It took Google an entire year to deliver a major update to the first round of Google TV products, and it has not been worth the wait. When Google announced the Honeycomb update last week, we had a twinge of optimism, based on the slick press photos and the stated mission of simplifying the user …

Samsung trotted out its newest Bluetooth headset today, complete with its own charging station. The HM7000 features a boom mic and incorporates the company’s most advanced dual-mic noise reduction and echo cancellation technology to date, according to Samsung. The Bluetooth 3.0 headset supports voice prompts and commands, A2DP music streaming, and multipoint technology. In addition, Android users can download Samsung …

GarageBand, the brilliant music app that would make a tone-deaf macaque feel talented and enabled us to craft the melodic masterpiece embedded below, is now available on the iPhone and iPod touch. Previously the exclusive preserve of iPad owners, the new scaled-down version doesn’t appear to have lost much in translation. You get the same selection of touch-controlled instruments, as …

Cupertino, we have a problem. This morning I woke up to a dead iPhone 4S. When I went to bed last night, the battery gauge showed at least 50 percent. I did see a few vampires roaming the streets (it was Halloween, after all), but I didn’t expect them to sink their fangs into my iPhone. I do expect this …

When it rains it pours. And for Verizon Wireless subscribers, there’s a deluge of Google Android phones about to hit the market. But which new phone is Verizon’s flagship device? In other words, which one is the cream of the crop on the carrier’s 4G LTE network? In this week’s Ask Maggie, I try to help one reader figure out …

The Dell Streak 5 has become the first Android-powered device to receive Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) certification. Thanks to a host of applications designed to enhance the large phone’s security, the Streak 5 will be used for the Defense Department’s secure but unclassified communications. Military personnel will soon find that they have access to information from their desktops, as …

Though much of the troubleshooting attention for the iPhone 4S and iOS 5 has been focused on battery draining issues, another problem has surfaced: users who have activated the Personal Hotspot feature are finding that it is disappearing suddenly. TiPb is reporting that several people have been complaining that the Hotspot feature, an extra $20 per month on AT&T that …

Nokia is celebrating the launch of the new Nokia Lumia 800 with free Wi-Fi in London. Anyone wandering the West End can fire up their smart phone and access the Internet without paying a penny. You don’t need to register to use the service and you don’t even need a Nokia phone — simply connect to the Wi-Fi network, accept …

President Obama nominated two new commissioners to the Federal Communications Commission late Monday. Democrat Jessica Rosenworcel and Republican Ajit Varadaraj Pai, who each have experience working at the FCC and on Capitol Hill, have been nominated to fill vacancies left by Michael Copps, a Democrat, and Meredith Attwell Baker, a Republican who left earlier this year to take a job …

Typical: you wait ages for an Android update, and then three come along at once. LG is finally updating the LG Optimus 3D, LG Optimus Black and LG Optimus 2X to Android Gingerbread 2.3. An update for the LG Optimus 2X, pictured above, is available today. The LG Optimus 3D goes Gingerbread from 21 November, and the LG Optimus Black …

MetroPCS saw a slight decrease in its third-quarter profit as its customer growth slowed significantly. The prepaid wireless provider reported today a profit of $69 million, or 19 cents, compared with a year-earlier profit of $77 million, or 22 cents a share. Revenue rose 18 percent to $1.21 billion. The company was expected to earn 23 cents a share on …

Windows Phone Mango may not have been around long, and Nokia may have only just outed what it calls the first real Windows Phone, but we’re already looking at a handset that’ll run the next generation of WP software. Chinese company ITG has announced the xpPhone, the world’s first phone running Windows 8 PC software, reports Pocketnow. And if it …

Noel Gallagher may have put his Oasis days behind him, but it seems he’s still missing the 90s in one way. He’s not a fan of the iPhone, instead preferring a simpler handset that would’ve been popular in Oasis’ heyday. “I just want a basic 1994 Nokia mobile,” Gallagher told the Mirror at the recent Q Awards. “I can keep …

Sprint Nextel said today that it has formed a mobile security council to answer the growing threats to its customers and their smartphones. The charter members include major technology players like IBM and Cisco Systems, security providers such as Lookout, and handset vendors Samsung Electronics and Motorola Mobility. Curiously, the group doesn’t include Google or Apple, two of the major …

The HTC Sensation XL has gone on sale in the UK, filling the pockets of eager Brits with its massive screen, Beats audio and Android jollies. Carphone Warehouse is flogging the 4.7-inch phone on O2, Three and Orange, but we’ve also seen it available on T-Mobile and Vodafone via Phones4u. If you want to get the Sensation XL for free up …