Gadgets, Wireless | featured news

Apple is working on a line of smaller, less-expensive iPhones and a software overhaul that would make it easier for customers to access entertainment and personal photos and videos.

We got the chance to test T-Mobile's newest, fastest phone, the Galaxy S 4G, and decided to see how fast some other top 4G-labeled phones were. It turns out, not all 4G is equal.

Verizon Wireless on Friday said its first day of taking online orders for the iPhone produced record sales, and it's stopped taking orders until Wednesday.

Verizon Wireless plans to sell Apple Inc's iPhone for as low as $200 starting next month, putting the smartphone at the center of its high-stakes battle with AT&T Inc for wireless customers.

AT&T, facing a marketing challenge by competitors' 4G wireless service claims, accelerated its own network upgrade plans and said it would release devices for its own fourth-generation network.

Ultrafast smartphones, tablets galore (and a Verizon iPad, maybe?), and the death of 3D TV among trends to watch at 2011 Consumer Electronics Show.

While Android surges among new smartphone buyers, Apple iOS continues to hold on to the overall marketshare lead, though still within spitting distance of a fading BlackBerry OS and a hard-charging Android OS, according to the latest figures from the Nielsen Company.

Qualcomm is offering to refund customers who bought its portable TV sets, ahead of shutting down the broadcasts on March 27. Qualcomm's FLO TV service is the only subscription-based broadcast TV service in the U.S. designed for portable gadgets. It's been live since 2007, but has never garnered much interest from customers.

When Sprint Nextel introduced its first tablet in November, some were disappointed that the device was only compatible with 3G instead of the faster “4G” flavor of mobile broadband. After all, Sprint has offered 4G service since 2008 and devotes much of its marketing to linking its brand to 4G and the superior service it can provide.

Verizon Wireless, AT&T and T-Mobile formed a joint venture to allow their customers to pay for goods and services with their cellphones. Google's CEO said the next version of Android would allow phones to work as digital wallets.