Ad: Manage updates with the Download App

News

Comeback kid? LG eyes break in U.S. with Optimus G Pro

When LG was developing its first phablet, known globally as the Optimus Vu but in the U.S. as the Intuition, the head of the mobile division, J.S. Park, supposedly obsessed over the slide-top mechanism that covered the charging port, sending back prototype after prototype to his designers.

One was too fast, one was too loose, and another was too slow, according to a story related by James Fishler, head of marketing for LG's U.S. division, one he characterized as LG folklore. Park was convinced that the little detail was an important detail that consumers would focus … Read more

HTC Q1 profit plunges 98 percent, despite HTC One launch

The HTC One launched too late to save the Taiwanese company's first-quarter results.

Net profit for the handset maker tumbled to NT$85 million ($2.85 million) from NT$4.5 billion ($152 million) a year ago, a drop of 98 percent.

It's the company's lowest quarterly profit since 2004. Revenue plunged too, to NT$42.8 billion from NT$67.8 billion, the company confirmed in Thursday's earnings call.

The company did not reveal how many units of the HTC One it has so far sold, but said it expected revenues to jump in the … Read more

Embarking on a Google Glass exploration

CNET Update keeps it Glassy:

Google Glass has arrived. CNET's Bridget Carey takes you though the basics of the early developer model of Google Glass, known as the Explorer Edition. This episode of Update explains what the wearable computer can do and what it's like to look at the screen.

CNET will bring you continuing coverage of Glass as we learn to live with this new device and explore the apps being created for it -- because that's when things will get interesting.

CNET Update delivers the tech news you need in under three minutes. Watch Bridget … Read more

T-Mobile-compatible phones coming to MetroPCS stores

T-Mobile will begin selling phones compatible with its network at MetroPCS stores later this quarter, according to T-Mobile Chief Marketing Officer Mike Sievert.

The goal is to sell only T-Mobile-compatible phones at MetroPCS stores by the end of the year. The move will help accelerate the migration of customers from the MetroPCS network to that of T-Mobile, Sievert told CNET on Wednesday.

T-Mobile was reborn today, appearing for the first time under the ticker TMUS as an independent and U.S.-based publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange. This follows the company's merger with MetroPCS. The … Read more

Netgear entices developers with million-dollar app contest

To attract software developers, Netgear today launched its Million Dollar App Contest with the aim of diversifying the company's Netgear Genie+ marketplace. The networking vendor hopes the contest will encourage creation of innovative apps for its routers and NAS servers.

The company says the top three app developers will win a trip to Las Vegas and the winner of the contest will also receive $10,000 with a chance to win a grand prize of a $1 million 40-year annuity, which is to be announced at CES 2014. Participants will also earn revenue by selling their apps through the … Read more

Sprint on track to shut down Nextel iDEN network on June 30

Sprint said on Wednesday that is on track to turn off the Nextel iDEN network for good at the end of June. The company previously said it expected to decommission the network by the end of the second quarter.

The shutdown, which will begin on June 30, is part of Sprint's broader Network Vision plan, which includes an upgrade of its existing infrastructure and a move to 4G LTE. The company plans to use the spectrum from the Nextel network to power its 3G and 4G services.

Nextel, however, boasts a loyal base of users that continue to cling … Read more

Larger-screen iPhone to launch in 2014 -- analyst

Apple launched the larger-screen iPhone 5 last year, but the company isn't done upping smartphone display sizes, according to one analyst.

Jefferies analyst Peter Misek wrote in a note to investors recently that he believes Apple's iPhone 6 will launch next year with a larger screen. According to the Canada-based Financial Post, which obtained a copy of the note, Misek didn't say exactly how big the screen size will be but said this year's launch -- the iPhone 5S -- will come with the same 4-inch display as its predecessor.

It would make sense that Apple … Read more

Belkin Thunderbolt Express Dock now available for $300

After a slight delay from its expected release date in September 2012, Belkin's Thunderbolt Express Dock is now available, at a price of $300. Such docking stations have become popular with the advent of Thunderbolt ports in Apple Macs.

Like other Thunderbolt docks, the Express Dock has a number of different I/O ports to enhance your Mac's connectivity options, with three USB 3.0 ports, a Gigabit Ethernet port, a FireWire 800 port, 3.5mm audio in and out, and two Thunderbolt ports.

In its initial press releases, Belkin suggested the Express Dock would include an eSATA connection; … Read more

Apple plans 'aggressive' move into car integration -- report

Apple is already making some inroads into the vehicle market, but the company has much broader plans, according to a new report.

Apple is currently working with car makers to integrate iPhones and perhaps iPods into car consoles, 9to5Mac is reporting, citing people who claim to have knowledge of its plans. Apple envisions a way for iPhone owners to plug their devices into cars and then use specially optimized versions of Siri and Maps for in-vehicle use.

Last year at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple announced "Eyes-Free Siri," which was designed for car makers to integrate the … Read more

Original iPhone reportedly to be obsolete on June 11

The original iPhone will soon leave its current "vintage" status and become an obsolete product in Apple's eyes, according to an internal document seen by blog site 9to5 Mac.

This change is slated to happen on June 11, 2013, which means that on this date people with the original iPhone will no longer be able to get it repaired or otherwise serviced.

The change will take place for consumers in the Asia-Pacific, Canada, Europe, Latin America regions, and in Apple's retail stores, according to the document, but the original iPhone will remain in vintage status for … Read more