Mobile

Samsung Galaxy S III edges closer to T-Mobile, AT&T

It's official, Samsung's next superphone is destined for T-Mobile and AT&T. At least, that's what industry interest group the Bluetooth SIG seems to think. Apparently the body has approved T-Mobile and AT&T flavors of the mighty Galaxy S III.

Where most of Nortel's $4.5B patent collection ended up

When Apple, Microsoft and four other technology companies spent $4.5 billion on the patent collection of bankrupt telecommunications giant Nortel nearly a year ago, the big question was where all that intellectual property would end up.

Wired's Robert McMillan today clears that up in a feature about Rockstar Bidco, the consortium comprising Apple, EMC, Ericsson, Microsoft, Research In Motion, and Sony, which successfully beat out a team consisting of Google and Intel for the collection last June.

The company, which now goes simply by the name of Rockstar, has control of 4,000 of the 6,000 patents more

Apple iOS warning message suggests 3G Facetime coming

Apple's Facetime video-chat service may be freed from its Wi-Fi-only restrictions soon.

At least, that's according to a warning message that pops up on current iOS devices when a user shuts off 3G during a Facetime call. The message: "Disabling 3G may end FaceTime. Are you sure you want to disable 3G?"

There's really no reason why the message should pop up since Facetime runs only on Wi-Fi, and that has prompted some to believe that Facetime over 3G may be coming to the next version of iOS. The message was first discovered by Romanian website iDevice, more

How to render 3D images on your iPad for free

AutoDesk isn't exactly a household name, but I'm continually impressed by the quality of free apps it offers.

One of the latest free apps, which came out earlier this month, renders everyday objects in 3D on your iPad, a fairly nifty feature. These aren't the wonky 3D images that seem to fly off the screen; I'm talking about rendered images that can be moved around on screen.

The app 123D Catch works like this: You use the app to snap 40 or so photos of an object at different angles. The photos are then uploaded to more

Cable companies expand free Wi-Fi

BOSTON--The nation's biggest cable operators are banding together to offer free Wi-Fi access to their broadband customers in more than 50,000 hotspots around the country.

On Monday, Bright House Networks, Cablevision, Comcast, Cox Communications, and Time Warner Cable announced on the first day of the Cable Show here that they'd enable each other's broadband customers to access their metro Wi-Fi hot spots. The companies are calling the new network "CableWiFi," so that subscribers will be able to find the hot spots when they're roaming outside their own cable territory.

In early 2010, Cablevision, Comcast, and more

China to Google: Android must remain open

In giving the thumbs-up to Google's acquisition of Motorola, regulators in China stipulated that Google must make Android free and open for five years, a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed with CNET today.

The stipulation would seem to be designed to keep Google from denying Motorola's handset competitors access to the mobile operating system, or from giving Motorola an advantage of some sort -- such as integration between its handsets and Android that's tighter than connections between rival phones and the OS.

From the beginning, Google has taken an open approach with Android, making it more

Are people more honest when they text?

Honesty is such a lonely word. Everyone is so untrue.

My great friend, William Joel, has explained this repeatedly to me over the years. Yet, are there circumstances in which -- at least statistically -- people could be said to be a little more honest than usual?

For myself, the answer has always been simple: when they've had more than one bottle of Honig's fine 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon.

However, researchers at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research are offering an alternative answer. They suggest that people are more honest when they're texting.

As the Huffington Post&more

China clears Google, Motorola merger: Deal to close 'within days'

Chinese antitrust and competition regulators have cleared Google's move to acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion, completing the worldwide regulatory review process.

A Google representative confirmed that the Chinese government had given the merger the green light. The deal is set to close early in this coming week.

The deal had to be approved by a series of regulators around the world, not limited to the United States and Europe.

The U.S. Justice Department and European Union regulators cleared the deal in February, leaving Israel, Taiwan, and China to mull over the merger.

China was the last more

Verizon's and Comcast's data caps: Who wins and who loses?

Broadband data caps were a hot topic this week as Comcast and Verizon Wireless separately talked up upcoming changes to their policies. So how will these data cap tweaks affect consumers?

In short, Comcast's move, which increases its existing cap from 250GB to 300GB and now imposes an overage fee for those who exceed the cap, is likely a positive for its subscribers. Even the consumer advocates who typically hate the idea of data caps applauded the company for improving the policy. Meanwhile, Verizon's new plan, which will force existing subscribers "grandfathered" on its unlimited data plan into more

Sony comes clean on worldwide Android 4.0 tablet update

One must wonder why Sony cannot get out of the habit of playing a fragmented and behind-the-curve Android release schedule for its devices.

Finally putting speculation to rest, a Sony representative confirmed with Crave today (and subsequently on Twitter) that Sony tablet owners in "all regions will have Android 4.0 by end of May." And on a related note, a Sony Japan statement announced a May 24 drop date for Android 4.0 landing on both Tablet S and Tablet P devices specifically in that country, perhaps a timeframe we should expect elsewhere.

To recap, see if you can keep up with this: