BARCELONA — To get a sense of how massive Ericsson’s presence is in the mobile industry, consider that half of all smartphone traffic flows through their equipment and services.

The Swedish juggernaut also has a significant jump on its competition with LTE technology, which is growing rapidly in North America and South Korea. Out of more than 325 million LTE subscribers worldwide, Ericsson covers 250 million of those customers. And over the course of 2011, the company’s market share in network infrastructure grew from 32 percent to 38 percent. Read more

BARCELONA — Just 11 days after gaining complete control of its smartphone unit through a $1.49 billion deal with Ericsson, the new Sony Mobile Communications rounded out its NXT series portfolio of devices with mid- and lower-tier units, the Xperia P and Xperia U.

“Tonight we are kicking off an inspiring new chapter for our company,” Bert Nordberg, CEO and president of Sony Mobile Communications said here tonight at the onset of a press event.

Extending the design aesthetic of the Xperia S, which was introduced earlier this year and goes on sale this week in Barcelona, the Android-based Xperia P and Xperia U will both launch in the middle of the second quarter, targeting more budget-conscious shoppers. The dual-core 1 GHz processor phones can capture photos in 2D and 3D and both come equipped with Near Field Communications technology. Read more

After a decade together, one of the mobile industry’s largest remaining joint ventures has come undone. Sony agreed to pay Ericsson $1.49 billion to acquire its 50% share of Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications.

With the long-expected deal finally behind it, Ericsson exits the mobile handset business and can focus on its core infrastructure business. And now as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony, the mobile division can make better use of the Sony brand, which has always been stronger in consumer circles.

Sony has some semblance of a renewed opportunity to better integrate its mobile offering with its wide range of consumer electronics. It also gains an IP-cross licensing agreement and ownership of five patent families related to wireless device technology. Read more

**As published in RCR Wireless News**

Each and every jump from one network technology to another presents wireless infrastructure vendors with a chance for new business. And sure enough, changes are afoot in the infrastructure space again today as mobile operators make their climb to fourth-generation networks.

While recent newcomers are making significant wins outside the United States, it’s mostly the incumbents that are winning the biggest network contracts here in a country that has arguably become the early leader in 4G technology deployments.

LTE has presented telecom gear makers with a window of opportunity to shake up the space and see market shares slide every which way between competitors new and old. Read more

I have serious commitment issues when it comes to my mobile phone. Early termination fees don’t scare me as much as a phone that’s just gotten plain old boring for me. And believe me, I always find a way out.

It might be dropped calls, crap voice quality and pathetic download speeds that drive me to the edge one time. The next time, I might just get sick of the color or maybe I don’t like the way it looks at me or fits in my pocket. Either way, I’m bound to jump and run — it’s just a matter of when. Materialistic? Sure. Overindulgence? You bet.

Like any commitment-phobe, I’m all about multiples. Whether it’s the carrier(s) I do business with or the mobile device(s) I carry, I just can’t settle down and tie the knot with one or the other. I’m one of those types who has two phones usually. Although I try to keep them from knowing about each other — work and personal don’t always belong together — they inevitably cross paths. Read more