Remember when we used to write about Palm in order to talk about its devices and / or operating system(s)? Man, those were the days. Now, it just seems like one sadness-filled report after another, and just days after hearing that it would be cutting an undisclosed amount of employees in order to trim operating expenses, in comes even more doom and gloom courtesy of its preliminary Q2 (fiscal year 2009) results. The company is expecting to record revenues ranging between $190 million to $195 million, far short of the $331 million Wall Street had been counting on. The shortfall was blamed on "a difficult economic environment [which had] greatly intensified the negative impact on product sales." Of course, the visionary Ed Colligan (CEO) still maintains that by reducing its cost structure it can "launch next-generation products as planned," but seriously, why should we believe that line now? Time to put up or shut up, Palm.

[Via CNET, image courtesy of PalmFocus]

Yep, it's a done deal. On the same day Nokia chose to unveil its new flagship N97, the outfit also announced that it had "completed its offer to acquire software company Symbian Limited." As of now, "all conditions to Nokia's offer to acquire Symbian Limited have been satisfied and it has received valid acceptance of greater than 99.9% of the total Symbian shares that Nokia did not already own." Nokia's not saying much else about the changeover just yet, but we are told that every last Symbian employee is expected to wear a Nokia badge come February 1, 2009.

Who's praying now, Modu? The once cocky and altogether promising handset maker has apparently fallen on tough times, with a recent TalkingMobile report suggesting that around one-quarter of its staff (including a few executives) has been told to head home. The reason? Aside from the obvious "the economy" cop out, the company has also been hit hard by launch delays and the inability to land a carrier partner willing to shell out for promotions. Granted, this is far from the end of Modu -- there's still cash to be burnt and avenues to walk down, but we'd probably skip over it when sending out job applications right now.

[Via IntoMobile]

If your company-issued handset / USB modem / WWAN-enabled laptop just happens to have a big red swoosh on it, you might want to think twice before dabbling in any digital debauchery. Verizon Wireless has just started offering Static Internet Protocol to its private network for businesses, which gives managers the ability to carefully monitor activity from each device that taps into the pipes. Of note, the whole idea here takes a big hit when you learn that BlackBerry devices are incompatible, but it should play nice with pretty much any other mobile unit. Oh, and did we mention prohibitive costs? Try a one-time setup fee of $500, and you'll also get dinged with a $60 monthly data plan per device as well as being required to have an AAA server -- which runs between $30,000 and $40,000 -- to implement the technology. Suddenly, knowing that your employees are on MySpace all day doesn't seem that bad, does it?

[Via phonescoop]

Earlier in the summer, some words from Verizon chief Ivan Seidenberg led us all to believe that he wanted his firm to take full control of Verizon Wireless. Now, Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao has made clear that his outfit had precisely zero plans to sell its 45% stake in VZW, though he did mention having an "open mind" about the future of said stake. Just in case that wasn't definitive enough for ya, he stressed that staying put was "the best thing" for Vodafone right now, and given just how many Storms are flying off of US shelves, we can't stand to disagree.

[Via mocoNews]

Look, we needn't tell you that things aren't exactly kosher for Sprint right now. SK Telecom just said "thanks, but no thanks" to a potential relationship, it managed to post a net loss of $326 million in Q3 and it's staring down the barrel of a $1.2 billion class-action ETF suit. All that considered, the sudden and apparently unplanned departure of the carrier's head of CDMA isn't apt to help things. John Garcia, without any (public) rhyme or reason, has decided it best to not clock in on Monday, and at the moment of his leaving, the company had no comment on the situation. Bigwig Keith Cowan has been chosen as the interim replacement while it searches for a successor, and in related news, Bill Morgan (SVP of brand management) will begin reporting directly to CEO Dan Hesse.

[Via mocoNews]

Virgin Mobile USA was one of the few outfits out there who managed to post a Q3 net profit, but even that couldn't help it avoid the unfortunate delivery of a non-compliance letter from the New York Stock Exchange. Just a few days before it slashed ten percent of its workforce, the company was notified by the NYSE that it was "not in compliance with certain listing criteria." More specifically, it's considered "below the applicable standards because the average market capitalization of its Class A common stock and substantial equivalents, over a period of 30 trading days, is less than $100 million." Now, it has 45 days to respond with a business plan that demonstrates its ability to get back into compliance within 18 months. Virgin Mobile USA has already texted (at least that's what we heard) the bigwigs on Wall Street with a confirmation that it would be working to get back on track, but even the best intentions fall through sometimes. Godspeed, VM.

