Mobile

Nokia announced Tuesday that its X3 smartphone will hit the European consumer market sometime in the third quarter and sell for around 125 euros ($160).

The Finnish mobile phone maker is touting the X3 as a "Touch and Type" model, offering users both a touch screen and traditional keypad. The 2.2-inch touch screen offers a resolution of 320x240 pixels. And at 9.6mm (less than 0.4 inches), the X3 will also be one of the company's slimmest, according to Nokia.

"We have given people a larger screen with clear icons and menus plus kept … Read more

The Indian government has sent letters to the country's major wireless service providers informing them that if BlackBerry maker Research In Motion does not meet its demands to loosen security by August 31, then they must block e-mail and instant messaging services.

The government informed RIM last week that if it was not given access to users' e-mail, IM, and Web browsing that it would have the service shut down on the final day of the month.

Now it looks like the country is starting to make good on its threat. Tata Teleservices, one of India's largest cell … Read more

The WiMax 2 high-speed wireless technology, which is expected to boost download speeds for mobile devices, is set to become a standard by early next year, according to an industry group.

On Monday, the WiMax Forum said that 802.16m, the key technology within WiMax 2, is expected to be standardized by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in November. Formal approval by the IEEE Standards Association is scheduled for the first quarter of 2011, with device certification coming in late 2011.

The 802.16m update should help WiMax 2 deliver download speeds of up to 120Mbps and … Read more

Will they stay or will they go?

That's the big question AT&T executives are likely asking themselves about the millions of iPhone customers who may consider leaving the operator once the popular smartphone is offered on other carrier networks in the U.S.

While AT&T has not said when its exclusive deal for the iPhone ends, the company has been preparing shareholders for a day when the iconic device will be available to its competitors. Rumor has it that Verizon Wireless, AT&T's chief competitor, will get a version of the iPhone in January.… Read more

As I read the criticism of Google and Verizon's supposed evil plan to demolish the Internet, and as I hear about "protests" of several dozen people at Google's headquarters, I scratch my head and wonder: am I missing something?

The Google-Verizon Net neutrality proposal I read last week doesn't sound nearly as apocalyptic as Free Press, a media advocacy group, and some of the most vocal critics out there have made it sound.

In fact, most of proposal sounded a lot like a plan FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski offered nearly a year ago, which many … Read more

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion has offered the Indian government information and tools to help government agencies monitor communications sent via the BlackBerry's email and messaging services, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.

The Journal said that according to the minutes of a July 26 meeting between RIM and government officials--part of an ongoing series of negotiations--the company said it had "a setup to help...security agencies in tracking the messages in which security agencies are interested."

The Journal also reported that an Indian-penned summary of one of the discussions said RIM had agreed it could provide … Read more

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--Net neutrality is a difficult concept to sum up in a pithy slogan. But it was a nice day for a protest in Northern California.

Several dozen people gathered Friday here in Charleston Park--a public park steps from the Googleplex--to protest Google's proposed Net neutrality guidelines developed with Verizon Communications. They trotted out the usual "hey hey, ho ho" and "what do we want/when do we want it" chants, hoping to make their voices heard as about two dozen Googlers on their lunch breaks watched in bemusement.

The group was not … Read more

eBay's PayPal is in talks with Google to about adding its payment service to Android devices, according to a Bloomberg report Friday.

If the discussions to use PayPal for Android application purchases go well, the service could be available on smartphones with Google's software by the end of this year, according to Bloomberg's unnamed sources.

Android app purchases currently are made using a credit card or Google's own competitor to PayPal, Google Checkout. PayPal is already available as an application for accepting and making mobile payments on several mobile platforms, including Android. The reported description of … Read more

Breaking up is hard to do, but when you're slapped with an early termination fee, the sting hurts even more. Then tack on a sales tax, and who wouldn't be crying in their beer?

In this week's Ask Maggie column, I tackle a tough question about being charged a sales tax on top of an early termination fee for canceling a wireless service early. I also tell a reader about a U.S. carrier that cuts customers a break on their monthly bills when they bring their own phone. And finally, I explain the likelihood of whether … Read more