Facebook stock closes nearly flat in debut

It was barely a "like" and definitely not a "love" from Facebook investors as the online social network's stock failed to live up to the hype in its trading debut Friday.

U.S. says will bar some Motorola Mobility phones

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Some Motorola Mobility smartphones infringe on a Microsoft patent and will be barred from importation to the United States, a U.S. trade panel said on Friday. The order by the U.S. International Trade Commission has been sent to President Barack Obama, who has 60 days to consider whether to overturn it for policy reasons. The legal fight at the ITC is one of dozens globally between various smartphone makers. Google's Android system has become the top-selling smartphone operating system, ahead of mobile systems by Apple, Microsoft, Research in Motion and others. ...

Facebook stock debut fails to sizzle

It was barely a "like" and definitely not a "love" from Facebook investors as the online social network's stock failed to live up to the hype in its trading debut Friday.

Facebook falls flat in public debut

After all the hype, Facebook's first day as a public company ended where it began.

Facebook falls flat in public debut

After all the hype, Facebook's first day as a public company ended where it began. Its stock closed at $38.23, up 23 cents, after pricing Thursday night at $38 per share.

A Super Sappy Thank You to Facebook; Just the King's Stutters

We realize there's only so much time one can spend in a day watching new trailers, viral video clips, and shaky cell phone footage of people arguing on live television. This is why every day The Atlantic Wire highlights the videos that truly earn your five minutes (or less) of attention. Today: A very hilarious and embarrassing tribute to Facebook, things get meta with Conan O'Brien on the the Late Show, and a sensual reading of 50 Shades of Grey with Gilbert Gottfreid.

Facebook stock up slightly in public debut

Facebook is trading up 8 percent Friday, as investors seek to put a dollar value on the company that turned online social networking into a global cultural phenomenon.

4G Reality Check: Beware of These Cons and Lies

Anyone in the market for a smartphone these days will likely see the term 4G shoved in their face by the major carriers. "We have the biggest network!" "We have the fastest speeds!" Sometimes the providers back up their claims with blazing fast data and great coverage, but other times, consumers will wind up feeling cheated. Here are some examples in which the reality simply doesn't live up to the marketing hype.Sprint's 4G LTE Phones: Hurry Up and Wait

10 Gadgets You’d Be a Fool to Buy Right Now

They say patience is a virtue, but like temperance and chastity, it’s not much fun. Unfortunately, if you want to reach a state of true techstasy, you may need to repress your desire to buy a new gadget today and wait for the next version to come out.

Facebook stock climbs in public debut

Facebook updated its status to "public company" on Friday.

Improve Your Android Home Screen With This App [VIDEO]

Facebook stock jumps in first day of trading after raking in $16 billion in IPO

Facebook stock jumps in public debut

Facebook is updating its status to "public company" as its stock jumps in its debut on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Verizon data fans to pay more in service or phones

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Verizon Wireless plans to make its data-hungry customers pay a lot more, either in service fees or smartphone prices, as it tries to cut costs and boost revenue from data services. The No. 1 U.S. mobile provider said it will eliminate unlimited data plans for all customers who upgrade their cellphone at a discounted rate, potentially driving more business to its smaller rival Sprint Nextel. Only customers who pay full price for their cellphones will be able to keep unlimited data service plans for a flat monthly fee of $30 a month. ...

ZTE confirms security hole in U.S. phone

(Reuters) - ZTE Corp, the world's No.4 handset vendor and one of two Chinese companies under U.S. scrutiny over security concerns, said one of its mobile phone models sold in the United States contains a vulnerability that researchers say could allow others to control the device. The hole affects ZTE's Score model that runs on Google Inc's Android operating system and was described by one researcher as "highly unusual." "I've never seen it before," said Dmitri Alperovitch, co-founder of cybersecurity firm, CrowdStrike. ...

