ORLANDO, Fla.–If there’s one message BlackBerry wanted to convey at its annual confab, it’s this: “We’re back.” “It hasn’t been that easy, and there’s still a lot of work to do, but man, have we reached solid ground with this company,” CEO Thorsten Heins said during his keynote address at BlackBerry Live on Tuesday. BlackBerry …

Nothing lasts forever, especially iPhone discounts. T-Mobile on Monday boosted the upfront cost of the iPhone by $50 to $149.99 for the 16GB version, which T-Mobile Financial Chief Braxton Carter said Wednesday was the company’s plan the entire time. However, T-Mobile didn’t say at launch that the lower price was temporary. And the increase — which brings the total cost …

QR codes haven’t exactly set the world on fire, yet most people know what they are, and most phones can scan them, either out of the box or with a third-party app. The Findables Case takes that idea to heart by emblazoning a unique QR code on each hard-plastic shell, the idea being to use that code to share information …

Fancy the Samsung Galaxy S4 but not keen on all the extra stuff Samsung puts in it? Rumours suggest there’s a version with pure Android on its way. The S4 is packed with Samsung apps, such as fitness-tracking S Health. But if you’re not interested in the extras, Geek.com quotes sources at today’s Google I/O event who claim an S4 …

ORLANDO, Fla. — One of the most memorable moments from BlackBerry Live 2013 was when CEO Thorsten Heins jumped into a special Bentley luxury auto tricked out with BB10 software. That’s why I decided to see what the fuss was all about personally. Behind the wheel of the BB10-powered Bentley (pictures) +6 more See all photos Luckily BlackBerry was thoughtful …

Wireless consumers with a charitable conscience now have a wireless service built just for them. GIV Mobile SIM card GIV Mobile The new prepaid service GIV Mobile launches Wednesday. The service, which basically resells T-Mobile network service, is unique in that it allows customers to designate up to three charities as recipients of monthly charitable contributions. The company says it …

Google has revealed a “pure Android” version of the Samsung Galaxy S4. The Google version of the S4 as revealed at Google I/O. (Credit: James Martin/CNET) Over at the Google I/O developers conference in San Francisco, the company has announced that it will be selling its own variant on the popular Samsung Galaxy S4. The model will be almost identical …

Now playing: Watch this: Google reveals Galaxy S4 running pure Android 1:34 A pure Android Galaxy S4 isn’t likely to drive blowout sales, but it could give Samsung and Google a boost in other ways. Google on Wednesday at its Google I/O developer conference unveiled a special model of Samsung’s flagship smartphone that runs a pure version of Android. What …

At its BlackBerry Live conference in Orlando, Fla., BlackBerry announced that it’s finally bringing its BlackBerry Messenger service (BBM) to Android phones and iPhones this summer. The app allows you to send messages and photos using your Internet connection, rather than using your text allowance. It’ll be going up against messaging apps WhatsApp and Viber, both of which offer very …

BlackBerry announced earlier this week at BlackBerry Live in Florida that it’s finally bringing BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) to Android phones and iPhones this summer. It’ll be going head to head with messaging apps WhatsApp and Viber, both of which offer very similar services. I’ve pitted all three against each other to see which should take pride of place on your …

Samsung took home almost all of the profits generated in the Android smartphone world last quarter, according to a report today from Strategy Analytics. For the first quarter, global Android smartphone profits totaled $5.3 billion. Samsung captured a hefty 95 percent, or $5.1 billion, of that amount. Strategy Analytics senior analyst Woody Oh pinned Samsung’s success on an “efficient supply …

ORLANDO, Fla. — Here at BlackBerry Live 2013, BB10 devices weren’t in short supply though vendors hawking compelling consumer apps were few and far in between. That’s a shame too since much of the news from the conference this year centered on new applications and software services coming to the BlackBerry 10 platform. These include the professional music app Moog, …

AT&T seems perfectly willing to let Google blaze the trail when it comes to fiber-optic deployment. Google has said it plans to deploy its fiber network in select neighborhoods in Austin, Texas. AT&T said it would also like to build a fiber network — under the same kinds of terms and conditions. “We will probably piggyback on the rules and …

Prepaid smartphone sales are starting to become more popular, according to new data from market researcher NPD Group. NPD released on Wednesday a study that found 32 percent of all smartphone purchases came from prepaid devices during the first quarter. During the same period in 2012, that figure stood at 21 percent. Although “postpaid” devices, which are subsidized but can …

SAN FRANCISCO — At this year’s Google I/O developer’s conference, a promise was made: Chrome on Android will start feeling more like Chrome on the desktop. This is as it should be. I’ve never understood why Chrome and Android function as separate environments. They’re two sides of the same coin; Chrome handles superior cloud-computing and Web use, and Android handles …