Intel (NSDQ: INTC) has made no secret of its interest to be a more central player in the mobile space and now it’s showing us the money, too. The company has announced that it is buying Israel-based mapping and location-based services company Telmap. The move comes as there are signs…

Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) is said to have secured the services of the music industry’s “gang of four,” signing the remaining holdout, Universal Music, to a contract that would allow Apple to offer a cloud-based music service. A preview of the company’s plans could come as early as Monday, when Apple…

Our look at some of the big stories in mobile today: Apple’s apparently getting closer to a cloud music product after signing a deal with EMI; Verizon Wireless (NYSE: VZ) goes after the FCC in court over data roaming rules; Gartner and Millennial Media release their latest figures respectively on…

At last, an end to Vodafone’s French saga, and another chapter in the mobile operator’s continuing sell-off of assets that it does not control: Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) is selling its 44 percent stake in France’s SFR to Vivendi (EPA: VIV), its partner in the operation, for €7.75 billion (£6.8 billion;…

Our rundown of mobile news to start your day. Today we look at the newest reports around Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) and cloud services; Motorola’s newest investment, into the world of HTML5 gaming; Twitter’s new iPhone update; and Samsung’s takeaway on the iPad 2.

Nokia’s struggle to compete against Apple (NSDQ: AAPL), and drive more sales of its own smartphones, hit a new low today, as the Finnish company said it would be discontinuing its free, bundled music service, Comes With Music, in 27 of the 33 markets where it has operated since 2008,…

—FLO TV: Qualcomm’s mobile TV service, it turns out, only had around 1 million sign-ups since launching in March, 2007, according to CEO Paul Jacobs. (And that number might even include those who signed up for trials but never paid for extensions of the service.) Jacobs says plans to sell…

Back to basics for Vodafone, as the carrier continues apace with its sell-off of non-controlled assets. Today it has agreed to sell off a $5 billion stake in Softbank back to the Japanese operator, as it sharpens its focus on operators in Europe, Africa and India where it has majority…

—Verizon Wireless: Andrew Davies has been named Verizon’s new VP and CFO, effective November 15. He joined Vodafone in 2003, having most recently served as CFO of Vodafone Essar, the Indian subsidiary of Vodafone Group (NYSE: VOD). Davies replaces John Townsend, who has moved from Verizon Wireless to the post…

Universal Music Group was early to tap into the whole music gaming phenomenon by partnering with Tapulous to make iPhone apps for artists such as Lady Gaga and Souja Boy Tell ‘Em. Now it’s branching off and working with others to create even more gaming applications. The record label’s latest…

Nokia has partnered with Rihanna to promote the pop star’s latest album release “Rated R” through an impressive series of events on the phone, including exclusive content, a live-streaming concert and an application for Nokia phones. (Release.) Through the partnership, Nokia will promote its Ovi application store and the X6,…

European entertainment and telecoms group Vivendi (EPA: VIV) had promised a “cautious approach” to acquisitions in H209 but, despite, that it’s launched a bid to buy GVT, the fastest-growing telco in Brazil. The Sao Paulo-listed holding company is owned by the Dutch Global Village Telecom group and the Swarth Group…

“Don’t it always seem to go you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.” ... Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) didn’t pave paradise but it helped kill off albums and now it wants the magic—and the higher profit margins—back. The FT reports via multiple unidentified sources that Apple, EMI, Warner Music…

Southeast Asia’s biggest telecoms firm SingTel launched a mobile download service Sunday for music and videos in its home market of Singapore, which it plans to take to other parts of Asia. The service, called AMPed, was developed with Universal Music and will help position the carrier’s offering beyond “just…

Tapulous, the mobile game company known for its popular iPhone game, Tap Tap Revenge, has signed a deal with Universal Music Group, to make games based on some of the label’s most famous artists. The first game is based on hit singer Lady GaGa (pictured, right), and will include 14…

—NBA, SPIN, UMG Go iPhone: The NBA is launching an iPhone app for the 2009 playoffs, SPIN Magazine is launching SPIN Earth on the iPhone to highlight music and culture from around the world, and Universal Music Group is launching several iPhone apps for artists including Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em,…

Can music-oriented social-networking site Imeem get consumers to pay to get music on their cell phones that they could otherwise listen to for free on their PCs? The company, whose ad-funded site has the backing of all four major music labels to let user legally stream songs to listen to,…

Kyte, the San Francisco-based company that enables people to stream video directly from their phones to the web, has identified a new revenue stream—helping companies launch iPhone applications. The company is announcing today that its partner Interscope Geffen A&M, a division of Universal Music Group, will launch iPhone apps for…

Sony (NYSE: SNE) Ericsson (NSDQ: ERIC) has struck a deal with Universal Music Publishing to allow the publisher’s artists to promote their music on SE’s online and phone-based service for up-and-coming acts PlayNow Uncut. Under the terms of the agreement which was announced at Midem, SE has access to master…