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Smartphone maker HTC Corp. unveiled details Wednesday of its push into the increasingly important mobile services sector and introduced two new handsets using Google’s Android operating software.
The launch came a day after Nokia, the world’s biggest cellphone maker, launched three new smartphones at its annual showcase conference in London. Get the full story »
The Hershey Co. is asking a federal judge to decide whether its iPhone application to make virtual chocolate milk violates another company’s copyright. The Pennsylvania chocolate maker has filed a federal complaint asking for a judgment in its legal dispute with Las Vegas-based software developer Hottrix LLC. Get the full story »
Rapid demand for smartphones and tablet computers this year is expected to cause the global market for small and midsize liquid crystal displays to expand at its fastest pace in three years, according to iSuppli.
The research firm said global shipments of thin-film transistor panels, advanced types of displays used in sophisticated mobile devices including smartphones and tablet PCs, are set to rise 28 percent. That would be the highest level of growth for the market since 2007, when shipments jumped 50 percent. Get the full story »
To see more photos of the Motorola Defy, click here.
Motorola Inc. unveiled a new Android mobile phone on Monday’s season premiere of “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”
The device, called the Motorola Defy, will be available through T-Mobile in time for the holidays, the Schaumburg-based communications equipment company said in a press release without releasing further details on pricing and dates. The phone uses Google’s Android operating system, which is the basis for almost all of the smartphones in Motorola’s portfolio.
The Defy has a 3.7-inch touch screen and is built to be scratch-resistant, water-resistant and dust-proof, Motorola said. Get the full story »
Web-based grocer Peapod has launched a free application for smartphones that allows consumers to place orders from their mobile device. Get the full story »
Apple Inc. said on Friday it will end its free iPhone case giveaway at the end of September, saying the antenna problem was smaller than the company originally thought.
However, Apple said it wanted to continue to provide a free case to the “small percentage of iPhone 4 users” who need one.
Apple announced in July it would provide free iPhone 4 cases to those who requested one, after some users reported reception problems when they handled the smartphone in a certain way. Get the full story »
Nokia’s stock rallied Friday after the Finnish mobile phone maker said it was replacing its chief executive with an executive from Microsoft Corp.
Nokia’s board of directors said it hired Stephen Elop for the position of president and CEO. Currently the head of Microsoft’s business division, Elop is scheduled to begin his new job on Sept. 21. Get the full story »
Apple Inc. is easing restrictions for building iPhone and iPad applications, a move that should allow for the use of third-party tools such as Adobe Systems’ Flash software and could ease the tension between the two companies.
Shares of Adobe surged over 12 percent at mid-afternoon on Nasdaq Thursday, after Apple announced the changes.
Apple’s about-face follows a high-profile spat with Adobe last spring that saw Steve Jobs sharply criticize Flash technology. Get the full story »
AT&T said it has invested nearly $350 million in its wireless network in the first half of 2010 to improve customer service in Illinois.
It’s part of an capital investment of nearly $700 million in AT&T’s wireless and wireline networks in Illinois in the first six months of the year. Get the full story »
Verizon Wireless said Thursday it will offer no-contract data plans for many of its 3G multimedia phones and smartphones, including those from its premier Droid line of devices.
The prepaid data package costs $30 a month for unlimited access. For $10 a month, customers can get a data plan for their multimedia phones, or those that aren’t designed for intense Web browsing as smartphones are. The $10 data plan is capped at 25 megabytes a month.
The prepaid segment has grown rapidly in the last few years, fueled both by recessionary pressures on consumers and newer generations of phone users that dislike being tethered to a two-year contract. Major carriers such as Verizon have traditionally focused on post-paid subscribers, who tend to be a more reliable and lucrative source of revenue. But with increased competition from no-contract carriers such as Cricket Wireless, Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile, which have smartphones in their line-ups in addition to no-frills handsets, other companies have started to sweeten their prepaid offerings as well. Get the full story »
Google Inc. is in talks with music labels on plans for a download store and a digital song locker that would allow its mobile users to play songs wherever they are as it steps up its rivalry with Apple Inc., according to people familiar with the matter.
Google Vice President of Engineering Andy Rubin has been leading conversations with the labels about what a new Google music service would look like, according to these sources. Get the full story »
Apple CEO Steve Jobs discusses the features of the new Apple iPod Nano at a news conference in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
Jobs ditches the turtleneck today. (AP)
Apple Inc. announced a smaller, cheaper version of its Apple TV device for streaming movies and television shows over the Internet and into the living room. It also unveiled a new line of iPods, including a touch-screen Nano model.
The new Apple TV announced Wednesday will only let people rent, not buy, content. For first-run high-definition movies the day they come out on DVD, people will have to pay $4.99. High-definition TV show rentals will be 99 cents. Get the full story »
