Samsung Mobile’s vice president for design has struck back at claims the company “slavishly copies” the look of Apple’s gadgets, saying that his designs are “original from the beginning”. In a report from Reuters, Lee Minhyouk says of the copycat accusations, “I’ve made thousands of sketches and hundreds of prototype products. Does that mean I was …

Vodafone’s Ice Cream Sandwich update for the Samsung Galaxy S2 isn’t ready yet, with the red-tinted network saying the software upgrade is still being tested. In a statement sent to CNET UK, the chaps at Vodafone said, “The Android 4.0 upgrade for Galaxy S2 smart phones running on the Vodafone UK network is currently under test to make sure that …

More bad news for BlackBerry-maker RIM — reports suggest that the iPhone outsold BlackBerrys last year in Canada, RIM’s home nation. According to statistics compiled by Bloomberg and IDC, Apple flogged 2.85 million phones in Canada in 2011, compared to 2.08 million BlackBerry devices, putting Apple’s shiny blowers ahead by a cool half-million. 2011 will have been the first year …

Some Galaxy S2 owners who shelled out to buy their device SIM-free — often in the hopes of being at the front of the Android update queue — are still waiting to get the official update to Ice Cream Sandwich, which Samsung started rolling out on Monday. Samsung has provided us with this update statement: “Samsung UK is working hard …

Verizon’s next Android smartphone, the LG Lucid (formerly the Cayman) is the latest handset that we can get a sneak peek of over the Intertubes. Though it’s not expected until the middle of April, Droid Life, predicts that the Verizon smartphone will be a midrange Android 2.3 Gingerbread-powered unit. Details include a dual-core 1.2GHz processor, 8GB internal storage, a 1700mAh …

AT&T has taken a lot of heat over the past few months for slowing down service for its heaviest data users on its unlimited plans. But what about Verizon Wireless, which also still offers unlimited data to its older smartphone customers? In this edition of Ask Maggie, I explain how Verizon Wireless implements its network management policy to ensure that …

If you use Google Voice, and you have Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich on your phone, life is going to get a little bit more practical. Starting now, you’ll be able to view and play visual voice mails that you receive from Google Voice right in the phone’s native call log. The feature only works on Android smartphones running the …

Research in Motion ceding its smartphone title to Apple in Canada may be seen as a minor hiccup after the struggling RIM posts its fiscal fourth-quarter results next Thursday. Expectations for RIM this period are decidedly low, with a product line sustained by heavy discounts and the company lacking any new smartphones. It’ll mark the first quarterly report for new …

Most agree that TiVo’s DVRs are among the best available, but the main sticking point for most buyers is always the monthly fee. TiVo’s making it a little easier to get over that hurdle, announcing today that the monthly fee has dropped to $15 a month with a one-year commitment. On the other hand, TiVo has changed the cost of …

Reports are indicating that Google could preparing to unveil Android 5.0 Jelly Bean in the third quarter of the year. The timing would coincide approximately with Google I/O, the company’s annual developer conference, which is held at the end of June. Unfortunately, Jelly Bean‘s predecessor, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS), is currently only available on 1 percent to 2 …