It’s a little too soon to write off HTC. With Apple and Samsung Electronics cornering more than two-thirds of the industry’s sales and nearly all of its profits, it’s easy to dismiss every other handset manufacturer. That includes HTC, whose descent from industry darling to embattled company seemingly happened overnight. The rapid reversal of fortunes …

I normally loathe writing about the corporate world, but seeing as this is a column focused on the business of apps, I figured I would make an exception. While it’s great to talk about the latest mobile game or local search app, the real money may be made in the enterprise arena. That’s particularly the case with Apple and iOS. …

Verizon Wireless got fat off the customers that left Sprint Nextel’s iDEN network over the past few years. That’s according to Sprint CEO Dan Hesse, who told investors today that Verizon has nabbed half of the customers who left the ailing Nextel service over the past few years. AT&T grabbed roughly a fifth of the departing customers, while Sprint got …

People love the iPhone because of its simplicity and ease of use. It’s for that same reason Sprint Nextel’s unlimited plans are so popular. So says Sprint CEO Dan Hesse, who claimed his company’s simple plans just work better with the iPhone and reiterated his commitment to them. “We think unlimited is important,” Hesse said during a conference call today. …

Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse confirmed that the company will sell the Motorola Photon Q and provided an update on its high-end smartphones. The Motorola Photon Q is the 4G LTE-compatible successor to the original Motorola Photon. Hesse said the carrier will launch the phone later this year. The device, like some of its other environmentally friendly phones, is ULE-platinum-certified, …

LG still hasn’t figured out its mobile business yet. The Korean technology conglomerate posted a net profit of 159 billion Korean won, or $138 million, compared with a year-earlier profit of 109 billion Korean won, or $94 million. Revenue, however, fell 10.6 percent to 12.86 trillion Korean won, or $11.18 billion. The biggest culprit was a 28.6 percent decline in …

What do 3G hot spots and firearms have in common? They’re both banned from the London 2012 Olympic games. Personal wireless access points and 3G hot spots are among the list of restricted items for the games, which start Friday. Visitors are allowed to bring smartphones and tablets, but are not able to use them as a hot spot to …

You’d think AT&T would be more upset that the number of smartphones it sold in the second quarter fell nearly 8 percent. You’d be wrong. The Dallas telecommunications giant is probably thrilled that smartphone sales fell, resulting in better wireless margins and driving better-than-expected second-quarter results. It’s the contradictory dynamic that all carriers find themselves in: smartphone sales are vital …

AT&T posted a modest increase in its second-quarter profit even as it sold 3.7 million iPhones in the period. AT&T The Dallas telecommunications giant posted a profit of $3.9 billion, or 66 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier profit of $3.6 billion, or 60 cents a share. Year-earlier results were helped by the its advertising unit, which no longer …

That vision of paying for goods and services with your phone anywhere you go? You shouldn’t hold your breath. While there are trials and select deployments of payment terminals and cash registers that can accept mobile payments, the method won’t hit the mainstream in the U.S. for another two to three years, according to Bill Gajda, head of mobile for …