Millions of BlackBerry users spanning at least four continents are without service for a third consecutive day. An untold number of customers, not all however, are unable to send messages, emails or browse the web in parts of North and South America, Africa, Middle East and Europe.

A little more than an hour ago, Research In Motion admitted that it’s still working to resolve the “service issue that many of our BlackBerry customers are experiencing.”

The early outages occurred Monday in Africa, Europe and the Middle East, but as of this morning they have reached the Americas — and they are ongoing. Read more

iPads generate more mobile traffic than all other iOS devices combined

Mobile devices comprised 6.8% of all online traffic in August 2011. Nearly two-thirds of that traffic came from mobile phones while tablets accounted for the remainder, according to a new report from comScore.

The number of U.S. subscribers consuming mobile media grew 19% in the past year to 116 million people. While the growth is noteworthy, it also highlights the large untapped market for mobile data that still exists. Read more

SAN DIEGO — For the first time ever, there are now more active wireless devices in the United States than there are people. With 327,577,529 active connections at the end of June, the United States currently averages nearly 1.05 devices for each of its 312,403,988 current residents, according to a new survey from CTIA.

Those 327 million subscriber connections generated service revenues of $164.5 billion in the 12-month period ending in June, according to CTIA’s Semi-Annual Wireless Industry Survey (PDF) of wireless service providers comprising 95.5% of all estimated subscriber connections.

And where’s all that money being spent? Cell sites, for starters. The American landscape was blanketed with 256,920 cell sites at the end of June, marking an annual growth rate of barely 2%. Read more

SAN DIEGO — The heads of the three largest wireless carriers in the country shared the big stage but no news this morning at CTIA Enterprise & Applications 2011. The 90-minute opening keynote session was “full of platitudes” and signified nothing new, Jan Dawson, chief telecoms analyst at Ovum, remarked in a tweet.

Sprint Chairman and CEO Dan Hesse took the role of industry cheerleader as this year’s chairman of the CTIA board, adding: “Those of us in the wireless industry should be thankful that we’re arguably in the most important industry in the world.” Read more

Apple hit a new record last Friday, surpassing 1 million pre-orders for the new iPhone 4S in the first 24 hours. The previous one-day record, held by the iPhone 4, was 600,000 pre-orders.

The iPhone 4S is the first iPhone available at more than one U.S. carrier at launch. Apple has greater reach now with AT&T, Sprint and Verizon. None of the carriers broke down pre-order sales figures, though more details should come after the iPhone 4S is available for purchase (and begins shipping) this Friday.

Following its pre-order run, it appears all but certain that Apple will break all other previously established records with the iPhone 4S at launch and going forward. Volume totals are likely to be shared by Apple and the carriers when each of the companies release their quarterly earnings in the coming weeks. Read more

Sprint just can’t get enough variety when it comes wireless technology, spectrum and network equipment. The carrier’s history of banding together disparate, incompatible technologies is repeating itself barely six years after it merged with Nextel. Then it was iDEN and CDMA, now it’s WiMAX and LTE.

Today the company announced plans for an aggressive LTE network build that will bring a new 4G service to its customers in some initial markets next year and nationwide by 2013.

Sprint is late to the LTE party, but it’s jumping in head first as it tries to play catch up with the likes of AT&T and Verizon. The carrier committed itself to WiMAX more than five years ago and ever since then has been forging a completely different path from its competitors — standing all alone as the determined, if not stubborn, LTE holdout. Read more

In the shadow of Steve Jobs’ death, Samsung and Google have cancelled the unveiling of their next jointly developed Android smartphone. Both companies were expected to reveal the Nexus Prime, the latest flagship Android device to carry the “Nexus” name on Tuesday. The device and Android’s latest software update, Ice Cream Sandwich, are now expected to debut later this month.

Though reminders for Tuesday’s event went out to press again yesterday — about 20 hours after news of Jobs’ death had spread — there appears to have since been a change of heart. Samsung originally cloaked the reason for the last-minute postponement in ambiguity, but later confirmed it was out of respect for Steve Jobs.

“We believe this is not the right time to announce a new product as the world expresses tribute to Steve Jobs’s passing,” the companies said in a statement. Read more

The world lost one of the great ones today in Steve Jobs. Apple confirmed that Jobs died today at the age of 56.

“We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed away today.

“Steve’s brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve.

His greatest love was for his wife, Laurene, and his family. Our hearts go out to them and to all who were touched by his extraordinary gifts.”

A tribute at Apple’s site reads: “Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.” Read more

It’s what’s inside that counts. That’s the statement Apple Inc. is making with the new iPhone 4S.

It may look exactly the same as the iPhone 4, but the new iPhone 4S is rocking a re-engineered interior that Apple hopes will keep the iOS train humming along well through the next product cycle.

Apple is taking a gamble, albeit a safe and proven one, by not changing the design of the new iPhone. After the longest break yet between new iPhone releases (almost 16 months), public and industry expectations were set for an iPhone 5 — in other words, an iPhone that looks different and works different.

The iPhone 4S is coming to AT&T Mobility, Verizon Wireless and for the first time, Sprint Nextel Corp. It goes up for pre-sale Friday and hits store shelves on Oct. 14. iOS 5 will be available as a free upgrade on Oct. 12. Read more

**As published in RCR Wireless News**

When I think of Steve Jobs, feelings of wonder and absolute awe rush over me. Jobs is without a doubt, the most iconoclastic creative mind of the modern age. If that makes me a fanboy, so be it. If liking Apple Inc. products makes me a fanboy, I’m fine with that too.

Jobs is in a league of his own. No one has done more to disrupt mobile technology, consumer electronics and entertainment in such a short span of time. His personality, brilliant mind and business acumen commands respect, fear and unbridled attention. When Jobs says something or does something, it matters. People take note and react. Read more