Google is ready to introduce a mobile payment service for Android phones that will let you pay for stuff with a single swipe, Bloomberg reports. The mobile wallet is the result of a partnership between the Web giant, credit card company MasterCard and global bank CitiGroup, as reported by the Wall Street Journal in March. …

BT will cut the cost of calling mobile phones from a landline from this Saturday, 28 May. Its customers can now expect to pay 11.3p per minute during peak times (down from 13p) and 5.3p per minute (was 7p) in the evenings and at weekends. This isn’t just BT being kind to its customers (though that would be welcome) but …

It’s called “regulation by merger condition.” And at the Federal Communications Commission, it’s a problem that has become epidemic. As part of a drawn-out process the agency follows for approving proposed mergers in the communications industry (where it shares review authority with the Department of Justice), companies are persuaded to volunteer or are sometimes simply forced into accepting pages and …

Can you dig it? Smash-hit indie game Minecraft is coming to the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play, mining a rich seam of gaming fun before coming to other Android phones after an exclusivity period. Minecraft developer Mojang picked the Play for pickaxe action, with custom controls for the Play’s slide-out buttons. The phone version of the game will also reflect the …

Apple Such is the way of technology. Just two years after its release, the iPhone 3GS may be deemed “too old” for Apple’s next iteration of its mobile operating system, iOS 5. Mobile phone blogger Eldar Murtazin, from the Russian site Mobile-Review, stated frankly in a tweet recently (via MacStories): “Just one comment. Apple iPhone 3GS wont be upgradable to …

Gingerbread and a laundry list of enhancements will add to the Droid X experience. Verizon Motorola and Verizon Wireless are expected to deploy Android 2.3 to the Droid X on Friday, May 27. The Gingerbread update is rather sizable at 112MB, but it comes with a host of new features and enhancements including a new download manager app, application grouping, …

Some 61 percent of mobile workers sleep with their smartphones, with many of them waking up during the night to check them, according to a report released yesterday by mobile services provider iPass. Based on a survey of more than 3,700 mobile employees from more than 1,000 companies, the iPass Global Mobile Workforce Report (PDF) found that downtime may be …

AT&T announced today its plans to roll out its LTE 4G network to five markets this summer: Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. The carrier did not provide specific details on when exactly LTE will be available in these cities, but added that it plans to expand to 10 more markets by the end of the year. At that …

Microsoft has shared more details about the upcoming refresh to the online Windows Phone Marketplace application store that the company first teased yesterday in a blog post to developers. The screenshot below was internally labeled as a final version of the new design, which is scheduled to launch when Microsoft releases its Mango update this fall. The Mango update will …

When Samsung launches the Galaxy S II on the Telstra Next G network in the coming weeks, it will become the first HSPA+ compatible device, capable of downlink speeds of up to 21Mbps. (Credit: Samsung) The 21Mbps figure represents a peak speed only; however, if the hardware in the Galaxy S II is similar to Telstra’s Turbo 21 modem, users …

The premium Nokia Oro has just waved its sparkly bits at us to catch our magpie-like attention. Just as we thought Nokia’s idea of expanding its portfolio meant churning out cheap, irritating handsets, the 18-carat gold and leather-clad Oro comes along. Yes, Nokia’s rolling out expensive, gaudy phones too. Unlike some other bling-infested mobiles, we can’t poke too much fun …

Cash: it’s a pain, isn’t it? If it’s not weighing down your pockets it’s falling out and disappearing under the checkout as the queue behind you tuts disapprovingly. iZettle is a new payment system promising to end coin-related nightmares by bringing together your credit card and your phone for instant on the go payments. iZettle is like a chip and …

A significant number of people are comfortable shopping and paying for items through their mobile devices, according to a new report from mobile media firm JiWire. JiWire’s latest Mobile Audience Insights Report (PDF) found that 79 percent of 5,000 people surveyed are OK paying online via their cell phones or tablets. Though most of those polled are still making relatively …

As we suspected, Verizon Wireless announced today that the LG Revolution will be available starting May 26 for $249.99 with a two-year contract. The Revolution is the carrier’s third 4G smartphone (following the HTC Thunderbolt and Samsung Droid Charge) and offers a 4.3-inch WVGA touch screen, a 5-megapixel camera and front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera, and mobile hot-spot capabilities. The handset will …

The first Nokia phones with Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system will be fleshed out further this summer, and they’ll have the latest version of the software, Mango, on board. Redmond bigwig Achim Berg announced the news at the launch of the software today in London. We’ve been salivating over the prospect of Nokia hardware running Windows Phone since the two …