Airline passengers may soon be able to use their smartphones and tablets during flights with fewer interruptions. The Federal Aviation Administration has formed a committee to reconsider its policy on when electronic devices can be turned on during a flight. “With so many different types of devices available, we recognize that this is an issue …

Leaked price plans for RadioShack’s rumored foray into no contract wireless plans show smartphone plans starting at $50 for 3G service, Engaget posted today. The gadget-focused blog posted rumors last weekthat RadioShack was getting into the no contract business with Cricket providing the service. Cricket offers similar no-contract service at other retailers, but according to the previously leaked memo, RadioShack’s …

Now playing: Watch this: Inside Scoop: Cell phone radiation warnings up in the… 2:55 Updated at 12:56 p.m. PT: with additional information and background An attorney representing the wireless industry said Thursday that San Francisco’s attempt at educating the public about cell phone radiation was “laughable,” asking the court to put a hold on the city’s ordinance requiring cell phone …

Rep. Dennis Kucinich, a democrat from Ohio, introduced a federal bill today that would put warning labels on cell phones and create a national research program to study cell phone radiation levels. H.R. 6358, named the Cell Phone Right to Know Act, would also require the Environmental Protection Agency to update the standards for specific absorption rate, or SAR, the …

The New York Times has decided to stop supporting its current BlackBerry app because of a decrease in users, Reuters reported today. The newspaper cut off support to the apps for BlackBerry and the DealBook BlackBerry Reader on Monday, directing BlackBerry users to use the NYT mobile site instead. “Currently, our mobile Web site offers a more complete New York …

Xamarin, a company that provides developer tools to hundreds of thousands of mobile app developers, has received $12 million in first-round funding, the company announced today. The financing comes from Charles River Ventures, Ignition Partners, and Floodgate, and will be used to expand the company’s software and build a sales and marketing team, according to a press release. The desire …

NTP, which some say held the mobile world hostage with its e-mail patents, has signed an agreement that will let companies including Google, Apple, and Microsoft use its patent for allowing e-mail services on handsets. The company announced today in a press release that it has reached a mutual resolution with 13 companies, including wireless carriers AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint …

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said the company is still in talks with Apple concerning the data-gobbling FaceTime service, following a rumor reported earlier today that AT&T has plans to charge for the use of FaceTime over its network. When asked about it at a Fortune conference today, Stephenson skillfully skirted the issue, saying it’s too preliminary for talk about pricing …

Sprint filed a brief asking a federal appeals court not to impose a ban on the Galaxy Nexus, saying that it doesn’t want such injunctions to become the norm for the industry, Foss Patents reported today. Apple has two days left to file its opposition to Samsung’s motion to lift the ban until the appeals process is complete. The iPhone …

Amazon may have bought a 3D mapping company, which could signal the company’s desire to jump on the mapping service bandwagon where Google and Apple have been slugging it out. The company closed a deal to acquire UpNext, an up and coming 3D mapping startup, GigaOM reported today. Neither Amazon or UpNext has not confirmed the deal yet, but we …