Mobile

Despite extremely strong smartphone sales, AT&T says it lost $6.7 billion in the last three months of 2011, which the company blames on government for blocking its proposed takeover of T-Mobile -- a decision which also triggered a hefty penalty. ... Between October and December AT&T sold 9.4 million smartphones, up 60 per cent over the same period last year. The surge was largely driven by the new iPhone 4S. In fact, 80 per cent of all AT&T's sales for the period involved some version of the Apple smartphone. Pension and Subsidy Costs Turn Ink Red With its core business booming, AT ... (view more)

Have you ever dropped a smartphone or other handheld digital device into a toilet or sink? It's a horrible, gut-wrenching feeling knowing that you may have accidentally destroyed your phone and all of its information in an instant -- but a new ... scientific breakthrough may help to change that. A new nano-coating procedure offered by three different companies is said to prevent such accidents from ruining your expensive smartphone. The price: only $60. Not surprisingly, the technology aroused a lot of interest at the recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Plasma Gas Creates ... (view more)

In an attempt to calm investors and win back the support of consumers, troubled BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion (RIM) has announced a major management transformation. Co-Chief Executive Officers Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie have officially ... resigned their posts and will be replaced by a single man: Thorsten Heins, who has been with the company since 2007. Speculation about a change of this magnitude has been circulating for months , following an extremely rocky calendar year for the Waterloo, Canada-based manufacturer. Several of the firm's major projects, most notably the PlayBook, ... (view more)

Only a day after reports emerged suggesting tech industry titan Samsung was preparing to grab up embattled BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion (RIM), the supposed buyer has publicly nixed such rumors. On Tuesday (January 17, 2012), tech blog Boy ... Genius Report (known as BGR) reported it had learned Research in Motion co-Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jim Balsille had met with Samsung in order to discuss a buyout. BGR reported that Samsung was prepared to pay anywhere between $12 billion and $15 billion to acquire the Waterloo, Canada-based company. The rumor received apparent approval from ... (view more)

Troubled smartphone maker Research in Motion (RIM), best known for its BlackBerry mobile device, may soon be bought up by tech industry heavyweight, Samsung. The rumor of such a purchase was responsible for an increase in RIM's stock value Tuesday ... (January 17, 2012). This is not the first time a heavy-hitter like Samsung has been mentioned as a possible purchaser of RIM. Back in December, 2011, Nokia, Amazon and, in particular, Microsoft, were all believed to be interested in obtaining the Waterloo, Canada-based firm, which has faced considerable adversity in the past year as a result of ... (view more)

A tech website has accused Research in Motion (RIM) of lying about its decision to delay the release of its BlackBerry 10 mobile operating system (OS). RIM, however, denies the allegation. Research in Motion recently admitted it has been forced to ... delay the release of its highly-anticipated BlackBerry 10 OS until late 2012. However, the company attributed the postponement of the mobile operating system to its adoption of a new and different hardware chipset, now being developed by an unknown third-party vendor. "High-Level" RIM Worker Leaks A Different Story The blog "Boy ... (view more)

A Microsoft manager has revealed that the latest Windows Phone system already includes support for "contactless" smartphone payments in stores. However, there remain serious questions about the system's security status, which is still being worked ... on. Electronic Payments Make Transactions Quicker NFC is a form of wireless communication that works very much like Bluetooth and WiFi, but only over a much shorter distance (as little as a few centimeters). One of its primary uses could be to make electronic payments in stores without swiping a card. Although technically NFC payments are ... (view more)

It seems like we've seen a million studies conclude that texting from behind the wheel of an automobile is an extremely dangerous practice. Yet a new report suggests most Americans just haven't received the message. Even more surprising is that the ... number of people texting while driving has actually increased since most U.S. states passed laws to ban the dangerous practice, and to levy stiff fines on perpetrators. The new report comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which on Thursday (December 8th) announced that texting while driving has increased by a ... (view more)

Are you unhappy with your mobile service? If so, there's a good chance you're an AT&T customer. According to a recent customer satisfaction survey, AT&T once again ranks dead last among all mobile service providers. The survey comes from ... Consumer Reports, which released this latest report on mobile service providers this past Tuesday (December 6). For the second straight year , AT&T came in well behind its major competitors, including Verizon Wireless, Sprint, and T-Mobile. Even worse, AT ... (view more)

Google's Android platform continues to be a powerhouse in the highly competitive smartphone market, despite a recent study that reported malware attacks are up nearly 500 per cent . Industry analysts Nielson recently released its third quarter ... statistics for smartphone usage among United States-based mobile subscribers. Researchers found that Android once against ranked as the most popular mobile operating system (OS), with devices using this platform accounting for approximately 42.8 per cent of the total smartphone market. More specifically, Android phones made by HTC accounted for 15 per ... (view more)