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ROK's acquisition of Xero officially now a vapor-acquisition

by Chris Ziegler posted Feb 28th 2008 @ 11:28PM

We certainly can't give Xero Mobile credit for launching any actual product -- because they haven't -- but we're all about giving credit where credit is due, and in Xero's case, we've gotta hand it to 'em for continuing the magnificent vaporware parade for as long as they have. It's now been nearly 14 months since the ad revenue-supported MVNO had originally claimed to be targeting a launch, and as far as we can tell, they're still doing something behind the scenes; that "something" may have absolutely nothing to do with actually launching, but hey, announcing partnerships and potential acquisitions must pay the bills, we suppose. Speaking of potential acquisitions, suitor ROK Entertainment has unceremoniously dropped its bid this week without giving any rhyme or reason, leading us to wonder where this leaves Xero's liquidity -- do they have enough money to continue trying to sell themselves, let alone launch an MVNO?

Xero Mobile in yet another round of acquisition talks

by Chris Ziegler posted Oct 1st 2007 @ 10:06AM

The fact that former Gizmondo peeps are still associated with the vaporware artists at Xero Mobile would send most would-be investors sprinting in the opposite direction, we'd think, but what do we know? After announcing a series of stock swaps, partnerships with companies we've never heard of (whose execs just happen to be on Xero's management team), and failed buyouts, ROK Entertainment Group -- which offers video downloads to phones, apparently -- has inexplicably announced an interest in acquiring the perpetual hype machine. If we had to guess, we'd figure that there's some sort of shady business deal going on behind the scenes that lets parties involved make yet another obscene profit without actually launching any actual product, but we've gotta ask: just how many times can the same team of scam artists run the same con and continue to pad their wallets without getting busted? All we need to see, Xero, is a functional website where we can sign up for one of your ad revenue-subsidized plans you've been touting for ages, and we'll start to believe. Honest!

ROK Viper lights up VoIP over Bluetooth

by Chris Ziegler posted Sep 8th 2006 @ 12:51PM

Carriers like to throw around the term "unlimited mobile-to-mobile" from time to time, but we don't think this is exactly what they had in mind. ROK's "Viper" VoIP client uses a handset's Bluetooth link to hook it up to a PC sporting a broadband Internet connection, which in turn connects it to any other handset with Viper installed. Better yet, Viper contacts are shown with their availability in a buddy list format -- but the best part? It's all completely free and covers platforms Skype doesn't. Compatibility is limited to a handful of Nokia handsets running S60 right now, but word on the street has ROK releasing on Java and Windows Mobile clients before too long.

[Via Tech Digest]

ROK Player goes Windows Mobile

by Ryan Block posted Jul 3rd 2006 @ 2:59PM

It's been a while since ROK and their ROK Player declared they were going after the mobile video market selling MMCs loaded with shows; they eventually came back claiming they were going to launch their BLCX SlingBox killer, which is certainly slightly more practical for getting your TV onto your wireless device -- but they missed that June 1 rollout date, too. What they do have, though, is a 2.5g streaming video solution for Symbian, which can now also count Windows Mobile users among those who have access to ROK TV content. While we're doubting any 2.5g connection in the world is going to provide video as demonstrated by ROK above, they do indeed have a decent enough little lineup going on if you were looking for a way to get some mobile video going on that EDGE-enabled HTC of yours.

[Via MSMobileNews]

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