• Sprint shares slip after S&P warning
By The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) – Shares of Sprint Nextel Corp. slipped Wednesday as Standard & Poor's warned it may cut the wireless provider's credit rating based on its "weak" performance this year. Sprint, the country's third-largest carrier, has been losing money and customers despite cutting its rates and introducing new phones.

"We remain concerned that the company may have difficulty in improving operating trends as industry conditions mature and competition intensifies," S&P analyst Allyn Arden said.

Arden said Sprint's debt level is likely to "drift" higher given the company's trajectory. The agency put Sprint's non-investment, or "junk" grade, "BB" rating on "CreditWatch" with negative implications.

Shares of Sprint, which is based in Overland Park, Kan., fell 9 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $3.15 in midday trading.

• Report: Apple tops handset profits in Q3
By Andrew Berg, Wireless Week

According to a report released today from Strategy Analytics, Apple emerged from the third quarter 2009 as the world's most profitable handset vendor. Apple's handset division recorded $1.6 billion in operating profits for the quarter, beating out second-place Nokia, which came in at $1.1 billion.

"With strong volumes, high wholesale prices and tight cost controls, the PC vendor has successfully broken into the mobile phone market in just two years," stated Alex Spektor, an analyst for Strategy Analytics.

The report said that Nokia's profit margin for its handset division has been shrinking, suffering primarily from a lack of presence in the United States. The company believes that a competitive play in the U.S. could help revitalize Nokia's margins.

Meanwhile, Android has come on strong. Bloomberg yesterday released estimates that said Motorola may have sold over 100,000 Droids this past weekend. The Droid has received favorable reviews, as well as comparisons to the iPhone. Gartner recently published research that predicts Android will overtake Apple in market share by 2012. Gartner said that by 2012, the top 3 platforms globally will be Symbian, Android and RIM, respectively.