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If there remained any doubt of the lasting mainstream appeal and marketing clout of the Samsung Galaxy S II Android Gingerbread smartphone, U.S. Cellular's plan to take on the handset erases it all.

The nation's sixth-largest carrier will join T-Mobile, AT&T, and Sprint in offering a version of the phone that's already sold more than 30 million units worldwide.… Read more

Deciding when to release a video game involves a carefully planned strategy and knowing your competition. At times it feels like a publisher is watching the cards, observing patterns, and learning when to bet.

2K Games pulled some its own crafty rescheduling when the publisher pushed back The Darkness II from its initial fall 2011 release date to February 2012. It was a smart move on 2K's part because had it been delivered on time, it may have got lost in the ether that was an already overcrowded holiday gaming season.

Now I'm not privy to the actual specifics of why it was bumped, but avoiding military-shooter-mageddon 2011 was the right play--mostly because The Darkness II is a great game that deserves its own chance to step into the light.… Read more

Nginx, a Russian startup that has succeeded where others have failed at challenging the dominant Apache software for housing Web sites, has begun trying to convert its popularity into actual money.

Nginx (pronounced "engine X") yesterday unveiled corporate support offerings for the product, a traditional business model for open-source software. It offers three grades--Essential, Advanced, and Premium--with three- and twelve-month contracts for services including installation, configuration, performance tuning, and maintenance.

"Subscribers to the Advanced and Premium options receive design, implementation and optimization assistance, as well as prioritized development. Premium subscribers will have access to an additional set … Read more

Were you bummed to learn that Samsung has opted to leave the Galaxy S III off the agenda for this month's Mobile World Congress?

If so, keep your chin up, because there should be plenty of other Samsung news coming out of the show this year. Indeed, the rumor mill has already moved on with a prediction that, among other things, Sammy is readying a slightly improved model of the Galaxy S II.

Though not a true successor device, the Galaxy S II Plus should have welcome improvements. Look for a dual-core 1.5GHz processor and a 4.52 … Read more

The right price can paper over many a flaw.

That seems to be the case for the Huawei Ascend II, a recent addition for U.S. Cellular (and a phone that Cricket has had for some time.)

Thanks to Android 2.3 Gingerbread, the Ascend II can perform all the basics with communication, connectivity, and downloading apps. Unfortunately, weaker internal features like a laggy 600MHz processor and a camera without autofocus make the Ascend II hard to recommend for anyone but the newest smartphone user.

Or the most budget-conscious. The Ascend II costs only one penny with a two-year contract, … Read more

After launching on Samsung's Galaxy Nexus, Android 4.0 will soon be migrating to the company's other new flagship phones, the Galaxy S II and the Galaxy Note.

For months now, we've been hearing about Samsung's new Galaxy Note tablet/smartphone hybrid--the company prefers to call it a "super phone"--that comes with a 5.3-inch HD super AMOLED display and resurrects the stylus. But this month Samsung has been filling in the specifics. We now know it will debut on AT&T February 19 for $299.99.

Then this post on Samsung Norway's Facebook … Read more

Samsung Electronics reigned supreme among Android vendors in the fourth quarter, as its successful smartphone business helped drive an uptick in the company's fourth-quarter profit.

The Korean consumer electronics giant today reported a profit of 4 trillion Korean won, or $3.56 billion, up 8.5 percent from a year-earlier profit of 3.42 trillion Korean won.

The company's revenue advanced more than 13 percent to 47.3 trillion Korean won ($42.15 billion).

Propelling Samsung's profit and revenue was its mobile devices business, which saw tremendous success with the Galaxy line of Android smartphones. The Galaxy … Read more

The latest rumors from Boy Genius Report suggest some juicy details about AT&T's planned devices for the first quarter of 2012.

BGR indicates AT&T is gearing up to offer yet another Windows Phone device on March 18: the 4G-equipped HTC Titan II at $199. There's word that the Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket HD, Samsung Exhilarate, and Sony Xperia Ion also will debut on the carrier toward the end of March, but pricing is unknown.

Lastly, the rumors note that a Sony tablet (code-named Crystal) with HSPA+ will launch on AT&T for $409. I fully believe that Crystal is the dual-screen Sony Tablet P that has evaded a U.S. launch (despite being available in Japan for several months now).

There aren't any sources listed for the rumored information, but BGR has built a bit of a reputation for itself with several credible road map leaks in the past. Regardless, we still recommend you take this news with a grain of salt until things become official. … Read more

The gloves are off.

But it gets cold in Philadelphia, so you need those thumbless gloves to stay warm and keep texting on your iPhone.

This is just one of the sweetly spiky scenarios that Samsung has just released in its attempt to kick Apple fanboys when they hurt: in the ego.

There are two new Galaxy S II spots, following on from a faintly flat little teaser released last week, in which Samsung man showed off his, um, turn-by-turn directions.

These latest two offer a little more face-scratching truth.

In one spot, Samsung pokes at "creative" people … Read more