phones

A big-screen iPhone 6 should show up next year while the highly anticipated iPad Mini Retina may be delayed until the fourth quarter, according to Citi Research.

In a research note to investors Friday, Citi began by saying that production of the upcoming iPhone 5S "has been delayed by two to four weeks."

The note continued. "And while this does not preclude a September iPhone 5S launch date, we suspect volumes in September may consequently be challenged," Citi's Glen Yeung wrote, citing "our field work in the hardware supply chain."

At the end … Read more

No matter how slick the new hardware is or how hard BlackBerry strives to convince us that its new BB10 handsets are the cat's meow, there's still one massive stumbling block -- quality apps. Apparently even the BlackBerry faithful agree and intrepid tweakers have stepped in to fix the situation themselves.

Read on to learn how you can quickly take advantage of free BlackBerry 10 apps that others have kindly ported from Android. Best of all, the entire process takes minutes and loading apps to your Z10 or Q10 just a matter of seconds.

Gather your tools So … Read more

It's going to be a little tougher to be an AT&T GoPhone smartphone customer.

AT&T confirmed to CNET that it is eliminating a few of its more affordable data plan options on June 20. A company representative said that new plans would emerge in the coming weeks, but didn't specify whether there would be a more budget-friendly option, noting only that there would be a "variety of plans."

"We're making some changes to our AT&T GoPhone prepaid plans to simplify our offers and better align with what customers … Read more

Apple is reportedly partnering with an outside company to offer a new trade-in service for iPhones at its retail stores, a program that remains unannounced.

Citing sources, Bloomberg says Apple is working with Brightstar, a Miami-based company that manages trade-ins and logistical efforts for other companies.

The rumored program would let consumers bring in their used iPhones for a discount on newer models, and potentially for credit on other items in Apple's stores.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Such a program would not be a first for the company. Apple already offers a recycling … Read more

The official Twitter app for Windows Phone got a huge update today, bringing it more in line with its siblings on iOS and Android. The most important of the new features is undoubtedly the photo filter tool, which comes with options like Vignette, Warm, Antique, and Cool.

Other new features include lens app integration, the ability to play Vine videos right from your timeline, and an option to save tweeted photos to your device.

The updated Twitter app is available now in the Windows Phone Store.

This is an update of a deal I wrote about last year.

Landline? What's a landline? In my house, phone service arrives via the Interwebs. Over the years I've used a handful of voice-over-IP services (some good, some bad), eventually settling on Ooma and saving literally thousands of dollars in the process.

Want to do likewise? Today only, and while supplies last, Sellout.Woot has the refurbished Ooma Telo home phone system for $99.99, plus $5 for shipping. The last time I wrote about it, it was $10 more -- but that was after waiting on a $… Read more

Apple may get a bit colorful with its much-rumored low-cost iPhone.

In an investors note out Thursday, analyst Brian White cited research suggesting that the low-cost iPhone, aka "iPhone Mini," would come in five different colors. White told CNET that he believes four of the five colors will be white, black, pink, and blue.

The analyst also expects the low-cost phone to arrive before the iPhone 5S, which is likely to debut in September assuming Apple follows its usual schedule.

Rumors have run rampant over the past several months about a low-cost iPhone, with several analysts and Apple … 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

While debate rages over whether Android devices, iPhones, BlackBerrys, or Windows Phones are better, there's no question that people increasingly prefer smartphones to feature phones.

And the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project just released the numbers to back that up.

In the U.S., 56 percent of adults are now smartphone owners, according to a study published Wednesday by Pew. This is the first time since Pew began tracking the numbers that the majority of the population owns a smartphone.

Currently 91 percent of people in the U.S. own a cell phone and 35 … Read more