MobileCrunch reported yesterday that complaints from around the world are reporting that the iPhone 3G is having connection troubles. Dropped calls and inconsistent Internet speeds are plaguing some iPhone users. Being quick to the draw, Apple has released a software update which may be meant to fix the problems.

T-Mobile, which has exclusive iPhone rights in some European countries, announced today that the software is available for users to download. It isn’t known if the upgrade will fix all the connection problems.

“We have had complaints about connectivity in the Netherlands but have not had more complaints than usual for a 3G phone in Germany. Our technicians said today Apple has issued a software update but it is too early to tell if the problems are solved,” a T-Mobile spokesman said.

The U.S. iPhone provider AT&T confirmed that Apple has provided a software update but hasn’t given any details about the nature of the update.

Richard Windsor, an analyst at Nomura, speculates that the dropped calls problem may be due to faulty software on an Infineon Technologies chip used in the iPhone. Infineon isn’t commenting on the iPhone’s troubles but was quick to say that its 3G chips work fine in other cell phones.

Verizon has partnered with Hermandad Mexicana Nacional to contribute nearly $10,000 to the Latino Angelino Scholarship Fund. The scholarships are available to students of Latino decent and will be awarded based on financial need and academic achievement. The $1,000 scholarship is meant for high school graduates and community college students who plan to attend an accredited four-year institution.

“Education is key to the high-skill, high-paying jobs of tomorrow,” said Elva Lima, vice president - strategic programs, Verizon. “These scholarships are an investment in a brighter tomorrow for our communities.” Education is key to the high-skill, high-paying jobs of tomorrow,” said Elva Lima, vice president - strategic programs, Verizon. “These
scholarships are an investment in a brighter tomorrow for our communities.”

If you are interested in applying, call Esmerelda Chaires at 818-989-3019 for a list of the requirements and rules. Applications must be delivered or postmarked by August 11 to Hermandad Mexicana Nacional, 7915 Van Nuys Boulevard, Panorama City, CA 91402.

Latin America’s largest cell phone operator, America Movil, will launch the 3G iPhone in ten countries starting August 22. The popular handset will go on sale in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.

America Movil operates in 16 countries throughout Latin America, the Caribbean and in the United States. It currently has over 159 million cell phone subscribers. The company is currently selling the iPhone in Mexico and plans to sell the handset through its Brazilian unit Claro later this year.

America Movil’s biggest competitor in the region, Telefonica SA, also plans to sell the 3G iPhone throughout Latin America later this month.

India’s top mobile service provider will launch Apple’s 3G iPhone in India on August 22. Details at this time are sketchy and pricing details have not been revealed yet. Two other companies, Estonia’s EMT and the Czech Republic’s Telephonica O2, will also launch the popular handset in their respective countries.

Airtel doesn’t have the exclusive right to sell and operate the iPhone in India. Vodafone will also have a piece of the action but hasn’t announced when it will launch the iPhone in its coverage areas. Airtel currently has nearly 70 million wireless subscribers.

When the newest generation of the iPhone reaches India, it won’t be fully functional right away. Neither Airtel nor Vodafone have 3G networks up and running. Buyers will have to wait for the country’s wireless infrastructure to be updated before all the potential of the 3G iPhone can be utilized.

The U.S. company Delta Air Lines announced today that it will sell broadband wireless Internet access on its entire domestic mainline fleet. The service is expected to be up and running on all domestic flights by the middle of 2009. Wi-Fi will be offered to passengers flying throughout the continental United States.

Aircell, an airborne communications provider, will install the network on more than 330 aircraft that makeup Delta’s U.S. fleet of passenger airliners. The system will allow Wi-Fi enabled devices to access the Internet while in flight. It will cost passengers $9.95 for a flight that is three hours or less, while longer flight time will cost $12.95.

Delta is also considering offering Wi-Fi service for its international fleet and for aircraft used by its regional partners, but has no timetable for installing the service on those flights.

USA Today is reporting that AT&T has reached an agreement with Apple to extend AT&T’s exclusive rights to carry the iPhone in the United States. AT&T will remain the exclusive retailer of the iPhone through 2010. AT&T subsidizes the price of the iPhone to the tune of about $300, which keeps the handset’s retail price at $199. AT&T hopes to make up for the subsidy by being the exclusive service provider for the popular handset.

