Spanish officials said earlier this week that the government will require service providers to offer broadband with speeds of at least 1 Mbps at regulated rates to residents living anywhere in the country. A frenzy over a new Sony Ericsson smartphone at the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last February. Marguerite Reardon/CNET The Spanish …

It’s far from the Droid, but Motorola added a new touch-screen phone to U.S. Cellular’s lineup on Thursday. The Crush runs Moto’s standard operating system on a 2.8-inch display. Features include messaging, a music player, a 3.5mm headset jack, a 2-megapixel camera, stereo Bluetooth, and a microSD card slot. The Crush costs $89.95 with a two-year service agreement (regular price …

In addition to releasing a new touch-screen phone this week, U.S. Cellular also added a new overage protection service for customers. It’s a simple concept, but it should come in handy for chatterboxes hoping to avoid costly fees for going over their monthly anytime minutes. The service will work for your text message bundles, as well. When your minute or …

Now playing: Watch this: RIM BlackBerry Curve 8530 (Verizon Wireless) 3:02 Starting Friday, Verizon Wireless customers can purchase the RIM BlackBerry Curve 8530 in stores and online for $99.99 with a two-year contract and after a $100 mail-in rebate. As the CDMA kin to the RIM BlackBerry Curve 8520, the Curve 8530 is more of an entry-level device so you …

As Google Android is for the smartphone market, Chrome will be for the Netbook industry. At least, that is Google’s hope. The company views its two platforms as not necessarily replacements to existing operating systems, but rather as alternatives. And as part of its quest to get users on the Internet and connect to their services, Google created Android and …

Gizmodo reported early this week that Apple may be using software to perform additional automated checks on all new App Store submissions during the app review process. Google Mobile lets you search the Web using your voice in a way that is technically off-limits to iPhone developers, according to a report. Apple (App Store) A series of tweets on Twitter …

This week, MacRumors published a report regarding rumors that Apple is about to launch a “Concierge” iPhone app for Apple’s retail store customers. The app will supposedly provide the same functionality available via the company’s online retail store reservations system, where customers can schedule appointments for Personal Shopping, the Genius Bar, learning Workshops, Business consulting, Youth Programs, and One to …

This Friday, Vodafone customers will be able to send international texts for free all day. Friday 20 November is World Hello Day — don’t laugh, it’s a real thing! To celebrate, you’ll be able to text people almost anywhere in the world from your pay as you go or contract phone, for free. The texts won’t count against your contracted …

There are plenty of ways for frequent travelers to check on their flight’s status long before they leave the house or hotel, but fewer that alert you when delays occur, and only one we’ve seen that predicts airline tardiness. That app is FlightCaster, which costs $7.99 on iPhone and BlackBerry, with Android support next. FlightCaster predicts flight delays 6 hours …

After seeing the Casio G’zOne Brigade at the Verizon Wireless event a few weeks ago, we had thought that would be the only G’zOne product we would see for a while. It turns out Casio and Verizon have been working on yet another rugged phone, and it’s the Casio G’zOne Rock, which looks a lot like a successor to the …

We’ve been dying to know what broadcast format the BBC is planning to use for its HD broadcasts, which start in December. We know the service will be broadcast in MPEG-4 using a DVB-T2 transmission system, but until now, the Big British Castle hasn’t been talking about the video size — would we be getting 1080i or 720p? The first …

Sony has lifted the lid on its new top-of-the-range Blu-ray player, the BDP-S760. Jammed full of exciting new features — some of which may actually make a difference to your viewing experience — it’s also packing a walloping great price tag: £340. The S760 and its more reasonably priced sibling, the S560 (£240), do share an interesting common feature: Wi-Fi. …

AT&T has lost the first battle in a legal war against Verizon Wireless to force the company to stop showing advertisements that compare its 3G wireless network coverage with Verizon’s coverage. A federal judge in Atlanta on Wednesday declined to grant AT&T a temporary restraining order that would force Verizon to stop showing the ads. Verizon Wireless AT&T filed a …

I once wrote for an app review site where the guidelines insisted price shouldn’t factor into a game’s rating. Nuts, right? That’s like saying as long as you like the car you’re test-driving, forget about the sticker. For a cheapskate like me, price absolutely matters, which is why I’m happy to see every game in Konami’s iPhone catalog temporarily on …

There is a handful of VoIP apps for Android that can make free calls over Wi-Fi and 3G, and as of Wednesday, the list grows by one. Fring 1.0 is an all-in-one communicator that pairs support for chat services like Yahoo Messenger, Google Talk, and Twitter with voice services like Skype and SIP. Fring also offers a low-cost service for …