Friday, Samsung and Google postponed what could be one of the most significant Android device launches in awhile -- likely the Nexus Prime -- scheduled for next Tuesday, October 11. The original statement was somewhat vague, but disclosed that both parties agreed that "it was not the appropriate time" to release the device.

"Samsung and Google have decided to postpone the Samsung Mobile Unpacked event during the CTIA in San Diego, previously scheduled for Oct. 11. Under the current circumstances, both parties have agreed that this is not the appropriate time for the announcement of a new product. We would ask for the understanding of our clients and media for any inconvenience caused. We will announce a new date and venue in due course."

If you were hoping that Avira’s new 2012 range would unleash some major new features and technologies then the reality may at first seem a little underwhelming. There are no game changers here, no new killer features. But if you’re happy simply to see incremental improvements, a company that’s building on what’s gone before to produce something better, then it could be a different story -- and that’s because there are plenty of small but still worthwhile enhancements and improvements dotted all around the package.

When we decided to try Avira’s Antivirus Premium 2012 (their commercial antivirus engine), for example, the first tweak was immediately obvious in the arrival of a new Express installation option. This keeps all the usual setup complexities at bay, getting you up and running with the minimum of hassle.

According to a statement we received from Sprint Nextel today, the wireless carrier's nationwide network upgrade will bring instant "walkie talkie" communications to its regular Android phones as a downloadable app. Previously, this feature was exclusive to phones that had the appropriate iDEN radio installed.

Friday, national wireless network operator Sprint Nextel laid out its most current plans for transitioning its 4G network from WiMAX to LTE and rolling its multi-protocol Network Vision platform.

For many people, Apple cofounder Steve Jobs is a fallen hero. People are remembering his life in shrines outside Apple retail stores around the world.

His funeral, reportedly scheduled for Oct. 7, 2011, accentuates rather than ends the mourning for memory. I haven't seen such emotion expressed for man since former Beatle John Lennon was murdered in December 1980.

After a rocky and even delayed start for iPhone 4S pre-ordering, a check by Betanews with the online stores on the Apple, AT&T, Sprint and Verizon websites show a much smoother process. At all three sites, delivery dates still remained at the October 14 launch date first announced on Tuesday.

It certainly was not smooth sailing this morning, though. All four sites experienced issues as Apple aficionados rushed to stake their claims to iPhone 4's successor, in some cases taking the sites down completely.

Sharpen your conspiracy theories, Batman. Google and Samsung have cancelled the October 11 event that promised something really special and sent many gadget geeks into near convulsive states of anticipation for the Nexus Prime (or whatever it's called) and Ice Cream Sandwich. The question everyone should ask is "Why?"

Samsung has fanned the rumor fires with the original invite and clever video that promised not just a new smartphone but tablet, too. Given that Ice Cream Sandwich brings together Android 2.x for phones and 3.x for tablets, the tease is almost overwhelming. Surely there is mass disappointment -- it's a wicked day to be a gadget geek if iPhone 4S preordering wasn't on plan.

Nuance Communications has acquired drag-to-type virtual keyboard maker Swype for an undisclosed amount of money believed to be more than $100 million.

The acquisition should be an obvious one to anyone who paid attention to Nuance Communications.

"Suit the action to the word, the word to the action, with this special observance, that you o'erstep not the modesty of nature: for any thing so o'erdone is from the purpose of playing, whose end, both at the first and now, was and is, to hold as 'twere the mirror up to nature: to show virtue her feature, scorn her own image, and the very age and body of the time his form and pressure". -- Hamlet Act 3, scene 2, 17–24

One thing that struck me about the passing of Steve Jobs is the level of emotion so many people feel. The outpouring of support and genuine sense of loss for a person that most people never met reminds me a bit of when Princess Diana died tragically. The emotion expressed over Diana’s passing was easy for me to understand. Diana was a state sanctioned celebrity, a real life embodiment of the fairy tales those in Western society grow up on. That coupled with her beauty and grace and life touched by scandal made it understandable why people would feel some kind of personal connection to her. The heroine from their fairy tales had been tragically taken away.

