Opera Software announced a variation of its Web Pass service, adding a new ad-sponsored option to the technology that lets carriers grant people free access to the Net. Opera Web Pass already was available as a way to let people use the Net with some restrictions — a limited time, or a limited number of …

As expected, Verizon Communications completed its buyout of Vodafone’s stake in Verizon Wireless Friday. The company paid $130 billion to buy Vodafone’s 45 percent holdings in the company. In an internal memo sent to Verizon employees, CEO Lowell McAdam tried to inspire his troops as the competition in the wireless market heats up. He said that some changes will be …

Jason Cipriani/CNET Sometimes the only proper response to someone on Twitter, or even via Messages, is a GIF. With a proper search, you can find an animated image for almost any situation. As I’ve mentioned in the past, managing GIFs in iOS is a pain. Boxie does provide for a simple method of organizing GIFs, but it doesn’t help you …

The HTC First, the first (and thus far only) phone to ship with Facebook Home, is less than a year old and yet is all but forgotten. Needless to say, that big push at a “Facebook phone” was something of a flop, but Mark Zuckerberg hasn’t let that stop him or his mobile aspirations. The company’s recent Paper release has …

There’s plenty of news ahead at the 2014 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, but it’s Sony kicking off the action with an 8:30 a.m. local time press conference, bright and early on Monday morning. Given the nature of the event you can expect a strong mobile focus, but don’t be surprised if we get some updates from Sony’s numerous other …

Vodafone data is down for some phone fans this afternoon, affecting services including WhatsApp and iMessage. “Customers may find access to mobile data services, such as WhatsApp and iMessage, and some Vodafone systems remain intermittent today”, said Vodafone on Twitter. “We’re very sorry that it’s causing inconvenience and we’re working hard to restore full service. We’ll update you as soon …

BARCELONA, Spain — Will Nokia finally go Android? On the first official day of Mobile World Congress, Nokia is widely expected to unveil an Android-powered smartphone — a departure from its previous decision to solely stick with Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform. The company will likely unveil a few Windows Phone devices as well, but an Android phone would certainly capture …

Any new mobile operating system faces challenges attracting developers — even a browser-based one like Firefox OS that can take advantage of the fact that there are already countless Web developers. Which is why it’s notable that Firefox OS now works with Cordova, an Apache Software Foundation project that eases the difficulties developers have getting apps to work on multiple …

You know when you’ve been Tango’d. Say hello to the first fruits of Google’s Project Tango, a prototype smart phone that makes thousands of calculations per second to map the world around you in 3D. The Tango prototype is a 5-inch Android phone boasting a 4-megapixel camera, a motion-sensing camera on the back, a depth sensor, and two computer vision …

There’s a lot riding on Samsung’s Galaxy S5, and it goes beyond having the most coveted smartphone in the market. The Galaxy S5, which will make its debut on Monday at Samsung’s “Unpacked 2014 Episode 1” event at Mobile World Congress, serves as a potentially critical turning point for the Korean electronics giant. After a lackluster response to the Galaxy …

The Galaxy S5 and Galaxy Gear 2 aren’t the only gadgets set to debut at Samsung’s Unpacked event on Monday at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The South Korean tech giant is also rumored to be building a health-centric gadget, dubbed the Galaxy Gear Fit. Korean site MK reports that the Galaxy Fit features a sensor instead of a camera …

Following the debut of Yezz’s Andy A4M and A6M Android smartphones for the North American market at the Consumer Electronics Show, the Miami-based company has announced two new handsets in its “Andy” range for Mobile World Congress. CNET’s full coverage of Mobile World Congress The 6.9mm-thin Andy A5QP features MediaTek’s MT6592 1.7GHz octa-core processor and features an aluminum alloy housing. …

Scrappy phone and tablet-maker Huawei is plotting another Nexus 7 rival, if leaked images are to be believed. The photos above, posted to Chinese-language site 1Pad.cn and spied by Engadget, purportedly show the MediaPad X1, a device that looks to be a palm-stretching slate, with some pleasingly skinny bezels. The images imply that the X1 may be capable of making …

HTC has planned a press event for March 25 at which we expect to see the company introduce its flagship smartphone for 2014 (the formal invitations just went out today). Though HTC has yet to spill any details about what we’ll see that day — all signs point to an “HTC One 2” — I have a few suggestions as …

The much-anticipated Galaxy S5 has been teased in a new trailer for Samsung’s upcoming Unpacked event, where we’re promised a glimpse of ‘the next Galaxy.’ The 36-second ad gives little away, but features uplifting clips and words associated with life’s best moments (such as ‘courage’, ‘play’ and er, ‘selfie’), with a tiny ‘5’ popping up next to each one. At …