PHONE

But while most states have been willing to address texting while driving in some way or another, there's lingering doubt whether all will jump on board with the strict regulations recommendations.

NTSB wants the 50 states and the District of Columbia to ban the nonemergency use of portable electronic devices if they aren't designed for supporting the task of driving.

The recommended national ban wouldn't apply to hands-free devices or to passengers of vehicles. In the past, the NTSB has recommended bans for cell phones and messaging devices for novice drivers, school bus drivers and commercial truck drivers, but this is far more reaching -- potentially impacting every driver on the road.

Microsoft Corp appointed a new head for its mobile phone software group on Monday, as the company continues to search for ways to extend its dominance in the PC market to the fast-growing and highly-competitive smartphone business.

Charlie Sheen had a big Oops moment last Thursday when he accidentally gave his private phone number publicly on Twitter intended for Justin Bieber.

Let's face it, until Verizon makes an official announcement, there is no real way of knowing when the Galaxy Nexus will arrive in the United States. There has already been four rumored release dates, and all have been a no-show.

Panasonic Corp, which has warned it will post a $5.5 billion annual loss, will launch a smartphone in Europe next year, the latest Japanese maker to tiptoe late into a fiercely competitive market dominated by Samsung and Apple.

Panasonic Corp will launch a smartphone in Europe next year, the latest Japanese maker to tiptoe late into a fiercely competitive market dominated by Samsung Electronics and Apple.

Those who are habitually hooked on to their mobile phones while driving and whom warnings and punishments cannot deter, can now bank on a technology that can literally shut phones down when the owner is at the wheel.

With around 40,000 apps and growing, the Microsoft Marketplace has only a fraction of the choices available to Android and Apple users. The best apps are the ones that do what you want, look cool and make things easier. There may not be 300,000 apps in the Marketplace, but it's good to have somebody who can curate a list for you, so that's what this is.

The treacherous Verizon Galaxy Nexus tease continues as the phone has made a debut online, flaunting its speedy 4G connectivity and exclusive accessories. But there is still no real way of knowing when the phone will officially be released, only the signs suggest that it will be soon.

Apple prides itself on making its mobile devices easy to use and intuitive to operate. Their newest mobile software update, iOS 5, has several new features that are meant to simplify the interface, but also make it more powerful and productive

Nokia shares jumped on Monday as fears eased over a slump in a phone demand after signs of strong Black Friday sales in the United States, coupled with loss-making Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) dismissing some expectations it would need to raise more money from its parents.

Galaxy Nexus from Verizon, does not have an announced price yet, but it will likely be in the $200 to $400 range. Droid Bionic is $200 on contract now, but the price could go down when the Nexus is released because it would hard to justify paying almost as much for the Bionic as for the next generation Nexus.

German patent firm IPCom said on Friday it plans to ban as quickly as possible the sale and distribution of all HTC 3G devices in Germany following an earlier ruling against the Taiwanese firm.

Microsoft's mobile operating system, Windows Phone, now has around 40,000 apps as more and more smartphone makers pair with the tech giant to run their new devices. So far, Nokia is perhaps the biggest manufacturer to pair with Microsoft, but Samsung and HTC both have some nice devices running the year old system.

Facebook has been working on an official phone codenamed Buffy, according to reports from AllThingsD.

The parents of a murdered British schoolgirl pleaded on Monday for the country's newspapers to curb practices such as phone hacking and covert photography as a public inquiry into media standards turned the spotlight on the celebrity obsessed press.

There are still a number of questions that remain unanswered, in the matter of Lisa Irwin's disappearance, including the fact that a phone call was made her parent's mobile phone, on the night of her disappearance. The call was made to a Megan Wright - a former girlfriend of John Jersey Tanko, a handyman who was working in the neighborhood of the Irwin residence. Tanko is currently in jail, on unrelated charges.

Richard Branson's Virgin group has got the green light to tap mobile phone services in Mexico, a market with high penetration that would require big money to attract customers and build brand recognition.

Richard Branson's Virgin group has got the green light to tap mobile phone services in Mexico, a market with high penetration that would require big money to attract customers and build brand recognition.