Matt Hines

Handheld maker Palm Inc. launched its latest personal digital assistants on Wednesday, introducing a Wi-Fi-ready device known as the TX and its cheapest color model yet, the Z22. As part of the launch, Palm shortened its traditional naming conventions, morphing its Tungsten brand into the TX and shifting to the Z brand, which was previously […]

Microsoft Corp. and RealNetworks Inc. announced a settlement in their long-running antitrust suit Tuesday, with the two companies agreeing to collaborate in the multimedia software and content space. Under the terms of the deal, through which the companies said they have settled all antitrust litigation worldwide, Microsoft agreed to pay Real $460 million in cash […]

Yahoo Inc. introduced a beta version of its podcast search tool on Monday, further demonstrating the growing demand for the radio show style audio clips designed for consumption on computers and wireless devices. Dubbed as Yahoo Podcasts, the service promises to allow people to find, play and rate the audio programs which cover religion, sports […]

Some mobile device experts are questioning whether Sonys new Memory Stick Micro format will expand beyond the companys own products, and whether the firms device storage technologies will eventually lose their appeal with customers. On Thursday, Tokyo-based Sony Corp. and its longtime partner SanDisk Corp. rolled out the specifications for Memory Stick Micro, a tiny […]

CAMBRIDGE—Would you like to know if the person on the other end of your mobile phone conversation is lying to you? You might be surprised to know that the technology needed to determine such a thing is already being tested on humans, and thats just the beginning, according to the people most closely involved with […]

Hewlett-Packard Co. on Tuesday launched a handful of iPaq handhelds running on Microsoft Corp.s latest Windows Mobile software, along with a new mobile printer. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company introduced one new line of PDA (personal digital assistant), dubbed the HP iPaq rx1950 series Pocket PC, and several upgraded models in its iPaq hx2000 series. […]

Security software maker Symantec released the latest versions of its consumer-oriented Norton applications set on Tuesday. As part of the launch of its 2006 products, Symantec Corp., based in Cupertino, Calif., slimmed down its overall lineup, dropping its Norton Internet Security AntiSpyware Edition and Norton AntiSpam offerings, and folded those tools back into its other […]

SAN FRANCISCO—Even as device makers rush to introduce their latest handheld devices at the ongoing CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment 2005 conference here this week, new research indicates that a significant obstacle to the growth of mobile services may be sitting in the palm of their hands. According to a study released Tuesday by the […]

Executives and market watchers surveying the voice-over-IP space insist that integrated communications applications, not cost savings, will drive future adoption of the technology among consumers. Meeting at the Fall VON conference here last week, a range of experts, and some users, agreed that emerging Internet telephony applications will persuade consumers to embrace VOIP. David Beckemeyer, […]

A research report filed by the GSM Association on Monday submits that disproportionately high taxes on wireless services have prevented people in developing nations from adopting mobile devices. According to the GSMA, an industry group representing wireless carriers and mobile device manufacturers, taxes accounted for more than 20 percent of the total cost of subscribing […]

The iPod Nano: One thousand songs. Impossibly fragile? Thats the complaint of many new owners of Apple Computer Inc.s new iPod Nano, if you believe the 450-plus posts to the companys Web site complaining about the ease with which the devices display can be scratched. As of Monday, a litany of negative feedback regarding the […]

BOSTON—The overriding theme among attendees of this weeks VON Fall 2005 Conference was that compelling new communications applications will drive uptake of VOIP technologies, and some observers feel one form of those systems may already be live. Or rather, xBox Live, that is, referring to the online gaming service operated by software giant Microsoft Corp. […]