The NFC payment system has become commonplace in developed societies like Japan, Europe, and most recently the US, but the likes of Canada cannot seem to catch a break until now.
Rogers and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) have announced a partnership that will allow CIBC credit card holders to just swipe an NFC-equipped BlackBerry unit like the Bold 9900 (also known as Bold 9930 in the US) to a matchi… Read More » 

In a move to further boost up its cache of intellectual property portfolio, social networking giant Facebook has acquired anew a group of patents owned previously by International Business Machines Corp. The cache of patents total 750 and covers a broad range of technologies. There’s was no info provided on how much Facebook offered to IBM in exchange to the patents which ranged from search technology to semi… Read More » 

With portable devices like smartphones getting even more and more essential in one’s daily life, people get to value them more. Some people may even want to protect them from the elements if they can. But unfortunately, not all smartphones and other similar devices are always well-protected from them, especially the water. But there’s a new revolutionary way that was just introduced at the 1012 CES cal… Read More » 

A mobile industry observer has posted on Twitter just hours ago, claiming that Microsoft and Nokia executives are about to meet shortly to discuss the possibility of selling the Finnish phone maker’s smartphone division, as well as “one or two” of Nokia’s manufacturing plants. Eldar Murtazin claims that the deal could be finalized in the second half of 2012, leaving Nokia with just its R… Read More » 

Indonesia is one of BlackBerry’s biggest markets, part of it is because of its BlackBerry Messenger service. Parent company RIM wants to set BBM servers within the country, but apparently the government there wants a peek of it.
The Jakarta Post has reported that Indonesia’s telecommunications regulatory body, the BTRI, declines to establish the servers in the world’s largest Muslim nation. Alth… Read More » 

Nokia is beginning to streamline itself in its bid to become a worthy competitor to Apple and Android, starting with its plan to sell off its luxury phone brand Vertu.
Started by Nokia in 1998, Vertu has been repeatedly panned for offering phones with backward specs at expensive prices. What makes Vertu phones cost even more than a Ferrari sports car is its line of exclusive services, such as a “concierge&… Read More » 

Onlive has launched a mobile app that enables gamers to play console-based titles on many current Android devices as well as the iPad. You can choose from over 200 popular and critically-acclaimed video games including Assasin’s Creed Revelations, L.A. Noire, and Defense Grid, which are then streamed efficiently.
The Onlive mobile app comes with a user interface that is similar to the company’s origina… Read More » 

Domino’s Pizza has found a unique way to interact with iPad users and sell some pizzas in the process. The pizza restaurant has partnered with Crispin Porter + Bogusky ad agency to develop an app that allows users to make a pizza onscreen and even order them in real life.
The Domino’s Pizza Hero simulates the experience of its workers as they learn the basics of creating its famous pizzas. As a player… Read More » 

Pakistan’s telecommunication office has ordered its mobile carriers to block text messages that contain words from a list of over 1,600 “obscene” terms. Although the executive order began on November 21, the mobile carriers decided to defer it for now as they seek clarification from Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).
The new policy, as well as the list of forbidden words, was leaked to t… Read More » 

Amazon is taking its traditional one-penny smartphone sale to the next level, making the hearts of frugal folks filled with joy. The web retailer has decided, for a limited time only, to offer every phone under Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T for just $0.01. Hurry up and snatch yourself some Galaxy S II Skyrocket, Droid RAZR, and HTC Rezound among others for just one penny before November 28.
But as with deals su… Read More » 

While most devices nowadays are going the wireless route, there may still be other portable devices that do not have that capacity such as USB flash and external drives. Although such drives are quite useful, they don’t usually provide a wireless feature that will make them even better. One other thing is that USB portable drives are not always supported by all devices that you use. A good alternative availab… Read More » 

Researchers from MIT and Princeton have collaborated and come up with a smartphone application that can predict whether the incoming traffic light would be red, green, or yellow once the driver reaches it. The SignalGuru app works by mounting the smartphone onto the car’s dashboard. Then, the app captures images of traffic lights, which are analyzed based on the lights it flashed. Finally, the data is pass… Read More » 

A report from DigiTimes claims that Samsung may be considering to buy webOS from HP in an effort to compete against Apple and fellow Android phone makers. Adding the fact that Google plans to acquire Motorola (and its treasure throve of patents), this has surely changed the way mobile phone companies do business. DigiTimes seems to stand by its scoop, despite Samsung refuting reports that it plans to buy HP’… Read More » 

Just as HP announced they will no longer produce any of its webOS tablets and smartphones, they have decided to liquidate its remaining stock. HP has slashed the price of its 16GB TouchPad to a mere $99, while the 32GB version is being sold for $149.
So far, the discounted TouchPads are being offered in Canada and Australia, which was completely sold out as soon as the news spread. This has made the HP TouchPad one… Read More »