In pictures: 15 hot phones for the holidays
With contract prices ranging from $US50 to $US300, this list of the season's top phones has something for any stocking or budget.
Stories by Eric Mack
$99 Ice Cream Sandwich tablet to debut in US
The Novo7, a 7-inch tablet available in China that runs Ice Cream Sandwich, is set to arrive in the United States in the coming months with an expected price of $99.
Test drive Windows Phone Mango on your Android or iPhone
Sick of your iPhone or Android handset? Want to try out Windows Phone Mango? Microsoft is letting Android and iPhone users try Windows Phone 7.5 Mango with an HTML5 demo that runs in your smartphone's browser.
5 hidden features in iOS 5
Who knew Apple's iOS 5 mobile operating system held so many secrets? Developers and sleuthing hackers have been hard at work since Apple released the OS in October unearthing a number of hidden features and tweaking the OS to do things it was never intended to do.
What phones get Google's Ice Cream Sandwich mobile OS first?
Phones and tablets loaded with the Android 4.0 operating system start arriving in stores soon, but when will existing phones get the update and wich models will be left out in the cold?
Google+ app for Android gets major overhaul
Google revamped its Google+ Android app Monday sprucing up the social network's mobile front door with a cleaner interface, more functions, and a promise of improved battery life. The Android app (now Version 2.1) is available for download at Android Market.
Apple patents new multitouch, 3D Gestures
A new Apple patent reveals the company is looking into ways to integrate more gesturing into the iPad and other devices, a la Tom Cruise's holographic glove-controlled system in Minority Report.
Android overtakes iOS in app downloads
The Android operating system now leads in total app downloads, another benchmark in the race to dominate the smartphone market, according to ABI Research.
Kindle Fire, others to get HTML5, CSS3 in 'Kindle Format 8' update
Amazon is refreshing its staid, black-and-white take on the e-book with a new format that supports HTML5 and CSS3. Kindle Format 8 (KF8) will give Kindle users something a little more colorful to read on the new tablet/e-reader hybrid, the Kindle Fire, which is set to hit stores in time for the holiday season.
Cell phones don't increase cancer risk, new study says
A Danish study that monitored 350,000 cell phone users over an 18-year period found no link between mobile phone subscriptions and an increased risk of cancer.
Ice Cream Sandwich: 7 more cool features
Ice Cream Sandwich, Google's latest update to the Android franchise, has plenty of improvements and changes hidden under the surface that make the mobile OS even sweeter. With more Android phones being announced every day in preparation for the holiday shopping season, here are seven new features in Ice Cream Sandwich you should be aware of.
Windows Phone Mango: How to upgrade now
Microsoft has started rolling out its Windows Phone 7.5 update, with more than 500 new features including a new music hub and better multitasking. But most Windows Phone 7 users will have to wait a week or even a month for Mango -- unless they use this little workaround to take a bite of the update right now.
Android doubles iPhone in new smartphone sales
Android devices have outsold the iPhone by a 2-to-1 margin in the past three months, according to a new Nielsen survey.
Skype iPhone, iPod Touch app has security hole
Skype is working to fix a security hole in its iOS app for the iPhone and iPod Touch that allows a hacker to steal a person's entire address book. The vulnerability, located in the app's chat message window, can be exploited with JavaScript code. It was pointed out by security researcher Phil Purviance of AppSec.
Will HP leave PC users out in the cold?
The future of Hewlett-Packard's PC business may be a bit cloudy, but that's not stopping the industry leader from forging ahead with new consumer products. The world's largest computer-maker has announced an upgrade and price drop to the very popular Pavilion DM1 laptop.