mobile

HP aims to get back into the smartphone game

Hewlett-Packard plans to jump back into the smartphone business.

Yam Su Yin, HP's senior director for consumer PC and media tablets for Asia Pacific, told the Press Trust of India that the company will focus on all segments of the market, including tablets, notebooks, and all-in-one PCs, the Indian Express reported Sunday.

Asked specifically about a smartphone, Yin said: "The answer is yes, but I cannot give a timetable. It would be silly if we say no. HP has to be in the game."

HP attempted to carve a bigger slice of the mobile market after acquiring Palm in 2010. … Read more

Samsung Freeform 5 QWERTY phone, now available on U.S. Cellular

Available for $69.99 with a two-year contract, or $99.99 prepaid, the keyboard-sporting Samsung Freeform 5 is now available on U.S. Cellular.

Similar to its predecessor, the device features a 2.4-inch QVGA display and a 1,000mAh battery (which has a reported talk time of up to six hours).

There are some minor differences, however. Specifically, it now has a 3-megapixel rear-facing camera (compared to the Freeform 4's 2-megapixel shooter), and design changes include a slightly tweaked keyboard layout, more space between the buttons, and a new coat of blue paint.

When I took a look … Read more

T-Mobile forks over $308M for U.S. Cellular spectrum

T-Mobile customers in a swarm of cities, including St. Louis and New Orleans, are about to get a boost in coverage.

The wireless carrier has signed a deal to pay $308 million in cash for U.S. Cellular spectrum to expand its footprint in the Mississippi River Valley region, T-Mobile said Friday. Specifically, T-Mobile said it will buy 10MHz of Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) spectrum that covers 32 million people in 29 markets, including St. Louis; Nashville and Memphis, Tenn.; Kansas City; Lexington and Louisville, Ky.; Little Rock-North Little Rock, Ark.; Birmingham, Ala.; and New Orleans.

The company noted the … Read more

Facebook boosts #hashtag presence with mobile

Facebook launched hashtags earlier this month, but now it's upping the anty. As of Thursday, hashtags will work on the social network's mobile site and the company is also debuting related hashtags, according to TechCrunch.

What this means is that Facebook hashtags could start to be a lot more abundant and easier to integrate.

Facebook describes hashtags as a way to "turn topics and phrases into clickable links in posts on your personal timeline or your Page, and help people find posts about topics they're interested in." For example, Facebook says, write a post along … Read more

T-Mobile to make bold moves July 10

T-Mobile issued invitations today for a media event in New York City on July 10.

Exactly what the carrier has in store for the shindig remains a mystery, but T-Mobile promises that it will deliver its "boldest moves yet." It all begins at 11:30 a.m. PT.

Of course, a flashy new handset (or handsets) is a big possibility, with the Sony Xperia Z as the most likely star. Remember that last week, CNET's Roger Cheng reported that T-Mobile had confirmed that the Xperia Z would go on sale "in the coming weeks."

The … Read more

Apple loses bid to include Galaxy S4 in Samsung suit

U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul S. Grewal has turned down Apple's recent request to include the Galaxy S4 in an ongoing lawsuit against Samsung.

In a ruling dated Wednesday, Grewal wrote that Apple's argument for including the Galaxy S4 in its lawsuit against Samsung is not persuasive enough and creates "undue prejudice" for Samsung as it defends itself against Apple's legal jabs.

According to Grewal:

Throughout the hearing, Apple warned that excluding the Galaxy S4 would result in yet another case with more claims of infringement and would require Apple to continue to play, in … Read more

Mobile payments startup Clinkle nabs $25M in early investments

Young entrepreneur Lucas Duplan said his startup, Clinkle, has figured out a way for people to pay for things in a physical store without using cash or credit card. And, it doesn't require a mobile card reader, the hardware popularized by payments company Square.

"No one has really cracked the nut," Duplan said, adding that none of the apps currently available can really help people leave their physical wallets behind. He leaves the door open for other benefits, like how to use consumer's shopping habit data to create other features.

"Our product is fundamentally a … Read more

FingerQ adds fingerprint sensor to Android phones

SHANGHAI, China -- FingerQ, a company based in Hong Kong, has made a series of Android cases that come with biometric fingerprint sensors for added security. The sensors don't replace the built-in security features of your Android phone (unlocking your smartphone still uses the passcode or pattern unlock), but adds another layer of protection for chats and applications.

The FingerQ system will be available as an accessory called the PrivacQ case and caters to phones such as the Samsung Galaxy S3, S4, and Note 2, as well as the HTC One. The fingerprint sensor is just one part of the equation, as the company's software also needs to be installed on the handset for the system to work. … Read more

Facebook makes a play for more mobile ads with instant setup

Facebook said Wednesday that it has sped up the process for creating mobile app install ads, the unit developers can buy to promote their own iOS and Android applications.

App makers can now create and run mobile app install ads by simply entering a link to their apps in Apple's App Store or Google Play -- rather than first registering their apps with Facebook, a company spokesperson told CNET. Developers then need only set their target audience and budget to get the ad unit in the wild.

Essentially, with the change, all it takes to advertise your app is … Read more