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Since Windows 7 entered public beta in early 2009, Microsoft has garnered praise for getting so much right with its cash cow. This is in stark contrast to the complaints it got over Vista. After announcing Windows Phone 7 Series last month at Mobile World Congress, the accolades just keep coming in for it.

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Facebook is preparing to add a location-sharing feature to its popular social networking site. Can Facebook escape the bad buzz generated by Google's Buzz?

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Obsess much? According to a study undertaken by Stanford University, the iPhone can be addictive. My favorite nugget from the study? Seventy-five percent of respondents admitting to falling asleep with their iPhone in bed.

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Google promised to change the way cell phones are sold with its direct-to-consumer approach. The only problem is, nothing has really changed -- unless you count the Nexus One sales estimates that Goldman Sachs reduced from 3.5 million down to 1 million.

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Nokia has applied for a patent that will charge your phone while you walk. It sounds similar to those self winding watches that renew their energy as you swing your arms. Certain components inside the phone are on a movable frame that moves up and down or side to side depending on your motion. This is the basis for energy generation.

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AT&T's first Android handset went on sale March 7. Based on several factors that have come to light since the device's launch, there are some serious drawbacks to the Backflip. Chief among them? No Google, and a lock-down on apps compatibility.

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This morning Verizon Wireless issued a press release noting that its trials of Long Term Evolution were producing data speeds much faster than expected. How does that really compare to what's available today?

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Despite its flashy debut in January and the recent television spot that aired during the Oscars, there's still a lot we don't know about the Apple iPad. Steve Jobs did, however, take the time to respond directly to one user email about tethering the iPad to the iPhone.

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Recently Google announced that it will upgrade all US users to Android 2.1. Devices are currently shipping with four versions, so moving to one will help, but that may not be enough to save the platform from fragmentation.

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As much as Microsoft has attempted to keep information about its Project Pink devices secret, details have been leaking all over the place. The latest leak came in the form of an advertisement that showed not only the two new phones, but Verizon Wireless's red swoosh, as well.

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This morning Apple announced that its iPad tablet device will be available for pre-order starting March 12, and it will ship by April 3. That's for the Wi-Fi version, mind you. Apple said the 3G version won't be available until some time later in April.

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Even though the real nitty gritty on Windows Phone 7 Series development will be at the 2010 Mix event in Las Vegas in just over a week, Microsoft has released some information late Thursday that should shed some light on things. As has been rumored, Silverlight and XNA will be big players in WinPho 7 development, but they aren't the only game in town. .NET and others have been invited to the party too.

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SiliconRepublic quotes a Google Europe exec saying "desktops will be irrelevant in three years." CIOs can only dream that some device, any device, would actually go away.

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Sony doesn't like losing. That's why the company has decided to go all in and bring a real "PlayStation" phone to market. According to those in the know, the smartphone from Sony will be able to access downloadable games, movies and music, just like the iPhone.

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On the heals of releasing webOS 1.4 for the Pre and Pixi, Palm has made an updated Facebook application available to all webOS devices.

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Imagine being able to find something on your smartphone just by drawing the letter "B" on the screen. Google hopes you'll do just that with its new Gesture Search application for Android handsets, which lets users search for items by drawing gestures on the display.

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AT&T's CEO Randall Stephenson said in an analyst conference on Tuesday that he thought the wireless in industry is headed towards a usage based billing system where those consuming more data will have higher bills than those using less data. Time to say goodbye to the all-you-can-eat data plans.

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After taking some time to digest the massive 20-patent lawsuit filed against it by Apple on March 2, HTC (and partner Google) have responded. Their take? HTC says it has plenty of its own patents and isn't infringing on Apple's.

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Tech spies have unearthed pictures of a purported BlackBerry slider smartphone. The device, which bears a passing resemblance in form to the Palm Pre, has a touch screen and slides up to reveal a full, physical keyboard. Too bad it's so ugly.

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The latest rumors on the next iPhone release say the mobile platform will get gesture-based technology. As far as phones go, Apple pretty much invented flick-based technology where your finger controls the contents of the screen, replacing the stylus that came about over a decade earlier. Now they may take it to the next level with gestures.

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AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson recently indicated that he believes most adopters of Apple's iPad will choose the Wi-Fi-only version rather than spring for an additional monthly subscription. You don't say.

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AT&T and Motorola have teamed up to offer what is AT&T's first Android handset, the Backflip. Despite the device's many strengths, there's a major weakness that seriously compromises the phone: It doesn't have Google Search.

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Today Apple filed a lawsuit against competitor HTC. Apple says that HTC is infringing on 20 phone-related patents and CEO Steve Jobs notes that the company is going to act to protect its intellectual property.

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There is a new app that allows you to take a picture of someone and get personal information on them from various social networks. It does this using facial recognition and then matches it against photos on sites like Twitter and Facebook. You can begin to see the possibilities.

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Scuttlebutt leaking from China indicates a possible hiccup in the impending launch of Apple's iPad. According to sources, a manufacturing snafu has seriously constrained the number of units that will be available, and could push the iPad's debut from March to April.

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Microsoft said from the start that Windows Phone 7 would not be compatible with older devices running Windows Mobile 6.5.x. This didn't stop the blogosphere from keeping its fingers crossed that Microsoft's latest mobile platform could trickle down to older phones. To quell rumors, Microsoft has laid down the law.

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It looks like Google may be trying to get all of its Android devices in the hands of consumers upgraded to the latest release, 2.1. This should be welcome news to those who have a device with the older 1.6 or even 1.5 release. The bad news is that some devices will require a total wipe first, and that personal data and applications will have to be reloaded.

