sales MORE

Motorola delays breakup, cuts jobs

By Scott Moritz

Motorola on Thursday said its plan to break up into two companies is on hold, leading the head of its mobile phone business to outline a new plan for reviving the company's ailing handset business.

Part of the restructuring plan includes the loss of 3,000 jobs, most from the mobile phone division, a company representative confirmed.

Motorola (MOT), which reported third quarter earnings that beat profit estimates but missed sales targets, said the split up called for MORE

Nokia's 'iPhone killer' a 2009 event

By Scott Moritz

With touchscreen phones all the rage, and U.S. telcos following AT&T's (T) lead of cutting the price of Apple's (AAPL) iPhone, it would seem Nokia (NOK) will be left out of the smartphone party this year.

The Finnish phone giant won't have its closely-watched 5800 phone - Nokia's music-loaded take on the iPhone - available here until sometime in the first half of next year, according to people familiar with the phone. MORE

T-Mobile's Google phone may offer free e-mail

By Scott Moritz

Android lands at T-Mobile Tuesday, and as part of the effort to deliver the Google phone to the mobile market, T-Mobile is considering including free e-mail access.

The new Android-powered phone will have Google's (GOOG) Gmail service built in, and T-Mobile executives are considering offering access to Gmail free, without the need for a data plan, says one person close to the discussions.

The HTC-manufactured T-Mobile phone will be the first of the hotly-anticipated Android-operated handsets, and one MORE

Ericsson shares fall on lukewarm outlook

By Johan Anderberg

What happens when emerging markets don't bail you out of a flattening mature market? Ask LM Ericsson, the world's largest telecommunications equipment maker. Shares in the Swedish tech giant sank more than 10% Tuesday after the company announced that net profits fell 70% from the same quarter last year.

Ericsson's net income of SEK 1.9 billion ($319 million) for the second quarter was slightly better than expected. Net sales were MORE

Nokia offers optimistic forecast

By Scott Moritz

Delivering its second-quarter earnings Thursday, Nokia (NOK) offered a glimmer of optimism in an otherwise gloomy outlook for the tech market by raising its growth forecast ever so slightly.

Fueled by roaring sales in the rapidly developing so-called BRIC regions - Brazil, Russia, India and China - Nokia adjusted its worldwide mobile phone sales target to 10% or more growth this year from a more squishy "approximately 10%" level.

Nokia MORE

Motorola takes last place among the big five phonemakers

By Scott Moritz

Motorola, the flailing No. 3 mobile phone maker, is dropping like a lead handset in industry rankings.

Skipping the No.4 slot, Motorola (MOT) is set to land at the back of the pack at No. 5, according to second quarter shipment numbers. Motorola shipped between an estimated 22 million and 23 million phones in the second quarter, say industry sources cited in a DigiTimes story Thursday. Those numbers compare with MORE

Microsoft hopes mobile update will help shed its all-business image

By Michal Lev-Ram

LAS VEGAS — While Apple's iPhone wants to attract business users, Microsoft is desperately trying to move away from its "all work and no play" image.

On Tuesday the Redmond-based company unveiled an updated version of its mobile operating system that it hopes will make it more attractive to everyday consumers. Among the new "consumer-friendly" features on Windows Mobile 6.1 is easier navigation capabilities, an enhanced Internet Explorer mobile MORE

Motorola not ready to hang up on phone business

By Michal Lev-Ram

Is Motorola really considering getting rid of its cell phone business? Don't count on it -- at least not anytime soon. Despite mounting pressure from activist investor Carl Icahn to sell or spin off the money-losing division, the company still seems convinced it can revive the once high-flying division.

Since January, when it issued a vaguely-worded statement that it would explore "the structural and strategic realignment of its businesses," MORE

Goodbye Moto, hello Sony Ericsson?

By Michal Lev-Ram

Last year Samsung overtook Motorola (MOT) as the second-largest phone manufacturer. Now, the flailing Razr-maker risks ceding third place to Sony Ericsson. Ouch.

On Wednesday morning, Motorola released yet another round of disappointing earnings -- profit from continuing operations fell to $111 million from the year-ago $523 million, as handset sales plunged 38 percent. Motorola shares quickly fell and were down more than 17 percent by late morning.

In his first earnings report as acting MORE