Blackberry, Mobile | featured news

The US Army is near finishing a largely successful test of smartphones on the battlefield. In an interview this week, project director Michael McCarthy told CNN the six-week trials in Fort Bliss, Texas and White Sands, New Mexico were 'encouraging' in gauging the effectiveness of Android, iPhone, and Windows Phone hardware for communicating information in the field. They had also been testing iPads as well as unspecified Dell and HP tablets.

Apple netted a victory in its legal dispute with HTC, as an International Trade Commission judge ruled the cellphone maker infringed two Apple patents.

With many wireless carriers feeling threatened by the growing prominence of Apple and Google, those companies’ success could provide the foundation of Research in Motion’s recovery.

A quarter of smartphone users rely mainly on their phones for internet access, according to a new study from the Pew Internet and American Life Project, that also found that more than one-third of all American adults have taken the smartphone plunge. In the center’s first stand-alone examination of smartphone use, it found that 33 percent of users said their phones were smartphones and 39 percent said their phones operate a smartphone platform such as iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone or Palm.

In the past year, mobile payment systems have picked up steam and are now becoming mainstream. Could our wallets be replaced one day soon by our smartphones?

Verizon Wireless plans to scrap its unlimited data plan for new smartphone subscribers beginning Thursday and replace it with monthly packages that range from $30 to $80.

Hulu Plus brings movies and television shows the small screen of Android smartphones, but only six models are compatible for now. Sony Ericsson is leveraging HDTV technology for it's new Android phones while the iPhone appears to be chipping away at Android's popularity in the U.S.

Research in Motion announced last week that cost cutting efforts will include layoffs following a sluggish start to the year and continued new product delays. Shares sold off sharply as investors bailed on lowered guidance and delayed new Blackberry launch.

Apple Inc plans to launch a new iPhone with a faster chip for data processing and a more advanced camera in September, Bloomberg said in a report late Tuesday.

For the first time ever, the numbers of minutes spent each day using mobile apps has surpassed the number of minutes spent surfing the Web, both on the desktop and mobile devices. Read this blog post by Lance Whitney on Digital Media.