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• Samsung Epic 4G smartphone to debut Aug. 31

  The Samsung Epic 4G will debut Aug. 31 for $250 after rebate and with a Sprint Nextel two-year agreement, the carrier announced today.

• After beating Microsoft, VirnetX hits Apple with patent suit

  A firm that received a US$200 million settlement from MIcrosoft in May filed similar patent infringement charges against Apple Wednesday, claiming that the iPhone and iPad illegally use its technology.

• HP details tablet plans, confirms Windows 7 and WebOS versions

  Hewlett Packard definitely plans to be in the tablet business, but questions remain about whether it will create different hardware for each of three expected tablet operating systems -- Android , Windows 7 and WebOS.

• Google expands Voice Search with new actions

  Google on Thursday introduced a tool for easily sending links from its Chrome browser on a PC to an Android phone, and added 12 more voice-activated actions to the Voice Search tool in Android 2.2.

• Samsung Epic smartphone sales date coming soon

  The Samsung Epic, an Android 2.1 smartphone with a physical slideout keyboard that will run on Sprint's WiMax 4G network, could ship by Aug. 21, based on various reports citing unnamed sources.

• iPad, laptops drive integrated chip market

  Four out of five PC laptops that ship in 2014 are expected to use integrated graphics processors, according to a report released today.

• 4G czar at Sprint backs WiMax 'singularly'

  Don't ask Matt Carter, president of 4G at Sprint Nextel, about LTE, a competing wireless technology. He wants to focus on Sprint's use of WiMax for 4G wireless networks.

• New Android malware texts premium-rate numbers

  Researchers at Russian security company Kaspersky Lab say they've discovered the first malicious software program to target Google's Android mobile operating system.

• Amazon may be eyeing other gadgets than Kindle

  Amazon.com is reportedly considering building prototypes of gadgets other than its Kindle e-reader. But one analyst questioned the value of such devices unless they can be tied to Amazon-provided services and content.

• Apple plugs critical iPhone jailbreak holes

  Apple today patched the two vulnerabilities used to jailbreak Apple's newest iOS 4 operating system, bugs that security researchers warned could be used to hijack iPhones , iPod Touches or iPads.

• iPad halo effect brightens iPhone prospects

  Apple's new iPad casts a "halo" over the older iPhone, with owners of the tablet about twice as likely to want the company's smartphone as consumers who own neither, a Nielsen analyst said today.

• Indonesia presses RIM over its BlackBerry service

  Indonesia is continuing to press Research In Motion (RIM) to allow monitoring of BlackBerry data for security reasons, a request made last year but renewed as the Canadian company feels similar pressure from other countries.

• Elcomsoft releases iPhone 4 password cracker

  Russian password-cracking company Elcomsoft has released new software that can in some instances figure out the password used to encrypt backed-up iPhone data.

• iPhone 4 antenna mess jolts buyer satisfaction rating

  Despite a blizzard of bad press about the iPhone 4's antenna, more than nine out of 10 consumers who have the smartphone said they're happy with their purchase, a pollster said today.

• Mobile spending to pass wired broadband by 2015

  By 2015, the U.S. will spend more money annually on mobile than on all fixed-line communications, not counting enterprise services, Pyramid Research said Tuesday.