The first victim of the free navigation wars: Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) is shutting down Wayfinder, the Swedish mapmaker it purchased for $30 million in late 2008. It was the carrier’s goal to use Wayfinder to provide directions to both drivers and pedestrians, while overlaying location-based advertising to alert users to…

Looking for real-time data of its own, the FCC (yes, the regulatory body in Washington, D.C.) has released a mobile app for iPhone and Android. Don’t worry, the feds aren’t interested in listening to your phone conversations, rather they say the purpose of the app is to provide “Americans with…

If you are holding out for a 4G phone for your next purchase, don’t bother. Verizon Wireless will not have its very first 4G handset until mid-2011. While that’s about six months earlier than the company had said before, that’s still far enough away to burn through another contract, especially…

Here’s why Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) is launching a “completely new smartphone OS.” The latest smartphone platform market share figures were released today by comScore and Microsoft posted the steepest drop. The new Windows Phone 7 Series—due later this year—can’t come to market soon enough.

In an appearance this morning at a Seattle breakfast event, former FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, now a partner at Patton Boggs, was careful not to offer any jabs at the current administration. Instead, he focused on the current administration’s plans for rolling out a new national broadband plan, scheduled to…

Like many other developers, uLocate works closely with ad networks to monetize WHERE, its free mobile app that is available on a number of carrier networks and Android, iPhone and Palm (NSDQ: PALM). But WHERE often struggled to keep its fill rates high, and when campaigns ran out, it had…

The NFL has signed a new four-year deal with Verizon Wireless, putting an end to a roughly five-year partnership with Sprint (NYSE: S). The deal is valued at $720 million, including a rights fee and advertising spending, according to the WSJ, which quotes people familiar with the negotiations. NFL fans…

Once again, rumors are making their rounds that Google (NSDQ: GOOG) is going to make some sort of set-top box play. The latest: The WSJ reports that the company is working with Dish Network on a new feature that would let users search both TV content and web videos on…

Google’s announcement last month that it would build “ultra” high-speed broadband networks in the U.S. has generated interest from cities who want the tech jobs (and prestige) that would likely come if Google (NSDQ: GOOG) were to select them as a trial location. To be considered, cities must fill out…

It took just two years for Gabe Rivera to have four verticals, including tech “front page” Techmeme, running off his algorithm for discovering and highlighting news. The fourth site, BallBug, launched for opening day in 2006. It took four years to add one—Mediagazer, a site launching today to aggregate news…

No need to duck out of work early, now you can watch March Madness games live over your iPhone, and for the first time—anywhere over AT&T’s 3G network. The application, which is expected to be available Monday on iTunes, will cost $9.99—twice as much as last year’s version that was…

When Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) unveiled Windows Phone 7 last month, we figured that was the extent of its comeback plans in mobile. But now, there’s evidence that the software giant has something else up its sleeve. Two reports released today from unnamed sources indicate that Microsoft’s “Project Pink” is alive…

Blockbuster’s stock is trading at under a dollar, its net losses are widening, and it’s in the midst of closing nearly 1,000 stores—but on CNBC Thursday CEO Jim Keyes insisted that the company had a bright future in digital because of its strong brand. “When you’re driving down mainstreet and…

Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) is still most closely associated with its desktop software (Windows, Office etc.), but on Thursday CEO Steve Ballmer said Microsoft was “betting our company” on the cloud. About 70 percent of Microsoft employees are working on cloud-related projects right now; that figure will reach 90 percent within…

Another batch of changes at AOL (NYSE: AOL) as ex-Googler David Eun moves into his new role of president, AOL Media and Studios. Two are meant to buttress AOL’s ambitious content management plans: David Mason, the co-founder and CEO of recent acquisition StudioNow, as SVP-AOL Content Platform, reporting to Eun,…

Rob Glaser is still chairman of the board but it looks like the post-Glaser era at RealNetworks (NSDQ: RNWK) is well underway. The latest unraveling: Real is giving up the fight over RealDVD, the software deemed a copyright killer by the studios because it allowed users to store an image…

With Apple’s iPad not shipping for another three weeks or so, and the 3G version more than a month out, it’s hard to know how well the tablet will sell, or how people will use it. Despite the unknown, AT&T (NYSE: T), which is the exclusive carrier for both the…

While no one wants to wake up to the news that Apple—one of the most successful consumer brands—has filed a lawsuit against you, in this case, little-known HTC must have celebrated just a tiny bit. In 13 years, the Taiwanese has grown to more than 9,000 employees worldwide, including 3,000…

Arkayne, which makes a plug-in designed to automatically add related links to web pages, has raised $1 million in an angel round. The plug-in scans all of the posts on a website in order to automatically suggest related items that a visitor should read. A version for bloggers with “moderate…