Sony warns of troubles in smartphones; Strategy Analytics: 85% of smartphones shipped in Q2 run Android

Quick news from around the Web.

> Sony said a softer-than-expected smartphone market could reverse its hopes of making money from its smartphone business this year. Article

> Alcatel-Lucent capped off the second quarter of 2014 with a narrower loss. Yet sales in the United States fell and investors have grown worried that the company's reliance on large contracts from U.S. carriers could hurt it if network activity drops. Article

> A report into "cramming" from the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee found that wireless customers have likely paid hundreds of millions of dollars in unauthorized charges. Article

> Nokia Networks said it will purchase portions of Panasonic's base station business. Article

> Wireless veteran John Stanton joined Microsoft's board of directors. Article

> HTC promised to release a new flagship phone in the final months of this year. Article

> According to Strategy Analytics, Android powered a record 85 percent of the smartphones shipped during the second quarter. Release

> Research firm CCS Insights said it now expects global tablet sales to grow by 14 percent during this year, down from 79 percent during 2012 and 71 percent during 2013. Post

> The new Kyocera Brigadier smartphone for Verizon has Sapphire screen. Article

> Verizon will sell the LG G Vista, which sports a 5.7-inch display with qHD (960 x 540) resolution. Article

> Apple is reportedly cutting more than 200 jobs at Beats Electronics. Article

> Microsoft's Nokia announced the new Lumia 635. Article

> Samsung announced a premium, $4 per month version of its Milk music service. Article

Wireless Tech News

> AT&T is pursuing its plans to create a cloud-based network architecture via numerous research projects, including one in which the operator joined IBM and Applied Communication Sciences (ACS) to create a prototype technology that reduces set-up times for cloud-to-cloud connectivity, particularly between data centers, from days to seconds. Article

> Apple iPhone 6 will support VoLTE, according to Mavenir's CEO. Article

> Cablevision said earlier this year said it would reach some 1 million public Wi-Fi access points by the end of 2014. The cable MSO beat its forecast by five months, announcing it has already reached that 1 million hotspot goal. Article

Online Video News

> Verizon's Digital Media Services (VDMS) unit has formed a strategic alliance with white-label video management provider thePlatform to deliver what it calls an end-to-end online video solution targeting pay TV providers' multiscreen strategies. Article

Telecom News

> WOW! Business continues to enhance its wireless backhaul holdings, announcing that it has been selected to provide fiber-based services to over 500 towers for various wireless operators in the Chicago metro area. Article

> tw telecom, which is being acquired by Level 3 Communications, reported that second-quarter 2014 revenues rose 7.8 percent to $419.7 million on strong enterprise and data and Internet segment growth. Article

Cable News

> Time Warner Cable will cover up to 3 million customers with its 300 Mbps Maxx service by the end of the year, the company said. Article

> Charter Communications said that in the second quarter its video subscriber losses slowed to 29,000. Article

And finally… Twitter may be looking to take on Google's YouTube. Article