If you’re torn between buying a new iPhone or a Samsung Galaxy handset, this study might sway you. It says the iPhone is the most reliable mobile money can buy. Not only that, it’s almost three times more reliable than Samsung’s Galaxy handsets, which came in second place, five times more reliable than Nokia’s Lumia …

Now playing: Watch this: Eyeprints eye-scanning security tech exposed in video 1:21 BARCELONA, Spain–Move over, Android face unlock — a new security app promises to protect your smartphone by scanning the veins in your eye. Dubbed Eyeprint, the in-development app from EyeVerify first takes a picture of the veins in the corner of your eye, which are unique to you. …

FaceTime FaceOff: VirnetX v. Apple’s patent battle grinds almost to a halt after both companies are denied injunctions or new judgments. A U.S. District Court has upheld an earlier decision by a federal jury last year to award intellectual property and patent holding firm VirnetX more than $368.2 million, after Apple was found to have infringed patents related to the …

Now playing: Watch this: LG’s 4K smart phone upscaling revealed in video 1:56 BARCELONA, Spain–LG is showing off a new system that transforms your smartphone into a 4K media hub. The South Korean company is calling the new platform the “world’s first wireless Ultra HD transmission technology.” If you’ve got a game or video playing on your mobile in HD, …

Yes. Soon your smartphone will replace your keys. Exciting and actually a bit scary. Sarah Tew/CNET BARCELONA, Spain–NFC (near field communication) technology has been around for some time now, but as of yet it’s failed to hit a level of ubiquity in our devices that would galvanize more businesses to adopt it. That, however, is changing fast. NFC invades Mobile …

Leap Wireless, which operates Cricket Wireless, told the Wall Street Journal that it’s sluggishly behind in its prepaid iPhone sales. In fact, by the time the carrier completes its yearlong contract with Apple in June, it will most likely have sold only half of the iPhones it committed to sell. This is bad news for both Leap and Apple. For …

BARCELONA, Spain–Gone is the giant Android figures, the twisty slide, colorful pins, and free ice cream sandwiches. Gone is the massive, head-turning booth that clearly established Google as a major player at Mobile World Congress. In its place is a small meeting room with a blank glass placard on the outside. A white curtain provides privacy for the briefings inside. …

Alongside myriad new tablets and phones, Mobile World Congress 2013 also gave us our first real look at Mozilla’s Firefox OS and the Samsung and Intel collaboration, Tizen OS. While Android might dominate the smartphone landscape today, it’s only five years old. I can recall plenty of headlines in 2007 and 2008 that doubted whether there was room for yet …

BARCELONA, Spain–Google considers its own Motorola Mobility unit the same as HTC or Samsung Electronics when it comes to their relationship. “It’s almost as if they are a separate company,” said Hiroshi Lockheimer, vice president of engineering for Android at Google, adding that there is a wall between the Nexus business and Motorola. Still, in answering a question about whether …

BARCELONA, Spain–The second half of this year will see phones in the shops that can work on 4G LTE networks in both Europe and the U.S., according to Roberto Di Pietro, a VP at Qualcomm in Europe. That has the potential to solve a major problem with today’s 4G phones — although you can normally get a data connection in …

Mail service as we know it just doesn’t work anymore. Too much junk. Too much hassle sorting, scanning, and/or filing the stuff we need to keep. And, let’s be honest, so much of what arrives in our mailboxes could — some would say should — arrive electronically. Austin-based startup Outbox wants to make that happen by digitizing all of your …

BT is buying a bunch of ESPN channels, which it’ll roll into its own sports service that’ll launch this summer. The landline and broadband provider is picking up the ESPN UK and Ireland TV channel business, which includes the ESPN and ESPN America channels, as well as live sports rights. The deal is expected to be completed by the end …

Tywin Lannister is equally unimpressed with your piracy. (Credit: HBO) Suggesting that the media had taken some of his comments at the Perth Writers Festival “out of context”, Game of Thrones director clarified his early statement that he wasn’t worried by piracy. “I am 100 per cent completely and utterly against people illegally downloading anything,” he said, according to AAP. …

Spoiler alert. (Credit: HBO) According to TorrentFreak, Game of Thrones was the single most torrented show on TV last year, with 4.3 million downloads per episode. But speaking at the University of Western Australia as part of the Perth Festival, GoT director David Petrarca said that unauthorised downloads didn’t matter — and that they actually helped generate a “cultural buzz” …

Pure’s first set-top box is on sale now. The company has announced its rival to YouView is up for grabs from Internet retailers, though there are only seven left in John Lewis, and five at Amazon, so you’d better get your skates on. It’ll be available in-store at John Lewis and selected independent retailers later this week. We went hands-on …