Cell phones, smart phones, and PDAs

Google has announced a new Web-based Android Market online store that will make it easier for people to get to new applications for their smartphones and tablets.

The announcement was made today at an event where Google is showing off the new Android 3.0 software known as Honeycomb, which is designed specifically for tablets. Google also used the event, held at company headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., to take the wraps off the new Web-based Android Market. Up to this point, Android users could only discover and download apps from the Android Market client installed on their devices. Now, … Read more

Now that the Verizon iPhone has been introduced, the next question people ask me is if they should get it now or wait until the summer when a new version of the Apple iPhone is expected.

This is indeed the age-old question of buying now or waiting for the new generation of product. It's hard to advise people, because there are so many unknowns. But in this week's Ask Maggie, I do my best to provide some insight.

I also help another reader decide if he should get the Verizon iPhone or one of the new Verizon LTE … Read more

The Federal Communications Commission took two important steps this week to free up more wireless spectrum for wireless broadband services.

On Wednesday the agency published a list of nine companies that have been granted permission to provide a database of unlicensed "white space" spectrum that can be used by device makers and service providers to offer a service that utilizes these free airwaves.

And also on Wednesday the FCC approved an order to allow a privately funded company called LightSquared to lease spectrum that was originally allocated for satellite services to use in building a terrestrial wireless service. … Read more

Motorola is bracing itself for a slowdown in smartphone sales in the first quarter as the Apple iPhone goes to Verizon Wireless.

During the fourth-quarter conference call with analysts and investors on Wednesday, Sanjay Jha, the CEO of Motorola Mobility, said the company saw a slowdown in sales during the fourth quarter due to anticipation of the iPhone at Verizon. He said he expects sales to be slightly down as the company will now compete head to head with the iPhone at its strongest carrier partner, Verizon Wireless.

"Since the announcement of the iPhone, we have seen a little … Read more

The long-awaited launch of the Verizon Wireless iPhone is almost here, so how much will Verizon charge new iPhone users on its network?

When Verizon Wireless first announced a couple of weeks ago it would begin selling the CDMA version of the iPhone, the company didn't disclose pricing of the service plans. And for the past two weeks, the company has been rather cagey about talking specifics of the pricing plan.

Even though Verizon has danced around the idea of offering usage-based billing with various pricing tiers for months, the company has now revealed that it will charge iPhone … Read more

NEW YORK--Verizon Wireless will keep its $30 unlimited data plan for the iPhone, Lowell McAdam, chief operating officer of Verizon, said today at the company's quarterly investor meeting.

The Wall Street Journal first reported McAdam's comments ahead of Verizon's quarterly earnings conference call this morning. And the company confirmed it here at an event for investors and analysts. But the plan will only be offered for a limited time before the company moves to a usage-based billing model.

"I'm not going to shoot myself in the foot," he told the Journal. He said that … Read more

Nearly two weeks after Verizon Wireless announced it will get the iPhone, iPhone fever is still gripping many CNET readers.

I dedicated last week's Ask Maggie to answering questions about the Verizon iPhone. And this week I got several more questions related to Verizon's upcoming launch of the iPhone. So in this week's Ask Maggie column I answer some follow-up questions. Specifically, I clarify for one reader that both iPhone and Droids support Outlook e-mail and Microsoft Office docs. I also advise another reader not to ditch his Comcast broadband for the Wi-Fi tethering feature of the … Read more

Nokia has canceled the U.S. release of a new smartphone that was supposed to be exclusive to AT&T, CNET has confirmed.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the news today, but a source close to the situation, who didn't want to be named, confirmed Nokia had pulled the plug on the launch of the new smartphone on AT&T's network.

The X7 smartphone hasn't been officially announced yet, but details of the device have been leaked online.

The X7, which is still expected to launch outside the U.S. on other carriers, is … Read more

Mobile handset maker Sony Ericsson is suing wireless broadband provider Clearwire for trademark infringement.

In a lawsuit filed in U.S. district court in Virginia on Friday, Sony Ericsson said that Clearwire's green and white swirl logo is confusingly similar to its own green and white swirl logo.

Sony Ericsson said that it became aware of Clearwire's plans to use a similar logo in late 2009. And in January 2010 it contacted Clearwire to express its protest. Clearwire is building a nationwide wireless broadband network using the technology called WiMax. It sells fixed and mobile broadband services and … Read more