UTStarcom sells North American phone distribution biz

Apparently looking to concentrate its efforts on its network infrastructure businesses, UTStarcom has sold off its Personal Communications Division -- the guys pushing the corporate wares to Virgin Mobile, Verizon, and others in North America -- for $240-plus million to a group of private investors. The new company, creatively named Personal Communications Devices, LLC, will keep on doing the same thing with the very same team in place as before, so this looks to be little more than an exchange of some cash and it's back to business as usual. Phones will still be sourced from the UTStarcom mothership, and if that means we can expect some of the more creative stuff we've been seeing lately like the TXT8010, then it's all good by us.