New phones equipped with Google's Android operating system may come to market too late to save Motorola's mobile phone business.

Online auction giant eBay has reported a fall in profits between April and June of almost one-third, but analysts had expected a sharper fall. Net profit was US$327.3 million, down 29% compared with the US$460m made in the same period a year ago. Revenue also fell slightly, from US$2.2 billion to US$2.1 billion.

UK firm Spinvox's service aims to convert voice messages into text messages using advanced speech recognition software. But claims to the BBC suggest that the majority of messages have been heard and transcribed by call center staff in South Africa and the Philippines.

Sources again claim that Apple has a tablet ready to release "in time for the holidays," and will be partnering with Verizon to provide mobile data services and possible subsidies.

An employee at a factory that makes iPhones in China killed himself after a prototype went missing. Apple Inc. offered its condolences Wednesday as the company waits for the results of an investigation.

Cisco Systems has continued trimming its workforce at its San Jose, CA, headquarters. Sources close to the company say between 600 and 700 employees (about 1% of global workforce) at the networking giant received layoff notices.

The world's biggest mobile phone maker saw a 66% slide in quarterly profit as the economic downturn hit demand for handsets. Rival Sony Ericsson also reported a quarterly loss and warned that the rest of the year would remain difficult for the company.

ZTE has said it had won 34% of China Mobile Communications's third-round 3G network expansion tender.

Foxconn, the contracted iPhone maker for Apple, is manufacturing a 3G version of iPhone tailored to customers in China, disclosed sources familiar with the matter on July 15.

William Ogle, who was most recently chief marketing officer at Samsung Telecommunications America, will head marketing, advertising and brand strategy for Motorola's flagship business.

A day after the Korea Communications Commissions (KCC) announced that Ericsson will build a Korea-based R&D center and create more than 1,000 jobs over the next five years, a company spokesman has said the announcement was merely a government "guesstimate."

China has been a champ exporter, but the country's growth depends on developing other avenues of business too.

3Com has reported fourth-quarter and full-year results that indicated the networking supplier has settled down. The firm said it recorded a net income of US$20.2 million on sales of US$295.1 million.