Stories by Barbara E. Hernandez

Microsoft will debut three new smartphones that carry its revamped Windows Phone 7 operating system on Oct. 11, offering them on wireless carrier AT&T a month later, according to the Wall Street Journal.

RIM unveiled its new PlayBook in San Francisco Monday to mixed reviews and several unanswered questions.

It's all been speculation and rumor for the last year, but now that the Wall Street Journal has joined the rumor mill, many are saying that Research in Motion will launch its top-secret "BlackPad", or Blackberry tablet, in San Francisco on Monday.

Google's Android platform was the only operating system to gain users from May through June, a sign that Android may soon dominate the smartphone market, according to ComScore.

Recently I wrote about how the rumored Apple iTV could help your company with tools including easy videoconferencing and online video libraries.

About 20 per cent of mobile phone users said the antenna problem on the iPhone 4 caused them not to buy one. But more than 60 per cent said it was because of Apple's exclusive carrier contract with AT&T -- and that they couldn't use carrier Verizon Wireless -- that they didn't want the handset.

Google Voice has been offering plenty of new services lately, including adding a new missed call feature that will send out missed call notifications to your inbox or e-mail account.

Google unveiled on Wednesday its much hinted-at Google Instant, a search engine display that shows results as you type, even predicting what you want before you're finished writing.

The iPad, which could dominate the tablet market until 2012, has been appearing in boardrooms and cubicles around the country. Previously it could be blamed on a manager showing off a new gadget or ordering one for the office in hopes of figuring out what to do with it later. But with Apple's 4.2 iOS upgrade available in November, the iPad will soon have wireless printing, the ability to share files and multitask (the final two were available on the iPhone but not the iPad) -- basically all things an office device should be able to do.

In a continuing trend, more businesses are shifting loyalties from Blackberry to iPhones and Android devices as the relative newcomers make inroads into the corporate world. Three-quarters of the 200 businesses surveyed in the United States and the U.K in the study reported that their employees are choosing other than Blackberry, Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd. reported to Bloomberg. The number was 83 percent for U.S. companies.

Only a few weeks ago Dell was taking a beating over its tweener device, the Streak. But now ViewSonic is unveiling a similar mini tablet, the ViewPad 7, which is a phone with a 7-inch screen and 2.2 Android OS, or Froyo, cameras for front and back and 3G data transmission. Could this signal a larger demand for a bigger phone or a smaller iPad?

Microsoft is reportedly spending $500 million to launch its Windows Phone 7, and maybe the product needs it. But does that mean it will be a flop or success? For Microsoft, the price tag doesn't seem to make a difference.

Microsoft says that it has more than 300,000 downloads of beta tools for developers creating applications for its Windows Phone 7 app store, which is set to compete with the app-laden marketplaces for the iPhone and Android phones.

Those lamenting the choices in the battle against Apple's iPad are now being given two options from Hewlett Packard: WebOS or Windows.

The Apple iOS, which runs on its iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad, has a flaw in how it reads PDF documents that makes it easier to hack. This flaw is exploited by JailbreakMe, a one-click site that makes it easy for anyone without any real tech skills to hack into their own iPhone.