Cellular Phones

As Verizon Wireless and AT&T square off in federal court today, speculation is swirling that Verizon's new Droid phone isn't selling as well as expected, and that the Palm Pre will soon join the Droid on Verizon's 3G network. Full Story »

Google's new YouTube Direct allows amateur journalists (meaning anyone with a camera in their mobile phone) to upload video clips for a shot at their 15 seconds of fame. The broadcast news media seem to have learned the wrong lesson from the fall of print media and embracing 'citizen journalists' may expedite the extinction of traditional news as we know it. Full Story »

The European Union published findings of an 18-month investigation Tuesday finding that 301 Web sites that sold mobile phone ringtones, wallpapers and other services had "serious breaches of EU consumer law," according to a statement. Full Story »

Sony started taking pre-orders for its 3G wireless Daily Edition e-reader on Wednesday, but consumers might have to wait until January until they have the device in hand. Full Story »

The 3G network of the world's largest mobile phone network operator will cover 70 percent of China's cities by the end of this year, the company's chairman said Wednesday. Full Story »

The world's largest mobile phone service provider by subscribers is still in talks with Apple about offering the iPhone in China even though rival China Unicom started selling the handsets there last month. Full Story »

Japan's biggest wireless service provider plans to shut off its 2G mobile phone network in March 2011 because most of its customers will have moved on to 3G, the company CEO said Wednesday in Hong Kong. Full Story »

HONG KONG (AFP) - India could have more than one billion mobile phone users by 2015, with the bulk of that growth in rural areas, one of the country's top telecom executives said Wednesday. Full Story »

Verizon Wireless has filed a legal response to a complaint before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia in which AT&T claims that its wireless rival's "There's a Map for that" ad campaign has been distorting facts about AT&T's wireless coverage. The dueling lawsuits demonstrate that the smartphone battle lines are being sharply drawn around the issues of 3G coverage, speed and reliability. Full Story »

Social networks such as Facebook and MySpace have invaded families' living rooms, corporate offices, and mobile phones. Now they are making their mark on the New American Oxford English Dictionary. Full Story »

LONDON (Reuters) - A employee of mobile phone operator T-Mobile is facing prosecution after selling personal details of thousands of British customers to rival companies in an alleged major breach of data protection laws. Full Story »

BRUSSELS (AFP) - European nations have closed down over 50 Internet websites after a crackdown on mobile phone ringtone scams often targeting youngsters. Full Story »

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Celebrities beware: YouTube is making it even easier for anyone with a camera phone to turn your behavior -- be it mundane or sensational -- into news. Full Story »

LONDON - Rogue employees at a major mobile phone company illegally sold millions of customer records to rival firms, Britain's information watchdog said Tuesday. Full Story »

Microsoft is making its Windows Marketplace for Mobile available to phones running older versions of its mobile software, although not all of the apps may be available to all Windows Mobile users. Full Story »

The Motorola Droid is doing more than just bashing the iPhone -- it's also smashing the ceiling when it comes to mainstream Android appeal. A full 250,000 people snatched up Droids during the phone's first week in stores, some newly released data suggests. That's four times the number of launch-week sales estimated for the myTouch 3G, which had previously been considered the fastest-selling Android device. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (AFP) - One-fourth of US teenagers aged 16 and 17 have sent text messages while driving and over 40 percent have had a cellphone conversation while behind the wheel, according to a study published on Monday. Full Story »

The early returns are good for Motorola's Droid, the Android-based smartphone that the company introduced on Nov. 6 on the Verizon Wireless network. While most quantitative measures won't be available for a while, an early assessment by Flurry, a mobile analytics service provider, estimates that 250,000 Droids were sold during its first week of availability. This compares favorably to the 60,000 estimated sales for the myTouch 3G. Full Story »