Money raised when the 4G spectrum is flogged to networks should go toward helping young’uns buy their first home, Labour says. Shadow chancellor Ed Balls is going to call for the new rules, which could see £3-4bn funnelled into affordable housing and a two-year stamp duty hiatus, the BBC reports. The Nicola Murray Ed Miliband-fronted …

The much-rumoured iPad mini will be shipping before Christmas, according to new rumours that reportedly come via British bank Barclays. An analyst working for the bank expects Taiwanese tech factory Pegatron to construct and ship 3 million miniature iPads, Focus Taiwan reports. The tiny tablets are reckoned to ship in the fourth quarter of 2012, or the three months leading …

Just when many may have lost hope in a slick Sony Xperia handset hitting American shores with carrier blessing, Sony outs plans to sell the new Xperia TL on AT&T. The device will feature a big 4.6-inch (1,080×720-pixel) screen, a 13-megapixel camera, Android 4.0, all powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core processor. While Sony doesn’t say exactly what version of CPU …

The next BlackBerry phones may be many months away yet, but already we’re getting a near-complete picture of what RIM will reveal when BB10 launches next year, as specs and video guides for the next round of BlackBerry gear leaks. BlackBerry London specifications have emerged at rapidberry.net, tipping RIM’s first BlackBerry 10 phone to have a 4.2-inch display with a …

Google Play will soon have another competitor. Russian search engine Yandex announced today that it will soon launch an “alternative” application marketplace for Android users. Dubbed Yandex.Store, the marketplace will offer nearly 40,000 applications and allow vendors to bundle another app store into their devices. Yandex.Store is also a white-box offering, meaning vendors can place their own branding on top …

On 2 October 1925, the first television picture with a greyscale image was successfully transmitted by John Logie Baird. John Logie Baird (Credit: bairdtelevision.com) Baird, a Scotsman living in England, had been experimenting with moving silhouette images since 1924, on a TV set that he had created using an old hatbox, a pair of scissors, some darning needles, a few …

Expect HP’s ElitePad 900 tablet to join several other business-focused mobile devices over the next few months. Intel’s mobile push, along with that of Microsoft and Windows 8, will ensure no shortage of similar products. Whether HP can differentiate its tablet is another question, but from what we’ve seen of the ElitePad 900, we can at least say that it’s …

The iPhone 5 is finally here, but figuring out which carrier version is right for you isn’t as easy it sounds. In this edition of Ask Maggie, I help one reader who plans on taking his iPhone abroad decide which device is best for him. And I offer my opinion on whether to dump AT&T for Verizon’s version of the …

As Amazon gets set to ship out the Kindle Paperwhite, its new e-ink e-reader that features an integrated light, its chief rival appears to be getting a price cut. At least two major retailers — Target (shown above) and Wal-Mart — are now advertising the Nook Simple Touch With GlowLight for $119. That’s $20 less than the original $139 price, …

Now playing: Watch this: LTE expanding across carriers — and world 2:56 Editors’ note: This chart was originally published December 2, 2010. It has been updated with new information. With the iPhone 5 and all top Android phones utilizing 4G LTE, network speed and robustness have become major selling points for carriers competing to win over customers. Long Term Evolution, …

Samsung Electronics is on the lookout for mobile-software companies it can acquire to strengthen the content it offers customers beyond what’s available on its popular mobile devices such as the Galaxy series of smartphones and tablets. Reuters reported Thursday that the Korean electronics giant will be buying its way into a better competitive position with Apple, Google, and Amazon in …

We’ve been hearing snippets of rumours that a souped-up version of HTC’s flagship phone, the One X, was on its way and it looks like it might be here sooner than expected, having appeared in O2’s marketing. A brochure entry — spotted by GSM Arena — shows an apparently identical phone to the existing One X, which isn’t much of …

How much will Windows Phone 8 cost? The first prices for the Nokia Lumia 920 and Nokia Lumia 820 have emerged from Europe. Nokia Russia, Nokia Germany and Nokia Italy are first to show off the new Lumias, quoting prices of £517 for the 920 and £398 for the 820. How those prices will translate into Great British Pounds remains …

AT&T has unveiled its latest lineup of Samsung devices, including two smartphones, a tablet, and a tweener smartphone/tablet hybrid. The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 2 were already unveiled at earlier Samsung events. In addition, AT&T will sell the lower-end Samsung Galaxy Express, which AT&T said will target first-time smartphone users, and the rugged Samsung Galaxy …

Research In Motion may not be showing off its BlackBerry 10 phones anytime soon, but that doesn’t mean photos of the devices won’t leak out on their own. Several renderings have popped up for the two phones, which include one full touch-screen device, and one with a Qwerty keyboard. CNET has seen the devices, and they match up with images …