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Sprint began making webOS 1.4 available to the Palm Pre and Palm Pixi during the early morning hours on February 27. Verizon customers had to wait an additional 24 hours before their devices began updating, too. The new version of webOS brings system-wide improvements.

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June and Apple's WWDC are approaching swiftly. Though we're still three-plus months out, reports of what Apple plans to announce are already taking shape. Morgan Stanley believes that new models are coming, and they'll be cheaper to buy and cheaper to own.

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Users who downloaded and installed an unofficial software update for the Motorola CLIQ are seeing red. Turns out there are major bugs in the update that essentially brick the CLIQ. T-Mobile's advice? Don't update.

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In light of the bad financial news coming from Palm, CEO Jon Rubinstein took the opportunity to shore up the confidence of Palm employees. He sent a company wide email that outlines what the company is doing to get fully back on track.

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Windows Mobile can't catch a break. Since the announcement of Windows Phone 7 Series at Mobile World Congress, WinMo 6.5.3 has been cast aside like an old toy on Christmas morning. The latest kick in the stomach comes from Adobe. All plans to provide Flash 10 for WinMo have been halted as the software developer targets WinPho 7 this fall.

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Just after Palm released some bad news today about its sales forecasts, the changelog for webOS version 1.4 has mysteriously surfaced. There are genuinely good changes in store for webOS devices. Let's take a look.

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If things looked bad earlier this week for Palm, they look worse now. Palm updated its guidance for the current quarter and the numbers have been revised downward. The new numbers will be "well below its previously forecasted range of $1.6 billion to $1.8 billion.”

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If you have had any kind of smartphone in the past decade, you are probably aware of and have even used PocketGear or Handango to purchase your apps. Now these two software retailers are combining their catalogs to go head to head against platform owned stores like Apple's App Store and Microsoft's Marketplace for Windows Mobile. Will it help them survive though?

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For some unknown reason, Skype is no longer making Skype and Skype Lite available to the Windows Mobile platform. Skype's support page says, "We felt that Skype Lite and Skype for Windows Mobile were not offering the best possible Skype experience." What gives? Updated with explanation from Skype.

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On Feb. 23 Apple released a third beta version of the iPhone OS 3.2 software development kit for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. It wasn't available long, however. Apple pulled the updated beta SDK mere hours after it went live. Thankfully, a few developers were able to download it before the link went dead. They found a few interesting details buried inside.

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One of the benefits for manufacturers for Windows Mobile phones until now has been the incredibly wide variety of hardware they could build for the mobile platform. Windows Phone 7 Series is going to change all of that. Microsoft is strictly controlling the hardware specs that are allowed for the device. We've got some rumors on what is and isn't allowed.

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As part of its reorganizational efforts, Motorola indicated that it might pick up and move its handset and home businesses to California. Why? Because apparently Motorola thinks the talent pool in Chicago is tapped out.

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After two and a half years in the market, Apple's iPhone has overtaken Microsoft's Windows Mobile platform in overall smartphone share around the globe. Apple moved past Microsoft to become the third-largest deployed smartphone platform worldwide. RIM holds onto the number two spot worldwide, but Nokia is still number one.

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Palm's stock has declined from a high of over $17 in October to just over $8.50 as of this morning. What's behind the halving of Palm's value? Well, tepid sales of its webOS smartphones are one factor. Its low stockpile of cash isn't helping either. Can the ailing company make it through the year without being absorbed by a competitor?

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It has barely been a week since Microsoft formally announced Windows Phone 7 Series, the successor to current Windows Mobile devices. Even though the platform has garnered quite a bit of praise and buzz, an analyst is suggesting that it might not be enough to turn the tide and Microsoft may need to resort to buying another cell phone maker.

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Mother Nature can dish out some cruel punishment. Almost nothing is more intense -- and destructive -- than a hurricane. Given the importance of communications during times of emergency, Verizon Wireless built a new switch in south Florida that can withstand a Category 5 hurricane.

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Users of the Google Nexus One may notice that Google Earth recently became available in the Android Market. Google Earth supports devices running Android 2.1 and up, and offers some really nifty features.

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A report that ran late last week suggested that Sprint is preparing to launch a WiMax-equipped phone by the end of June. Sprint confirmed for InformationWeek that it is on target to offer a WiMax device by "summer." That device could be the Android-powered HTC Supersonic.

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There has been a lot of discussion about Adobe's Flash on mobile devices. It is deemed so critical to the web that Apple was forced to stop advertising that the iPhone could access "all of the web" when it didn't support Flash. One blogger doesn't think that Flash belongs on any touch-only device.

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To celebrate Photoshop's 20th Anniversary, Photoshop co-creator Russell Brown asked Ansca Mobile to re-create Photoshop 1.0 for the iPhone.

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Microsoft has had something it hasn't had for a few years - lots of buzz and enthusiasm for its latest incarnation of Windows Mobile, now dubbed Windows Phone 7 Series. They have taken some lessons learned from the Apple playbook and combined it with some of their own tricks.

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According to SuperCover Insurance, iPhone owners smash their old iPhone on purpose when a new model is announced in order to get a free upgrade. SuperCover also says that 40% of all claims are suspicious. Is the iPhone that addicting?

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AT&T is the last major wireless network operator in the U.S. to launch an Android handset. Though one in is on the way -- Motorola's Backflip -- the company said today that it plans to have a total of five Android handsets available by the end of June this year.

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