A combining of T-Mobile USA and MetroPCS could make for a potent player in the rough-and-tumble prepaid business. T-Mobile has over the past few years expanded its no-contract options for consumers, giving it a badly needed source of customer growth. MetroPCS, meanwhile, has long been an aggressive — albeit small — provider of prepaid services …

Blackberry PlayBook owners will see a small bump in features and capability with its next OS update to PlayBook software 2.1. Among the changes available for the Wi-Fi tablet are security features that let owners lock down all data with enterprise-level encryption, not just corporate secrets. RIM also shares a new version of the BlackBerry Bridge software that lets PlayBook …

Apps and devices have been designed to turn smartphones into light switches, medical tools and even satellites. For people who wish to extend a little less effort in their daily lives, they could even replace the traditional house key you use to get into your home. Consider Lockitron, a keyless entry device that attaches to a door’s deadbolt. The small …

Now playing: Watch this: Fix an unresponsive iPhone home button 3:38 No matter how anal you are about keeping your iPhone safe and intact, there is still a chance your home button will eventually suffer the effects of normal wear and tear. The iPhone 5, which features a change to the anatomy of the home button, may solve this problem, …

At long last, we have a date for when we can expect 4G services to arrive in the UK. EE — previously known as Everything Everywhere — has confirmed it will be kicking off its next-gen mobile data service on 30 October. That’s a little under four weeks to wait. EE will be the first network to bring 4G speeds to …

Now playing: Watch this: 4GEE phones speed test 2:14 Phone fans, fast-forward to 4G! We’ve got our hands on the first LTE phones to hit the UK and put them through their paces. The iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE, HTC One XL and Huawei Ascend P1 LTE are all on sale today — but do they deliver on the …

The iPhone 5 may have a bigger screen, but text still looks pretty small to my aging eyes. In fact, it looks that way on all my iDevices. That’s because iOS relies on a fixed font size, and while a smattering of apps let you increase that size, there’s no “font” option to be found in iOS settings. Actually, there …

Now playing: Watch this: CNET News 4G rollout plans 1:23 4G services from major UK operators could be rolling out as soon as spring next year, as watchdog Ofcom has secured the freeing up of the necessary spectrum ahead of time. The required frequencies, which are being freed up by the digital TV switchover, will be auctioned off at the …

A group of wireless-industry companies — including AT&T, Clearwire, and HP — have agreed to a patent pool that could mean fewer lawsuits over the use of LTE technology, Via Licensing Corporation announced today. Related stories Should You Upgrade to the iPhone 13? How the Phone Compares to Older Models Switching Cellphone Carriers in 2022: What to Know Before You …

Although Amazon started shipping pre-ordered Kindle Paperwhite devices this week, customers who order one today will have to wait a month or more for the e-reader to ship. The backlog for the Kindle Paperwhite e-reader shipments has grown to 4 to 6 weeks, according to the product’s listing on Amazon. Once again, Amazon says the delay is “due to popular …