Just in time for Google Wallet’s official launch, Samsung has prepped an update for the Nexus S 4G so you will soon be able to use the smartphone to pay for items at participating stores. The Samsung Nexus S 4G for Sprint is currently the only handset to support Google Wallet and features an embedded …

Sony Ericsson and Vodafone today announced their exclusive partnership on the new Xperia Ray handset — the first smartphone to launch with Sony’s video rental service out of the box. (Credit: Sony Ericsson) The Ray will launch in Australia on 28 September on Vodafone, with the cheapest plans being AU$5 per month on either an AU$29 plan or AU$45 Infinite …

This month, Verizon will be making good on its threat to choke data speeds for the most active 5 percent of its 3G data customers. If you use 2GB of data or more each month and have a 3G unlimited plan, there’s a good chance this slow-down applies to you. It isn’t “throttling,” of course, Verizon wants you to know. …

Are you a fan of adventure games? Monkeys? Terrible puns? How about pirates? Then today be your lucky day, mateys. In honor of Talk Like a Pirate Day (which is today, scallywags), Telltale Games is offering Monkey Island Tales HD for iPad for just $2.99 per episode. (There are five that make up the complete game.) Normally, each episode would …

Mounting piracy is the dirty little secret in the world of mobile applications. The Android market is facing a growing problem in app piracy. Piracy isn’t talked about a lot, but it has quietly grown into a major problem for many developers. It’s more of an issue in Android because its open nature and loose authentication tools allow pirates to …

AT&T has talked to smaller rivals about divesting spectrum and customers in an effort to salvage its deal with T-Mobile USA, according to Bloomberg. AT&T has talked to MetroPCS Communications and Leap Wireless about selling some of its assets. The telecom giant is also talking to CenturyLink, Dish Network, and even Sprint Nextel–which has opposed the deal–about their interest in …

Google Wallet, which will allow people to tap or swipe their phones to pay for things, officially launches today on its first smartphone, the Samsung Nexus S offered on Sprint Nextel. Google Wallet CNET/Marguerite Reardon While several other companies, including credit card giants Visa and American Express, as well as mobile wireless carriers, have also announced plans to launch their …

Verizon Wireless is making its 4G LTE service a bit more affordable for the masses. The Pantech Breakout. Verizon Wireless Starting Thursday, the carrier will sell the Pantech Breakout for $99.99 after a $50 rebate and a two-year contract. The Breakout marks the first reasonably priced 4G LTE phone in Verizon’s lineup. Previously, the carrier had marketed 4G LTE smartphones …

We hate format wars. Not because we’re afraid of good old-fashioned tech fisticuffs, but because they’re often completely unjust. So often, the format that wins isn’t technically better than the competition, just cheaper or better marketed. (And no, we’re not just sore because we were Betamax owners.) It’s happened so many times over the years that we had to make …

I’ve been reviewing cell phones and smartphones for more than seven years, and the mobile space has changed a lot in that time. We’ve gone from smartphones with monochrome screens, no cameras, and basic PDA functions to handsets with glassless 3D displays, dual-core processors, robust Web browsers, and much more. As they say, we’ve come a long way, baby. Yet, …