Consumer content

Nokia's new Lumia 925 smartphone can show you the time and battery life without you having to press a button.

Consumers in Germany will get their first crack at the 925 as the phone debuts there on Monday. Sales will then ramp up in other European countries and in China, followed by the United States and other global markets.

The 925 will sport several innovations, with the phone's Glance Screen among them.

The new screen can display the time and battery level. And it does this while in sleep mode, so there's no need to press a … Read more

Although you may not be there in person, Apple is giving you a way to watch the keynote from the comfort of your home.

Apple said Monday that it will broadcast its WWDC 2013 keynote address starting at 10 a.m. PT. To view the live stream, you'll need the Safari browser on iOS 4.2 or later on an iPhone, iPad, iPad Mini or iPod Touch; or Safari 4 or later on Mac OS X® v10.6 or later. Streaming via Apple TV, meanwhile, requires a second- or third-generation Apple TV with software 5.0.2 or … Read more

ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, is shifting around some key executives, the organization said in a blog posted Thursday.

Starting July 1, Akram Atallah, currently chief operating officer, will transition to a new role as president of the Generic Domains Division. Focusing on generic domain operations, the new division is considered necessary as ICANN's new gTLD (generic top-level domain) program will take on much greater responsibility moving forward, according to ICANN president and CEO Fadi Chehade.

ICANN's new gTLD program will expand the types of Internet extensions that are available -- such as .com, .… Read more

The Amazon Kindle has officially landed in China.

On Friday, both the Kindle Fire HD tablet and the Kindle Paperwhite e-reader popped up for sale on Amazon's Chinese Web site. The Fire HD tablet costs 1,499 yuan ($244) for the 16GB version and 1,799 yuan ($293) for the 32GB version, while the Paperwhite e-reader costs 849 yuan ($138).

The Kindle devices will also be sold locally through Suning and Tesco Shi, two retail chains in China, according to Chinese news site Sina Tech. Chinese consumers will be able to find the Kindles at stores in Beijing, Shanghai, … Read more

The game industry's sales during the first quarter remained flat, new data from research firm NPD has confirmed.

During the first quarter of 2013, total game content spending in the U.S. hit $3.5 billion, matching what was spent during the same period in 2012. A total of $1.37 billion was spent on physical console and PC games (meaning discs) while used and rental spending hit $559 million. Total spending on digital content reached $1.59 billion.

"Digital spending fully offset the declines in physical format spend in Q1'13," said Liam Callahan, industry analyst … Read more

Nintendo's decision to not hold a major press conference at the E3 gaming expo next week will be "better" for everyone, the company's president said in a video posted to Facebook on Thursday.

In a nearly 3-minute video, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime addressed concerns from fans that the company won't be holding a major press conference next week, deciding instead to hold small gatherings and use alternative means, like social networks, to share everything it has to offer at E3. In the video, he said that while he knows that "change can … Read more

Clearing the way for services like Uber, an appellate court Thursday lifted a temporary injunction on New York City's pilot plan to allow travelers to hail yellow cabs via smartphone. The plan, which challenges the traditional curbside street hail, has faced strong opposition from New York's livery and black-car operators.

Uber had just launched its New York taxi-hailing pilot program at the end of April when the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division issued the emergency injunction.

Today's news came just hours after another related legal victory for Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration. His plan to expand … Read more

The White House is defending the decision to collect the telephone records of U.S. citizens by labeling it an anti-terrorist measure.

The move by the National Security Agency to gather the phone records of Verizon customers was revealed on Wednesday by U.K. newspaper The Guardian. A court's top-secret order forced Verizon to hand over information about domestic and overseas calls "on an ongoing daily basis."

The court order, which can be seen on The Guardian's Web site, forces Verizon to release all call details or "telephony metadata" created by the carrier for … Read more

On returning home from seeing "Star Trek Into Darkness" on Sunday, I couldn't help but wish my laptop had a more USS Enterprise-y feel. Thankfully, Acer has anticipated such consumer fancies, announcing Wednesday that it's partnered with Paramount to offer a limited-edition Trek-themed Aspire R7.

As is generally the case with such blockbuster-related gadgets, the tie-in here is entirely promotional. The touch-enabled laptop comes engraved with a stainless steel "Star Trek" logo, and includes a logo-festooned sleeve, a film poster signed by the film's cast, and "Star Trek" content such as wallpapers, a soundtrack, and a video game.

The ambitiously designed Aspire R7, however, does feature a flexible design that allows users to move and position the hinged 15.6-inch 1,920x1,080 touch screen as needed, including into a configuration that does sort of resemble the Enterprise. … Read more