You’ve just sat down to watch Les Misérables and Russell Crowe’s just opened his mouth to bark, when the air is filled with the sound of… Marimba? As you scramble to switch your phone to silent, you can look forward to Microsoft’s vision of a future in which phones silence themselves when they realise they’re …

Perhaps the most anticipated smartphone of the year, the Samsung Galaxy S4 will be here in a matter of months. So far, rumors and concept videos suggest it could be extremely thin with a laser keyboard and a very strong, or perhaps bendable, display — and it could arrive as soon as April. So as long as we’re speculating about …

Jelly Bean is coming to the Samsung Galaxy S2 in February. But when it’s coming to this country — and to your phone — is anybody’s guess. Samsung told CNET that Android 4.1 Jelly Bean will be made available to owners of the S2 at the beginning of February — in Singapore. The rest of the world? Cross your fingers. At …

Smart phones get lonely sometimes — that’s why Sony is supposedly cooking up a 10.1-inch tablet companion to its latest Xperia Z mobile. The so-called Xperia Tablet Z (whatever Sony’s naming department is being paid, it’s not enough) has leaked via Japanese Twitter account Xperia Info, which says the mythical device will come packing a 1.5GHz quad-core processor. A waterproof …

Texting money from your mobile to friends and businesses is just over a year away. With just a phone number, customers of banks including Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds could send money from their phones by spring of 2014. The Payments Council — the body in charge of greasing the wheels of payments — says by next year 90 per cent …

Want a smartphone on the cheap? Usually that means going the subsidized route, signing up for a two-year contract that’ll cost you a small fortune by the time you’re done. The Kogan Agora is an unlocked Android 4.0 smartphone priced at $149 (plus shipping). Due to arrive in the U.S. next month, it’ll support no-contract, pay-as-you-go plans from AT&T and …

Better late than never. T-Mobile is increasing the number of ways you can buy Google’s Nexus 7 tablet and Nexus 4 smartphone on its network. Related stories: Full review: LG Nexus 4 Google’s Nexus 7 a great small tablet T-Mobile rips up contract on unlimited data plan Yesterday, the carrier started selling the LG-made Nexus 4 in more of its …

BlackBerry 10 is just two weeks away — and it’s time for the best look yet at the X10 and Z10, the next generation of BlackBerry phones. BlackBerry-builder Research in Motion is launching two new phones, the X10 and Z10, to show off the new software. Leaked shots show how BlackBerry 10 works with both keyboard and touchscreen. The first …

In the red corner, the reigning British champ of online movie streaming, Lovefilm. In the blue corner, the heavyweight challenger from the States, Netflix. These two bruisers have been talking a good fight, but the time has come to see which is the true champ. Round one went to Netflix, which landed its first jab, launching a single subscription package …

I can’t tell you how many times last year I told people, “Just get the Panasonic ST50 plasma.” A lot. More times than I shaved, surely. Turns out I’ll be saying it a lot at the beginning of this year, too, at least until the TV sells out. One of the most important products announced at CES 2013, at least …

Struggling to decide whether Netflix or Lovefilm Instant is a more comprehensive streaming service? A new number-crunching study suggests you need to splash out for both, as almost every film or TV show available for streaming in the UK is exclusive to one or the other, but not both. Statistics from Oric, a site we’ve previously covered that lists where you …

Hot on the heels of Jessops and HMV, it looks like another mainstay of the UK high street is at risk of disappearing, as rumours swirl that Blockbuster UK is poised to enter administration. Sky News reports that the DVD rental chain, which has over 500 shops across the country, has called in Deloitte — the same firm that is …

eBay’s payment division PayPal will soon add deeper integration with retailers into its digital wallet that will result in a richer shopping experiences from consumers’ phones thanks in part to a new partnership with point of sale company NCR. PayPal’s iPhone app. PayPal The companies are teaming up to bring PayPal’s digital wallet app into stores that are already using …

Struggling to lay your mitts on a Google Nexus 4? Fortunately another network has added the Nexus 4 to its line-up: Virgin Media. Virgin is offering a range of two-year contracts, many of which offer the phone for free. The Nexus 4 is so cheap to buy on its own we suggest you think twice about getting it on a …

HTC’s mid-range One SV LTE smart phone has surfaced on the UK’s only 4G network, but at a price that’s eye-wincingly high for the tech it contains. The phone is a slightly less powerful version of the HTC One S that was released in the first half of last year, offering a 1.2GHz dual-core processor and a bog-standard 4.3-inch, 480×800-pixel display. …