Sony officially has morphed its Xperia Z Ultra smartphone into a tablet. Sporting a massive 6.4-inch 1080P display, slightly smaller than 7-inch tablets marketed by companies such as Apple and Samsung, the phablet more closely resembles a tablet than smartphone. Apparently aware of the appeal inherent in using the device without paying monthly wireless network …

AT&T announced Monday that the LG G Flex will be available for preorder starting January 24, a week before the curved and flexible handset goes on sale at Sprint stores. Customers will be able to purchase the G Flex for $299.99 with a two-year service contract, or make monthly payments on 12- or 18-month financing plans. However, AT&T did not …

Motorola has sweetened the deal a bit more for buyers of its Moto X. After reducing the Moto X’s off-contract price last week, the Google-owned handset maker announced Thursday that it would throw in a free Chromecast wireless video-streaming dongle with purchases of the off-contract handset. The deal, which runs through January 14, can be claimed on the $399 16GB …

Dish Network is reportedly pulling its bid for LightSquared, the wireless service provider mired in bankruptcy protection. The satellite TV provider, which had apparently sought LightSquared’s wireless spectrum, offered $2.2 billion for the company last year. However, LightSquared’s special committee has decided to negotiate a deal with private-equity firm Centerbridge Partners, which last month offered $3.3 billion for the wireless …

Samsung Electronics said Monday it expects to record an operating profit of 8.3 trillion won ($7.8 billion) for the fourth quarter of 2013, an 18 percent drop from the previous quarter’s record earnings due to smartphone market saturation and increased competition from Apple. The guidance, issued ahead of the release of full quarterly financial results later this month, was lower …

HTC posted fourth-quarter financial results on Sunday that came in below analysts’ expectations despite aggressive cost cutting. The Taiwanese handset maker recorded a net income of NT$310 million ($10 million) for the quarter ended December 31, compared with a net loss of NT$2.97 billion ($101 million) in the previous quarter and a net profit of NT$1.01 billion ($34 million) in …

Samsung announced Tuesday that it is extending compatibility of its HomeSync media center to more Android devices, including those made by other companies. The $299 device, which launched in the US in October, lets people store, sync, and stream content from their mobile devices to their TVs while at home or on the go. HomeSync also provides 1TB of storage …

Foxconn, best known for assembling Apple’s iPhones and iPads, is launching an investment fund to support startups focused on developing new kinds of wearable computers, Bloomberg reports. Foxconn unit Syntrend Creative Park will administer the $6.8 million fund and select candidates for trial in the first quarter of the new year, Bloomberg reported, citing unidentified sources. However, an associated incubator …

Flights are noisy enough for at least one lawmaker without having to listen to a plane full of passengers shouting to be heard on their cell phones. So Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, introduced a bill Monday that would prohibit passengers from making in-flight cell phone calls on commercial aviation flights. The “Prohibiting …

While President Obama uses Apple’s iPad, he admitted Wednesday that unspecified security concerns prevent him from using an iPhone. “I’m not allowed for security reasons to have an iPhone,” Obama said during a meeting promoting his health care law with young people Wednesday at the White House. However, he said his daughters, Sasha and Malia, spend a lot of time …