An andpound;80 million (US$125 million) investment in BlackBerry and other smartphones for the UK's frontline police did not deliver value for money, the government's Audit Office has concluded. Click here for more.

Klausner Technologies today filed a lawsuit against MetroPCS, claiming that the pre-paid carrier is violating some of its 25 visual voicemail patents with its devices and services. Klausner licenses its visual voicemail patents to some 37 hardware makers and network operators around the world. Klausner didn't say if it is seeking damages, an injunction, or if it is demanding a licensing agreement. Klausner has filed similar suits against other smartphone makers and network operators. The suit was filed in federal court in the Eastern District of Texas.

Russian casual game developer Nevosoft today released Vampireville HD: haunted castle adventure, a mix of hidden objects, puzzles and adventure game, for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Here is more info on this new iOS game: ...

Gears of War 3, the dramatic, action-packed, much-anticipated conclusion to the blockbuster Xbox 360 trilogy, marches out at midnight last night at 20K launch locations. The release was the franchise's biggest. Here is more on the new game: ...

On June 1, Twitter announced its new native Photo Service, and Big Stone Phone released an update for Twittelator that now shows these photos inline. In addition, you can shoot, edit and upload video to 5 video sites ...

Verizon Wireless has started to distribute the Android 2.3 Gingerbread update to the HTC Thunderbolt. Users will be notified when the update is ready, though it can also be triggered through the settings menu. The update is free.

iPad Game Review: Containment: The Zombie PuzzlerReviewed by Tom SlaytonContainment: The Zombie Puzzler is a clever and original mutant offspring of Match-3 and Zombies that oozes with style, atmosphere, and graphical goodness.GameplayAre you tired of zombie games? Are you ...

Jon Rubinstein, former CEO of Palm, has left HP, reports AllThingsD. Rubinstein spearheaded Palm's development of webOS and associated smartphones in its attempt to regain its lost status as a premiere smartphone purveyor. Rubinstein continued to lead the Palm unit within HP once the acquisition took place, but was eventually moved to other roles after HP decided to kill off its smartphone and tablet businesses. Rubinstein has completed a commitment to remain with the company for a specific amount of time. He has no immediate plans.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Jan. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Verizon Foundation announced earlier today at a press conference that it has awarded $80,000 in grant funding to eight non-profit organizations across Alabama. Seven grants totaling $60,000 will go to support programs across the state...

Samsung has lost another round in its ongoing patent dispute with Apple in Germany. This time, the court ruled that Apple hadn't infringed a Samsung patent that the company was seeking to enforce against the company. Click here for more.

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --  Remote database services provider Database Specialists recently announced that it had authored an article which would be published by the Northern California Oracle Users Group. The article, entitled "Cost effective Oracle...

A total of 150 million smartphones were shipped by the major manufacturers during the last three months of 2011, representing a record high penetration of 36% of the 409 million total handsets shipped worldwide. Click here for more.

TORONTO, January 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- La propagación de los medios sociales en el Foro Económico Mundial Anual 2012, en particular el uso de Twitter, ha ampliado el diálogo más allá de las salas de reuniones y pasillos de Davos hasta la comunidad mundial El...

Summaries of short news items relating to the mobile networks. Click here for more.

Twitter announced that it has given itself the ability to remove Tweets from single, specific countries while keeping those same Tweets visible to the rest of the world. Twitter devised this capability in response to government requests and actions over the course of the last year. While Twitter still believes in freedom of expression, it recognizes that "for historical or cultural reasons, [some countries] restrict certain types of content," such as hate speech. Twitter said it has not used this feature yet, and when it must, it will do its best to inform the user whose Tweet has been removed and let others know the Tweet was censored. Previously, Twitter could remove Tweets globally -- meaning they were no longer visible to anyone.

BEIJING, Jan. 27, 2012  /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- In order to give iPhone users better user experience, Tipard R&D team newly upgraded iPhone Ringtone Maker for Mac and iPhone 4 Ringtone Maker for Mac, which have got the most advanced system kernel and brand new interface, and many...

Four investors in Indian mobile networks failed to attend court today as part of the investigation into the 2008 GSM license scandal, all claiming, via lawyers that the court summons had not been correctly issued. Click here for more.

TORONTO, January 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Die Verbreitung von sozialen Medien während des Weltwirtschaftsforums 2012, im Besonderen die Verwendung von Twitter, hat den Dialog über den Sitzungssaal und die Korridore von Davos auf die internationale Gemeinschaft ausgeweitet. Am...