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Alana Semuels
25 Years of the Cell Phone
Submitted by Benton Foundation on October 13, 2008 - 6:27pmLast updated: October 13, 2008 - 6:27pm
Twenty-five years ago, during a media event at Chicago's Soldier Field, the president of Ameritech Mobile Communications made the nation's first commercial cellphone connection. He rang up Alexander Graham Bell's grandson on a Motorola DynaTAC handset that weighed 2 1/2 pounds and retailed for $3,995.
CTIA convention a stage for wireless innovators
Submitted by Benton Foundation on September 11, 2008 - 7:33amLast updated: September 11, 2008 - 7:33am
People want to use their phones for more than just talking. CTIA-the Wireless Assn., said this week that revenue from wireless data services rose 40% in the first half of 2008, to $14.8 billion.
Online tools let parents peer into their kids' school day
Submitted by Benton Foundation on September 5, 2008 - 7:11amLast updated: September 5, 2008 - 7:12am
Technology is helping eliminate some of the guesswork about what happens after kids climb onto the bus. Increasingly common Web programs let parents track lunch-money spending, schoolwork habits and tardiness.
Wireless carriers taking longer to answer customer service calls
Submitted by Benton Foundation on August 15, 2008 - 7:31amLast updated: August 15, 2008 - 7:31am
According to a J.D. Power & Associates study released Thursday, the average wait time customers endured before being connected to representatives at their wireless phone companies in early 2008 was 4.4 minutes, up 34% from the none-too-brief 3.3 minutes they waited in 2003.
Research firm Nielsen tallying product placement ads
Submitted by Benton Foundation on July 21, 2008 - 7:29amLast updated: September 24, 2008 - 1:04pm
A small army of people are now employed by research firms and advertisers to track product placement, one of the fastest-growing segments of the advertising industry. Advertisers spent $2.9 billion in 2007 to place their products in TV shows and movies, up 33.7% from the year before.
SoCal HDTV owners with cable service have limited choices
Submitted by Benton Foundation on May 27, 2008 - 10:15amPity the Los Angeles residents who lug home pricey high-definition television sets only to find that most of their shows don't look much better. The entertainment capital of the world ranks last among the five biggest U.S.
