Mobile Tech » Patent Wars: DoJ May Take Preemptive Action as Giants Build Stockpiles

The six companies that scooped up Nortel's patent portfolio may have some explaining to do if the DoJ goes forward with its plan to question them about how they want to use their winnings. In the meantime, Google, which lost out in the Nortel patent sale, may have figured out a strategy to defend itself from any potential litigation against Android. It just purchased 1,000 patents from IBM. A consortium of six major tech players calling themselves...

Reviews » Capture for iPhone Puts Johnny a Little Closer to the Spot

Capture is a video camera app that doesn't add special creative filters or enable artistic adjustments. Instead, it offers a shortcut to video capture. The iPhone's main Camera app often takes a few seconds to get going, and when video-worthy action is taking place right in front of your eyes, those seconds count. Capture cuts straight to recording video from the instant the app is started. Capture, an app from Sky Balloon, is available for 99 US...

Mobile Tech » RIM Blazes Into Smartphone Market With New Torches, New Bolds

With five new smartphones debuting at once, it may seem as though RIM is throwing everything at the wall to see what will stick -- but one thing it's already stuck on is a couple of old names: "Torch" and "Bold." That seems a risky strategy for a company that's been lagging seriously behind the leaders in the smartphone market. Still, the phones have new functionality and a new OS, and early reactions seem positive. Research In Motion (Nasdaq:...

Mobile Tech » Apple Reaches Global Smartphone Summit

Apple has climbed onto the top perch in the global smartphone market and is sitting pretty, although its competitors will likely do their best to knock it down a peg. Samsung has a strong wind behind its back, and good give Apple a serious run. Meanwhile, Nokia and RIM have faltered badly, but both companies are scrambling to regroup and may be able to offer serious competition in the not-too-distant future. Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) is now the world's...

Mobile Tech » TouchPad's Weekend Blowout Sale: Make It Permanent?

HP attempted to woo tablet buyers with a heavy discount on its TouchPad webOS device last weekend, nearly halving the price on the product, which first hit the market just a few weeks ago. While it may have caught some consumers' attention, will a temporary price cut really be enough to help the TouchPad gain traction against the similarly priced Apple iPad? Shoppers for HP's (NYSE: HPQ) TouchPad tablet were treated to a special bargain over...

Mobile Tech » Clearwire Coils for the Leap to LTE

Clearwire is forging ahead with its LTE network plans -- and not a moment too soon, given Sprint's recent deal with LightSquared. "By adding a TD-LTE network to its portfolio, Clearwire can leverage its strong spectrum assets and expand its wholesale offerings portfolio and hence the total addressable market, opening doors to newer prospective customers," said Strategy Analytics' Neil Shah. Clearwire (Nasdaq: CLWR) said Wednesday that it intends...

Internet » Of Horseshoes, Hand Grenades and Broadband Advertising

A new FCC report indicates that the average speeds ISPs give their customers are about 80 to 90 percent of what they advertise. That's an improvement over a couple of years ago, but is it good enough? "Given what I know about the broadband infrastructure in general, that's acceptable," said IDC's Matt Davis. "There are a lot of variables involved, and I'm surprised that the test results came back that close." Broadband service providers in the...

Tech News » Whine, Whine, Whine ... Oh, RATs!

McAfee's "Diary of a RAT" report is one of the most frightening things I've ever seen. Many of us have warned we were going to be in a Cyber World War. It appears that war started months ago, and we weren't even aware of it. You see, this isn't a U.S.-only attack -- every major geography has been affected, and the total amount of data taken is in the petabyte range. Last week was kind of an amazing week. Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG) chief counsel...

Smartphones » Sprint Conquer Breaks the C-Note Barrier

Cheap smartphones can be found lots of places if you know where to look, but it's not exactly common to see a new 4G model that launches at less than $100 yet boasts a fairly well-rounded spec sheet. The Sprint Conquer 4G doesn't offer any frills or unique features -- but it is a 4G Gingerbread Android phone at a double-digit price. Sprint (NYSE: S) on Friday unveiled the Samsung Conquer 4G, an Android smartphone that will be available for purchase...

DefCon Welcomes Kids: Hacking Fun for Everyone

Hackers ages 8 to 16 had the chance to participate in the DefCon security conference last weekend with DefCon Kids, a program aimed at the next generation of computer experts. The program's goal is foster kids' interest in white-hat hacking -- using computer skills for good rather than evil. The twenty-somethings arrested by the FBI in July on suspicion of partaking in criminal activities tied to the Anonymous hacker community may soon be regarded...