Hewlett-Packard agreed to buy Aruba Networks in a deal worth about $2.7 billion, said an HP news release Monday. It said that puts HP in position to address market trends for next-generation 802.11ac Wi-Fi standards and the push for everything to be mobile-centric. HP said the deal is expected to be completed in the second half of its FY 2015, subject to Aruba stockholder approval, regulatory approvals in the U.S. and other countries, and other customary closing conditions.

The FCC Public Safety Bureau Tuesday sought comment on recommendations for a set of six channels that would be available nationwide for 700 MHz deployable trunked systems, in a public notice Tuesday. The channel sets on which the bureau sought comment were recommended by the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council and the National Regional Planning Council, the bureau said. The two groups noted in a February filing that the FCC had asked them in an October order to recommend up to eight channel sets. They said they identified six that were best suited for the use under the criteria laid out by the FCC. Comments are due on the six channels April 2, replies April 17, in docket 02-378.

The FCC text-to-911 registry of public safety answering points ready to accept emergency texts is available for inspection on the agency’s Web page, the Public Safety Bureau said in a public notice Monday. The registry provides an effective readiness date for those PSAPs that can accept texts to 911, the bureau said. The bureau reminded covered text providers that “they should periodically review the text-readiness of PSAPs in their service areas and reach out to these PSAPs as necessary to coordinate implementation of text-to-911 service.”

All 2016 model-year Audi vehicles equipped with the “Audi connect” function -- about 19 models -- will come with AT&T 4G LTE or 3G coverage, AT&T and Audi of America announced Tuesday. All 2016 models with Audi connect will be delivered to customers with an AT&T SIM card providing connectivity to the carrier's wireless network, the companies said.

The FCC Public Safety Bureau said new air-to-ground 700 MHz narrowband channels dedicated to communications between low-altitude aircraft and first responders on the ground aren't subject to trunking requirements. A trunked radio system is a computer-controlled two-way radio system that allows sharing of relatively few frequency channels among a large group of users. In January, the National Regional Planning Council asked for FCC clarity, saying a trunking requirement could “hamper effective conventional use of these channels.” The bureau agreed. The trunking requirement “applies only to General Use and State License channels,” the bureau said. “The recently reallocated air-ground channels are neither.”

Smartphones made up two-thirds of the global phone market in 2014, said research from Gartner released Tuesday. Worldwide sales of smartphones to end users grew nearly 30 percent in Q4 over the year-ago quarter to reach 368 million units, Gartner said. Apple was tops, selling 75 million units, stealing the top spot from Samsung (73 million), which had owned the market since 2011, it said. Samsung lost roughly 10 percentage points in market share in Q4 versus the year-ago quarter, continuing a downward trend since its peak in Q3 2013, said Anshul Gupta, principal research analyst: "Samsung continues to struggle to control its falling smartphone share.” Analyst Roberta Cozza cited Apple’s dominance at the premium end of the smartphone market and pressure from Chinese vendors offering “quality hardware at lower prices” at the lower end as challenges for Samsung. A “solid ecosystem of apps, content and services unique to Samsung devices” will be necessary for the Korean vendor to secure customer loyalty and provide long-term differentiation at the high end, she said. Lenovo’s share of the end-user market -- including Motorola and Lenovo devices following the companies’ transaction in October -- ranked third in Q4, reaching 24.3 million units, giving it 7 percent of the global smartphone market, followed by Huawei at 6 percent share and Xiaomi with 5 percent share. Xiaomi’s unit sales to end users nearly tripled to 18.5 million units in the quarter, while its market share more than doubled, Gartner said. Apple’s best-ever quarter -- Q4 2014 with 74.8 million smartphones sold -- was buoyed by “huge demand” in China and the U.S., where sales leaped by 56 percent and 88 percent, respectively, Gartner said. The larger screen sizes of the iPhone 6 models presented new users a “strong alternative to Android,” Gartner said. Huawei and Xiaomi, meanwhile, propped up their sales in the mid- and low-end smartphone markets at home and overseas, it said. "Chinese vendors are no longer followers," Cozza said. "They are producing higher quality devices with appealing new hardware features that can rival the more established players in the mobile phone market.” Dropping prices drove the migration of feature phone users to smartphones last year, Gartner said. The Android ecosystem benefited most from the transition, growing 2.2 percentage points for 2014 to 80.7 percent share, followed by iOS at 15.4 percent share. Windows Phone's performance was basically flat in Q4, selling 35 million units, but it recorded strong results in some markets in Europe -- and in the business segment, Gartner said. Windows Phone held 2.8 percent market share for the quarter, while BlackBerry came in under 1 percent at roughly 8 million units, it said.

The Public Safety Bureau circulated for FCC action an item addressing call-forwarding requirements for non-service-initialized phones. Public safety officials said Tuesday that the commission circulated an NPRM that will pose various questions and help the FCC develop a time table for sunsetting a requirement that out-of-service cellphones can still call 911. Public safety answering points have complained of myriad prank 911 calls made from old, untraceable phones. APCO, the National Emergency Number Association and National Association of State 9-1-1 Administrators filed a petition in 2008 at the FCC seeking action in effort to stop fraudulent calls to 911 (see 0803050126).

An IEEE “conformity assessment steering committee” started work on an “open, industry-wide effort” to develop and deliver a standardized, “metrics-based” rating system for smartphone camera image quality, the group said Monday. The steering committee wants to engage carriers, camera designers and handset makers in creating a ratings system that will be “easily understandable for consumers,” it said. Developing a “standardized approach” to testing and certifying smartphone cameras “will provide great value to players throughout the camera phone supply chain, as well as consumers,” it said. Competitive smartphone models may have identical megapixel specs, but they’re capable of producing “varying image quality, which may cause dissatisfaction and confusion for consumers,” it said. “There is a need in the marketplace for a clear, concise and comprehensive definition of image quality that consumers of current and future mobile imaging devices worldwide could use in comparing products. We envision a rating system that would eliminate ambiguity about the image quality to expect from a given device and help consumers make better-educated buying decisions for their specific needs.”

Home furnishings retailer Ikea is showing a line of wireless charging furniture at Mobile World Congress. It embeds Qi technology and is due in stores in April. The Qi-powered bedside tables, lamps and desks will be available in stores in Europe and North America, with a global rollout to follow, said Ikea. The furniture shows consumers the “beauty and simplicity of wireless charging," said Menno Treffers, chairman of the Wireless Power Consortium, which backs the Qi standard. According to Bjorn Block, Ikea range manager-lighting and wireless charging, “Mobile phones are vital parts to people's lives at home and their desire to stay connected, and Qi addresses an unmet need to keep devices powered.” Qi, the dominant wireless charging technology, is available in 3,000 hotels, restaurants, airports and public locations worldwide, said the WPC. More than 80 Qi-enabled smartphones, 15 models of Qi-enabled cars and “countless” Qi mobile accessories are in the market, said WPC.

Mozilla will create Firefox OS devices with KDDI, LG U+, Telefónica and Verizon Wireless, Mozilla said in a news release Sunday. The companies will create Firefox OS phones for 2016, including flips, sliders and slates, it said. Firefox OS lets network operators and hardware manufacturers provide a "differentiated experience" and offers consumers a "more intuitive and easy-to-use experience," Mozilla said. The phones will include apps, cameras, email and Web browsing, LTE and VoLTE service and music players, it said.