Got an Xperia X10? You’re stuck with the Android 2.1 Eclair software, with Sony Ericsson announcing last year that future updates to Google’s OS would not be pushed out to the device. But prepare to shout hallelujah and kiss random strangers in the street: the company has changed its mind. “We plan to bring an …

Another ding for Ping. When Apple rolled out iOS 4.3 a couple weeks ago, it quietly added a few features to the widely reviled Ping social-network service: push notifications for comments and follow requests, parental controls, and so on. Soon after, many users started reporting a sizable drop in iPhone, iPod, and/or iPad battery life–and it wasn’t long before Ping …

O2 has revealed more details of its 4G trial in Slough. Six mobile phone masts have been equipped to handle LTE signals for high-speed Web browsing when you’re out and about with your 4G-equipped mobile phone, tablet or laptop. O2 reckons the six masts in the trial can handle the same volume of traffic as O2’s entire 3G network. Cor! …

The iPad 2‘s new Smart Covers are great, but if everyone gets one, how will your tablet stand out from the crowd? Dutch company Miniot has just the thing: its own version of the Smart Cover made of wood. Its release came as Apple separately announced that there will not be a dedicated keyboard dock for the iPad 2, unlike …

O2 has slammed the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play, pulling it from a planned launch on 1 April. Throwing down the gauntlet to other networks, O2 claims that if it launches as planned, the PlayStation phone “won’t give customers a great experience”. O2 claims to have discovered software problems that have forced the network to delay the Play’s planned release on …

Google and LG are reportedly working on a Nexus tablet that could reach consumers later this year. According to information picked up by Russian blog site Mobile-Review (Google English Translation), Google is looking to create an Android Nexus tablet following in the footsetps of its Nexus One and Nexus S smartphones. Though LG is said to be handling the actual …

Fire up the rumour mill: it’s time to make speculation bread! A new Nokia device has been leaked in Ovi Publisher Tools — a piece of software for app developers on Nokia’s Ovi Store. The new device is called the T7-00, or more likely the T7 at launch. From the leak, spotted by unwiredview.com, it’s possible to glean that the …

Cellular South announced today that it will be among the first carriers in the United States to offer the HTC Merge. Officially introduced back in late February, the Merge is HTC’s first dual-mode CDMA/GSM handset to run Android. Even without a full review, there’s a lot to like about the Merge. It features HTC’s Sense UI with Android 2.2, a …

Wi-Fi is going underground as half of the London Tube network gets a wireless Internet connection in time for the Olympics. You’ll be able to use your smart phone, tablet or laptop on London Underground stations by June 2012, although trains will stay offline for now. The service will kick off with London Underground opening the existing Wi-Fi for staff …

An image of the LG Optimus Big has leaked, along with some specs. As befits its charmingly blunt name, this smart phone is a whopper, sporting a 4.3-inch touchscreen. That’s it above, making the 3.5-inch display on the old iPhone 3GS feel all inadequate.  The Optimus Big Boy will also have a 1GHz single-core processor, Korean site XportsNews reports, rather than …

Digital television has been broadcasting in Australia for 10 years, but until now no-one has needed to swap over despite the service offering better quality audio and vision. Now that the digital switch-over is in effect people will need to get themselves new equipment or risk losing free-to-air altogether. While it was re-branded as “Freeview” in 2009, most people still …

Should you switch to the Verizon iPhone to save money? Maybe not. Josh Miller/CNET Welcome to the 411, my column answering all your questions about cell phones and cell phone accessories. I receive plenty of questions about these subjects via e-mail, so I figured many of you might have similar queries, too. At times, I might solicit answers from readers …

When AT&T announced its plans to acquire T-Mobile for $39 billion last week, Sprint was quick to criticize the deal, saying that it would dramatically alter the structure of the communications industry and affect innovation–a sentiment that was echoed by Sprint CEO Dan Hesse during CTIA 2011. In case its position wasn’t clear, the carrier issued an official statement today …

Remember the children’s classic “Harold and the Purple Crayon”? Imagine, if you will, that Harold had an older brother: Max, an equally artistic scamp with a Conan O’Brien haircut–and a magic marker. So the stage is set for Max and the Magic Marker ($1.99 for iPhone/iPod, $4.99 for iPad), an inventive, entertaining iOS port of the eponymous PC/Wii game. MMM …

Smartphone video sharing app, Qik, today updated its iOS offering to include a range of new communication tools such as video calls to other Qik users and the ability to leave video mail for contacts who are offline. Qik Connect Plus now includes video calling and live streaming to Facebook. (Screenshot by CBSi) Qik Connect Plus builds on the standard …