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Smartphones at CES 2013: Gotta have more quad-core

Note: This article originally posted December 5, 2012 and updated on December 21, 2012.

The gigantic CES trade show in Las Vegas is a few weeks off, promising previews of new handsets you may consider for your own pocket.

I expect that all the usual suspects will have something to announce in one capacity or another, save perhaps for Nokia, which just launched its Lumia 920 and Lumia 820-series phones.

Less bang, more buck-conscious Nokia is a perfect example of handset-makers' relatively new trend of saving flagship smartphone launches for their own events in New York, San Francisco, and London. … Read more

EU hits Samsung with 'potential misuse' of patents

As expected, the European Union's European Commission (EC) has filed a formal "statement of objections" against Samsung over its actions in cases against Apple.

The EU's competition-governing body today announced that, in its "preliminary view," Samsung's requests for injunctions against Apple products over their alleged use of wireless patents Samsung owns "amounts to an abuse of a dominant position prohibited by EU antitrust rules."

Here's what Joaquin Almunia, the EC's competition chief, has to say about the move:

Intellectual-property rights are an important cornerstone of the single market. However, … Read more

How EA plans to make customers happy. Really

An avid player of Electronic Arts' "The Simpsons: Tapped Out" mobile game, David Lamb was disheartened when he logged into his account in October and found that all of the data from his game was gone.

The iOS game, which is essentially "Farmville" with Springfield buildings and Simpsons characters, rewards players who spend huge amounts of time completing tasks and collecting money in an effort to re-create their favorite animated city. Lamb, a 45-year-old video editor from La Canada, Calif., had accumulated $80,000 in game cash and 70 donuts (the game's premium currency) after … Read more

RIM's stock is in retreat. Here's why

Research in Motion's stock, which has had an impressive run over the past few months, appears to have finally gotten tripped up.

The BlackBerry maker's shares fell more than 14 percent today, a day after reporting fiscal third-quarter results that investors considered better than expected. The stock recently fell $2 to $12.08.

If you look beyond the basic revenue and profit, RIM's performance in the quarter gave reason for Wall Street to be concerned. Ultimately, these results matter little; what will determine the company's fate will be the success or failure of its BlackBerry 10 … Read more

RIM reaches patent peace with Nokia -- at a cost

Nokia and Research In Motion have settled all of their patent disputes, but the BlackBerry maker appears to have landed on the wrong side of the deal.

Nokia announced today that it has agreed to a deal with RIM that will end all patent infringement litigation between the companies. RIM has agreed to make a one-time payment to Nokia to settle the cases. Going forward, RIM will give Nokia "ongoing payments" for the right to use its patents.

The battle between RIM and Nokia dates back to 2003, when the companies signed a licensing agreement that allowed RIM … Read more

HTC may get into Windows tablet game

HTC is working on a pair of tablets running Microsoft's Windows RT operating system, according to Bloomberg.

HTC is mulling two tablets, a 12-inch version that is larger than most standard models, and a 7-inch version that is better able to compete with the likes of Amazon's Kindle Fire HD and Apple iPad Mini, according to the report, which cited anonymous sources.

Microsoft is hoping to expand its lineup on tablets running on the Windows RT operating system, which is a stripped-down version of Windows 8 that is able to run on the more power-efficient ARM chip architecture … Read more

Is the BlackBerry PlayBook making a comeback?

There may be life in the BlackBerry PlayBook yet.

Research In Motion's tablet saw a surprising jump in shipments in the fiscal third quarter, with the company sending out 255,000 units in the period. In the last quarter it shipped 130,000, only slightly less than the 150,000 it shipped a year ago.

So what gives? Chief Financial Officer Brian Bidulka said during an investor conference call today that there was strong "promotional activity" in North America, with RIM seeing some success with the Wi-Fi and 4G versions of the PlayBook in North America and … Read more

Android in 2013: What to expect

Brace yourselves: 2013 is upon us, and that means a whole new generation of Android devices, rumors, and expectations.

Android will have a strong showing at CES, and the next few months will be littered with new smartphones and tablets. Let's take a look at some of the trends we can expect in the Android space over the coming year.

This article will touch on many trends in the Android ecosystem, including hardware advancements, vendor decisions, and key events of the year. Given the sheer number of players in the space, there will be much to look forward to … Read more

'Sources' out BlackBerry Z10 as RIM's first new smartphone

A comeback phone needs a catchy name, and for Research In Motion, the handle in question could be the BlackBerry Z10.

Previously it was known by its "L-series" alias, but unnamed sources have now outed the product name of RIM's next BlackBerry smartphone, according to Unwired View.

In addition to learning RIM's new name for the all-touch device, these sources allegedly also supplied documentation in the form of the promotional material pictured here.

Rumors also point to a second phone that will feature a full QWERTY keyboard in the kind of layout most synonymous with BlackBerry … Read more