News

AT&T adds six LTE markets, unveils plan for 77 more

Six more AT&T markets have access to its 4G LTE network, bringing its total to 182, the carrier said today.

Meanwhile, seven existing AT&T markets have snagged expanded LTE coverage. The company also unveiled plans to bring the super-fast wireless connection to 77 additional markets by the end of summer.

AT&T is racing to catch up to market leader Verizon Wireless, which offers LTE in nearly 500 markets and plans to wrap up its deployment by the middle of the year. With the increasing consumer awareness over 4G LTE and the need for a … Read more

Ahead of iPhone 5 launch, T-Mobile touts trade-in program

T-Mobile is cranking up the hype for its iPhone 5 launch on Friday.

The carrier added another incentive to hop on its bandwagon, extending its trade-in program to include older iPhones from other carriers. In exchange, customers can avoid putting money down for a new iPhone 5, as well as get a reduced monthly rate.

It is clear T-Mobile is excited to offer the iPhone, a key product that's been missing from its lineup as virtually every other carrier -- big and small -- began offering it. T-Mobile is hopeful that Apple's iconic device can reverse years of … Read more

U.S. Navy uses laser to take down drone

CNET Update is powering up the laser cats:

Lasers are coming soon to a battleship near you. The U.S. Navy posted a video of a laser weapon that set fire to a drone, and it plans to put one on a ship by the end of the year. One shot of energy from the laser costs about $1.

Also featured in this tech roundup:

- The Galaxy Note 8 is an impressive 8-inch tablet that's tripped up by a $400 price tag. But if you like a stylus, you might not mind that it's more expensive than … Read more

Crucial M500 brings SSD pricing to a new low

The dream of a solid-state drive that offers near 1TB of storage space without breaking the bank has just come true.

Crucial today announced the availability of the M500 SSD, its first terabyte-class drive, which comes in 120GB, 240GB, 480GB, and 960GB capacities and costs $129.99, $219.99, $399.99, and $599.99, respectively.

This is the first SSD on the market to offer close to 1TB at a cost close to that of most existing 480GB to 512GB SSDs.

According to Crucial, the M500 uses Micron's 20nm MLC NAND flash and Micron's custom firmware to deliver … Read more

T-Mobile execs see early momentum, higher store traffic

T-Mobile's decision to abolish contracts and cell phone subsidies has piqued the interest of consumers.

That's according to T-Mobile's senior vice president of marketing, Andrew Sherrard, and its executive vice president for corporate services, David Carey, who spoke to CNET today. Carey said traffic was up in all of the stores he visited after the carrier made its switch late last month and announced the changes during a high-profile event in New York.

"I have every reason to believe this momentum will continue and carry forward," he said, but conceded that it was too early … Read more

Virgin Mobile fires salvo at T-Mobile, offers $100 to switch

Virgin Mobile wants consumers to know that it's a major player in the no-contract wireless game too, and isn't afraid to spend a little money to show it.

Virgin set its sights directly on T-Mobile, offering $100 to T-Mobile customers willing to switch their number over and buy a smartphone before May 31.

Carriers will often provide incentives to switch, but rarely do they target a specific company. T-Mobile has made a lot of noise about its move to abolish contracts and subsidies, and Virgin Mobile, a business built on prepaid service and a unit of Sprint Nextel, … Read more

Marvel trying again with 700-issue comic book giveaway

About a month ago, Marvel Comics set the Internet on fire with an offer that was downright super: 700 first-issue digital comic books absolutely free.

But the company quickly learned that freebies can put a fantastic strain on servers, as host Comixology immediately buckled under the demand -- and ultimately suspended the giveaway.

Avengers, assemble! (OK, that's my last superhero analogy.) Marvel has risen from the (cr)ashes to extend the offer once again: more than 700 free first-issue comics. Just sign up between now and 11:59 p.m. (ET) tomorrow, and you'll get on the waiting … Read more

Google might be chatting with WhatsApp

CNET Update needs a smarter wrist:

Could Google be looking to buy WhatsApp? The latest report says Google is considering acquiring the app for $1 billion. At the end of 2012, it was said Facebook was talking about buying this popular messaging app. If it sells for $1 billion, that puts WhatsApp into the same category as Instagram, which sold to Facebook for the same amount.

Also in today's tech roundup:

- We might hear more about the next Xbox console in late May. Reports indicate that Microsoft pushed an April reveal back to May 21.

- Sony revealed … Read more

G-Tech's latest Ev Thunderbolt storage: Performance meets flexibility

The flexibility of Thunderbolt storage has just taken a new turn, thanks to G-Technology.

The storage vendor announced today its new Evolution Series of portable and desktop storage devices, which comprises a Thunderbolt dual-bay docking station called G-Dock Ev, and two interchangeable and expandable storage modules that carry the names G-Drive Ev and G-Drive Ev Plus.

Both the G-Drive Ev and the G-Drive Ev Plus hard-drive modules can also work individually as USB 3.0 portable drives. The G-Drive Ev is bus-powered, comes in either 500GB or 1TB capacity, and is slated to provide some 135MBps data throughput. The 1TB … Read more

U.S. Patent Office withdraws refusal of iPad Mini trademark

Apple should now be able to win custody of the "iPad Mini" trademark as long as it adds a disclaimer to its application.

In a letter apparently sent to Apple last week, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office said Apple would need to make it clear that it seeks only to trademark the term "iPad Mini" and not the actual word "mini." Such a disclaimer would ensure that other companies could add the word "mini" to their own product names.

"Applicant must disclaim the descriptive wording 'mini' apart from the … Read more