Microsoft’s decision to cut up to 7,800 jobs over the next few months in the restructuring of its mobile phone business was not taken “lightly," given that the cutbacks "affect the lives of people who have made an impact at Microsoft,” CEO Satya Nadella said in an email to employees Wednesday in which he addressed them as "Team." Microsoft is "deeply committed to helping our team members through these transitions,” he said. Microsoft will take a $7.6 billion impairment charge “related to assets associated with the acquisition of the Nokia Devices and Services business,” in addition to a restructuring charge of about $750 million to $850 million, he said. “I am committed to our first-party devices including phones. However, we need to focus our phone efforts in the near term while driving reinvention. We are moving from a strategy to grow a standalone phone business to a strategy to grow and create a vibrant Windows ecosystem that includes our first-party device family.” Microsoft’s plans for the “near term” are to “run a more effective phone portfolio, with better products and speed to market given the recently formed Windows and Devices Group,” he said. “We plan to narrow our focus to three customer segments where we can make unique contributions and where we can differentiate through the combination of our hardware and software.” Of those three segments, business customers will get “the best management, security and productivity experiences they need,” while “value phone buyers” will get the communications services they want, and “Windows fans the flagship devices they’ll love,” he said. Longer term, Microsoft smartphones “will spark innovation, create new categories and generate opportunity for the Windows ecosystem more broadly,” he said. “Our reinvention will be centered on creating mobility of experiences across the entire device family including phones.”

Sprint bowed a smartphone targeted to budget users on its Family Share Plan, offering a Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime for $29, no finance fees and 24 monthly payments of $10. The deal includes a $50 mail-in rebate via American Express reward card for customers who sign up for two-year service, Sprint said Tuesday. Off contract, the phone sells for $240. Features and price are geared to first-time smartphone owners or parents looking for a phone to add to a Sprint family plan, said the company. The 5-inch Android 5.1 phone has a quad-core processor, 8-megapixel rear-facing camera with autofocus and flash and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera with a wide-angle selfie lens. The phone will be available Friday, it said.

Mega Tiny Corp. began selling its Anti-Gravity smartphone case exclusively on Amazon. The $49 case uses nano-suction material to adhere to smooth, flat surfaces such as mirrors, glass or tile without stickiness, said the company, which bills the accessory as a “hands-free” option for smartphones. The cases are available for the iPhone 6, 6 Plus 5 and 5s and the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, said the company. Products in the Amazon Exclusives store are available on Amazon.com only or directly from the brand’s website or physical stores, with fulfillment and shipping handled by Amazon. Kickstarter-funded Mega Tiny raised $164,374 from more than 3,000 supporters for the case.

Turing Robotic Industries will begin taking pre-orders July 31 for a smartphone encased in liquid metal-frame construction. Turing’s end-to-end authentication system creates a “protected communications network that is entirely insulated from cyber threats and privacy intrusions,” said the company. Users can exchange sensitive data such as Social Security numbers or bank wiring instructions “and know that the information will reach only the device intended,” it said. The phone is molded from a single unit of Liquidmorphium, said to provide extra shock absorption and to prevent screen breakage. Turing’s nanocoating gives the Turing Phone an IPx8 waterproof rating down to 30 feet of water, it said. The company plans to release its Turing Library software development kit next month and will open its first U.S. retail store by Q1 2016, it said. Prices for the unlocked smartphone are 16 GB ($610), 64 GB ($740) and 128 GB ($870).

TracFone agreed to put in place a mechanism allowing its handsets to be unlocked, the FCC Enforcement Bureau said Wednesday. A bureau investigation found that the company violated rules by improperly certifying that it would unlock phones for customers enrolled in the agency’s Lifeline program, the bureau said. “To settle this violation, the company has agreed to transition all its phones to be unlockable, thus allowing both Lifeline and non-Lifeline customers the freedom to choose to use their devices on other networks.” The bureau estimated that at least 8 million customers could benefit from the settlement. TracFone must notify customers by Sept. 1 about its new unlocking policy, the bureau said. “Unlocking of cell phones has been widely embraced by the wireless industry and by consumers across the country,” said bureau Chief Travis LeBlanc. “Today’s agreement ensures that millions of eligible TracFone customers will be able to use their phones on any compatible network they choose.” "TracFone is pleased to have worked closely with the FCC on the Consent Decree released today," the low-cost carrier said in an emailed comment. "Significantly, the Consent Decree contains no admission of liability and no monetary penalty. TracFone’s industry leading commitment to bring free unlockable phones to its Lifeline program and its further commitment to provide unlockable phones throughout its entire business line demonstrate TracFone’s continuing efforts to bring its customers the greatest value in the wireless industry."

Sprint removed the 600 kbps limit on video streaming for its new "All-in" wireless plan in response to customer feedback, it said in a news release Tuesday. "We heard you loud and clear, and we are removing the 600 kbps limitation on streaming video," said CEO Marcelo Claure.

Sprint began offering a monthly pricing plan that includes use of a smartphone and unlimited data, talk and text, its news release said Tuesday. The carrier said that the new All-In plan will cost consumers $80 per month: $20 to lease a smartphone and $60 for unlimited voice calls, texting and high-speed data, not including taxes, surcharges and a $36 one-time activation fee.

Google agreed to partner with the Federal Railroad Administration to use federal mapping data to help people pinpoint the location of railroad crossings using a smartphone app, the FRA confirmed Monday. “Adding railroad crossing data to smartphone mapping applications just makes sense -- it means supplying drivers and passengers with additional cues that they are approaching a crossing,” the FRA said in a news release. “For drivers and passengers who are driving an unfamiliar route, traveling at night, or who lose situational awareness at any given moment, receiving an additional alert about an upcoming crossing could save lives.”

The FCC is sowing confusion by consistently failing to find in its annual wireless competition reports that the U.S. wireless market is effectively competitive, said Seth Cooper of the Free State Foundation Monday in a blog post. The FCC Wireless Bureau is seeking comment on the next version of the report (see 1505290049). The FCC’s first seven wireless competition reports didn't include any conclusions on whether the industry was effectively competitive, though the next six reports concluded it was. Reports released under the Obama administration have declined to find the industry competitive. “What's truly misleading is treating tremendous innovation and rapid adoption of new wireless products and services as the basis for refusing to acknowledge the competitive state of the market,” Cooper wrote. “The transformative advancements in wireless are ... unambiguous signs of strong competition. Perceived lack of effective competition offers the basis -- or at least the pretense -- for intrusive government regulatory controls over the market.” The signs of a competitive market are easy to see, he said. “In only a decade, the wireless market has transformed from an analog, voice-centric service into a digital, broadband-centric multimedia service of sophistication and variety,” he said. “Smartphones containing unique mobile operating systems and featuring an abundance of applications now run on high-speed, high-capacity next-generation networks.”

Americans used 4.1 trillion MB of data in 2014, 26 percent more than in 2013, CTIA said Wednesday, as the group released results of its annual survey. That's a 947 percent jump over 2010. Every minute, U.S. subscribers use 7.7 million MB of data and exchange 3.6 million text messages and 300,000 videos and photos, the wireless association said. U.S. wireless subscribers hit 355 million in 2014, 20 percent more than in 2010, CTIA said. Some 208 million smartphones and 35 million connected tablets were in use in America, a 166 percent and 161 percent increase over 2010, respectively, the group said. Minutes of use climbed only 10 percent during the period. “The year-over-year pressure of skyrocketing mobile data and device growth highlights the need for a long-term national spectrum plan so that Americans continue to enjoy new and innovative wireless offerings,” said CTIA President Meredith Baker.