Smartphones

Lenovo seems to be the only top PC vendor bucking the trend of sour sales.

The Hong Kong-based company today reported record results for its fiscal year that ended March 31. For the year, Lenovo captured sales of $34 billion, a 15 percent increase from the prior year. Earnings hit $635 million, up 34 percent. And its PC shipments grew by 10.2 percent, compared with an overall industry drop of 8.1 percent.

Lenovo's 15.5 percent market share for the year put it in within reach of stealing the top spot from Hewlett-Packard. A recent report from … Read more

HTC's flagship smartphone, the One, has inched towards 5 million units sold since its launch about a month ago, an unidentified HTC executive has told the Wall Street Journal.

Speaking to the Journal on Wednesday, the unidentified executive said that "orders are pretty good so far and are still more than what we can supply." He blamed the shortage on issues with component availability, and nothing his own company is doing.

HTC has been in a world of trouble over the last couple of years as demand for its devices has fallen. Although 5 million units sold … Read more

Mailbox, the popular e-mail app snapped up by Dropbox earlier this year, has redesigned its app for the iPad.

The new app, which currently only works with Gmail accounts, has the same functions as the old app. It lets users organize their e-mail using swipe motions with the ultimate goal of reaching "inbox zero."

Mailbox CEO Gentry Underwood said there were a lot of requests for an app designed specifically for the iPad. Formally, users could use Mailbox on any iOS 6 device, including the iPad, but the layout was created with smaller devices in mind.

The new … Read more

There she was, greeting the Las Vegas audience at the CTIA Wireless show on Wednesday with that trademark million-dollar smile. Meet Jennifer Lopez, actress, singer, and product pitchwoman extraordinaire, and now co-founder and creative director for Viva Movil, a self-styled "premium retailer" for Verizon Wireless products and services targeting Latino consumers.

"As an entrepreneur, empowering the Latino community is at the core of what I choose to have my businesses stand for and exemplify," Lopez said during her presentation to the CTIA audience. She added that Latino smartphone customers don't have any "specific place,&… Read more

Samsung says it has sold more than 10 million Galaxy S4 smartphones to retailers and wireless operators less than a month after the handset's debut, making it the company's fastest selling smartphone to date.

In a press release Wednesday, the company noted that the GS4's predecessor, the Galaxy S3, hit the 10 million mark in terms of global channel sales -- not sales to consumers -- 50 days after its 2012 launch, and that the GS2 and GS took five and seven months, respectively, to reach that mark.

The GS4, then, would seem to be carrying Samsung … Read more

LAS VEGAS -- Rovio, the company that developed the popular Angry Birds games, is not just a mobile gaming company anymore. It's an "entertainment" company, says Chief Operating Officer Harri Koponen.

Speaking at the CTIA 2013 trade show here Wednesday, Koponen described the company's evolution from casual game-maker to media mogul. The company, which launched its first Angry Birds game in December 2009 on the iOS platform, has built an empire around the lovable, wingless Angry Birds, which players hurl at structures to protect their eggs from "bad piggies."

"Entertainment is a big … Read more

LAS VEGAS -- Although already available through other carriers like Net10 and Straight Talk, the Samsung Galaxy Discover will be available on Cricket Wireless starting this summer.

The news was made official during a press conference today during CTIA. The carrier also announced that it will release the Samsung Admire 2 in the summer, as well as the Galaxy S4 on June 7.

Though Cricket did not release final pricing, the Galaxy Discover currently retails for about $100.

Design Compact and sturdy at 4.4 ounces, the 3.5-inch Galaxy Discover is a small entry-level device that measures 4.59 … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Cricket Wireless has big plans for this year. In addition to announcing that it will be offering the Galaxy S4 in June, and its new "Half is More" ad campaign, the prepaid carrier also reported that it will sell the Samsung Admire 2.

Though no specific availability date and pricing information was given, the Admire 2 is scheduled to come out this summer. Its predecessor, which was originally offered on MetroPCS, launched with an initial price point of $129.

Design During the press conference, Cricket did not release any specs. But what I could gather from handling … Read more

LAS VEGAS -- Verizon Wireless is teaming up with actress and singer Jennifer Lopez to better address the growing Hispanic market.

On Wednesday the company announced a partnership with Viva Movil, a new brand created by Lopez to capitalize on the fastest growing demographic in the U.S.

"This new company is here to revolutionize the entire mobile experience for Latinos," said Lopez. "There's no specific place for Latinos to be specifically catered to. We will continuously evolve the wireless shopping experience with Verizon Wireless's guidance and support."

Lopez, who will serve as chief … Read more