Nokia to establish subsidiary
Nokia, the world’s largest cell phone maker, said it will form a subsidiary company called Vertu later this month but declined to confirm published reports that it would sell luxury handsets. Nokia spokesman Tapio Hedman said the announcement and details about the company will be given in Paris on January 21.

The Wall Street Journal had earlier reported that luxury Nokia handsets, with casings of precious metals and other special features, will be sold under the Vertu brand name. It said the project had been developed in secret since 1997.

Boston Airport tests wireless device
A pager-sized device that’s more likely to be found in a Wall Street briefcase than on a state trooper’s belt may take its place in the war against terrorism. Logan International Airport became the first airport in the nation to test the BlackBerry as an electronic gateway to state and federal criminal databases, giving law enforcement officers the kind of immediate information resource they’ve longed for, but lacked.

The BlackBerries being tested at Logan are packaged with software that lets officers send encrypted queries to state and federal databases over a wireless network and get responses in less than a minute.

Motorola introduces cell phone chargers
A new retro innovation by Motorola may put an end to sudden-death calls. The company is introducing a new windup charger for mobile handsets that should make it easier to stay in touch or harder to get away from it all, depending on your point of view. Developed with London-based Freeplay Energy Group, maker of windup radios and flashlights, the FreeCharge is designed to keep dying phone batteries going even when you’re not near a power outlet. Cranking its handle for about 45 seconds provides four or five minutes of talk time and several hours of standby time. The 111/2-ounce handheld device, roughly twice the weight of the average cell phone, consists of a small generator unit which can be connected to your phone via a plug-in module. FreeCharge ships to retailers in March and will cost about $65.

Experts question Microsoft action
Microsoft may have hurt its anti-trust case by failing to reveal to a federal judge that it lobbied lawmakers, legal experts said. In court filings, the software giant disclosed only contacts with executive branch officials and not Congress. Records of such contacts are required by the 1974 Tunney Act, written to make sure a company settling anti-trust charges doesn’t get improper favours from government employees.

Corning to take $178 million charge
Corning said it will take a $178 million fourth-quarter charge related to employee stock holdings and post a larger loss as a result, although it sees revenues in line with expectations.

The company said it expects to record a fourth-quarter charge of $90 million related to the release of restrictions on Corning common stock held by employees, a $60 million pretax charge to write off inventory in the telecommunications segment, primarily in the Photonic Technologies business, and a $28 million write-off of an intellectual property investment. In total, the charge equates to 12 cents a share.

Netro to buy AT&T’ fixed wireless tech
Netro, a maker of high-speed wireless communications access systems, said it agreed to pay about $45 million in cash and stock for AT&T Wireless Services' fixed wireless assets, which are based on technology that was once seen as key for long-distance carrier AT&T to burst onto the local phone scene. The deal will add immediately to earnings in the second half of 2002, San Jose, California-based Netro said.