This move may anger some, who want to be able to use the iPhone with any carrier they choose. But in the United States the newest version if the iPhone will only work on the AT&T network or the T-Mobile network. The wireless technology in the U.S. is so different that Apple would have to develop an entirely new phone in order to have a device that would function on a Verizon or Sprint network.

Even if iPhone owners are able to unlock the device, it isn’t fully compatible with T-Mobile’s 3G network. To get the full iPhone 3G experience Americans are going to have to stick with an AT&T service plan, until some clever people come up with a way around service compatibility.

A legal battle that spanned three continents and involved two of the biggest names in the mobile realm came to an end yesterday with both sides dropping all complaints and cross-complaints. Nokia, the world’s largest handset maker, and Qualcomm, the world’s largest maker of cell phone chips, reached an agreement that should quiet the upheaval that threatened to ripple throughout the mobile world.

Neither side has commented on the agreement. Nokia has a 15-year licensing deal that gives the company rights to many of Qualcomm’s patents. Nokia will pay an upfront sum and ongoing royalties to use chips developed by Qualcomm.

The two companies signed their first agreement in 1992 and renewed it in 2001 but it expired in April of 2007. The new contract includes technologies that didn’t exist or were in their infancies when the two companies entered into a business relationship.

The news has calmed the fears that carriers and equipment makers had over the lawsuit. A long legal battle threatened to interfere with other company’s ability to deliver products and services to a world hungry for mobile technology.

AT&T’s second quarter numbers are in today, and the company has meet Wall Street’s expectations. The company saw its profits increase 30%, despite a slowing down of the U.S. economy. In the past few months AT&T’s stock has been driven down because of a feared recession, but today’s news sent the company’s shares up $1.08, to sell at $32.90 in morning trading.

AT&T has seen a loss of landline subscribers and is having trouble signing up new customers to it broadband service. Only 46,000 new customers were added, a number which disappointed analysts. But the company did add 170,000 new subscribers to its TV service U-verse, which now has a base of 549,000 customers.

The company is expecting big numbers from Apple’s second generation iPhone, which is exclusively carried by AT&T in the United States. Sales of the new iPhone were nearly double those of the first iPhone model in the first 12 days the device was available. Because the iPhone didn’t go on sale until July 11, it isn’t part of the second quarter numbers. But AT&T did say that 40% of the buyers were new to the company, which should help third quarter numbers.

AT&T is still the largest U.S. wireless company, with 72.8 million subscribers but the number two company, Verizon Wireless, is a close second with 68.7 million customers.

The Arena Football League (AFL) has chosen NewTek’s TriCaster technology to produce and web stream this year’s Virgin Mobile ArenaBowl XXII coverage. The event takes place in New Orleans on July 24-27. If you are an AFL fan but don’t like jazz or already have a closet full of beads, you can experience 11 events from seven locations via ArenaFootball.com and ArenaBowl.com. Coverage includes the following:

• LIVE from ArenaBowl XXII Weekend Daily Reports
• ArenaBowl XXII Kids Zone Concert featuring Jordan Pruitt
• Virgin Mobile ArenaBowl XXII Pre-Game Show on SIRIUS
• Virgin Mobile ArenaBowl XXII Post-Game Press Conference
• This Week in the AFL on SIRIUS
• Daily American and National Conference Reports
• The Wolfe’s Den presented by Miller Lite

If baseball is too slow for you and you need to take the edge off before 100 yard football season starts, be sure to follow this year’s Virgin Mobile ArenaBowl XXII weekend in all its detail.

Mobile TeleSystems OJSC (MTS), the largest mobile phone operator in Russia and the CIS, published its 2007 Annual Review online today. Together with its subsidiaries, MTS has nearly 87 million subscribers. It provides service in Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan, giving MTS a population base of more than 230 million.

The Annual Review describes the operational, financial and strategic achievements of MTS during 2007 and provides an overview of the Company, its management and Board of Directors. Since June 2000, MTS’s Level 3 ADRs have been listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MBT.

Mikhail Shamolin, President & Chief Executive Officer of MTS, noted: “As we have been at the forefront of delivering new and exciting products to the largest customer base across Russia and the CIS, we are also leading the way in financial communications by moving to a completely online Annual Review. By providing greater interactivity and easier access to key
financial and operational data, we are certain to set the pace as Russia’s most transparent company and give all of our stakeholders a greater sense of MTS and our brand values.”

The review can be found at: annualreview2007

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