[Via mocoNews]

We've been hearing about a possible SK Telecom-Sprint tie-up since July of 2007, but if either firm ever hoped to actually tie the proverbial knot -- well, let's just say that ship has sailed. Given the weakening economy and the general tendency to resist taking risks right about now, the Korean giant has dropped its plans to partner with Sprint in any form or fashion. In related news, Sprint is looking to hop on the quickly expanding layoff bandwagon, but given its humongous Q3 loss, we suppose that's not totally illogical. We're told that the carrier is offering "voluntary buyout packages" to an unspecified number of employees, which is far more awesome than the "thanks, now get the hell out of here" line that's being handed down by so many other firms. Crazy times, we tell you.

[Via Boy Genius Report]

Enough already, alright? After hearing analysts suggest that the current economic situation would likely hurt handset sales at large, we've now got yet another poll telling us more of the same. After contacting a number of so-called gurus for their input on the situation, 8 out of 22 expected the market to contract next year, meaning that the mobile market could shrink for the first time since the tech crash in 2001; a month ago, just 1 out of 23 analysts polled felt this way. Granted, most still expect Q4 to grow compared to Q3 as individuals splurge during the holiday season, but things may not be so pretty in the new year. Here's an idea: let's make every phone at least as costly as the Softbank 823SH Tiffany -- those seem to be selling like gangbusters.

[Via mocoNews, image courtesy of CrashOnMyHead]

For those who stick to one coast or the other, you may have never even heard of Centennial Communications. Not to worry, though, as AT&T just made said company entirely more relevant. Shortly before heading out of the office on Friday, AT&T decided it fitting to acquire Centennial for a few bucks shy of a billion, or $944 million for those seeking precision. The transaction will beef up AT&T's coverage for customers in rural areas of the Midwest and Southeast United States, not to mention in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. As always, the acquisition must first pass regulatory approval, the approval of Centennial's stockholders and "other customary closing conditions" before the little guy's 1.1 million subscribers officially make the shift, but we certainly don't expect that to be an issue.

[Via The New York Times, thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Ugh, this is just downright depressing no matter how you spin it. Sure, it's just the reality of business and all, but it's no fun to hear that 270 staffers will soon be looking for employment when UIQ Technology finishes climbing into the grave. After hacking 200 jobs in June and being coined "dead" by Sony Ericsson's Patrick Olson, All About Symbian has it that the company has put its remaining employees "on notice of dismissal." We're told that SE has agreed to "continue funding the company on a by month by month basis in order to allow it to investigate options for the future," but from the outside looking in, we'd say the outlook is bleak. Thankfully, it sounds like those affected will at least be assisted as they exit, but now would probably be an opportune time to shed a tear for UIQ as we knew it.

Sprint's year just keeps getting worse. After losing over 900,000 customers last quarter while posting a $344 million loss, the company insistent on advertising with faux soap operas and in black and white (and yellow) is hanging its head once more. During Q3, the carrier saw 1.3 million net subscribers head for the exits, and it also reported a loss of $326 million. According to CEO Dan Hesse, Sprint "has yet to turn the corner," warning that the process of turning things around would be gradual. Moving forward, the company expects gross additions to "stabilize," while the turnover rate is apt to remain at around 2.15%. In related news, the provider's stock price has sunk around 60% in the past six months, and while that's surely bad news to shareholders, not many other mega-corps out there are doing tremendously better.

[Via The New York Times]

Nokia's market share may have slipped ever-so-slightly after a rough Q3, but that's not to say the current champ has been knocked from its throne -- far from it, actually. According to fresh numbers compiled by research firm IDC, Nokia's global market share after Q3 was 39.4%, while Samsung notched the silver with 17.3% and Sony Ericsson the bronze with 8.6%. Trailing the top trio was Motorola and LG with 8.5% and 7.7%, respectively. Each of the five still saw net gains when compared to Q3 2007 save for SE and Moto, which saw their market share slip 0.8% and 31.7%, respectively. Man, a 31.7% slide in twelve months -- is something wrong at Motorola's handset division, or have we just been living under a gigantic boulder for the last calender year?

To be honest, we were surprised that we didn't hear this number along with the other doom and gloom professed during Motorola's Q3 earnings call, but the writing was very clearly on the wall. As part of the mentioned $800 million expenditure cut planned for 2009, 3,000 (more) of Moto's employees will be looking for work elsewhere. According to an unnamed spokeswoman, a "little over two-thirds of those layoffs [will be] in the handset division." And just think -- if Moto would only use all those hands to get an Android-powered phone out before "entirely too long from now," maybe these cuts wouldn't even be necessary. Maybe.