Fed up of shelling out for two-year contracts, only for your phone to be out of date a few months in? O2 may well have the answer: rent an iPhone 4S, thanks to its new O2 Lease programme, TUAW reports. Here’s how it works: you rent the handset for a year, rather than being weighed …

Sprint Nextel and C-Spire today agreed with AT&T to hold off on their lawsuit until AT&T has a chance to re-evaluate its options, following similar steps taken by the Department of Justice yesterday. Sprint and the regional wireless carrier have sued to block AT&T’s proposed acquisition of T-Mobile USA, drafting behind the larger–and more relevant–Justice Department lawsuit. But with AT&T …

Nearly everyone has that one relative on their holiday shopping list who’s hard to buy for. When imagination fails, we turn to gift cards. While most gift cards these days are of the physical variety, there are at least a handful of companies starting to offer gift cards you can store on your smartphone. SmartPlanet’s Sumi Das finds out how …

In the latest build of iOS 5.1, now beta 2, Apple has finally decided to take steps against the popular rumor site tactic of rifling through iOS code to find references to new hardware models. Apple is now making it tougher for rumor sites to evaluate future hardware updates. Mark Gurman These references, typically something like iPhone3,1, were a great …

Most people don’t like watching TV in the dark. The problem is that flat-panel TVs tend to reflect light in the room; even if you have a matte-screen LCD, light bouncing off the screen is going to diminish picture quality in one way or another. (Credit: Geoffrey Morrison) This how-to guide has some obvious and some not-so-obvious tricks and tips …

The new design of the Xbox 360’s dashboard and press releases touting “the future of TV” make it clear that Microsoft is transitioning the Xbox from a gaming console that also does home entertainment to a home entertainment box that also does gaming. That’s an exciting move, especially for not-quite-hard-core gamers who spend more and more time streaming video on …

If a report in The Australian is correct, Telstra is preparing to launch a streaming games service in Australia in 2012. According to the report, accessing the service will require a Telstra T-Box, which currently has the ability to receive and record digital TV, stream movies and offers a cut-down Foxtel subscription service, via the internet. The new subscription service …

The onslaught of marketing this time of year is unsurprising, but no less unpleasant. Advertising of products can be a useful tool, informing the public of the latest and greatest. Where it becomes offensive is when it includes blatant lies, misleading truths, or perpetrates a myth. Don’t be fooled by these deceptive practices, in this (admittedly first) edition of Myths, …

Why did Batman cross his legs? Because he had to go to the bat-room. I know, I know. But that joke kills in a room full of 7-year-olds. Speaking of Batman (you knew I had a reason for the potty humor), there’s good news for fans of Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, two of the top-rated console games of 2009 …

Call it an early holiday gift or just making good on a promise, but Barnes & Noble has just released an expected software update for Nook Color owners that adds many of the features now found in the company’s step-up model, the $249 Nook Tablet. What does the update, which Barnes & Noble is calling the “largest ever for the …

If T-Mobile USA doesn’t end up with AT&T, Dish Network is waiting in the wings. CNET Dish is interested in a partnership with T-Mobile, pooling together their collective wireless spectrum to create a stronger competitor to AT&T and Verizon Wireless, Dish CEO Joseph Clayton said in an interview with Bloomberg. It’s one of a number of alternative options that T-Mobile …

Now playing: Watch this: Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S 2:36 The first Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc turned heads with its fashionable design, razor-thin good looks, and Android Gingerbread software. Now Sony Ericsson has launched a flashier replacement, but oh, what a difference a few months make. Despite a faster processor and two exciting new color options, it’s even tougher to …

Is GiffGaff’s £10 per month deal for unlimited mobile data and texts proving too popular? Last week, we tried to activate a new SIM card with the company, but couldn’t. GiffGaff’s web login was broken, which meant you couldn’t create a new account or top up an existing one. Which set us wondering — can Giffgaff cope with the number …

Not unlike an iPhone launch, the major Aussie telcos have waited until the eleventh hour before announcing pricing for the new Android flagship Galaxy Nexus, with Telstra selling the device as of tomorrow. (Credit: Google) All three major telcos will be offering the Galaxy Nexus on 24-month contract terms, with Vodafone also including the handset on 12-month contracts with a …

AT&T and the U.S. Department of Justice have asked a federal judge to delay any more legal proceedings in the antitrust case against AT&T and T-Mobile. On Monday, AT&T and Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile’s parent company, requested that Judge Huvelle, who is overseeing the case, stay any further court proceedings until January 18, 2012. AT&T said that the companies need time …