You and your smartphone may be inseparable, but that doesn’t mean you ought to be best friends. That’s the essential message from Andy Rubin, Google’s Android chief, who spoke at the AsiaD conference this week. Not so coincidentally, he said this just days after the launch of the iPhone 4S, a chief feature of which …

We knew Microsoft’s CEO wasn’t exactly the shy and retiring type, but now he’s ripped Android a new one ahead of next week’s Nokia World, reports BGR. Speaking at the Web 2.0 conference, Ballmer said, “You don’t need to be a computer scientist to use a Windows Phone, but I think you do to use an Android phone.” Fighting words. …

AT&T is looking forward to an “unbelievably” happy holiday. The company expects its best smartphone sales ever in the fourth quarter, according to Ralph de la Vega, head of the consumer and wireless businesses. “We expect blockbuster smartphone sales in the fourth quarter,” de la Vega said today during a conference call following its third-quarter report, further fueling the expectations …

AT&T said it surpassed 1 million iPhone 4S activations on Tuesday, making it the most successful launch despite its availability on two other carriers. The Dallas telecommunications giant hit the mark after five days of sales. The figure underscores AT&T’s continued strength even as Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel offered the iPhone as well. The company earlier reported third-quarter results …

While some handset makers are looking into Android 4.0 and evaluating the potential for updates, others are already making promises. Such is the case with Sony Ericsson, which said this week that its entire 2011 product line will see Ice Cream Sandwich. Although the company hasn’t outlined a specific time frame or soft expectation, it should go a long way …

HTC and Optus have teamed up again to launch a new Android smartphone in Australia, with Optus ranging the HTC Rhyme as an exclusive from 1 November. (Credit: HTC) Sold in a pack with a range of accessories, the Rhyme will be available for $0 on an AU$59 per month plan over 24 months. This includes the handset, a bedside …

Ebooks have proved once and for all that the most important aspect of books is the content. Few of us who have made the switch to digital reading would ever go back to dead-tree physical books, which is great news for the environment. But unlike physical books (which, we have to admit, do look rather good on a shelf), ebooks …

Disgruntled Verizon Communications and Verizon Wireless workers and members of the labor union Communications Workers of America will be joining the “Occupy Wall Street” protest Friday in protest of “Verizon’s corporate greed.” In a press release issued Thursday afternoon, the CWA said that about 1,000 Verizon workers will meet at Verizon’s headquarters in downtown Manhattan near Wall Street at 4 …

We have a theory that some men may have bought an iPhone 4S for a bit of female companionship. Why not? She’s intelligent, gives as good as she gets and has a sense of humour. And they’ll never have to worry about her running off with the milkman — but due to a security issue unearthed by Macworld, she might …

The war of words continues. After Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer slammed Android as being for computer scientists, Android’s Andy Rubin has a choice word or two about Siri, Apple’s voice-controlled virtual assistant. “I don’t believe your phone should be an assistant,” Rubin said in an interview, reports AllThingsD. “Your phone is a tool for communicating. You shouldn’t be communicating with the …