A year after LG brought Android to the masses with its entry-level Optimus line, the company is doing the same with its new Optimus 2. Though positioned as a successor device, the Optimus 2 barely improves on the earlier models. It runs Gingerbread (thankfully), but the feature set is decidedly conservative. You’ll find a 3.2-megapixel …

A year after it made smartphone history by introducing the dual-core Optimus 2X at CES 2011, LG is set to do it again at the upcoming 2012 show. According to a report published today in the Korea Times, LG will use its time at CES in two weeks to introduce the first Android smartphone running on an Intel chipset. Though …

For a slow holiday news week, there’s been plenty of chatter over the last few days about Windows Phone 7. It all started Tuesday when several tech blogs posted editorials on why Microsoft’s operating system was failing, a fact that Mobile Burn’s Dan Seifert wryly pointed out on Twitter. And then, almost as if in response, a leaked memo on …

After briefly mentioning it yesterday in its Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade plans, LG spilled more details today on its upcoming LG Prada 3 Android smartphone. Like the Prada and Prada 2 before it, the Prada 3’s calling card is its sleek (0.3-inch), “look at me!” profile. Though relatively minimalist by Prada standards, the handset’s glossy black skin, “Saffiano” pattern on …

Samsung dropped a bit of bad news last Friday when it announced on one of its Korean promotional blogs that it wouldn’t be bringing Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) to its Galaxy S smartphone or its 7-inch Galaxy Tab. Users understandably cried foul and chatter of Android fragmentation surfaced again, and the company may be feeling the heat. Though Sammy …

With just two weeks until CES, most of the wireless industry is busy making final plans. We’ve already told you what we think will happen with tablets and smartphones in Las Vegas, and if carriers and manufacturers have their way, we won’t know anything official until the show begins. Forgive me, but patience is not a virtue in this case. …

Cricket Wireless announced today that it has launched its first LTE market by initiating service in Tucson, Ariz. The move marks the start of the carrier’s transition from 3G CDMA to 4G LTE, a process that will take several years. According to a spokesman for Leap Wireless, Cricket’s parent company, the LTE service now covers 90 percent of the Tucson …

Christmas came early for Sprint today when AT&T announced that it was abandoning its controversial $39 billion bid to acquire T-Mobile. In a statement released moments ago, Vonya B. McCann, Sprint’s senior vice president of Government Affairs, said AT&T made the “right decision for consumers, competition and innovation in the wireless industry.” “From the beginning, Sprint has stood with consumers …

The wait for 4G in your neighborhood can be interminable, especially if you’re an AT&T customer. It’s here. It’s AT&T. It’s 4G. AC Compared with Verizon’s extensive LTE network, America’s second largest carrier has limped along with just 15 cities covered by the end of last month. But tonight, just days CNET’s Roger Cheng detected 4G service in New York …

Buying a cell phone as a holiday gift is a bit more complicated than buying a television or a camera. It’s not that shopping for those products is easy–indeed, one TV can present you with a mind-boggling array of specs–but a cell phone also requires you to select a carrier and choose a service plan. (Also see my colleague Jessica …