HTC today announced that the mid-tier One S smartphone will launch with Optus on 2 July, and on Telstra a fortnight later. The HTC One S. (Credit: HTC) In a statement, HTC priced the new Android-powered smartphone at AU$0 upfront on a AU$50 Optus plan and AU$39 a month on the telco’s mobile virtual network …

Now playing: Watch this: Unjailbreak your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch 1:47 Jailbreaking isn’t for everyone. Cydia is quick to overwhelm even the tech-savvy user, and upgrading iOS software on a jailbroken device can be a headache-inducing process. Whether you’ve discovered that jailbreaking isn’t for you, or you need to take your iDevice to the Genius Bar for repair, you’ll …

Remember Google’s snazzy demo of 3D views of various cities at a rather impromptu press conference earlier this month? You can now play with that feature yourself. Google quietly released a new version of its Google Earth program for Android today that adds 3D maps of 14 regions, just about all of which are in the U.S.: Boston Boulder Charlotte …

BT Wi-fi is the new name for, er, BT’s Wi-Fi, as the telecom giant rebrands its BT Fon and BT OpenZone offerings, going with a lowercase ‘f’ in ‘Wi-fi’, just to keep us guessing. The renaming exercise is likely to be an effort to make people more aware of the company’s multitude of hotspots. By bearing the same name as …

Google’s Vic Gundotra wasn’t kidding when promised he’d send 6,000 party invites using the just-launched invitations feature in Google+. Google+ Events puts your RSVPs in your calendar. Jessica Dolcourt/CNET Not long ago the invitation from Google’s senior vice president of engineering popped up in my inbox, looking suspiciously like a Google+ comment, but with a map you can hide or …

Google has introduced the new version of Android in typical fashion, erecting a massive Jelly Bean statue on its front lawn. The sweet sculpture bears the traditional Android shape, but has a clear cylindrical body that’s packed to the gunwales with oversized jelly beans. It was strongly tipped already, but the addition of the new statue confirms that Jelly Bean …

Now playing: Watch this: Android 4.1 Jelly Bean a sweet Android update 3:32 SAN FRANCISCO — Android 4.1, aka Jelly Bean, gets a more responsive user interface, a much more interactive notification system, better voice transcription, overhauled search, and a major new feature called Google Now that tries to anticipate what a person needs to know at any given moment. …

Comcast has agreed to pay $800,000 to settle a Federal Communications Commission probe into the cable giant’s broadband marketing practices after its merger with NBC Universal. The settlement came after an FCC investigation found that Comcast representatives were not adequately marketing its standalone broadband service, a violation of a condition for the carrier’s merger with NBC Universal that required Comcast …

Microsoft reckons tablets are the wave of the future. Specifically, it thinks shiny slate-shaped devices will outsell desktop PCs in 2013. Microsoft’s vice president for Windows web services, Antoine Leblond, made the bold claim at a conference in Amsterdam, PC Pro reports. “Next year, tablets will outsell desktop PCs,” the magnificently named Leblond predicted. “Touch is coming to PCs and …

Apple has won a ban on a Samsung Galaxy tablet in the latest round of legal sniping between the two companies. A judge has ruled that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10 .1 may infringe patents related to the iPad, and while the case is decided has ordered the Tab pulled from US shop shelves. Apple is aggressively pursuing legal action …

SAN FRANCISCO — Google Play, Google’s online market for Android apps, movies, music, and books, now lets people purchase movies instead of just rent them. “We’re also adding TV,” announced Chris Yerga, an engineering director for Android, at the Google I/O show today here. “You’ll be able to purchase episodes or entire seasons.” Google has partnerships for the service with …

Update 10:32 a.m. PT to include mention of the Nexus 7’s launch. Looking for more proof that Google is launching a tablet at its I/O Conference today? A tipster told The Verge today that if users try changing a URL on Google’s Play Store, they’ll be able to see a banner showing off the Nexus 7 tablet. The banner shows …

Prepaid may be the way to go for savvy smartphone consumers, as more and more wireless operators are offering cool devices with their cheap prepaid plans. It used to be that prepaid cell phone users had to sacrifice the ability to get cool devices for cheap service. But that’s not true anymore as carriers like Virgin Mobile get top of …

Apple To say that Facebook’s iPhone app is slow could be considered generous. In truth, it makes the tortoise look like the hare. It seems almost inconceivable (and yes, I do think that word means what I think it means) that a Web-focused, modern company could produce such a slow rendition of its product on the most popular mobile product …

Related stories Google ups challenge to iPad, Kindle with debut of $199 Nexus 7 Android Jelly Bean gets fast response, better notifications, Google Now Google glasses: $1,500, shipping next year Google unveils the Nexus Q social streaming media player Pictures: Day 1 of Google I/O Complete coverage: Google I/O 2012 SAN FRANCISCO — A total of 1 million Android devices …