This is the third quarter in a row that has shown a year-over-year decline in cell phone sales, and this quarter claimed the lowest total sales since NPD Group began tracking this data in 2005. The 28 million cell phones sold in the second quarter represent a 13% decline from last year. However, total revenue only declined by 2%, meaning the average cost per cell phone is up 14%. Motorola’s most iconic and successful phone, the Razr, was popular largely because of its simplicity and usability.

China's ZTE Corp said it has sealed an exclusive deal with Emcali to build Colombia's first WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) 16e network. Shenzhen-based ZTE will provide Emcali with core network and wireless access equipment as well as terminals and base stations for the 3.5G WiMAX project. The Colombian government awarded WiMAX licences to Emcali two years ago, and the company is required to make the network commercially available by the end of 2008, ZTE said in a statement.

Rigid PCB shipments are up 2.9% and bookings are down 4.5% in June 2008 from June 2007. Year to date, rigid PCB shipments are up 5.8% and bookings are up 6.6%. Compared to the previous month, rigid PCB shipments increased 11.8% and rigid bookings increased 21.1%. The book-to-bill ratio for the North American rigid PCB industry in June 2008 slipped to 0.94.

T-Mobile (owned by Deutsche Telekom) said the software was available for users to download to their iPhones on Tuesday, but that it was not yet clear if the upgrade would fix all the connection problems. AT&T, the only U.S. network operator carrying the iPhone, confirmed that Apple had provided a software update but declined to give details about what it was aimed at fixing.

That's why earlier this year Google kicked off a competition that awards cash prizes to companies creating innovative applications for its Android mobile platform. The search giant has earmarked US$10 million for the Android Developer Challenge, for which it says it has received more than 1,700 submissions from around the world.

..."Inventory days for our supply chain basket of approximately 130 companies declined for the most recent quarter to 44.1 days, from 45 days last quarter and 45.2 days following 2Q. On a trailing 12-month basis, inventory days declined to 43.8 days, which compares to 44 days exiting 1Q and 45.4 days following 2Q 2007," Harrison said..

"Intel believes a Wimax-ready laptop could be available in the Indian market at around US$300-400 dollars in a few months," Intel India's newly appointed Managing Director for Wimax division C S Rao told PTI.

Malaysian WiMax operator Packet One Networks began commercial services Tuesday, marking another step in the ongoing rollout of the broadband wireless technology. "Our plan is to target 100,000 subscribers in the next 12 months," said Michael Lai, Packet One's CEO, in a telephone interview.

"...the turmoil in credit markets of the past year virtually guarantees that corporate spending on technology will fall over the next nine months or so...Technology demand, which has been growing recently at an annualised rate of 5-6%, could decline by 10%..."

"Complaints over dropped calls and choppy Web connections on Apple's iPhone 3G have sparked a wave of debate...Nomura said problem involves a communications chip made by Infineon...As much as the chip may be the chief problem, glitches may also stem from Apple's software or the AT&T network..."

..the 3G iPhone has poor reception and forces him to spend more time on the 2.5G EDGE network than he thought, but the issue may be with Infineon’s 3G chip, according to Richard Windsor, an analyst with Nomura Securities. In a research note today, he said: “We believe that these issues are typical of an immature chipset and radio protocol stack where we are almost certain Infineon is the 3G supplier.” That comment might cheer AT&T, but it's bad news for Infineon, and perhaps a warning to the chip industry about quality control...