update The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has delayed a decision on the proposed acquisition of regional pay TV operator Austar by Foxtel. News of the delay was announced prior to the publication in the Australian Financial Review of a four-year investigation into claims that News Corporation aided and abetted hackers in the practice …

Network Nine has received government permission to air its share of National Rugby League (NRL) matches on digital station Gem in non-rugby league states. The change takes effect immediately, allowing Nine to air three matches a week on Gem in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. Regional affiliate WIN will follow suit in its Victorian, South Australian, Western Australian and Tasmanian licence …

Samsung’s high-end, tube-powered DA-E750 audio dock was impressive enough at CES to garner a Best of CES nomination in the home theater category. Now Samsung’s initial foray at luxury home audio finally has a price: a whopping $800. Pricing was also announced for Samsung’s other vacuum-tube-amplified home audio product, including the two home theater systems, the HT-E6500W ($800) and HT-E6730W …

Popular social networking app Seesmic got an update today in the form of new features and a brand-new paid Pro version. While at first glance this may seem like all good news, I must warn you that there is a bit of a downside. First, the good stuff. All Seesmic users now have the ability to view Instagram and Twitter …

Regulator Ofcom has extended the time for networks to register their opposition to Orange and T-Mobile’s plan to create a 4G network, which would see them pip their rivals as they sit in wait for the government’s 4G spectrum sell-off. The pair merged to form Everything Everywhere in 2011, and in sharing their network, they’ve freed up a load of …

HTC is shutting down its HTCSense.com backup services, telling members that it will be deleting their stored contacts, messages, call history and geotagged photos (HTC calls these Footprints) after 30 April. In a notice on its website, the company says HTCSense.com is “undergoing a renovation”. As such, it will be knocking these backup services on the head to pave the …

If you’re a Samsung Galaxy S2 owner who bought your device from O2, today is your lucky day — the update to Ice Cream Sandwich is now available via Samsung’s Kies device management software. A spokesman for O2 confirmed to me that the update is available now. To get it, O2-branded S2 owners need to connect their device to Kies, …

With more than 45 million downloads from the iTunes App Store, Temple Run is easily one of the most popular running/escape-style games available on iOS. Now, after several months of pining by rabid fans, Android gamers get to share in all the addictive fun. Different from most other perpetual running games, Temple Run offers a 3D, over-the-shoulder point of view. …

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has taken a big step in freeing up more wireless spectrum for wireless broadband service providers. The agency, which is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, announced on Monday that it has determined that it can repurpose 95MHz of wireless spectrum used by the government for commercial use. Specifics of how and when …

The Big Four wireless carriers may be warring for LTE spectrum the loudest, but don’t forget that smaller carriers like MetroPCS are also caught up in the battle. The nation’s fifth-largest provider needs to reinforce and expand its 4G network to support its 500,000 total LTE subscribers, suggested MetroPCS’ Keith Terreri, vice president of finance and treasurer. That’s about 5 …

Now playing: Watch this: iPad global speed test 3:07 Spread Vegemite on a Weetbix, crack open a VB and proudly wrap the Australian flag around your shoulders like a cape before watching this video. The CNET teams from around the globe have pooled their resources to bring you an exclusive intercontinental iPad speed test. In the video above, we collect …

Can your lock screen act as a virtual billboard of sorts? Conduit has designed a lock screen that allows businesses to place their own widgets front and center on the phone. Conduit That’s what one company is banking on with a new product it plans to unveil in the coming weeks. Web and mobile software company Conduit has over the …

Hot on the heels of the handset’s leaked details, Verizon just made the LG Lucid official. The modestly specked device will cost $79.99 (with a 2-year contract), run Android 2.3 Gingerbread, and be powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core processor with 1GB of RAM. The LG Lucid’s screen is a roomy 4-inch display coated by tough Gorilla Glass treatment. For one-handed …

Now playing: Watch this: iPhone 5 in production, S2 update woes 3:19 In this week’s Phone News, we discuss whether the iPhone 5 might be going into production, your anger at Samsung’s delays in bringing Ice Cream Sandwich to the Samsung Galaxy S2 and the huge number of downloads for the latest outing of Angry Birds. A new report has …

We’re still waiting for AT&T to announce a release date and price for its HTC One X, but already some lucky users have put the device to the test. Early benchmarks for the handset have arrived online and all indications are that this one is a winner. Indeed, if you’re worried that the dual-core Snapdragon S4 wouldn’t stand up to …