Verizon Wireless, operator of the nation’s largest 4G LTE network and largest, most reliable 3G network, is kicking off the Lunar New Year in San Francisco by celebrating the Year of the Snake.

Join Verizon Wireless for its 2nd annual Lunar New Year event in Union Square. Demo the latest devices with on-site activations and receive a complimentary gift at the Verizon booth. Enjoy cultural performances, games and more and meet Asian American YouTube celebrities, Kina Grannis, Jason Chen and David So in celebration of Lunar New Year and “Year of the Snake.” Admission is free for all ages.

Higher productivity, increased labor costs and a strong trends towards true mobility in the work place are all factors that have put the spotlight firmly on ‘total costs of ownership’ for computers and devices. Organizations will have to start spending more on durable and reliable mobile computers rather than looking for bargains, if they want to avoid losing valuable productive time.

AT&T* has announced a new lineup of AT&T Data Global Add-On packages that will make it more affordable than ever for wireless customers — both consumer and business customers — to enjoy data services while traveling internationally. Beginning June 1, the updated packages allow customers to enjoy the convenience of data access on their AT&T device while traveling abroad in more than 130 countries at a significant cost savings.

Smartphones and tablets are no longer a luxury item for most small businesses … in fact, mobile devices like these are now a necessity in helping them successfully run their businesses. Yet, 1 in 4 devices, including those used by small businesses, will experience an incident any given year, according to technology protection leader Asurion.

To give them peace of mind and keep their business running in case something happens to their mobile devices, AT&T* announced today an industry-first suite of mobile services for small businesses – AT&T Mobile Protection Pack, which provides Mobile Insurance**, Enhanced Support, and Mobile Locate for smartphones and tablets.

AirSense Wireless has been selected as a finalist for Red Herring’s Top 100 Europe award, a prestigious list honouring the year’s most promising private technology ventures from Europe.

After holding the number one spot for the first two weeks in the People’s Choice Rankings, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus was dethroned by a Samsung family member, the Samsung Galaxy Note. Samsung devices took the #1 and #2 spots and continued a strong showing with six places inside the top 10.

Sporty’s Pilot Shop has introduced the first completely wire-free weather receiver for the iPad — and it requires no monthly subscription. Stratus combines an ADS-B and GPS receiver into a single unit that wirelessly streams NEXRAD radar, text weather, TFRs and aircraft position to the popular ForeFlight Mobile app for iOS devices.

The totally portable design includes an internal eight-hour battery, a high-gain internal antenna, and a WiFi connection to the iPad, so Stratus can be placed on the glare shield and out of the way. It is easy to move from airplane to airplane, making it ideal for renters, flying clubs and corporate flight departments.

The Handheld Group, a rapidly growing manufacturer of rugged PDAs and mobile devices, has appointed Johan Hed as new product manager. The recruitment is part of Handheld’s increased focus on new product development.

With new mobile devices being introduced on a daily basis, consumers are continually trying to determine which are the best devices at any given time. The Official Smartphone Rankings will provide consumers with a clear picture of how people and industry experts are rating available devices in the marketplace today. In addition to the rankings, users will be able to view hundreds of recent reviews, how the devices are currently trending, and view a summary of how each of their favorite tech reviewers voted for their top five phones.

”Voting results will be published at http://www.phonedog.com/rankings every Monday morning by 10:00 AM Eastern time.

Comcast today has launched Xfinity® Home in Connecticut. Xfinity Home offers traditional home security components, like police and fire alarm protection backed by 24/7 professional monitoring, as well as the ability to remotely adjust digital thermostats, turn lights on or off and watch secure live streaming video from wireless cameras while away from home. The service also comes with the Xfinity Home app, which is available for free on Apple’s iTunes App Store®.