Samsung gets 9 million preorders for new Galaxy phone: report

SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co has received some 9 million pre-orders for its third-generation Galaxy S smartphone from more than 100 global carriers, the Korea Economic Daily reported on Friday. Samsung toppled Apple as the world's biggest smartphone maker in the first quarter, helped by its line-up of Galaxy named devices running on Google's free Android software. The latest version of its flagship phone, unveiled this month, will first go on sale on May 29 in Germany before being rolled out to other countries. ...

Facebook Won't Save California

The social media giant’s $104 billion IPO is part of a tech boom that benefits only the wealthiest.

Verizon data fans to pay more in service or phones

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Verizon Wireless plans to make its data-hungry customers pay a lot more, either in service fees or smartphone prices, as it tries to cut costs and boost revenue from data services. The No. 1 U.S. mobile provider said it will eliminate unlimited data plans for all customers who upgrade their cellphone at a discounted rate, potentially driving more business to its smaller rival Sprint Nextel . Only customers who pay full price for their cellphones will be able to keep unlimited data service plans for a flat monthly fee of $30 a month. ...

Today Show's Topsy-Turvy 'Call Me Maybe'; The Deschanel Family Twee

We realize there's only so much time one can spend in a day watching new trailers, viral video clips, and shaky cell phone footage of people arguing on live television. This is why every day The Atlantic Wire highlights the videos that truly earn your five minutes (or less) of attention. Today: Zooey Deschanel has a twee brother who also loves Siri, the Today Show does Call Me Maybe -- Today Show style and baby jaguars. 

Apple Dispute Halts Sales of HTC One X, EVO 4G LTE

Wi-Lan says court to proceed with patent trial

The rumored 4-inch iPhone screen: Is bigger better?

Panel Sympathetic to Geolocation Privacy Concerns

A match made in heaven: BlackBerry PlayBook and… Windows Phone? [video]

What do you get when you cross a struggling vendor’s debut tablet with a mobile operating system that has spent the past 18 months running into the brick wall that is Google’s Android operating system and Apple’s iOS? One Dutch developer seemingly needed to find out, so he ported Microsoft’s perpetually-emerging Windows Phone OS onto RIM’s BlackBerry PlayBook. The result is a somewhat responsive slate that gives us a look at what will never be; Microsoft is on record in stating that it has no interest in bringing Windows Phone — emphasis on “Phone” — to tablets. Of course, with the software giant’s next-generation Windows 8 platform on the horizon there is no reason to put Windows Phone on a

Wi-Lan says court rules in its favor in patent case

Samsung on top as mobile phone sales dip: survey

Mobile phone sales worldwide suffered a rare dip in the first three months of this year on softened demand in Asian markets, industry tracker Gartner reported Wednesday.

UK agency approves BlackBerry 7 OS for government

(Reuters) - Research In Motion Ltd said the UK agency responsible for setting standards for computer security has approved the BlackBerry 7 operating system for government use. This will allow the government employees to use six models of the smart phone including BlackBerry Bold 9900, BlackBerry Torch 9810 and BlackBerry Torch 9860, RIM said. Ministry of defence, central government employees and more than half of the country's police force use BlackBerry smart phones, the company said. (Reporting by Aftab Ahmed in Bangalore; Editing by Joyjeet Das)

'Smartphone Face': Is your cell phone making your face sag?

LG announces Optimus UI for Ice Cream Sandwich devices

LG on Wednesday announced a new user-interface skin for its Android-powered devices running Ice Cream Sandwich. The South Korean company’s Optimus UI 3.0 is said to be designed with convenience and speed in mind, and is being labeled as both unobtrusive and simple. “With smartphone hardware becoming more and more similar, it’s important for manufacturers to differentiate their products from the competition through the user interface,” said Dr. Jong-seok Park, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “Both carriers and customers tell us that they want LG phones to look and feel unique and the UI plays a big part in that. LG is really going to push the boundaries of what is possible in user interfaces starting with

