Apple

Finally, Twitter Music is available to all

You don't have to be the host of "American Idol" to use Twitter Music anymore.

A little more than a month after CNET broke the news that Twitter was working on a stand-alone music discovery app and a week after that app was rolled out to an invite-only group of celebrities and others -- including Ryan Seacrest -- the general public can now get its hands on the music discovery app.

Twitter officially unveiled #music on Thursday during "Good Morning America." The company later provided more details about the service in a blog post, saying … Read more

Forget the iPad 5 -- I'm waiting for the iPad Mini Retina

The iPad 5 is coming! The iPad 5 is coming!

Yes, if the rumors are to be believed, we're not too far away from seeing Apple unveil a fifth-generation iPad that it may or may not call the iPad 5. That new iPad is speculated to be trimmer and lighter than the iPad 4, which was unveiled last October, and features a design borrowed from the iPad Mini.

It will most likely offer the same or slightly speedier performance than the iPad 4, which runs on an A6X processor, deliver similar battery life despite its trimmer size, and cost … Read more

Rumor Has It: Is Apple set to 'invent' the hybrid laptop?

Apple can never keep its nose out of anything for too long.

A patent application filed recently describes a laptop hybrid that could be charged wirelessly. Could this be the game changer that nobody's been waiting for?

Windows' next iteration might make things easier for users with the touch of a button. And according to a recent report, Microsoft can't let everyone else have all the smartwatch fun. Unfortunately.

What do you think about an Apple laptop hybrid? Is it something you'd buy? Does wireless charging up the ante? Leave a comment and let us know your … Read more

Google still wants Apple to use its maps, Eric Schmidt says

The Apple Maps fiasco may have died down, but Google still wants its mapping program to be default on iOS, said Google Chairman Eric Schmidt.

Schmidt, speaking today during an AllThingsD mobile conference, declined to say why Apple decided to go with its own mapping system rather than working with Google as it had in the past. But he said his company is still pushing Apple to use Google Maps as the primary navigation tool on iOS.

"We would still really like them to use our maps," Schmidt said. "It would be easy for them to take … Read more

Apple to sell 75 million low-cost iPhones next year, says analyst

A low-cost iPhone could see unit sales of 75 million in 2014, projects Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster.

In an investors note released today, Munster said he expects Apple to sell a $300 non-subsidized iPhone starting in September. Such a device is likely to trigger a 30 percent cannibalization rate, which means that for every three low-cost iPhones sold, one full-price iPhone is cannibalized.

As such, Apple's share of the high-end smartphone market may dip to 37 percent next year from 43 percent last year. But its share of the low-end (under $400) market will rise to 11 percent … Read more

T-Mobile: iPhone drove one of the biggest weekends ever for us

T-Mobile Chief Marketing Officer Mike Sievert boasted that the carrier had "one of its biggest weekends in the history of the company" thanks to the launch of the iPhone on Friday.

T-Mobile on Friday launched the iPhone in its stores for the first time, finally catching up to its larger rivals, and even smaller regional carriers. Sievert told CNET that iPhone sales did better than he expected, although he declined to provide specific figures.

"We had really ambitious internal goals, and we beat them," he said.

The iPhone is important to T-Mobile in multiple ways. It … Read more

Foxconn hires more workers to prep for new iPhone, says WSJ

Apple's next-generation iPhone has already prompted supplier Foxconn to bump up its ranks.

Also known as Hon Hai Precision, the Taiwan-based supplier confirmed today that it has hired around 10,000 employees for the assembly line at its factory in Zhengzhou since the end of March, the Wall Street Journal has reported. The Zhengzhou plant is a major producer of the iPhone.

A spokesman for Foxconn told the Journal only that the company increased its workforce to meet seasonal demand from customers. But "executives familiar with the situation" said the extra employees were hired specifically to get … Read more

T-Mobile's iPhone off to a damp, but hopeful, start

NEW YORK--There are bright summer mornings in midtown Manhattan when tech enthusiasts happily line the streets around the famous Apple "cube" on Fifth Avenue or sneak to nearby carrier stories to land a new iPhone or iPad.

This was not one of those days. It was gray and soggy outside T-Mobile's flagship store in midtown Manhattan this morning, a wet reminder that winter isn't quite over despite what the calendar says. Similarly, T-Mobile hasn't yet succeeded in attempts to move past its own dark season.

But T-Mobile, for once, had a reason to celebrate. Today … Read more

Tablet sales will climb to $64B this year, ABI says

The tablet market should post strong growth this year, ABI Research said, as the traditional computing market slumps.

The tech research firm expects tablet sales to climb 28 percent this year to $64 billion. In terms of shipments, ABI projected a jump of 38 percent to 150 million in 2013.

"The convenience and mobility benefits afforded by tablet computers are showing no signs of slowing interest after record unit shipments and revenues were reported by device vendors in 2012," ABI said.

The tablet growth rate contrasts sharply with the traditional computing market, though PC shipments should still be … Read more