Unless you've been camped out under a Rhode Island-sized boulder for the past few weeks, chances are you know that Verizon has announced its intentions to acquire Alltel. During a recent interview with CEO Scott Ford, Talk Business host Roby Brock was able to get quite a few talking points out of the exec that didn't involve the most recent transaction. More specifically, Mr. Ford noted that prior to Alltel becoming a private company, it had "tried to buy Sprint three times, tried to buy AT&T Wireless [and] tried to buy T-Mobile." He continued by saying that "some of those times it went with partners, [while] some of those times it didn't." Essentially, Alltel was "doing everything it could to get to a national platform." Believe it or not, those quotes really are just the tip of the iceberg, but the full spill is entirely too detailed for this space. If you're curious to know what might have been, break out the reading glasses and hit the link below.

[Via mocoNews]

Look, everyone knows things aren't exactly gangbusters over at Motorola right now, but it's downright depressing when you've got to pat your own self on the back for an award given to you by AT&T. Even worse, the Outstanding Supplier recognition "in the area of teamwork" seems like something that should be expected as one mega-corp works with another, but we digress. Moto was apparently one of 27 that received similar awards, though we haven't tallied up precisely how many others felt the need to publicly gloat. Said Dan Moloney, president of Motorola's Home and Networks Mobility business, "we are delighted to be named amongst AT&T's best of the best in teamwork." And we're delighted for you, Mr. Moloney.

Simmer down, we're not talking about yet another homegrown 3G standard from China here. Oh no -- Vodafone, Softbank and China Mobile are teaming up to establish a Joint Innovation Lab (JIL) that will "promote the development of new mobile technologies, applications and services." More specifically, the trio is aiming to accelerate the "commercial deployment of mobile internet services" such as mobile widgets. For starters, the initiative hopes to conjure up a platform for said widgets that can leverage the unique capabilities of mobile operators, and it's most certainly keeping the door to the party wide open for anyone who wants to get in on the action. As expected, we're not clearly told what to expect from this little tie-up, but we'll be keeping an ear to ground for any developments.

Immersion, the same folks responsible for adding haptic technology (force feedback from touch panels, pretty much) in a fleet of Nokia handsets, could be looking to do the same with Cupertino's one and only. While VibeTonz isn't specifically mentioned by name, a recent report (which should certainly be filed as a rumor for the time being) is suggesting that bigwigs from both outfits are in ongoing meetings "over licensing and implementation issues of iPhone haptics." Interestingly enough, this news is flowing hot on the heels of Immersion appointing Clent Richardson as president and CEO; if that name rings a bell, he previously spent five years pretty high up the ladder at Apple. Of course, all the signs pointing to yes doesn't mean anything in and of itself, so we'll just twiddle our thumbs a bit longer and hope to have some feedback for 'em soon enough.

[Thanks, Chris]

Read - Rumors of Immersion bringing haptics to iPhone
Read - Clent Richardson becomes president / CEO of Immersion

Nothing shows your complete and unwavering devotion to a handset maker like buying an ultra-rare vehicle with its logos on there, wouldn't you agree? Those vigorously nodding up and down (well, those vigorously nodding up and down in Brazil) can get set to grab a limited edition Renault Sandero, which will come "fully equipped with Nokia's navigation system and [undisclosed] car add-ons." The super-special Sandero will come stocked with an N95 and cost around €17,650 ($27,693), but you'd better hurry, as only 1,000 of these niche motorcars are being built. It's like Nokia heard your cries for letting the chance to nab one of those co-branded Twingos slip through your too-busy-texting thumbs or something.

