Redbox said the streaming portion of its Redbox Instant video service, offered in a partnership with Verizon, will cost $6 a month, undercutting key rival Netflix. The company’s primary offering is an $8 a month plan that includes the unlimited video streaming and four one-night credits for DVDs at local kiosks. A plan that includes …

Affordable smartphones will make up the majority of sales by 2017 as consumer gravitate toward entry-level devices, according to a study from research firm Informa. Informa said that 52 percent of smartphones will be priced below $150, underscoring demand for the devices from the emerging markets. That marks a dramatic shift in the smartphone market now, which is dominated by …

Don’t hold your breath for Samsung to unveil the Galaxy S4 any time soon. The successor to Samsung’s blockbuster Galaxy S3 smartphone won’t be showing up at the Consumer Electronics Show next month, CNET has learned. At the tech confab, Samsung is planning to introduce a number of electronic products, heavily focused on televisions, according to people familiar with the …

Sprint Nextel may be moving closer to taking full control of 4G wireless provider Clearwire, according to CNBC. The two companies are in active negotiations, and Sprint has been talking with some of Clearwire’s big-name shareholders, including Intel and Comcast, in taking full control of the company, CNBC reported, citing unnamed sources. A deal isn’t imminent, but an announcement could …

Nokia is getting a new neighbor. Chinese telecommunications equipment vendor Huawei said today it wants to expand into Europe, and plans to build a smartphone center in Helsinki, Finland, just minutes away from Nokia’s own headquarters in Espoo — facilities that Nokia just sold off as it seeks to right its financial ship. Huawei said in a statement e-mailed to …

Research In Motion’s BlackBerry 10 is no PlayBook, and that’s a good thing. There’s concern that RIM’s next-generation smartphone operating system may fall flat on its launch, an expectation driven largely by the example of the company’s critically lambasted tablet. AllThingsD, citing an analyst from Wedge Partners, says the same issues that hamstrung PlayBook sales will hurt BlackBerry 10’s prospects …

T-Mobile USA wants to shake up the status quo in the wireless industry to spur its turnaround. At the same time, it could change the way consumers think about how they pay for their services. T-Mobile CEO John Legere yesterday said the carrier would eliminate subsidies next year, moving completely to its “Value” plans. In doing so, it will be …

No need to hit the panic button on Research In Motion yet; its BlackBerry 10 phones aren’t facing any major delays, CNET has learned. Related stories Best Password Manager to Use for 2022 Your Phone Screen Is Gross. Here’s How to Clean It Without Causing Damage Spending All Night With the First iPhone Kanye West’s Donda 2 Skips Spotify, 5G …

November was not a good month for HTC. The Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer today posted (PDF) revenue of 21 billion Taiwan dollars, or $729.4 million, in November, down nearly a third from a year ago. This marks the 13th consecutive month of year-over-year revenue drops, as the company struggles to get out of a slump that’s lasted more than a year. …

Remember when a quad-core processor was the ultimate indicator of a super-smartphone? Well its 15 minutes are almost up. Just as the current run of super-smartphones are destined for the bargain bin in a few months, so too will the novelty and obsession with the number of cores powering a phone begin to fade. Sure, smartphones with the latest quad-core …