More than 90 percent of Americans own a cellphone today, and a growing number of those cellphone users are children. But how young is too young for a cellphone? Cellphone or smartphone for kids? Dear Maggie, This is a two-part question. I’m considering getting a cellphone for my 11-year old daughter for Christmas. A lot …

Research In Motion now aims to support both iOS and Android smartphones and tablets–a break from the company’s previous BlackBerry-only focus. The iPhone 4S may soon be managed by BlackBerry’s server. Apple RIM introduced today BlackBerry Mobile Fusion, a mobile device management service that takes advantage of the BlackBerry Enterprise Server technology to track and monitor different phones and tablets. …

Android users looking to replicate the Siri experience have another option now, with the introduction of an app called Cluzee. Developed by startup Tronton and touted as a “talking intelligent personal digital assistant,” Cluzee attempts to step up where other alternatives fall short. The free app is available now for devices running Android 2.1 or higher and has already gotten …

The Bada-powered Samsung Wave 3 has gone on sale in France, though we suspect it could soon be arriving in the UK too. From today the Wave 3 can be caught lining the pockets of French buyers, and will be available to buy in Germany, Italy, Russia and “other global markets” before 2012. That could very well include the big U of …

HTC may not be able to sell smartphones in Germany in the run-up to Christmas, after the patent licensing company IPCom said it would start enforcing an earlier infringement ruling against HTC. The judgment was actually handed down almost three years ago, when a Mannheim court said HTC was infringing on a crucial mobile telephony patent that IPCom acquired from …

To reboot (i.e. reset) your iDevice, hold down the Home and Sleep/Wake buttons for about 10 seconds. Screenshot by Rick Broida iOS isn’t perfect. There, I said it. This will become evident to anyone who’s ever tried to figure out Notification Center or organize contacts into groups. And I guarantee that at some point or another, you’ve installed a shiny …

Apparently, all it takes to move the BlackBerry PlayBook is a $300 haircut on the price tag. RIM Best Buy confirmed to CNET that it has sold out of Research In Motion’s tablet. It was among several retailers offering a Black Friday promotion, which reduced the price of a 16GB and 32GB PlayBook to $199.99 and $299.99, respectively. Best Buy …

Sony Ericsson Xperia phones released this year should be updated to Android 4.0 (aka Ice Cream Sandwich) by March, Xperiablog reports. The tip comes via Sony Ericsson Italy’s Facebook page, where a chap called Maurizio De Palma, who would appear to be the company’s head of marketing, has responded to a question about when Sony Ericsson’s Xperia blowers would be getting …

Despite the overwhelming success of Apple’s “walled garden” approach to the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch, many users still wish to part ways with the benefits of control in favor of the unbridled technology (good and bad) available when jailbreaking iOS. If you are one of those users, you can actually become an integral part of the jailbreaking community. Jailbreaking …

Wall Street has already been down on Research In Motion, but one analyst says the negative sentiment enveloping the BlackBerry maker may not be sufficient yet. Mike Laziridis addresses the crowd at BlackBerry DevCon 2011. Jessica Dolcourt/CNET The latest concern about RIM is its margins. Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu, in a downgrade of the company’s stock rating to neutral …

iCloud is Apple’s new service for keeping iOS devices synced over the air. One of the coolest features is how you can instantly download your music to a mobile device, instead of being at home and syncing a playlist from your computer with a boring old cable. Any music bought on iTunes will be available from your iCloud automatically, letting …

LG and Sony Ericsson have both committed to upgrading a selection of smartphones to the new Android OS 4.0, better known as Ice Cream Sandwich, but only Sony Ericsson is claiming March for the delivery of its new firmware to customers. LG confirmed via its Facebook page today that it will be deploying the latest version of Android to select …

AT&T today introduced its next Android smartphone, the 4G LTE-capable LG Nitro HD. Expected to arrive online and in stores on December 4 for $249.99, the LG Nitro HD boasts a 4.5-inch True HD AH-IPS display, a dual-core 1.5 GHz processor, an 8-megapixel camera, and 4GB internal storage. What’s more, the Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread smartphone comes with a 16GB microSD …

AT&T’s chances of completing its $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA are quickly fading as regulatory opposition to the deal mounts and the wireless giant’s efforts to keep the deal on track smell of desperation. The merger, announced in March, has been in trouble since this summer when the U.S. Department of Justice sued AT&T to block the deal. But …

It was Barnes & Noble’s turn on Black Friday. Now it’s Kobo’s turn on Cyber Monday. Last week, Barnes & Noble offered up a limited edition of the Nook Simple Touch for $79. Now Kobo’s teamed up with Buy.com to sell the new ad-supported Kobo Touch With Offers for $69.99 in a one-day sale. That’s a $30 price cut and …