Jan 22 (Reuters) – Texas Instruments Inc posted
quarterly revenue that was ahead of Wall Street expectations but
the chip maker warned of uncertain demand and a widespread
customer reluctance to order until the last minute due to
macroeconomic worries.

TI, which makes chips for everything from industrial
equipment to cars, said on Tuesday that while orders appeared to
be following a normal pace for this time of year, customers were
still worried about increasing their inventory of chips.

Jan 22 (Reuters) – Verizon Communications Inc posted
a weaker-than-expected wireless operating profit margin due to
hefty costs from smartphones like Apple’s iPhone, but the U.S.
telephone company promised a big improvement this year as it
cuts costs.

While Verizon’s fourth-quarter bottom line was weaker than
anticipated, investors were encouraged when Chief Financial
Officer Fran Shammo said on Tuesday that the company could be in
a position to buy back shares sooner than expected and that
wireless margins could rise this year to as high as 50 percent.

Jan 22 (Reuters) – U.S. telecommunications group Verizon
Communications Inc on Tuesday posted weaker-than-expected
wireless operating profit margin due to hefty costs from the
sale of smartphones like Apple’s iPhone.

Its shares fell about 2 percent in early trade after Verizon
reported that charges from pension liabilities and costs from
Superstorm Sandy also led the telephone company to post a
massive net loss in the fourth quarter.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Investors holding 29 percent of the outstanding minority shares of Clearwire Corp (CLWR.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) are unhappy with Sprint’s $2.2 billion bid for the wireless service provider and are pushing for a higher offer.

Sprint, the No. 3 U.S. mobile service provider, announced on December 17 an agreement to acquire the outstanding shares of Clearwire it doesn’t already own for $2.97 per share. While Sprint holds a more than 50 percent stake in Clearwire, the deal requires approval from holders of just over 50 percent of Clearwire’s minority shares.

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) – Three of the top U.S. cellphone carriers signaled this week that they would support Research In Motion’s (RIM.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) BlackBerry 10 products, the first of which are due to be unveiled Jan 30, offering a hopeful sign for RIM’s comeback effort.

Executives at Verizon Communications (VZ.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), AT&T Inc (T.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and T-Mobile USA all said they are looking forward to the devices, which will be crucial for RIM’s chances of regaining lost ground from rivals such as Apple Inc (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Samsung Electronics (005930.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) – Deutsche Telekom AG (DTEGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) unit T-Mobile USA will start selling the Apple Inc (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) iPhone in about three to four months and will enforce its plan to get rid of cellphone subsidies in a similar timeframe, according to Chief Executive John Legere.

Legere declined to disclose details about the company’s agreement with Apple, except to say that T-Mobile USA’s timing for selling the smartphone would be sooner rather than later, along with its subsidy elimination plan.

By Sinead Carew and Nicola Leske

(Reuters) – Dish Network put in a bid for Clearwire Corp on Tuesday that trumped Sprint Nextel’s $2.2 billion offer, setting the stage for a takeover battle for the wireless service provider that owns crucial mobile spectrum.

Dish’s $2.28 billion offer appeared to affirm the satellite television provider’s ambitious plan to buy its way into the wireless services industry, on which it has already spent $3 billion acquiring much-needed capacity.

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) – Qualcomm Inc Chief Executive Paul Jacobs announced an improved smartphone chip and had help from guests ranging from Steve Ballmer and Big Bird to Maroon 5 during his opening keynote at the world’s biggest technology conference.

Jacobs opened the annual Consumer Electronics Show on Monday with a “Born Mobile” theme, saying that as many as a million new smartphones are being added to mobile networks every day, roughly double the number of babies born daily.

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) – Dish Network Chairman Charlie Ergen said on Monday it could take months to finalize his plans to enter the wireless industry because of regulatory and technology complications, but his company has no intention of selling spectrum it spent billions acquiring.

The cable service provider received regulatory approval to use its spectrum for wireless services in December. But Dish has still not made clear whether it will build a wireless network on its own, or offer a service in partnership with other companies.

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) – Verizon Communications can generate hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue in coming years from wireless services beyond the mobile phone, in areas ranging from healthcare and automobiles to energy management, its top executive said Monday.

The No. 1 U.S. mobile carrier joins other companies expected to debate and demonstrate the benefits of connecting devices like cars to the Internet at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Operators like Verizon consider this an important new business.