Wireless News Headlines

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has affirmed the authority of federal regulators to try to speed local government decisions on proposals to build or expand cell phone towers.

The battle between BlackBerry and Microsoft for the No.3 spot in the smartphone platform war is showing no signs of slowing, but a new contender will soon come to market to challenge these struggling giants. Jolla, whose CEO spoke with us nearly a year ago about the company’s efforts, has unveiled its first smartphone. …

Of all the problems to have when launching a new flagship smartphone, trouble keeping up with demand is hardly the worst. Of course, things change a bit when a company has to pump units into channels as quickly as possible before the top-selling smartphone vendor in the world launches the Galaxy S4. HTC undoubtedly lost …

Google CEO Larry Page spoke about peace in the industry during the Google I/O 2013 keynote, but that doesn’t mean Google has plans to slow its various attacks on rivals’ turf. Forbes contributor Peter Cohan laid out the five areas where Google is launching its “assault” on chief competitor Apple, and he discussed exactly …

Earlier this week, BlackBerry announced the arrival of BlackBerry Messenger for Android and iOS. A new report suggests that the messaging service will have some limitations, however. According to TrustedReviews, BBM will not be available for the iPad or for Android tablets at launch. Vivek Bhardwaj, head of the BlackBerry …

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — Mobile phone service was cut off Thursday in areas of northeast Nigeria as jet fighters streaked through the sky and more soldiers were deployed to fight Islamic extremists waging a brutal insurgency.

Three consumer smartphones that were sent into orbit around Earth last month snapped some incredible photos of our planet from space.

The first day of Google’s I/O Developers Conference keynote has come and gone without a single mention of a potential update to the company’s Android operating system. Despite a number of rumors that suggested Google would announce a new version of Android at the annual event, the company remained quiet on the issue. According …

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — Mobile phone service has been cut in areas of northeast Nigeria as the military sends more soldiers to the region to fight Islamic extremists.

Apple’s next-generation iPhone 5S is widely expected to feature the same external design as its predecessor, just as previous “S” upgrades have in the past. But looks can be deceiving. While Apple’s flagship iPhone for 2013 may appear to be the same as the iPhone 5 on the outside, the phone will feature a significant internal …

Microsoft and BlackBerry are fighting to become viable alternatives in the mobile market, and while Android and iOS accounted for a majority of smartphone shipments in the first quarter, Windows Phone made some significant moves that propelled it ahead of BlackBerry. Research firm IDC found that Windows Phone shipped 7 …

HP on Wednesday announced the Android-powered SlateBook x2 and the Windows-powered Split x2. The SlateBook x2 is equipped with a 10.1-inch 1920 x 1200-pixel display and a new 1.8GHz quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 4 processor. The tablet also features 2GB of RAM, up to 64GB of internal storage, a rear-camera capable of 1080p video …

A new study says you can add a commonplace activity to the list of things that raise blood pressure: talking on a cell phone.

European governments are casting a baleful eye on the explosive smartphone and tablet growth. The problem for many Europeans lies in the way these devices promote vehicles for American entertainment — from Amazon and Netflix to Apple and Disney. The new proposal made by the president of France would slap a 1% tax on all …

Apple is expected to debut a new iPhone, iPad and iPad mini tablet later this year. Earlier rumors have suggested that the company’s popular 7.9-inch tablet would see a variety of improvements over the previous model. According to MobiLeaks, the second-generation iPad mini will be equipped with an improved Retina display …

With its I/O Developers Conference in full swing on Wednesday, Google took the wraps off its redesign of Google Maps for mobile devices. As revealed in an earlier leak, Google Maps has been updated with a brand new layout, new search features and new ways to highlight the “things that matter most.” The latest version of …

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google is adding leaderboards and the ability to match players in online games to its Android operating system for smartphones and tablet computers.

Google on Wednesday at its annual I/O Developers Conference in San Francisco announced Google Play game services. As earlier rumors suggested, the gaming suite is similar to Apple’s Game Center and allows developers to add support for leaderboards, achievements, matchmaking and the ability to save game data to the cloud. …

MIAMI (AP) — Smartphones are increasingly popular not only with consumers, but also with thieves who see the devices as another way to tap into bank accounts and other sensitive information, experts say.

Google just kicked off this year’s Google I/O conference and we’re in store for quite a show. The keynote is scheduled to run for three hours — yes, three hours — and Google SVP Sundar Pichai started off the show by announcing cumulative Android activations have now reached 900 million. Google also announced Google Play …

Google plans to unveil Android 4.3, an updated version of its popular mobile operating system, at the Google I/O conference on Wednesday. The news won’t come as much of a surprise to those who follow the mobile industry closely, since rumors to that effect have been swirling for weeks. Android 4.3 is now confirmed, however, …

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Research In Motion Ltd. unveiled a lower-cost BlackBerry aimed at consumers in emerging markets, stepping up its efforts to regain market share lost to Apple's iPhone and Android devices powered by Google's software.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google is expected to use its annual software developers' conference to showcase the latest mobile devices running on its Android software, while also unveiling other features in its evolving product line-up.