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Apple may update iPad design this spring, analyst says

If history is any guide, the iPad may be due for an update in March or April, Piper Jaffray says.

Gene Munster, an analyst at the firm, today noted that Apple has averaged four months between events since 2009, and it has tended to update its tablet in the spring. While Apple just updated the iPad in October when it introduced the iPad Mini, it may unveil new iPad body styles similar to the smaller tablet, Munster said.

He added that it's unlikely Apple will introduce an iPad Mini with Retina display given current iPad Mini supply constraints.

Another … Read more

How to set a TV up by eye

Let's say you're at your father-in-law's house and he just got a new TV. You're stuck in a corner, having recommended the TV, and you're the only person who knows contrast from composite. What to do?

In an ideal world you'd have a setup disc on hand to set it up for him. Better yet, you'd have the number of a local calibrator instantly available and pop-in-law is willing to spring for a full calibration.

But that's not always possible. Here are a few tips that will help you get the picture settings on his TV close to ideal -- or at least closer than it was.… Read more

Apple TV SDK coming out next month?

Apple TV rumors have about as much currency in the real world today as a Circuit City gift card, but a new round of rumblings this morning are strangely specific.

The word from Jefferies analyst Peter Misek and his "channel checks" is that Apple is planning an event for next month at which it could introduce an SDK for an iTV set in the 42-inch to 55-inch range. He thinks the Apple HDTV itself could launch in September or October at a price point starting around $1,500.

"Apple is likely to largely rely on leveraging content via partnerships with existing pay-TV operators," reads the note to investors.… Read more

An Amazon Prime report card: Is it really worth $79 per year?

I've been an Amazon Prime customer for nearly a year now, meaning it's time for me to decide whether to continue subscribing to the program.

In case you're unfamiliar with it, Prime works like this: For $79 annually, you get unlimited movie and TV streaming, one free borrowed e-book per month, and automatic two-day shipping on nearly everything you buy (with no minimum dollar amount).

Awesome deal, right? Maybe, and maybe not.

Let's start with the streaming. Amazon has vastly expanded its movie- and TV-show libraries over the past year, to the point where I'd … Read more

Intel's TV service will be on mobile devices too, exec says

Intel wants to revolutionize the TV industry, and that change won't come just through the chip giant's planned set-top box.

Erik Huggers, general manager of Intel Media, told CNET today that Intel's new Internet-based TV service also will be available on mobile devices, but he cautioned that it could take some time to expand to multiple platforms. He compared the process to the launch of the BBC's iPlayer video player, a project he oversaw while at that company.

"I absolutely and completely believe in the world of multiplatform ... anytime, anyplace, anywhere. Consumers and audiences expect … Read more

Shop on Twitter with a hashtag

Tuesday's CNET Update is a Twitter #shopaholic:

The social media giants are testing new ways to get you to shop on their networks. Facebook is rolling out a "Buy Tickets" button for event page owners. And Twitter partnered with American Express to let card holders shop by tweeting a hashtag.

Also in today's tech news roundup:

- Apple CEO Tim Cook said OLED displays are "awful." Of course, that's what Apple's biggest competition uses.

- Intel confirmed that it will unveil an Internet-based TV service and box later this year. And the … Read more

Google's cash machine awaits Internet-connected TVs

DANA POINT, Calif. -- Google's chief business officer sees the future, and it is Internet-connected TVs. "The big tipping point we are waiting for is Internet-connected televisions," said Nikesh Arora, speaking with All Things D's Liz Gannes at the Dive into Media conference here today.

"Right now Internet-connected TV is nice to have, not must have. When it is must-have, then we will be able to have advertising delivered off the Web. The moment you can do that, broadcast TV [advertising] doesn't have a role," Arora said.

In the Internet-connected TV world, ads … Read more

TV hackers announce dead are rising

The dead are so hot right now. Teen romance "Warm Bodies" was No. 1 in the box office a week ago, and "The Walking Dead" just broke a basic cable record for the most watched show at 12.3 million viewers.

Amid this undead fervor, the fertile, tasty brains of Montana's residents have fallen foul of a hoax alerting them that the dead have risen.

The emergency broadcast system was "hacked" and viewers of the "Steve Wilkos Show" got more than just teen cheaters when alerted that "dead bodies are rising from their graves."… Read more

How we test: TVs

Did you know CNET reviews TVs by comparing them directly in a side-by-side lineup, after each has undergone a thorough calibration? Did you know that the main instrument we use to calibrate and measure those televisions costs about $28,000? Did you know that last year we reviewed and rated 54 individual TVs and revamped our ratings system to incorporate value?

Yes, I'm biased, but I consider CNET's TV reviews the best in the business. We've come up with a set of tools and procedures designed to arrive at unbiased results by utilizing industry-accepted video-quality evaluation tools, … Read more

During review of Halo 4, Conan yawns

Not everyone is a gamer.

It doesn't make these people old, sad or clueless -- any more than being a gamer makes someone entirely free of the hope of a significant other.

Conan O'Brien seems to like gaming about as much as he appreciates the skills of Jay Leno. And yet it fell upon him to review Halo 4, one of the quintessential joys of the gaming community.

His experience was a little uncomfortable.… Read more

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