Michelle Maisto

Google introduced the Chromebook Pixel laptop Feb. 21, moving far more swiftly than the rumors had led us to expect. But its timing wasn’t Google’s only surprise. To date, the search king has used hardware partners Acer, Samsung, Lenovo and Hewlett-Packard to acquaint the world with a premise of the Chromebook as a very inexpensive, […]

BlackBerry continues to suffer stories of long-time users, even in once BlackBerry strongholds such as government, making the switch to more consumer-desired devices like the Apple iPhone. So it was surely a particularly sweet win for Nokia when Mall of America announced it was leaving the BlackBerry platform for the Lumia 920. Nokia said the […]

Sprint will gain considerable spectrum assets if its bid to purchase Clearwire—which boasts of owning “more spectrum than anyone“—is approved. But feeding an industry with an insatiable and still-growing appetite for mobile data, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse says the carrier needs to acquire still more. “Given the increases in data usage we are seeing, we […]

Wireless signal boosters are the topic of a new report from the Federal Communications Commission. As the wireless carriers race to push out ever-faster networks to their subscribers, the FCC is working to ensure that the hardest-to-reach bits of the country have even a basic degree of coverage, and it says that signal boosters can […]

Google has built a self-branded touch-screen–equipped Chromebook—a laptop that runs its Chrome operating system—according to multiple sources. Such devices would help Google compete even better against laptops running Microsoft’s Windows 8, which increasingly feature touch-screens. Google will begin selling its own Chromebooks “later this year,” The Wall Street Journal reported Feb. 20, adding that it’s […]

Republic Wireless today addressed what can be the major pain point of the contract-free wireless service model—the unsubsidized devices that tend to go with them. The carrier, which has an unusual business model and the lowest monthly price point in the wireless industry—$19 a month for unlimited talk, text and data, with the purchase of […]

Apple is working on a low-cost, unlocked iPhone, analysts continue to insist. Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster continued to make a case for such a phone in a Feb. 19 research note, according to Apple Insider, which received a copy of the note. Munster expects Apple will debut a $199 iPhone in the September quarter, […]

‘Bold’ Was a Frequently-Used Adjective for HTC One HTC President Jason Mackenzie said the company was “taking a bold step forward and delivering something bold and new.” He added that the One, which features a 4.7-inch 1080p screen, a new type of physical construction and impressive camera, audio and speaker technologies, among other features, “improves […]

The Apple iPhone 5 became the world’s best-selling smartphone worldwide during the fourth quarter of 2012—a distinction that Samsung’s Galaxy S III held during the third quarter. Apple not only outsold Samsung’s most popular Galaxy device with the iPhone 5, but it did it with the iPhone 4S, as well, research firm Strategy Analytics reported […]

T-Mobile continues on its mission to offer consumers what it says they really want—an end to “dum” hidden fees, roaming charges and overly complicated annual contracts. After a 2012 soft launch in nine markets, on Feb. 19 the carrier announced the nationwide launch of GoSmart, a new contract-free wireless brand that offers service pricing as […]

NEW YORK — HTC needs to attract consumers away from iPhones and Samsung Galaxy devices, and today it gave it its best shot, introducing the HTC One, an Android Jelly Bean–running smartphone with a 4.7-inch full-HD display, a new version of the HTC Sense user interface, HTC BlinkFeed—a home screen that’s a constantly updating media […]

HTC is doing what it can to build intrigue around the smartphone—popularly referred by all but HTC by its code name, M7—that it’s scheduled to introduce at a New York City event Feb. 19. The Taiwan-based smartphone maker has Tweeted the date, posted a countdown clock on its site and been dropping hints—while insisting its […]