Cellular Telephones

Apple Inc.'s iPhone has been a ringing success wherever it has been launched. But in China few are picking up the buzz. Challenged by high pricing, missing features and stiff competition, iPhones have logged only 5,000 sales since the handset debuted Oct. 30 in the world's biggest cellphone market. By comparison, more than a million units were sold in the first three days when the latest iPhone was launched in North America and Europe in June. One major hang-up might be the price.

Google Inc. took another major step in its quest to ensure that wherever consumers go -- whether to their laptops to search sports scores or videos or to their phones to find a restaurant -- advertisers will be there too. On Monday the search giant said it was buying AdMob Inc., a developer of technology that plops ads into thousands of mobile phone applications, for $750 million in Google stock. It's one of the largest acquisitions yet for the 11-year-old company and illustrates Google's double-barreled strategy of attracting consumers with free tools to access billions of Web pages, books, maps and movies -- and then charging advertisers to pitch their wares to its huge audience.

Since Thursday, it has been illegal to text-message while driving in California. But you probably are wondering what precisely that means. Jaime Coffee, a California Highway Patrol information officer, explained just about every scenario in which the new law may be put to the test. Don't write, send or read an e-mail or instant message while driving, even at a red light or when stuck in horrible traffic on the freeway; don't write, end or read an e-mail or instant message while riding a motorcycle; or browse the Web while operating a vehicle.

Not long after I returned from a recent trip to Canada, I was surprised to find a $400 cellphone bill in the mailbox. This seemed odd because I'd made only two phone calls when I was there, the longer one for 15 minutes. But when I looked closer at the breakdown, I saw what was going on. It wasn't I who'd been making dozens of long-distance calls back to the States -- it was the phone itself. While I thought my iPhone was sitting "unused" in my jacket, it had been constantly checking my e-mail for 72 straight hours.

Shares of Leap Wireless International Inc. and MetroPCS Communications Inc. tumbled after Sprint Nextel Corp. said it would introduce an unlimited-calling plan to compete with the pay-as-you-go wireless carriers. The Boost Mobile program will include unlimited calls and text messages for $50 a month starting Thursday, Sprint said. Leap and MetroPCS also offer unlimited plans at $50 a month. Leap shares fell $2.47 to $25.23. MetroPCS dropped $2.10 to $13.87. Sprint Nextel rose 2 cents to $2.29.

Verizon Wireless has started selling a device that boosts cellphone signals in a home for $250, making it easier for people to rely solely on wireless. The Verizon Wireless Network Extender is a device known as a femtocell and needs to be connected to a broadband Internet line. It then acts like a miniature cellular tower, listening for signals from a subscriber's cellphone. It covers up to 5,000 square feet. Verizon, the nation's largest carrier, is following in the footsteps of Sprint Nextel Corp.

Apple Inc. may unveil a version of the iPhone for Canada as early as today, but China Mobile said Monday that talks over the launch of iPhone handsets in China had been called off. Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs may make the announcement about the iPhone for Canada during his speech at the Macworld conference in San Francisco, said RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky. Apple probably will outline an agreement with Rogers Communications Inc.

The purse may be the consummate accessory in New York, but in Los Angeles, where Hollywood deals are sealed while navigating traffic on the Santa Monica Freeway, the cellphone is the ultimate status symbol. Here are some that really get the cash register ringing. $28,000 to $171,550 GoldVish Illusion. For the jewelry lover who has everything, this diamond-encrusted phone comes in a solid 18-karat casing in yellow, rose or white gold with crocodile leather inlays available in 12 colors.

Japanese electronics maker Kyocera Corp. said it would buy Sanyo Electric Co.'s money-losing cellphone business for as much as $468 million, creating the world's sixth-largest cellphone maker. Kyocera, whose international unit is based in San Diego, hopes the deal will boost its struggling U.S. operations as Sanyo has with Sprint Nextel Corp. as a major customer in that market, although Sanyo aims to focus on its core products such as rechargeable batteries.

Millions of fingers scurrying over mobile electronic devices probably paused this week as news emerged of a trove of text messages containing flirty and sexually explicit chat between Detroit Mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick and one of his top aides. Even those engaging in more wholesome dialogue would be wise to wonder: Do text messages disappear -- like oral conversations -- or are they permanently logged somewhere for potential retrieval -- as e-mail usually is?