When Americans think of mobile phone brands, two maybe three names spring immediately to mind: Apple, Samsung, and perhaps Motorola or even HTC. I bet Sony isn’t on the tip of your tongue, despite the company’s marketing efforts. Early this year when Sony partnered with AT&T to sell the Xperia Ion, I was very excited. …

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer acknowledges that Windows Phone remains “relatively small” in the smartphone world but predicts that the launch of the latest version of its operating system will spark sales. “I expect the volumes on Windows Phone to really ramp quickly,” Ballmer said today during a launch event for Windows 8 in Israel. The presentation was covered by Reuters. …

Virgin Media is introducing free calls to mobile phones over Wi-Fi, using a ‘SmartCall’ app for Android and iOS that will launch early next year. Sounds delightful, non? The catch, however, is that you need to be signed up to a Virgin Media home phone for the service to work. If you’re the proud owner of a house-bound Virgin Media …

Three quarters of all smart phones sold in the last three months use Google’s Android software, says a study by research firm IDC, Reuters reports. It shows the gap is widening between Android and Apple’s iOS. Sales of smart phones running Android nearly doubled in the third quarter of the year, the research says, hitting 136 million. That means Android’s …

Kleiner Perkins venture capitalist Mary Meeker, once known by many as the “Queen of the Net,” gave a surprise midyear Internet Trends report update to a small crowd in San Francisco tonight, according to TechCrunch. Meeker, who gives legendary presentations each year about the state of the technology business, touched on mobile growth, Android adoption, and tablet usage. The key …

Android is five years old today — happy birthday Android, have a cake! But how did our favourite green robot get started on his journey to mobile industry domination? Five years ago, on 5 November 2007, the newly formed Open Handset Alliance unveiled Android — an open-source operating system for mobile phones. Although Google is Android’s auteur, 34 corporations including …

Verizon Wireless today announced that starting in January it will kill its self-branded app store, which is installed on BlackBerry and Android devices. Launched back in March 2010, the app store has mostly played second fiddle to Google Play on Android smartphones and tablets. Viewed as bloatware by a sizable segment of users, it pales in comparison, when it comes …

The 3G version of the Blackberry PlayBook is now available in the UK, CrackBerry reports. The new, more pwoerful tablet has a 1.5GHz processor, up from 1GHz chip that can be found inside the Wi-Fi-only model. Head to the UK BlackBerry site and you’ll see the PlayBook 3G+ and Wi-Fi is up for grabs now. Just tap up Insight UK …

The iPad mini only went on sale Friday morning, but it’s already sold out in some Apple Stores around the world, 9to5Mac reports. The flagship Apple Store on Fifth Avenue in New York City has run out of iPad minis, according to Topeka Capital’s Brian White, who released a note to clients on the subject. Apple Stores here in the …

We’ve been talking about wireless charging a lot lately, with Nokia set to sell wireless charging pads for the Lumia 920 and Google listing wireless charging as a feature for its new Nexus 4. The Droidax wireless charging pad next to a GS3 dressed in its best battery extending charging suit. (Credit: Droidax) Aussie accessory company Droidax today announced its …

LG Australia has confirmed that its feature-packed Optimus G handset will be packing yet another feature: a 13-megapixel camera. The back of the Optimus G with the original 8-megapixel camera module. (Credit: Joe Hanlon/CNET Australia) LG launched the handset with a 13-megapixel camera in South Korea recently, but the original information from LG Australia, which we reported in our preview …

Acer may only be hurting itself by criticizing Microsoft. The Taiwanese company, best known for its low-cost Netbooks from several years ago, has been one of the most outspoken opponents of Microsoft’s new hardware push since the software giant first revealed its plans in June. Comments have ranged from pleas for Microsoft to change its plans to predictions Surface will …

Apple’s tablet market share took a hit as consumers “sat out” the third quarter in anticipation of the iPad Mini, analyst firm IDC said. Android tablets made gains as a result. After a strong second quarter, Apple’s unit shipment growth slowed in both consumer and commercial (including education) markets, according to an IDC report published Monday. “We believe a sizeable …

With Hurricane Sandy due to hit the East Coast in a couple of days, Verizon Wireless executive Mike Haberman tested his house’s back-up generator and ended up finding a faulty circuit that he quickly fixed. So when the outage hit his house in Morristown, N.J., he was able to get enough power to his laptop and phone to work from …

AT&T today announced that it will soon be offering the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 tablet. Initially announced for the carrier back in late September, we’ve had to wait until today to learn final pricing and exact availability. That said, the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich tablet arrives on Friday with a $499.99 price tag. Subscribers can add the Galaxy …