Amazon is reportedly dialing up its battle with Apple and Google by developing its own smartphone. The Internet retail giant is working with hardware maker Foxconn to create a device to challenge the iPhone and Android-based phones, sources tell Bloomberg. The company is also beefing up its portfolio of patents covering wireless technologies to head …

T-Mobile experienced an hours-long disruption this evening that prevented many of its customers from accessing its data network. The outage, which seemed to have begun around 6 p.m. PT, did not appear to affect the entire network and was resolved around 9:20 p.m. T-Mobile customers began complaining on Twitter a couple of hours ago about a lack of Internet access: …

Announced just last week, the Nexus 7 tablet is already attracting patent-infringement claims. Google unveiled the Asus-built 7-inch device running Android’s new mobile OS, Jelly Bean, at Google I/O in San Francisco. However, Nokia alleges that the Nexus takes advantage of Wi-Fi technology covered by Nokia patents that neither Google nor Asus approached the Finnish handset maker about licensing. “Nokia …

After last week’s deluge of information about the next iteration of Microsoft’s new mobile operating system, the company is letting additional details trickle out. Microsoft revealed last week that Windows 8 Phone will be available in 180 countries when it launches later this year, but it didn’t tell us which countries that would be — until now. In a company …

Comcast has agreed to pay $800,000 to settle a Federal Communications Commission probe into the cable giant’s broadband marketing practices after its merger with NBC Universal. The settlement came after an FCC investigation found that Comcast representatives were not adequately marketing its standalone broadband service, a violation of a condition for the carrier’s merger with NBC Universal that required Comcast …

Research In Motion is considering a plan to split its company in two, separating its handset division from its messaging network and selling off the struggling BlackBerry hardware business, according to The Sunday Times. The British newspaper (subscription required), which didn’t cite sources, also mentioned Facebook and Amazon as “potential buyers.” Another option has the company staying intact but selling …

Microsoft took the wraps off Windows Phone 8, the next iteration of its mobile software for smartphones, during the Windows Phone Summit in San Francisco today. Windows Phone 8 promises to get people talking with its hardware implications, mobile payments, and tighter relations to the Windows platform. But if you weren’t one of the few in attendance or just want …

Delivery of the Samsung Galaxy S III might be delayed due to “overwhelming demand and limited supply,” Sprint warned today. The carrier said in a note on its community Web site that it was “optimistic” that it would be able to deliver the 16 GB version of the new smartphone to everyone who ordered them in time for its Thursday …

Research In Motion has quietly begun its much-anticipated layoffs as part of a cost-cutting restructuring. The struggling BlackBerry maker has been laying off employees in batches of at least 10 for the past several weeks, people familiar with the situation told The Wall Street Journal. Employees in RIM’s quality control, operations, and parts departments have been targeted so far, according …

In what would likely be a setback for Google, Sprint is reportedly planning to launch its own mobile wallet as early as this summer. The near-field communications (NFC) effort will be called “Touch,” sources tell NFC Times. One of the advantages to the carrier creating its own mobile wallet is the opportunity to build relationships with banks and other service …