Leap Wireless’ prepaid brand Cricket Wireless is expanding its device financing plans to help customers purchase a new smartphone. The company, which offers low-cost prepaid wireless service, announced Wednesday three new zero percent financing options for customers that will make it easier to get their hands on hot new smartphones. The company initially announced a …

AT&T is getting into the cloud-storage game — and giving away free upgrades to entice new customers. Normally, signing up for an AT&T Locker account nets you 5GB of free cloud storage. However, for a limited time, you can get your account upgraded to 50GB at no charge. Should you bother? After all, what the heck is AT&T Locker? It’s …

Nokia’s Lumia 625 phone will try to lure potential buyers with a 4.7-inch screen. Specs released online via various sources point to the supersized screen — the largest yet for a Lumia — and a few other features. Despite the larger display, the 625 will be considered a low-end, entry-level Lumia, sources told The Verge, with a resolution of just …

Wireless operators, such as T-Mobile, talk a good game about making their device sales and service plans easier to understand. But often figuring out which devices can be used on which networks and how much you have to pay for those devices is anything but simple. The situation seems to get even more complicated when you factor in third-party retailers …

WhatsApp for the iPhone is now free — to download. But instead of just paying once, if you’re an iPhone owner you’ll now pay a small fee every year to chat with your friends. The popular cross-platform instant messaging app — it lets you talk to any of your friends, even if you have different kinds of smart phone, unlike …

2013 appears to be the year of the alternative smartphone OS, with Tizen, Ubuntu Touch, and Firefox OS throwing their hats in the ring. By the end of this year, big name mobile operators like Telefonica and manufacturers including Samsung will have worked together to get devices running those operating systems into the market. But it’s not just the big …

Lenovo’s plan to double down on the mobile space might be scuttled before it even got off the ground. The company was rumored to be working with Japan-based NEC to acquire, or at least partner, with the firm’s mobile division. However, a new report from the Nikkei on Wednesday suggests the talks between the companies have broken down. Related stories …

The smartphone market is already huge, but things are expected to get even bigger in the coming years. By 2017, worldwide smartphone shipments are expected to hit 1.5 billion, new data from research firm IHS suggests. By the end of this year, IHS expects worldwide smartphone shipments to to reach nearly 900 million units. Related stories Qualcomm’s new X65 5G …

AT&T is looking to nudge Verizon Wireless off its perch. The Dallas company’s latest advertisement touts not only the nation’s fastest network, but also “the most reliable.” The advertisement represents more than the usual boisterous rhetoric and cuts at the heart of what has been the key advantage for Verizon: the dependability of its network. While AT&T spent years dealing …

If you’ve been feeling lost since Apple Maps arrived, good news: Google Maps is pointing the way with a big new update for iPhone — and it’s found its way to the iPad too. The update, available today, brings to iOS what the Big G describes as a “brand new Google Maps experience“. If you’re a tablet owner, you’ll be pleased …

An event next Wednesday in San Francisco could prove the perfect opportunity for Google to trot out a new Android update and Nexus devices to go with it. Related stories: What could be Andy Rubin’s next moonshot at Google? Is Android fragmentation over with Jelly Bean’s rise? Nope Some Samsung phones could skip to Android 4.3 Googs left a lot …

Is Acer’s brand-new Windows 8 tablet getting the heave-ho in favor of a new and improved version? A successor to the Iconia W3 is already in the works, Acer spokesperson Sterre Swank reportedly told Dutch Web site Tweakers. Due to reach consumers in September, the new model would be thinner and lighter than the current Iconia W3 and offer a …

Nokia’s planning its biggest phone yet — and it could be one of the cheapest too. The Lumia 625 has appeared on the website of China’s official government telecoms equipment certifier Tenaa. A real back-to-basics Windows Phone after the excitement of the Lumia 1020 launch, the 625 reportedly has a hefty 4.7-inch display — the same size as the HTC …

A couple of recent incidents have seen phones catching fire or delivering electrical shocks while in a pocket or charging, injuring a Swiss teenager and killing a 23-year-old Chinese iPhone owner. In Abu Dhabi, Sarah Shurrub, the owner of a Samsung Galaxy S4, awoke in the small hours to look after her toddler and found the charging phone burning, Emirates …

LG Electronics’ next flagship handset will officially be known as the G2, a move that marks the retirement of the Optimus brand for its premium line of smartphones, the electronics maker confirmed late Wednesday. The smartphone, which is widely expected to be unveiled during a press event in New York on August 7, will also mark the debut LG’s new …