Orange has a new solution to running out of credit for pre-pay customers - an overdraft. Customers signing up to the company’s Speakeasy pre-pay tariff can get 2.50 worth of ‘overdraft’ (known as the Reserve Tank) to stay connected when… Continued

Content-driven MVNO files for Chapter 11 Amp’d, the US MVNO launched less than two years ago and targeted at da urban yoof, has filed for Chapter 11 - protecting itself from creditors while trying to sort out its finances. Continued

Review Diving with a digicam How do you sell a seven-megapixel camera when so many rivals are doing the same? You can’t rely on the usual features - big LCD, anti-blur tech, slimline metal casing, etc - because everyone else has those too. No, you need something a little different, and in Casio’s case that means offering your latest compact camera with an optional underwater kit. Continued

Red Herring has reported that Vodafone and Orange has blocked customers from using Internet telephony services such as Skype over their networks. Phones are being shipped that have specifically had their VoIP capabilities disabled. One such phone is the Nokia… Continued

No more bugfixes for you Sony Ericsson’s long-suffering smartphone users are spitting mad at a decision by the company not to issue any more firmware updates to their phones. The policy was confirmed on Tuesday, and affects owners of the P990i smartphone, M600i communicator and W950 music phone. Continued

MacBooks, Vaios challenged Dell has revamped its Inspiron laptop line with a set of three models all available in a choice of eight “vibrant” colours and with a pick of Intel or AMD processors. Continued

I’ll see you in court. Oh, you’re already there Nokia has filed another lawsuit against Qualcomm in their ever-growing list of patent spats. Continued

Analysis Getting in to Gears The most critical battle in the wireless world is to take the reins of the mobile internet as it evolves, and that means all the majors are trying to create a software platform that will make the web even more usable on a small device than it is on a PC, and so drive new applications and revenue streams. Continued

Frees up thousands of pink slips Texas semiconductor manufacturer Freescale is cutting jobs across the company as part of a strategy to reduce costs during a sluggish year. Continued

Mobile Clinic Keeping it safe We asked and you responded in kind with the key issues you’re facing with mobilising your workforce. Below, we’ve got three industry experts - all of whom have racked up more years in the mobile world than most of us have had hot dinners - who are trying to give you some pointers on nailing this stuff. Continued

Operators charging more than NASA for messaging VoIP provider Vyke has added text messaging to its mobile phone client, enabling its customers to text each other for free and charging just over a penny to text anyone else. Continued

Is that a barbecue in your lap or… When laptop batteries aren’t bursting into white-hot flames, incinerating loved-ones, treasured possessions and airline luggage compartments in a ball of fiery plasma they’re right useful products. Continued

Version 1 Linux ready for mobile phone use Writing a software app for mobile phones can be an frustrating experience. What’s sauce on one handset, may be poison on another. For compatability across phones, manufacturers and cellcos remains an elusive goal. Continued

World+dog gangs up on Apple MusicStation, the service that aims to give unlimited mobile access to music worldwide for a small weekly fee, finally went live today. Continued

Samsung has become the latest hard disk drive maker to get a 1TB desktop product out the door, with the launch of its SpinPoint F1 series. It follows hot on the heels of Seagate, which got its own terabyte drive out last week. Continued

Danny Boyle’s film Sunshine informed us earlier this year that “if the sun dies, so do we”. And now that palpable statement could also ring true for your mobile - should you live in China, that is. Continued

Vodafone gets first shout It’s here, it’s the Google phone. Yes, LG’s KU-580 handset, which incorporates Google Search, Google Mail and Google Maps - watch out, iPhone - has come to Europe. Continued

World+dog gangs up on Apple MusicStation, the service that aims to give unlimited mobile access to music worldwide for a small weekly fee, finally went live today. Continued

Repurposed not to work any more Vodafone UK has launched a mobile optimising technology which reformats web pages to fit onto a mobile phone screen. Continued

Is that a barbecue in your lap or… When laptop batteries aren’t bursting into white-hot flames, incinerating loved-ones, treasured possessions and airline luggage compartments in a ball of fiery plasma they’re right useful products. Continued

Review If stereos were Stetsons, this would be a ten gallon hat Of late, the compact Hi-Fi system has struggled to find a place in the affections of consumers keener on more sophisticated home cinema audio rigs. However, the technology that looked like it was about to drive the last nail into the compact Hi-Fi coffin is set to breath new life into the format as products like the Gigajuke deliver the playback quality of a Hi-Fi combined with the storage capacity of a hard drive. Continued

Samsung has launched a skinny, stick-like digital music player that squeezes in touch-sensitive controls, 128 x 64 OLED screen and a retractable slimline USB connector. Continued

But is it pre-shrunk? First Prada, now Levi’s. The jeans maker is to launch a mobile phone, it said this week, but the doyenne of demin is remaining tight-lipped about many of the device’s capabilites. Continued

One unit for you desk, one for under it Sony has taken the wraps off a desktop system that contains not only system unit but two, one for the bulk of the PC’s innards, the other for the optical drives - one of which is a Blu-ray Disc unit. Continued

Vodafone gets first shout It’s here, it’s the Google phone. Yes, LG’s KU-580 handset, which incorporates Google Search, Google Mail and Google Maps - watch out, iPhone - has come to Europe. Continued

Samsung has become the latest hard disk drive maker to get a 1TB desktop product out the door, with the launch of its SpinPoint F1 series. It follows hot on the heels of Seagate, which got its own terabyte drive out last week. Continued

Analysis Long-planned escape from beige boxes Microsoft’s announcement of Surface Computing, basically a PC built into a coffee table, might indeed represent a new paradigm in computing technology, but for Microsoft it’s just another attempt at getting its software out from the beige boxes under our desks to somewhere, anywhere, else. Continued

Samsung has turned to one of the world’s leading - apparently - industrial designers to remould its latest handset as a “pragmatic work of art” rather than a run-of-the-mill candybar. Continued

Comment Biter bit Qualcomm had yet another setback in the courtroom this week, as Broadcom was awarded $19.64m in damages for incorporating Broadcom technology in its baseband chips and software. Continued

Take-up increasing, but progress is slow The mobile internet is more toll road than superhighway, but the logjam could clear up. Continued

Comeuppance from Broadcom The US International Trade Commission has barred the import of new cell phones that use chips made Qualcomm, following a legal determination they infringe a patent held by competitor Broadcom. Continued

Red Herring has reported that Vodafone and Orange has blocked customers from using Internet telephony services such as Skype over their networks. Phones are being shipped that have specifically had their VoIP capabilities disabled. One such phone is the Nokia… Continued

Pictures claiming to have been taken on Apple’s forthcoming iPhone have tipped up on the internet. The image, showing a man tucking into some jam on toast, was spotted by Mobile Guerilla, after constantly typing taken with an apple iphone… Continued

T-Mobile has just launched the web’n'walk USB modem, which is compatible with both PC and Mac, offering broadband speeds of up to 1.8Mbps. And according to T-Mobile, it’s significantly cheaper than the similar device from Vodafone. On comparable 12-month price… Continued

Nearly half of Americans adults have heard of the iPhone, despite the fact it’s not even out yet, according to a survey. What’s more, 17 percent said they already wanted to buy one - something that will not doubt delight… Continued