The discounts keep coming for the BlackBerry PlayBook. The latest comes from a leaked Staples ad found by TechCrunch. The office-supply retailer appears to be offering the 16GB PlayBook for $199 as part of its Black Friday special. A full listing of Staples’ Black Friday specials can be found here. This marks the steepest price …

If you think your iPhone is safe because of Apple’s closed door policy on its operating system, think again. A notorious Apple hacker has said a bug in iOS lets someone steal your photos, contacts, and even lets them send texts from your handset without you knowing. We bet you’re not feeling quite so secure now. Android is known as …

Bad news if you were looking forward to getting your hands on a budget Sony Ericsson blower this Christmas — a shortage of key components means there’ll be a scarcity of certain handsets, reports Reuters. A spokesperson said it was nothing to do with Thai floods that have hurt companies like Toyota. “We are experiencing a shortage of key components …

The power of Kal-El, Kindle Fire gets wet, and Flash is dead!? We discuss the rise of Android Watches and Republic Wireless is releasing an Android phone with a $19 a month service plan. All of that and more on this week’s episode of Android Atlas Weekly. Now playing: Watch this: Ep. 72: The Power of Kal-El 48:44 Podcast Your …

Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom, speaking at TechCrunch Disrupt in Beijing, hinted at a future addition to the popular image-sharing service that would include video posts. Systrom’s talk at the Disrupt event also included thoughts on international expansion for Instagram and how social media should be approached in places like China. But, the real gem was his backstage comments about video. …

Thin is in, baby. Or at least that’s what many phone makers would have you believe. Ever since the release of the Motorola Razr in late 2004, the trend of the superskinny phone has taken the country by storm. Fashionable, sexy, and easily portable, slim phones are still popular today. Here are a few smartphones that manage to pack in …

Google has denied it will put Motorola first in the queue for Android. The search giant just bought the phone manufacturer, but reckons it won’t give the latest updates to Motorola before any of its other Android partners, such as Samsung and HTC. After the Big G announced it was buying Motorola, other phone makers that use Android could be …

American Express plans to dabble in mobile payments and other forms of digital commerce at an arm’s length, preferring to throw cash at startups rather than launch its own major initiatives. The company said today that it will invest $100 million in startups that are designed to address mobile and online payments, security, reward and loyalty programs, and other forms …

Android lovers aren’t short of a high-end handset or two this winter, but those on a tighter budget now have reason to celebrate too: Huawei is bringing an affordable Android tablet and smart phone to the UK, The Inquirer reports. The Mediapad launched in the US in June, and comes packing Android 3.2 (no Ice Cream Sandwich here, we’re afraid). …

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder told lawmakers today that the Justice Department’s antitrust division is “ready and eager” to pursue its lawsuit and stop AT&T’s acquisition of T-Mobile USA. Holder said the division is “committed to seeing this through,” Reuters reported today. Holder was speaking at an oversight meeting with the Judiciary Committee’s antitrust panel. In August, the Justice Department …

If you have an iPhone 4 or 3GS, you may well be jealous of your 4S-owning pals and their voice-activated personal assistant, Siri, but it looks like Apple could be about to bring it to older models of iPhone. The company is testing Siri on devices other than the iPhone 4S, an Apple source told Jailbreak Nation. The source mentioned …

This is the first look at the secret wide photo mode for the iPhone 4S and iPad camera, hidden in Apple’s iOS 5 software. Tinkerers who have unlocked Apple’s software — known as jailbreaking — discovered the panorama camera feature in iOS 5, the operating system for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, 9to5Mac reports. A panoramic photo is a …

Nokia handsets like the Lumia 800 are too expensive, according to  Simon Lee-Smith, a top bod at Telefonica, parent company of operator O2. The Finnish company needs to bring the price down if it wants to sell in bulk, he said, though he did add it was “beginning to listen,” and that next year would see “more commercially effective” devices. …

Looking for a no-contract Android phone with low monthly rates? Until now, your best bet was Virgin Mobile, which has plans starting at $35 per month. Newcomer Republic Wireless just blew that out of the water. The company offers an Android phone for just $19 per month, including unlimited voice, data, and text. No contract, no early termination fees, no …

The merger between AT&T and T-Mobile USA would create more than 100,000 jobs in the United States, a major telecommunications union said today, again putting its weight behind the deal. The Communications Workers of America said a new analysis has found that the deal, which would combine the second- and fourth-largest U.S. wireless carriers, would create an additional 96,000 jobs, …