Global mobile phone sales now in decline

Despite some vendors seeing record smartphone sales, worldwide sales of mobile phones declined 2% year-over-year to 419.1 million units in the first quarter of 2012, according to research firm Gartner. The decline represents the first of its kind since the second quarter of 2009. “Global sales of mobile devices declined more than expected due to a slowdown in demand from the Asia/Pacific region,” said Anshul Gupta, principal research analyst at Gartner. “The first quarter, traditionally the strongest quarter for Asia – which is driven by Chinese New Year, saw a lack of new product launches from leading manufacturers, and users delayed upgrades in the hope of better smartphone deals arriving later in the year.” In the smartphone market, Android accounted for more

Android and iOS drive mobile app explosion [infographic]

One year ago, less than 40% of mobile subscribers in the United States had a smartphone. That number has increased dramatically, however; according to Nielsen, one in two mobile subscribers now owns a smartphone. Driven mostly by the rise of Android and iOS, which account for more than 80% of the U.S. smartphone market, 2012 has turned into the year of the app. The average number of apps installed on each smartphone has jumped 28% in 2012, an increase from 32 apps to 41. Smartphone owners are also spending increasingly more time using apps than using the mobile web, roughly 10% more than last year. Nielsen notes that the top five most active apps continue to be Facebook, YouTube, Android

Samsung on top as mobile phone sales dip: survey

Mobile phone sales worldwide suffered a rare dip in the first three months of this year on softened demand in Asian markets, industry tracker Gartner reported Wednesday.

Here's How Bad Android's Fragmentation Problem Is [GRAPHIC]

6 Educational Android Apps for Adults

HTC EVO 4G LTE review

Successfully launching an iconic smartphone is a daunting task, and following up a blockbuster flagship phone launch is even more difficult. Apple and Samsung might make it look easy, but companies like Motorola, Nokia and RIM have shown us that the success of one phone is anything but a guarantee that sequels will be met with the same fanfare. Perhaps no recent smartphone launch better embodies that notion than the HTC EVO 4G, a smartphone that gave Sprint a much-needed smash hit when it launched in 2010, and its successor the EVO 3D, which is now all but forgotten less than a year after its debut. Now, Sprint and HTC are back again with the HTC EVO 4G LTE, a

HTC smartphones blocked by US customs

US mobile carrier Sprint said Wednesday it was delaying the introduction of an Android smartphone from Taiwan's HTC after the devices were blocked by US customs.

Android fragmentation gets visualized, again

Android’s rise to the top of the mobile operating system food chain as measured by device proliferation has been remarkably swift, but not without its drawbacks. Due to the nature of Google’s open source OS and its aggressive strategy, smartphone vendors that make use of the platform have each gone their own way with software development, hardware design and other key elements. As a result, Android fragmentation, which might be defined as the spread of diverging versions of the Android OS across devices with varying core characteristics, was born. Whether or not fragmentation is a problem in the Android ecosystem is a topic that is intensely debated by enthusiasts. Some claim the problem will eventually lead to Android’s downfall while others

How to Lower Your Cell Phone Bill

Why Is Apple So Scared?

As Android widens its lead in the smartphone and tablet marketplace, Apple is starting to look a little frightened. The company that once answered to nobody (but Steve Jobs) seems to be cowering in the shadows of folks like Samsung and HTC. Instead of doing its normal trick of breaking conventions, Apple actually looks like it's going on the defensive with the latest designs for the iPhone and iPad and changing the specs of their flagship devices to match those of its competitors' gadgets. It's beyond mere imitation, though. ...

Apple patent spats finally pay off

The launch of Sprint’s flagship EVO 4G LTE has been delayed indefinitely and supply of AT&T’s flagship HTC One X will be constrained as a result of ongoing patent disputes between HTC and Apple. HTC confirmed in a statement emailed to BGR on Tuesday evening that shipments of its new EVO 4G LTE and One X smartphones have been held up by United States Customs as part of an International Trade Commission investigation. Before the phones can clear Customs, the ITC will need to determine that HTC’s new handsets are in compliance with an earlier ruling. “The US availability of the HTC One X and HTC EVO 4G LTE has been delayed due to a standard U.S. Customs review of