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  • Sony Ericsson closing four facilities, laying off 2,000 employees worldwide

    Sony Ericsson closing four facilities, laying off 2,000 employees worldwide

    Posted on November 18, 2009 | No Comments

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    Sony Ericsson has yet to make this public, but we've learned that the flagging handset maker has caved once more to the pressures of the modern phone market place. If you'll recall, 450 employees were nixed from the company's payrolls in September of last year, and now the entire Research Triangle Park facility is being shuttered. In an internal announcement made this morning, SE is fixing to close four total sites: RTP in North Carolina, a smaller Miami facility and operations in Kista (Sweden) and Chennai. All told, 2,000 employees will be trimmed, with severance packages being offered to those who qualify. As of now, the departing individuals have yet to be chosen, with employees in RTP given the opportunity to apply for jobs elsewhere (likely in Atlanta or California). We're told that the cuts will happen "in stages," with project teams being assembled as we speak to work out the logistics. Frankly, we aren't as shocked as we are saddened to hear the news -- SE has refused to keep pace with the other handset makers, and its decision to wait until next year to ship an Android device is indicative of the choices that have kept it in the shadows these past few years. Here's hoping this restructuring effort actually gets things headed in the right direction.

    Update: And it's official. SE will also be shutting down small offices in Seattle and San Diego, with its North American headquarters shifting from RTP to Atlanta and its research and development operation transitioning from RTP to Redwood Shores, California.

    Sony Ericsson closing four facilities, laying off 2,000 employees worldwide originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Sprint lights up WiMAX in NC, Chicago and Dallas, launches subsidized Mini 10

    Sprint lights up WiMAX in NC, Chicago and Dallas, launches subsidized Mini 10

    Posted on November 2, 2009 | No Comments

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    Don't you just love it when a plan comes together? Or better yet, when a leaked roadmap doesn't get delayed in the slightest? After months upon months of waiting, broadband-lovin' citizens in the North Carolina Triangle and Triad will be celebrating alongside DFW residents and Chicago natives as Sprint's 4G WiMAX service rolls into town. As of right now (that's today, junior), consumers in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Cary, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point and Charlotte, NC; Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas and Chicago, Illinois can roll into a Sprint store and snag a U300 3G / 4G WWAN modem on a $69.99 monthly data plan. We're told that San Antonio and Austin will get lit up later this month, while Honolulu and Maui, Hawaii; Salem, Oregon and Seattle, Washington will join the fray before 2010. Oh, and did we mention that Palm's favorite carrier finally snagged itself a WWAN-equipped netbook? 'Cause the Dell Mini 10 is available starting today for $199.99 at select Sprint stores in the metropolitan Baltimore area.

    Read - Sprint WiMAX in the Triangle
    Read - Sprint WiMAX in the Triad
    Read - Sprint WiMAX in Charlotte, NC
    Read - Sprint WiMAX in Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX
    Read - Sprint WiMAX in Chicago, IL
    Read - Sprint's first netbook is Dell Mini 10

    Sprint lights up WiMAX in NC, Chicago and Dallas, launches subsidized Mini 10 originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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