We got 9900 problems but a choice of networks ain’t one — Vodafone and Three have confirmed they’re planning to sell the newly announced BlackBerry Bold 9900, and O2 has just revealed to CNET UK that it will also offer the 9900. The 9900 was revealed yesterday by BlackBerry-makers RIM at BlackBerry World in Florida, …

AT&T, Verizon Wireless, and T-Mobile USA are scaling back plans for a mobile payment system that will allow people to buy things with their cell phones, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal today. NFC (near-field communication) chips are embedded in phones and talk to the merchant’s payment console. CNET In November the companies announced that they had …

BlackBerry mobile devices will in future have the Bing search engine as default, its makers RIM have announced. An apparently surprise visit to the BlackBerry World conference by Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer publicly sealed the deal. So are Google’s days of dominance in desktop and mobile search fading fast? Although savvy users will still be able to choose which search provider …

With the new Comic Life app for iPad, anyone can star in a personalized comic book. Plasq For the first time since it was announced, I officially want an iPad 2. Why? So I can snap photos with it and instantly turn them into cool, custom comic books with Comic Life ($7.99). A camera-equipped iPad isn’t a requirement, of course, …

Facebook and Google are reportedly pondering either an acquisition of Skype or a joint venture and strategically the two buyers couldn’t be more different. Reuters reports that Facebook and Google are pondering some sort of deal with Skype, which delayed an IPO. Talks are very early so it’s unclear what will happen if anything. But let’s zoom out a bit. …

Clearwire’s revenue grew as it added loads of new subscribers in the first quarter of 2011. But the wireless company’s losses widened as it spent more to grow its business. Clearwire, which is building a nationwide 4G wireless network, today reported losses of $227 million, or 93 cents a share in the first quarter, compared with a loss of $94 …

Orange is ready to dock with the Motorola Atrix. The dual-core powerhouse smart phone attaches to a range of pricey docking accessory doo-dahs, and Orange is delivering a decent dock discount. The Atrix slots into two accessories: an HD Multimedia Dock, or a Lapdock. The multimedia dock turns the phone into a mini-telly type thing, propping the phone up like …

You’ve watched our hands-on test and have been waiting patiently ever since you heard that the Motorola Atrix would arrive in the UK a distinct shade of Orange. You’ve put aside your fears of rendering the phone inoperable by swiping your finger across the screen after your morning peanut butter fix. The Atrix is finally here. This is the first …

When it comes to rivals, Nokia is far more concerned about Android than Apple. In an interview on Finnish TV, CEO Stephen Elop said Nokia wouldn’t be following Apple’s strategy — making a few models and pricing them high — despite the iPhone’s runaway success, eWeek reports. Instead, Nokia is likely to create a wide “portfolio” of Windows Phone handsets …

LG should be the next company to enter the dual-screen smartphone fray with its Android 2.2-powered Genesis. Uncovered by AndroidCentral, the LG Genesis features a very familiar enV design with its two touch displays (3.5-inch external, 3.2-inch internal). On the hardware front, the handset offers a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, a 5-megapixel camera, and a five-row QWERTY keyboard. Additionally, the Genesis …

On Call runs every two weeks, alternating between answering reader questions and discussing hot topics in the cell phone world. Next Monday, the Environmental Quality Committee of the California State Senate will hold its first hearing on a bill that would require retailers in the state to inform consumers of the possible health risks of cell phone use. SB 932, …

The U.S. Justice Department is asking for more information as it takes a deep dive into its investigation of AT&T’s proposed $39 billion purchase of T-Mobile USA, Bloomberg reported today. According to two unnamed sources familiar with the situation, Bloomberg said that the Justice Department’s antitrust division also sent “civil investigative demands,” which are like subpoenas, to competitors of the …

Calling all baseball junkies! Major League Baseball just lowered its subscription prices, at the same time introducing an even less expensive plan for smartphone owners. The new MLB.TV Mobile Phone Only subscription lets you watch unlimited live out-of-market (meaning non-home) games on your iPhone, iPod Touch, or Android phone for $49.99 per year. That breaks down to just over $4 …

Hands-on with the BlackBerry Bold 9900 CNET Australia While we weren’t able to be there ourselves for BlackBerry World, Joseph Hanlon from CNET Australia flew all the way across the globe to be there in Orlando, Fla.. As any good journalist would, he immediately sought out the latest BlackBerry handset, the RIM BlackBerry 9900 (the 9930 is its dual-mode CDMA/GSM …

Some of the nation’s biggest wireless carriers are trying to put the kibosh on free apps that let Google Android users use their smartphones as modems without paying the carriers’ extra fee. Several blogs have reported in recent days that free Android phone tethering apps that are typically found in the Android Market are not available for Android phones on …