Microsoft and Nokia have hit back at Google over claims they employ a ‘troll’ company to enforce patents and push up prices for consumers, the Guardian reports. On Thursday night Google filed a regulatory complaint with the European Commission, the US Department of Justice and US Federal Commission. The complaint claims Nokia and Microsoft “are …

DALLAS–A top Verizon executive urged regulators here Thursday to get out of the way so that wireless operators can more easily buy and sell wireless spectrum on the secondary market. Verizon CTO Tony Melone addresses an audience at the TIA 2012 tradeshow in Dallas. CNET/Marguerite Reardon During a speech today at the Telecommunications Industry Association trade show, Verizon Chief Technology …

Virgin Mobile will be the next prepaid service to get the iPhone, Sprint Nextel confirmed today. Virgin Mobile follows Leap Wireless, which last week said it was getting the iPhone for its Cricket prepaid service. Like Cricket, the Virgin Mobile version of the iPhone won’t be cheap; the 16-gigabyte iPhone 4S will cost $649, while the 8GB iPhone 4 will …

Ready for the closest look yet at the shape of the iPhone to come? Then check out this video, which shows off the frame of the next generation Apple phone next to the current iPhone 4S. The video shows the backplate of the purported new iPhone, which is not only taller than the current model, but features a number of …

LinkedIn has admitted your account may have been hacked after security experts claimed yesterday that more than 6 million passwords had been leaked. “We can confirm that some of the passwords that were compromised correspond to LinkedIn accounts,” the company says in a blog post. The business-minded social network is continuing its investigation and taking steps to ensure those affected …

One grid to rule them all, one grid to bind them — network giants Telefonica (which owns O2) and Vodafone are planning on joining forces to create a shared grid in the UK. The move, which sees the longtime rivals teaming up to combine their network infrastructure, is designed to speed up the introduction of 4G services to the UK, …

A touchscreen-crafting company has created a new type of display that sees physical buttons bubbling out of the usually-flat surface. US-based Tactus reckons its blistering screen adds no extra thickness to standard touch-sensitive panels, as it replaces an existing layer within regular touchscreens. That thin layer deforms to create buttons or shapes of a certain height, size and even firmness. …

The cheapest version of Research In Motion’s BlackBerry PlayBook has been discontinued. RIM today told CNET in an e-mailed statement today that the company has decided to stop “making the 16GB model of the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet.” However, the company was quick to point out that the 32GB and 64GB models will remain on store shelves and will continue to …

As is always the case with every Apple event, there’s really no way we can know what the company will announce at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference keynote on Monday. I’m personally hoping Tim Cook will walk out there with the iPhone 5 (my iPhone 4 is getting a little rough around the edges), but others are saying that won’t …

BlackBerry-maker RIM may be facing continued losses and deep uncertainty as it readies its first BlackBerry OS 10 smartphone, but if nothing else, the company has a sense of humor. And some musical know-how among its ranks. Today’s BlackBerry 10 Jam session for developers kicked off with a music video spoof of Tom Petty’s “The Waiting,” substituting Petty’s original lyrics …