Stories by John Cox

Microsoft and Nokia both have a lot to lose - and gain - by their mobile alliance, with the Finnish handset maker deciding to adopt Windows Phone 7 as its smartphone operating system. 

The hacker group known as Chronic Dev Team has released code that lets any Apple device running the latest iOS firmware to load apps without having to go through the iTunes App Store.

An analyst's open letter to Nokia's CEO, a former Microsoft executive, has triggered intense speculation that the Finnish phone maker will adopt Windows Phone 7 as the firmware for at least some of its struggling smartphone line.

The first expected Windows Phone 7 firmware update is due to be released next Monday, if you believe some English language tech Web sites, which are reporting on rumors from French tech Web sites, which appear to be based on even earlier rumors from English language Web sites.

To spur Android app purchases and help application developers, Google will introduce a range of new features around its online Android Market, including an in-app payment option and expanded carrier billing.

A Microsoft executive said this week the company shipped more than 2 million copies of its revamped operating system, Windows< Phone 7, in the most recent quarter. The careful admission at once triggered another spasm of misconstrued, misinterpreted, mistaken, and misanthropic speculation on the success or failure of Microsoft's smartphone platform.

Google Wednesday released a preview of the software development kit for Android 3.0, which has been designed specifically for mobile devices with larger screens, particularly tablets.

Microsoft has reportedly traced the cause of random, high spikes in data usage by some Windows Phone 7 handsets to a widely accessed "third-party solution." Microsoft is working with that so-far unidentified vendor, according to SeattlePI.com.

Two wireless LAN vendors are adding wired connectivity to their Wi-Fi offerings, to create managed, cloud-based networking services for a range of enterprise customers.

Almost two years after taking a medical leave of absence, Apple CEO Steve Jobs Monday announced he’s taking another one.

A survey of 250 IT managers finds that nine out of 10 are planning this year to dramatically expand the number of mobile applications deployed at their companies.

A recent CNBC interview with an HP executive is focusing attention on the company's expected webOS device news, including a possible tablet, on Feb. 9 in San Francisco.

An online retail site at University of Connecticut is warning thousands of customers that their billing information may have been hacked.

Jailbreaking a smartphone means fiddling with its OS so you can load the applications of your choice, bypassing the requirement to download digitally signed apps only from, say, Apple’s iTunes App Store. Opinions tend to be binary: Either jailbreaking is an unalloyed act of end user liberation and empowerment, or it’s the Digital Apocalypse.

Notify Technology has announced a new hosted management service aimed at enterprise deployments of different mobile platforms, including iOS, Android, BlackBerry OS, webOS and Windows Mobile.