LAS VEGAS--The days of standing on a scale with your baby and then without it and measuring the difference are over--if it's worth spending $150 on an Internet-connected scale built just for your little one.

So hopes Withings, the French design company that introduced a smart baby monitor last year and is unveiling its Smart Baby Scale--coming in the second quarter of 2012--at CES this week. Made for iPod, iPhone, and iPad, the scale is the first to use Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Bluetooth Smart connectivity for tracking the weight of babies and toddlers.

The specs: at 3.3 … Read more

LTE may be the global standard for next-generation wireless networks, but that doesn't mean you can take your 4G Verizon Wireless phone abroad and expect to roam on other 4G networks.

In this edition of Ask Maggie, I explain the sad reality of why you can't take a U.S. 4G LTE phone and expect to use it in Europe or anywhere else in the world where LTE is available. I also explain the difference between LTE and LTE-Advanced, and why it's not necessary to wait for the latest version of the technology to be deployed to … Read more

LAS VEGAS--The Consumer Electronics Show is the big coming-out party for the U.S. launch of Nokia's new Windows Phone smartphones.

On the CES stage Monday afternoon here, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop said the handset maker will start selling the Lumia 710, which Nokia introduced in December, with T-Mobile USA on Wednesday. He and others spent the remainder of the press event focusing on the unveiling of the Lumia 900 for AT&T's network.

The 900, the first LTE 4G device running the Windows Phone OS, is designed for people who want a rich-media experience. Equipped with … Read more

Ongoing legal battles over patents and tough competition are hurting Motorola's sales and profits, the company said Friday.

After the market closed on Friday, the company reported that sales fell short of expectations in the fourth quarter of 2011. The company estimates sales of about $3.4 billion for the quarter with modest profitability on a non-GAAP basis. Analysts had expected the company to bring in sales of $3.9 billion, according to Reuters.

Motorola blamed increased competition in the mobile device market as well as raging patent wars, primarily with Apple. The company also said it shipped about … Read more

The promise of super-fast 4G wireless broadband sounds enticing, but what happens when you can't actually get the 4G service? That's the question one reader who just got the new 4G LTE-enabled Samsung Galaxy Nexus is asking.

No 4G service. Should I keep the Samsung Galaxy Nexus?

Dear Maggie, Four days ago I took delivery of my new Samsung Galaxy Nexus. I rarely get a 4G connection. Searching the Web about this problem, I see that lots of other people have had a similar problem.

I have 15 days to back out of my purchase. Time is running … Read more

It's been a roller coast ride this past year for mobile phone carriers with several unexpected twists and turns. And 2012 will likely be filled with a similar sense of excitement.

The biggest news for 2011 in this sector was AT&T's $39 billion bid to buy T-Mobile. And when the deal was announced in March, AT&T seemed confident it could make it happen. So confident in fact, that it agreed to one of the biggest break-up fees ever. But as we all now know, regulators didn't like AT&T's plan and … Read more

Well, that was fast. Verizon Wireless caved to pressure from outraged consumers and a possible probe by the Federal Communications Commission and backed off of a plan to charge customers a $2 fee to pay their wireless bills online.

In a statement issued this afternoon, the company said it would drop the plan announced yesterday.

"At Verizon, we take great care to listen to our customers," Dan Mead, president and chief executive officer of Verizon Wireless said in a statement. "Based on their input, we believe the best path forward is to encourage customers to take advantage … Read more

Verizon Wireless's new $2 "convenience fee" for paying a bill online has outraged consumers, and today the Federal Communications Commissions said it will look into the fee.

"On behalf of American consumers, we're concerned about Verizon's actions and are looking into the matter," the FCC said in its statement.

The FCC isn't providing further information about its investigation. The New York Times was the first to report the FCC's statement.

Verizon confirmed on Thursday that beginning January 15, it will charge customers $2 to pay their bills online using the one-time … Read more

Researchers have released two tools that can be used to exploit a vulnerability in a protocol that makes it easier to set up secure home Wi-Fi networks.

Stefan Viehbock, who first reported the vulnerability to the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team, released a tool that can crack a home Wi-Fi network in two hours. And Craig Heffner of Tactical Network Solutions, who had been working independently on figuring out the same vulnerability that Viebock reported to US-CERT, has also developed a tool that will allow hackers to gain access to some secure Wi-Fi networks in four to 10 hours. … Read more