Apple’s Siri represents the birth of a new breed of voice-controlled smartphone assistant services, and it is only a matter of time before other companies begin to expand their offerings as a result. While Microsoft and Google undoubtedly work to refine their own voice command services, a new third-party app hits the Android Market on Tuesday that could represent Siri’s first real competition. Cluzee, billed as your intelligent personal assistant, offers Android users a Siri-like service that incl...

Google’s plan to acquire ITA Software may result in an antitrust probe by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), two sources speaking to Bloomberg said Tuesday. The FTC is currently waiting for the Justice Department to render a decision on whether or not the acquisition will stifle competition among firms competing for clicks in the travel search engine market. Both the FTC and the Justice Department are capable of executing an antitrust investigation, and some pundits believe the scale of this probe...

We met up with LG on Tuesday to check out its inductive Wireless Charging Pad, which it hopes will compete against competitors like Powermat. During our hands-on, we weren’t able to test the device — it seems someone forgot to charge the charger — but we were able to get a feel for its size, weight and some of its features. The Wireless Charging Pad has a power indicator that alerts you just how much power is left, and LG says it takes about two hours to charge itself up fully. All you have to do on...

If  you’re a traveling iOS or Android user out there, the new Orbitz mobile apps may help make your life a little easier. Orbitz just let us know that they have launched a dedicated app for not just Apple’s iOS platform, but for Android as well. You can search through flights, hotels, cars all from your device and even book full trips. That’s in addition to checking your flight status, finding deals, and more. Orbitz is the first major online travel agency to launch native apps to assist th...

Google announced on Thursday that it is acquiring flight information software company ITA for $700 million in cash. Based in Cambridge, ITA mines flight data and presents it in a polished form suitable for online viewing. Google will add to its repertoire of services by integrating this flight data into its online search engine. Google also states that it will honor all service agreements with ITA’s current customers which include Kayak, Orbitz, and Bing. Despite this assurance of openness, Google now o...

Ok, so not everyone on your holiday shopping list warrants spending a fair amount of cash on something like the Epson Artisan 700 we showed you earlier this month. It’s never easy to figure out what to get for that friend, distant relative or coworker via secret santa that is cool, useful and isn’t going to cost an arm and a leg. Here at BGR we feel for you and seeing as time is running out, quickly, we thought we’d give you a cool idea that definitely won’t be duped at your officeR...

We’re sure there are a few more handsets to come from T-Mobile this holiday season, but we just got word that the boys in pink have special promotion planned as well. Dubbed Free Companion Flight 2008, T-Mobile has a special treat in store for new and existing customers alike. Here’s how it works:When someone activates, renews or migrates to a new 2-year service agreement between November 19th and December 24th, he or she will be eligible to receive a Free Companion Flight, ie one free round trip ...

For better or for worse, the Australian Communications and Media Authority is proposing an amendment to the Mobile Phone Jammer Prohibition that would permit cell phone use on domestic and international flights. An 18-month long trial of the pico cell technology used for in-flight cellular communications was deemed successful with no reported complaints of interference to either the plane’s avionics system or ground cellular networks. Both Qantas and V Australia have each announced plans to offer in-fli...

Now is most definitely not a good time to run a US (or any) airline. People are traveling less, the economy is basically in the toilet and fuel is incredibly expensive which means that everything else is more expensive. On top of everything else we just entered a historically slow time of the year in terms of air travel as summer draws to a close and kids return to school. We’re not sure how far this tactic will go, but JetBlue is trying to ease the pain a bit by auctioning off a handful of flights on e...

Welcome to the future that should have been here years ago. Why airlines haven’t been doing this for years is beyond us but kudos to those who have finally started to get moving. Delta is by no means the first airline to play with the idea of mobiles to be used as boarding passes, but it has caught on. Starting with domestic flights at LaGuardia, Delta’s handset boarding pass trial is already launched and we can only hope that the practice spreads sooner rather than later. Delta passengers can now...