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Microsoft and Huawei announced today that they're partnering to bring a new Windows Phone to Africa. The two companies are targeting the continent, which is one of the fastest growing technology markets in the world but has seen few smartphones to date and whose majority of users still rely on feature phones.

"We believe there has never been a better time to invest in Africa and that access to technology -- particularly cloud services and smart devices -- can and will serve as a great accelerator for African competitiveness," president of Microsoft International Jean-Philippe Courtois said today … Read more

Low Latency is a weekly comic on CNET's Crave blog written by CNET editor and podcast host Jeff Bakalar and illustrated by Blake Stevenson. Be sure to check Crave every Thursday at 8 a.m. PT for new panels! Want more? Here's every Low Latency comic so far.… Read more

Apple's low-cost smartphone will look like the iPhone 5, take some cues from the iPod Touch and the iPod classic, and switch to a plastic body.

At least, that's the latest scuttlebutt from the folks at Apple news site iLounge. Citing the usual "reliable sources," the site claims the new model will be a cross between the iPhone 5, the fifth-generation iPod Touch, and the classic iPod.

Like the current iPhone, the low-cost version would sport a 4-inch 1,136x640 pixel Retina Display and use the new Lightning interface. The sensor, camera, and button arrangement would … Read more

Low Latency is a weekly comic on CNET's Crave blog written by CNET editor and podcast host Jeff Bakalar and illustrated by Blake Stevenson. Be sure to check Crave every Thursday at 8 a.m. PT for new panels! Want more? Here's every Low Latency comic so far.… Read more

Low Latency is a weekly comic on CNET's Crave blog written by CNET editor and podcast host Jeff Bakalar and illustrated by Blake Stevenson. Be sure to check Crave every Thursday at 8 a.m. PT for new panels! Want more? Here's every Low Latency comic so far.… Read more

It seems to me the point of going fishing is to get away from the hustle and bustle and have some quiet time with yourself, a fishing rod, and an implacable expanse of water. There's never a smartphone involved in my imaginary ideal fishing experience. I'm going to have to revise my idea of a good day fishing if ReelSonar reaches its Indiegogo goal.

ReelSonar is a combination of hardware and an Android and iOS app. A Bluetooth Low Energy-equipped bobber sends sonar signals down into the water. The information, including the depth of each fish, is relayed to your smartphone.

The app also lets you map the waterbed and share the location of your fishing hot spot with your buddies, if you're the type who doesn't hoard your secret fishing areas. There's even a bite alarm, which should wake you up if you snooze off with the bobber out on the water.… Read more

The yardstick used for Intel's new power-frugal chips is being questioned in article posted by Ars Technica.

The article, titled "Power saving through marketing: Intel's '7 watt' Ivy Bridge CPUs," asserts that Intel may have been over-aggressive with its power-efficiency claims.

More specifically, the 7-watt Ivy Bridge processors Intel announced on Monday at CES are actually specified by Intel on its site as 13 watts, the article says.

"The 7-watt number advertised during Intel's keynote yesterday is actually from a new metric, 'scenario design power' (SDP), which purports to measure how much power the … Read more

Maybe Apple really is developing a low-cost version of its flagship iPhone -- or maybe the Wall Street Journal is just recycling old rumors.

Following a rumor floated this morning by the less-than-reliable Taiwanese site Digitimes, the Wall Street Journal now reports that Apple could launch a cheaper iPhone -- presumably aimed at the developing world -- as early as this year.

The WSJ story is a fairly bare-bones affair. Reporter Jessica Lessin notes that Apple has "explored such a device for years," but writes that "the plan has been progressing" and cites one unnamed source, … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Lowe's might not be the first name that comes to mind when you're thinking about cutting-edge home tech, but the company has quietly moved into the field with a series of simple, do-it-yourself kits called Iris.

Pulling together technology from a huge range of vendors, including Verizon, Sylvania, Schlage, First Alert, GE Jasco, and Radio Thermostat of America, Lowe's is offering three Iris kits as well as a new senior monitoring pack called Iris Care.

Iris Care lets you monitor a person's habits and routines remotely. When it detects something abnormal, such as a door … Read more