Comment As another bad quarter bites Sprint Nextel announced another disastrous quarter, its problems only highlighted by the strength of Verizon and AT&T, and appears to be in danger of sacrificing its only routes out of its “also-ran” rut, as a peace offering to understandably angry but short termist investors. Continued

Sticks it to Microsoft too The iPhone? Undoubtedly a very nice product, but there is no virtual substitute for a real keyboard, reckons RIM CEO Mike Lazaridis: “Try typing a web key on a touch screen on an iPhone, that’s a real challenge. You cannot see what you type.” Continued

Comment Turns to 802.11n Controlling the technology that will underpin the next generation of fast wireless networks, especially for the multimedia home and HDTV, will be a critical competitive advantage, and the jostling for position is already starting. Continued

Review Sounds like an ICBM… Don t you just love it when a good product is tweaked ever-so-slightly to make it much better? Not just gadget tick-list bonus points, or fashion-conscious dabbling, but genuine changes that do the business. HTC’s TyTN II, first announced back in August, is evidence that the Taiwanese manufacturer has done just that. Continued

Review Shiny shiny? LaCie has been making a selling point out of designer external hard-drives for years, but as many of its rivals have adopted a similar strategy - those not slugging it out on price, that is - the French company been forced to up the ante with ever more outlandish products. Continued

Works out how to use window glass Samsung scientists have figured out how to make LCD panels from ordinary glass plates, the company announced yesterday. If the process is put into production, it could dramatically reduce the costs of LCD screens for laptops and TVs. Continued

To subscribe to The Register’s weekly newsletter - seven days of IT in a single hit - click here It s the end of the week. Thinking about that after work pint? Getting ready for the Rugby final? Continued

Review So cutting edge you could shave with it So here it is, the new big boy on the block. Replacing the old K800i/K810i at the top of the Sony Ericsson cameraphone family tree, the K850i shoulders quite a burden of expectation. After all, as far as Sony Ericsson is concerned this is pretty much as good as it gets. Continued

Less baggage Sony has confirmed rumours of a PS2 redesign and said that the lighter, third-generation model will be released in Japan later this month. Continued

Opinion Memories of Java Yesterday, Google’s announcement of Android headlined the blogosphere, as much for what it was as for what it wasn’t. For us, Google’s announcement took us a few steps down memory lane, back to an era when software appliances were better known as turnkey systems. Continued

4GB or 8GB with your backhand If you want a 4GB or 8GB Memory Stick Pro Duo for your PSP, then you ll have to play ball. Or, more specifically, Smash Court Tennis 3. Continued

Sony has refreshed its PSP line-up for the Christmas rush. It’s releasing the handheld console in a seasonal red shade and with two accompanying bundle packs. Continued

Focus on this Mobile phone cameras and digital zooms are becoming more powerful, but sometimes they just don t cut it when trying to take pictures of, say, the girl next door. So, online retailer Brando has launched an attachable telescope for mobile phones to solve all your distance-viewing problems. Continued

Hot Coffee-like controversy brewing? When Rockstar Studios tweaked controversial video game Manhunt 2 to make it suitable for a US Mature (M) rating rather than Adults Only (AO), it didn’t actually remove the offending material, it has emerged. And now hackers have worked out how to expose the supposed excisions. Continued

Number crunching with Apple Apple’s figures came out on Tuesday, revealing that all is going well in Cupertino, but analysts crawling over the details are trying to work out if they reveal anything else besides - such as the revenue cut Apple is getting from every iPhone in use. Continued

Old console, new colour, karaoke bundle Despite investing many millions of dollars into the PS3, Sony thinks the best way of boosting its consoles sales is recolouring the new model’s seven-year-old predecessor. So, enter a “limited edition” ceramic white PS2. Continued

Special Report Behind the Great Wall of sound Want to break into China? Ed Peto reports from the nation where goths adore boy bands, where the major labels created the black market, and where digital looks poised to leapfrog analogue. Continued

CTIA Love and kisses to Her Majesty Sprint has confirmed that the name of its new broadband wireless service is not a typo. But it also admits that XOHM means absolutely nothing. Continued

Virtual network via Vodafone Carphone Warehouse (CPW) has started offering monthly contracts on Talkmobile, a new branded virtual operator. Continued

Two million copies and counting Apple has sold two million copies of Leopard, the latest version of its Mac OS X operating system, since its release on Friday. The company said the Leopard sales rush outpaced that of its predecessor Tiger, until now the most successful Apple operating system. Continued

Code-tastic whispers MySQL and Google have quietly tied up a coding deal seen as an integral part of the open source database firm’s software roadmap for the next few years. Continued

To subscribe to The Register’s weekly newsletter - seven days of IT in a single hit - click here Unappealing prospects Continued

Company dumps BD-P2400 model Samsung has finally spoken up over rumours it may drop the BD-P2400 Blu-ray Disc player from its range, confirming that the machine will no longer make it to market. Continued

Review Shiny shiny? LaCie has been making a selling point out of designer external hard-drives for years, but as many of its rivals have adopted a similar strategy - those not slugging it out on price, that is - the French company been forced to up the ante with ever more outlandish products. Continued

Big demand for untethered handsets More than a quarter of a million people have purchased Apple iPhones and unlocked them, the handset’s manufacturer admitted last night. Continued

Updated Got a standard def 16:9 telly? Now you too can use an Apple TV I’ve been playing with Apple’s Apple TV set-top box this week, and I have to say I like it. But Apple’s missing a trick by not allowing those of us - me included - without HD TVs to make the most of the device. No matter: a simple hardware trick solves the problem. Continued

To subscribe to The Register’s weekly newsletter - seven days of IT in a single hit - click here Unappealing prospects Continued

Q&A My query is regarding two new arrivals from Nokia, the N95 8GB and the Nokia Navigator 6110. I don’t know which to choose. Continued

To subscribe to Channel Register’s weekly newsletter - seven days of channel news in a single hit - click here. Microsoft was in good spirits this week at the launch of its long-awaited “Microsoft unified communications software” in San Francisco, officially announced by chairman Bill Gates, business division president Jeff Raikes, and a guitarist in a red velvet jacket. Continued

Available for download next month Veteran rock outfit Led Zeppelin has announced it’ll make its catalogue available on 13 November from “all online music retailers”, Reuters reports. Continued

Headed for HD showdown with BBC Britain’s communications watchdog has warned broadcasters they have no God-given right to reoccupy the analogue TV spectrum that they began vacating this week. Continued

Number crunching with Apple Apple’s figures came out on Tuesday, revealing that all is going well in Cupertino, but analysts crawling over the details are trying to work out if they reveal anything else besides - such as the revenue cut Apple is getting from every iPhone in use. Continued