HTC’s popular One smartphone might be getting squished a bit. Estonia-based site Forte.delfi.ee posted several pictures on Wednesday of what it claims is the long-rumored HTC One Mini. The device, it says (and the pictures corroborate), has the same basic design as the larger HTC One, but comes with a slightly smaller 720p HD screen …

Lenovo told its shareholders in a statement Tuesday that it’s in talks with a smartphone maker to engage in a possible joint venture. “The Board would like to inform the shareholders of the Company and potential investors that the Company is in preliminary negotiations with a party in connection with a potential joint venture transaction,” Lenovo wrote (PDF). “As at …

Evernote, the popular note-taking app available on the Web and on mobile devices, has some new security features. The company announced the new features on its blog on Thursday, saying that it’s now offering three security tools that it didn’t before. First up is two-step verification, which requires that users input both a password and a security code that can …

SoftBank’s $20 billion merger with Sprint is just fine for a U.S. committee that monitors national security issues between companies. Sprint announced Wednesday that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) has cleared its proposed merger with Japan’s SoftBank, saying that there are no national security issues that would make it unacceptable to the government. The companies have …

A Reddit poster going by the handle Vizionx1208 says his Galaxy S3 suddenly caught fire recently and burned his finger. In a post to Reddit on Sunday, the person said that he plugged his Galaxy S3 in to be charged and about an hour later “was awoken by a loud noise and a weird squeaking sound.” That he, says, is …

HTC is planning to take a page out of Samsung’s book by launching a “Google Edition” of its One smartphone. That’s the word, at least, from unidentified sources for Geek.com, who claim that HTC is planning to launch its flagship handset, the One, with a stock version of Android 4.2.2. The current model available to customers is running an HTC-modified …

HTC’s flagship smartphone, the One, has inched towards 5 million units sold since its launch about a month ago, an unidentified HTC executive has told the Wall Street Journal. Speaking to the Journal on Wednesday, the unidentified executive said that “orders are pretty good so far and are still more than what we can supply.” He blamed the shortage on …

Mobile-payment-processing company Square has brought its operation to Japan. The company announced the news on Thursday, saying that it will charge merchants 3.25 percent per swipe. As with its service in the U.S., all funds will be automatically deposited into the merchant’s bank account on the next business day. In order to bring Square to Japan, the company teamed up …

Samsung has inked a deal with fellow Korean phone maker Pantech for an equity stake in the company. In a statement on Wednesday, Samsung confirmed an earlier report from Yonhap News, saying that it has acquired a 10 percent stake in Pantech for $48 million. The company said that the investment is designed solely to enhance the relationship between the …

Just a day after Sprint upped its bid to acquire Clearwire, the latter’s board has said that it’s the right deal for the company. In a statement released Wednesday, Clearwire’s board announced that it has approved the new deal with Sprint. The board has also asked shareholders to vote in favor of the acquisition when they meet to place their …