Wednesday, September 13, 2006Qantas To Evaluate In-flight Cell PhonesQantas Airways said this afternoon that it will evaluate new technology to permit the use of wireless devices and cell phones inflight, in a three month trial next year on Australian domestic routes. Qantas said that it is teaming up with Telstra, Lake Forest-based Panasonic Avionics Corporation, and AeroMobile for a trial of the service. The airline said that it will operate the trial on Boeing 767 aircraft, and allow for calls through Picocell mobile cellular base stations designed for air use (More info...)
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TriZetto Acquires Quality Care SolutionsNewport Beach-based TriZetto Group announced this morning that it is acquiring Phoenix, Arizona-based Quality Care Soultions (QCSI). Both firms provide software and information technology for the healthcare industry. TriZetto said that the combined companies would provide greater scale to accelerate and streamline the company's business. The deal is worth $133M in cash. QCSI had revenues of $56.6M for the trailing twelve months through July 2006. QCSI was backed by Dominion Ventures and other ve (More info...)
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CTIA Kicks Off At Convention CenterThe CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment conference kicked off Tuesday in Los Angeles at the Convention Center, with a mix of entertainment content and wireless technology providers sharing the exhibit floor. Among the dozens of announcements on Tuesday, Santa Monica-based Activision and InfoSpace announced a deal to port Activision's popular Tony Hawk games to mobile; Kyocera Wireless rolled out two new handsets; Irvine-based Networks In Motion inked a deal to power location based services for Gear (More info...)
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Female Space Tourist Ansari To Blog, Podcast From SpaceAnousheh Ansari, who is set to be the first female commercial space tourist on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft which is launching next Monday, will host a blog from space hosted by Los Angeles-based X PRIZE Foundation. The foundation said Tuesday that the foundation will host interviews, podcasts, and video with Ansari along with Prodea Systems. Ansari along with brother in law Amir Ansari funded the Ansari X PRIZE, which was awarded to Burt Rutan in 2004 for the first commercial launch of a reusable (More info...)
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Zag Buys CU Auto SalesSanta Monica-based Zag said Tuesday that it has acquired CU Auto Sales, a provider of credit union buying services. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Zag said that its Autoland subsidiary made the acquisition. CU Auto Sales serves credit union members in Central and Northern California. Zag said that Autoland will hire all of CU Auto Sales' employees, and continue to do business with all of the credit union customers of CU Auto Sales. The acquisition follows Zag's recent acquisition of Autom (More info...)
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TC3 Health Raises $10MCosta Mesa-based TC3 Health has raised $10M in funding from JMI Equity, the company said Tuesday. Existing investor Ticonderoga Capital also participated in the funding. TC3 said that the funding will be used to expand its sales capabilities. Paul Barber of JMI has joined the firm's board of directors. TC3 Health provides services to healthcare payers to manage claim costs.
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Amp'd Mobile Rolls Out Hybrid PricingLos Angeles-based Amp'd Mobile, an MVNO focused on the youth market, said Tuesday that it will roll out 3G broadband-enabled phones in a hybrid pricing plan. The firm said that it will offer a plan which combines post-paid and pay-as-you-go plans. the new service allows customers to pay through a debit or credit card without a contract commitment to the service. Amp'd provides a mobile entertainment focused cell phone service and has partnerships with MTV and Universal Music for content. The fir (More info...)
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Revver Opens Video MarketplaceLos Angeles-based Revver has opened up its "viral video" marketplace, saying that it will allow people to create, sponsor, and share viral videos linked to advertising. The firm said that it has released its 1.0 product, having been in beta since 2005. The site provides users with a percentage of the advertising revenue generated from the site. Revver is one of the online video sharing and user-generated video site focused on adding a revenue component based on advertising. The move comes on the (More info...)
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Fleet Management Solutions Received $2.4M FinancingSan Luis Obispo-based Fleet Management Solutions has raised $2.4M in a mezzanine debt deal, according to funder Snobird Capital. Snowbird said that the funding will be used by FMS to expand its international markets as working capital. Fleet Management Solutions develops GPS tracking systems for inventory and mobile assets, particularly in Central and South America, Africa, the Middle East, Australia and Southeast Asia through satellite transmissions.
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