Quite frankly, we're still recovering from Garmin's onslaught of GPS navigation systems at CES, but just as those last mental wounds were healing, along comes the outfit to drop yet another bomb. This time, Garmin's taking CTIA hostage and announcing a veritable smorgasbord of application upgrades and partnerships. Up first is an upgrade to Garmin Mobile, which promises to bring a new interface and Google Local search to a variety of BlackBerry, Symbian and WinMo handsets. Continuing on, we're also hearing that Garmin GPS owners can "now send locations found on Google Maps" and MapQuest, select Samsung handset owners can grab hold of Mobile Navigator and Garmin Mobile now plays nice with nTelos' lineup of BREW-enabled devices. Thirsty for more? Fantastic -- you'll be bubbling over once you get done perusing the links below.

[Thanks, Allory]

Read - Garmin Mobile On BlackBerry, Symbian and Windows Mobile
Read - Garmin Teams with Google Maps
Read - MapQuest and Garmin Announce a Partnership
Read - Garmin Provides Navigator for Samsung Mobile Phones
Read - Garmin Mobile for BlackBerry Available from Centennial Wireless
Read - Garmin Mobile Turns nTelos Phones into GPS Navigators
Read - Garmin's Fleet Management Interface Network Grows

Announced today, Starbucks is gearing up to transition its WiFi relationship from T-Mobile to AT&T in over 7,000 of its locations in the US. For T-Mobile HotSpot customers feelin' a bit like day old espresso right about now, fret not, as the coffee giant has assured us all that you folks "will be able to continue to access WiFi services at no additional cost through an agreement between AT&T and T-Mobile." Starting "sometime this Spring," Starbucks card holders will be treated to two hours of free WiFi access per day, while more than 12 million "qualifying AT&T broadband and U-verse internet customers will have unlimited free access." For whatever it's worth, the press release also notes that the carrier will "soon extend the benefits of WiFi at Starbucks to its wireless customers," but it (sadly) fails to elaborate. For those of you out there without any ties to AT&T, expect to pony up $3.99 for a two hour session or $19.99 for monthly access.

[Via mocoNews]
Read - Starbucks to expand technology relationship with AT&T
Read - More than 12 million AT&T, Starbucks customers to get free WiFi access

It seems talks are in their earliest stages at the moment, but according to mocoNews, Nokia and Facebook reps are mulling a potential partnership, and there has even been whispers of dollars changing hands in the process. Apparently, the deal could involve making the Facebook icon a prominent fixture on Nokia handsets and product displays, and while it's far from confirmed, it could also involve Nokia "purchasing a stake in [Facebook]." An unspecific senior Nokia executive was quoted as saying that there was "talk of a partnership in the works," and he / she continued by stating that it would be "safe to say that [they were] testing the waters." For now, it seems we'll have to wait things out before we know if there's anything more than friendly chatter going on, but don't be shocked if Nokia suddenly drops a few stacks o' bills to get what it wants.

We though the whole idea behind Bluetooth was to create a universally compatible, short-range wireless protocol, but apparently that's not enough of a guarantee for HTC. The ruling patron saint of Windows Mobile devices has teamed up with Parrot, a rather large European manufacturer of Bluetooth accessories, to "align product roadmaps" in an effort to make their products more harmonious in each others' presence. All told, the announcement is rather vague, with the most telling line saying that the partnership will bring "expanded capabilities" to users' devices, whatever that means. HTC doesn't have much of a retail presence in the Bluetooth peripheral market, so could this be a prelude to an acquisition? [Warning: PDF link]

[Via the::unwired]

Chances are, you had forgotten all about Sony and NXP's little initiative to cooperate on a NFC (near-field communications) standard, but the two seem to have finally worked out all the kinks and are ready to move forward. The joint venture, dubbed Moversa, will seek to "drive global adoption of contactless smart card applications in mobile phones," and it's already planning to develop, produce and market a Universal Secure Access Module (U-SAM) that "incorporates both MIFARE and FeliCa operating systems and applications." Essentially, the duo is hoping to accelerate the adoption of integrated contactless support, which would enable users to make payments (among other things) easily via their handset. If you're curious about availability, we're hearing that samples should be shipped out in mid-2008, but commercial deployments aren't scheduled to happen until the end of next year.

