Personal communications

To the casual observer, Nokia would seem to be a company with something to prove.

Executive changes, pressure from the Android OS and the iPhone, advanced new hardware from the likes of HTC and Samsung, and the company's lack of carrier relationships in the U.S. have watchers and analysts wondering how long Nokia can hang onto its global dominance in mobile phones. But the company's executive vice president of mobile services, Tero Ojanpera, doesn't seem to be feeling the heat. Either that, or he doesn't have a lot of answers.

In the questions you sent … Read more

Google has acquired a start-up called BlindType that aims to dramatically improve typing on Android and iOS mobile devices.

"We're excited to join Google, and look forward to the great opportunities for mobile innovation that lie ahead," BlindType announced on its blog Friday. The company hasn't released the software, though one review in July was favorable.

Mobile-device typing has changed significantly with the iPhone's functional touch-screen keyboard, Android's reasonably advanced word-prediction system, and Swype's technology for sliding fingers over letters. But as any touch typist or hunt-and-peck tapper knows, mobile typing is still … Read more

The Federal Communications Commission has removed guidance from its Web site that advised consumers shopping for a cell phone to consider the amount of radiation a handset emits. The revisions, which first appeared last week, were not formally announced nor do they appear to be the result of an official change in policy.

On its revised consumer fact sheet the agency says that considering a handset's specific absorption rate (SAR)--which denotes the amount of radio frequency energy (RF) a phone emits--may be misleading because, among other things, the actual SAR for a phone will vary depending on the … Read more

AT&T announced new payment plans for GoPhone today that drastically cut costs to the wireless carrier's prepaid phone service. The revised plans go into effect on October 3, and lower the price of using the Unlimited Daily Talk and Text and Simple Rate plans.

Unlimited Daily Talk and Text users will now pay $2 per day for days they use their phones, as opposed to $3, and the plan includes 200 MB of data. Simple Rate users will see prices drop from 25 cents per minute to 10 cents per minute. Charges apply for making or receiving … Read more

Browser usage statistics for September provide a look at who's gaining clout on the Web: Google's Chrome, twin mobile powerhouses Apple iOS and Google Android, and Microsoft's IE9.

Google's Chrome browser continued its steady rise in usage on NetApplications' network of thousands of Web sites, which get tens of millions of visits monthly, increasing from 7.5 percent in August to 8 percent in September, the analytics firm said.

Microsoft's Internet Explorer remains the top-ranked browser, but its share dipped back below 60 percent, sinking from 60.4 percent to 59.7 percent. Second-place Firefox was essentially flat at 23 percent. Apple's Safari rose a tenth of a point to 5.3 percent. Opera kept its 2.4 percent share.

Chrome is a rising force, a fact that's very useful for Google's ambitions. Not only does it help spread the Google brand, but it also serves as a vehicle to disseminate Google technologies. For example, on Thursday, Google said it will add support for its new WebP image format to Chrome in an effort to speed browser graphics. And it's working to improve the browser: Chrome 7 is getting Google Instant search abilities, some hardware acceleration, and WebGL 3D graphics support by default. … Read more

Nokia announced today that it has begun shipping its new and long-awaited N8 smartphone.

The phone's availability will vary by country and carrier, but customers who preordered online or through a Nokia retail store will be the first in line to get the N8, the company said. A broader rollout will also take place over the coming weeks.

As Nokia's first smartphone running the new Symbian 3 operating system, the N8 has been highly anticipated and, according to the company, has captured the largest number of preorders in Nokia history. Consumers have been able to preorder the new phone … Read more

Texting while driving is a serious safety problem, so much so that the activity is now banned in 30 states in the United States.

How dangerous is it? The U.S. Department of Transportation says that drivers who do anything with a handheld device increase the risk of getting in an injury crash by four times--a concept that can be easy to ignore if you've gotten away with this unscathed.

AdelaVoice is based in East Falmouth, Mass.--a state where, beginning tomorrow, texting while driving will become an offense with a penalty of up to a $500. The company … Read more

NEW YORK--Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg talked about a lot of things in an on-stage discussion Wednesday afternoon with Huffington Post co-founder and namesake Arianna Huffington: the roles of women in the business world, the controversial nature of "The Social Network," and the unsanctioned cinematic retelling of Facebook's early days that premieres on Friday.

"The movie's really fun, and it's very Hollywood," Sandberg said, a cheerier reaction to the film than Facebook executives reportedly made behind closed doors upon seeing an early cut of the David Fincher-directed film. She did, however, classify … Read more

Editors' note: This is a guest column. See Larry Downes' bio below

California Congressman Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, is preparing a limited Net neutrality law he may introduce as early as Tuesday, with hopes of passage before Congress adjourns for the election season.

Washington D.C. newspaper The Hill leaked a draft of the bill yesterday afternoon. The Waxman bill, in its current form, would include basic open-Internet principles in federal communications law, but would do so only until the end of 2012. At that time, the rules would expire, subject to re-examination and … Read more