AT&T Inc., facing a deluge of rhetoric about competing 4G services, accelerated its own upgrade plans and said it would release a wave of devices capable of riding on its own fourth-generation network. The Dallas telecommunications giant said Wednesday that it would finish rolling out its next-generation Long-Term Evolution network by the end of 2013 and would launch the service by mid-year. While the company has never given a completion date on its LTE network, the company had an internal target of 2014, according to people familiar with the situation.

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With almost 100 tablets expected to be launched at this year's International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, 2011 is set to be the year of the tablet device. Computer Weekly rounds up the latest tablet announcements from CES 2011. 

Oh, and that yogurt only has a couple of days left on it. But don't take my word for it. Check your cell phone. "The connected home" has become a central theme at the 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), with electronics companies showing off what an Internet-connected refrigerator, stove or television could do for your home. One of those appliances, from LG, touted the ability to text a shopping list based on what is low in the fridge and what is about to expire. LG unveiled the new line of smart appliances Wednesday. All are based on the company's Thinq (pronounced "think-you") technology, which connects each appliance to the Web using a home's Wi-Fi network.

Mobile application development has gone multiplatform, with Apple iPhone and Google Android being preferred by developers, according to a Forrester Research report. To avoid being overwhelmed by multiplatform complexity, Forrester recommends developers establish a multidevice strategy for both development and testing in 2011. Single-device support is giving way to multidevice accommodation, Forrester said. Multidevice shops are now in the majority, with one in four IT shops supporting all types of personal mobile devices employees bring to work. Some employers let employees choose from a list of approved devices and OSes. 

Nearly three quarters (74%) will show-off the new gadgets they received at Christmas in the office and plug them into their employer's network, says Virgin Media Business. Research by the business ISP, revealed, 40% admitted they have previous plugged their own personal gadgets, such as iPads and smartphones, into their company's network without permission from the IT department.

Yankee Group says revenue from tablet devices like Apple's iPad and Samsung's Galaxy Tab will increase from $16bn in 2010 to $46bn in 2014. Key findings in its report include: * In 2010, North America accounts for 37 per cent of total global tablet revenue. * By 2014, Asia-Pacific, primarily China, will own more than half the global market (58 per cent), while North America's share will drop to 17 per cent. * Annual US tablet sales will more than triple between 2010 and 2015, from roughly 8m units in 2010 to 30m units by 2015.

Mobile Entertainment 

One of the gizmos spotted at CES is a device that charges your phone using the movements you make as you walk, or even stagger to your local for a swift half. Tremont Electric has made the nPower PEG, which is short for "personal energy generator" and is  made up of a weight, a spring, coils and a battery. If you shove it in your pocket it moves as you do and generates electricity in the coils.

RIM is reported to be releasing a 4G-enabled BlackBerry PlayBook in the summer of 2011. The news comes via Reuters, which claims that RIM announced the plans while touting “massive” corporate interest in the device. "In large companies, they're talking deployment in the tens of thousands, right off the bat," said Jeff McDowell, RIM's senior vice president of enterprise and platform marketing.

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Microsoft sold more than eight million gesture-sensing Kinect controllers for Xbox 360 videogame consoles in just two months, the technology titan's chief executive Steve Ballmer has said. Ballmer used much of his time on stage for a keynote presentation on the eve of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) to tout the booming popularity of Xbox 360 devices and the Live online community linked to the consoles.

The music and book retailer said yesterday it expected to close 60 stores in the next 12 months and warned that profits would be at the lower end of forecasts. Its business was hit by recent severe weather and “challenging trading conditions”.Sales for the five weeks to 1 January 2011 were down 10% on last year due to a 13% slump at its stores. It also said it was struggling to avoid breaching the terms of a loan.