Apple's newest smartphone -- not that you can much tell it from the old one -- is up for preorder October 7 and officially goes on sale seven days later. That's in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, United Kingdom and United States. iPhone 4S will be available October 28 in 22 other countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

Apple also will cut the price on older models -- free for iPhone 3GS and $99 for iPhone 4 (8GB). The 4 will be available from Sprint along with the 4S. The United States' third-largest carrier has already started taking preorders on iPhone 4. As for the newer model, pricing is much like now, but with an extra SKU: 16GB, $199; 32GB, $299; 64GB, $399. Carrier-contractual commitments (two years in the United States) apply to get that pricing. The question: Will you buy iPhone 4S?

Irony, it has many faces and comes as your best friend or worst enemy. Often, the only difference is timing. Take for, example, Apple and the Newton. The Newton was Apple’s first handheld device, and it was a colossal failure in the early 1990s. Much of Apple’s success now is because of the iPod and iPhone revolution. Timing, it’s all about timing.

Most kids these days don't know the full history of Apple, they just know Apple is cool and makes amazing mobile devices. They, may not know how political infighting within the company drove the genius behind Apple (Steve Jobs) out in 1985 or the back story they almost didn’t make it to be the world's most-valuable technology company today.

You've been told over and over again: don't text and drive. Need more reason why? A recent study conducted by Texas A&M's Texas Transportation Institute indicates texting behind the wheel doubles your reaction time.

Distracted driving accounts for about one-fifth of all fatal car crashes, with cell phones the most common source of that distraction. One out of every five drivers has admitted to texting while driving but the true number is probably considerably higher.

At its Cybersecurity Symposium in New York City on Thursday, Security company Kaspersky Lab debuted the Windows version of its Endpoint Security 8 corporate security suite. The new security product takes a twofold approach to network security: Deep anti-malware protection, and comprehensive management and control systems.

On the anti-malware side, Endpoint 8 integrates with the Kaspersky Security Network, a cloud-based reputation database that is built from data submitted by millions of Kaspersky users so new definitions are acquired quickly without having to update an ever-growing local database. Secondly, it includes application whitelisting for administrators who want to set policies against specific applications, or against entire classes of apps. Third, the "System watcher" function tracks client system behavior for anomalies, and can revert to states before the system was infected. Finally, Endpoint 8 is based on Kaspersky's improved signature-and-pattern-based antivirus engine.

While customers will not be able to get their hands on an iPhone 4S for another day, Sprint on Thursday began taking pre-orders for the iPhone 4. Like the 4S, the phone would ship out for delivery on Friday, October 14 or Saturday, October 15.

The iPhone 4 on Sprint is the same as the Verizon model that's been available for much of this year, except the capacity reduced to 8GB. It would be compatible with the carrier's 3G service, but not "4G" WiMAX.

The Nero range of disc burning tools has been updated, and there’s something for everyone in this comprehensive suite of utilities. The company’s flagship Nero Burning ROM allows for the importing of files from the updated Nero MediaBrowser while SecurDisc Surface Scans make it easy to verify burn projects, but it is in the main Nero suite that the bigger changes are to be found, and the various tools that make it up.

One common use for the Nero suite is backing up data, and there have been a number of improvements in this area. As well as support for NAS drives as a backup location, there is now support for incremental backups of your drives as well as the option of creating 1:1 file copies. Related to safeguarding your data, NeroRescue Agent can now be used to work with partitions that have not been assigned a drive letter.

Even though the developer preview of Windows 8 is publically available, there will be some people who are keen to try out the upcoming operating system without having to go to the effort of setting up a dual boot system or wiping out their existing installation. This is where transformation packs can help, and the Windows 8 Transformation Pack 2.0 and UX Pack 3.5 have just been released with a view to making the task of mimicking Windows 8 easier and more impressive than ever.

In a matter of moments, the transformation tools enable you to turn your copy of Windows XP, Vista or 7 into a very close match to the look of Windows 8. The pack makes use of genuine Windows 8 resources to give an authentic finish, and this updated version includes changes to UI fonts, as well as the very latest icons navigation buttons and other interface components.