The first victim of the free navigation wars: Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) is shutting down Wayfinder, the Swedish mapmaker it purchased for $30 million in late 2008. It was the carrier’s goal to use Wayfinder to provide directions to both drivers and pedestrians, while overlaying location-based advertising to alert users to…

It’s long been known that Nokia’s had a hard time selling its popular devices in the U.S. But its latest smartphones coming have a series of enhancements that it hopes will make it more competitive. The phones will run the latest version of the open source operating system, “Symbian^3,” which…

Looking for real-time data of its own, the FCC (yes, the regulatory body in Washington, D.C.) has released a mobile app for iPhone and Android. Don’t worry, the feds aren’t interested in listening to your phone conversations, rather they say the purpose of the app is to provide “Americans with…

At the powerhouse Abu Dhabi Media Summit here at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, two of the biggest third-party search deals are being negotiated behind the scenes, we have learned. It just so happens that all the players involved were here for the last day or so: Google (NSDQ: GOOG)…

In Rob Glaser’s first public appearance since stepping down as CEO of RealNetworks (NSDQ: RNWK), he implored that it is incumbent upon companies to work together in order for the wireless sector to continue its break-neck pace of innovation. Glaser did not hint at what he might do next, but…

Google’s proposed (and now delayed) acquisition of mobile ad network AdMob appears to be drawing even more regulatory scrutiny from the FTC. Bloomberg cites sources who say that regulators now want “sworn declarations” from Google (NSDQ: GOOG) competitors about the $750 million deal. The key sentence in the Bloomberg report…

Google (NSDQ: GOOG)—which has spent much of the last year talking about how it is making more money off of YouTube—is now beginning to monetize the mobile version of the video site. In a blog post, the company says banner ads—sold on a “full-day basis”—will soon appear on the home,…

This is the TV ad Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) hopes will give its search engine a fighting chance against Google. Made by WPP’s JWT, the “Bing and Decide” campaign will run for three months on UK commercial TV and web.

The biggest frenemies together: Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google (NSDQ: GOOG) & Maurice Levy of Publicis, one of the largest ad holding companies: We’ll have the full video of Schmidt’s speech and Q&A from here, later this afternoon. Meanwhile if you want to check out bits from his speech, chk…

Nine months since relaunching its search engine, Bing’s market share continues to inch up. It’s now at 11.5 percent, up from 8 percent prior to its remake, according to the latest comScore (NSDQ: SCOR) figures (via Business Insider). We’ve made a point of checking in each quarter, rather than monthly,…

Newspapers have blamed Google (NSDQ: GOOG) for their woes, and Google, in turn, has helped remind newspapers that they did a pretty good job of digging their own grave. The latest Googler to weigh in on the business is Chief Economist Hal Varian, in a speech to the FTC today.…

The Financial Times has a sizeable and nicely growing subscription business—so why mess with micropayments? FT.com Managing Director Rob Grimshaw says that half the FT’s print customers are newsstand buyers, and the company needs to offer an similar a la carte option online as well. Grimshaw, in an interview with…

T-Mobile USA executives explained that it abruptly ended its year-old exclusive search deal with Yahoo, and replaced it with Google (NSDQ: GOOG), because it is what their subscribers wanted. “It was customer led; the Google brand is associated with Internet and search,” Ian McKerlich, T-Mobile’s director of mobile web and…

Here’s why Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) is advertising Bing on UK TV: it’s barely making the tiniest dent in Google’s search leadership. Though Google (NSDQ: GOOG) piled on eight tenths of the 617 million additional searches Brits made since Bing launched in June, Bing took just four percent of them, according…

Once again, rumors are making their rounds that Google (NSDQ: GOOG) is going to make some sort of set-top box play. The latest: The WSJ reports that the company is working with Dish Network on a new feature that would let users search both TV content and web videos on…

Google’s announcement last month that it would build “ultra” high-speed broadband networks in the U.S. has generated interest from cities who want the tech jobs (and prestige) that would likely come if Google (NSDQ: GOOG) were to select them as a trial location. To be considered, cities must fill out…

Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) may have lost its exclusive search deal with T-Mobile USA, but it is banking on a major reorganization to help recharge the company’s mobile efforts. The changes, which involves breaking up the mobile group and redeploying those employees across the company’s individual product groups, is the result…

Google (NSDQ: GOOG) is doling out about $8 million in bonuses to several top employees “in recognition of executive officers’ contributions to performance,” according to an SEC filing just filed. All of the payments are up considerably from last year. The details: CFO Patrick Pichette, SVP Alan Eustace, and SVP…

T-Mobile USA has ended its year-old exclusive search deal with Yahoo, and has replaced the company with its chief rival—Google (NSDQ: GOOG). The deal shifts the U.S. mobile search dominance away from Yahoo and in favor of Google, which now works with two of the top four carriers. The hand-off…