[Via Yahoo / Reuters]

After buddying up with IBM earlier this year on a 32-nanometer semiconductor, Infineon is now teaming with none other than Intel to produce high-density (HD) SIM cards. Announced today at the Cartes Trade Show in Paris, the agreement will spark a "strategic technology collaboration" which will see Infineon producing modular chip solutions while Intel offers up memory capacities from 4MB to 64MB. More specifically, a 32-bit security microcontroller will be provided by Infineon, while the partnership's other half throws in its "leading-edge flash memory technologies, capabilities and manufacturing." Apparently, the HD SIM will play nice with "data-intensive mobile applications, services and over-the-air downloads" which are likely to become more pervasive in the coming years, and current market research shows that these very devices will account for "six- to eight-percent of the total SIM card market in 2010." As for availability, look for samples to land in Q2 of next year, but don't expect 'em to be manufactured en masse until the first half of 2009.

[Via EETimes]

You know what they say: nothing gets you over the last one like the next one. Apparently, Disney is totally signed on to the aforementioned mantra, as just under seven weeks after Disney Mobile hung its US-based ears in shame, the Japanese unit of Walt Disney Company will reportedly be firing up similar operations in its neck of the woods. Apparently, the outfit has "reached a basic agreement" with Softbank Mobile to lease telecom networks and start providing nationwide service to those interested. Furthermore, it will be buddying up with Softbank to "develop handsets and consign its output to other companies," and if all goes to plan, Disney hopes to sign up "more than one million subscribers." Oh, and if that wasn't enough to make you scrounge up that decade-old Mickey Mouse figurine and give it a long overdue hug, users of the service will also have exclusive access to "animated film downloads." Regrettably, there's no word on an actual launch date just yet, but we'll be keeping a (grossly oversized) set of ears to the ground.

[Via Yahoo / Reuters]

You could almost feel this one unraveling, but any remaining hope that Sprint and Clearwire would work something out has apparently been lost. Reportedly, the two have given up on trying to finalize an agreement to jointly build a nationwide WiMAX-based network, citing "complexities of the transaction and the departure last month of Sprint Chief Executive Gary Forsee" as primary reasons for the plan's deterioration. 'Course, Sprint still has a few options left, but it's fairly safe to say that what was the most promising one is seemingly out of the picture, at least for now. Interestingly, it wasn't noted as to whether the two would hook back up and give this one more go in the future, but there were suggestions that a number of big timers (Intel, Nokia, Samsung, etc.) would possibly "inject financing into Clearwire to help keep its WiMAX project on track." And here we thought this was only the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

[Via PhoneScoop]

As ARM continues its quest to become the record holder for partnerships created in one month, now we're seeing that the firm is getting cozy with Intel. Apparently, the duo is looking to instill ARM's TrustZone technology into mobiles, PDAs, set-top-boxes or other devices running "open operating systems such as Symbian OS, Linux and Windows CE." Essentially, the process involves wedding ARM's security solutions with Intel's Authenticated Memory, which purportedly "provides a solution that is stronger than either technology working independently," and moreover, the combination of technologies "can help reduce SoC cost." For the geeks who dig this stuff, feel free to hit the read link for a way-too-detailed eight page PDF. [Warning: PDF read link]

[Via TheInquirer]

Considering that we've already seen Sun parade its iPhone-like Java Mobile FX platform around, it's not too surprising to hear that Samsung and Sun Microsystems could be teaming up to "jointly develop a mobile phone to challenge Apple's iPhone." Furthermore, the two firms already have a history together, and according to Sun Chairman Scott McNealy, the duo could be working on "a Java phone that would surpass Apple's iPhone in functionality and cost less." Of course, Sun's spokespeople couldn't be reached for comment and Samsung's folks simply stated that "no decision had been made regarding co-development of the Java phone," so it looks like we'll be filing this away in the somewhat believable rumor cabinet for the time being.

[Via CNET]