Android

See the Samsung S Translator app in action

We put the S Translator app found on the new Samsung Galaxy S4 in action in the below video, and tested out two phrases in different languages. The first is, "Excuse me, where is the hospital?" and the second is, "Let's go to the mall."

Our verdict: It's not too bad, but you will need a data connection for this to work. Which means that if you're traveling, you will need to pay for a data roaming plan to make full use of this (or hope to get on free Wi-Fi networks).

In this scenario, it's probably better to use an offline-capable app such as Google Translate, which works just as well for the basic phrases we used and features an offline mode for when you need to travel overseas. … Read more

Android notebooks? Yep, Intel says, and they'll only cost $200

Notebook prices should soon hit $200, but most of those will be Android-based devices, not Windows 8, an Intel executive said.

Intel CEO Paul Otellini last week said touchscreen PCs could debut at prices as low as $200 in the coming months. At the time, he didn't specify what operating system those products would run.

But Dadi Perlmutter, Intel executive vice president and chief product officer, told CNET on Wednesday that notebooks priced at the $200 level will predominantly be Android products running on Intel's Atom mobile processor. Whether Windows 8 PCs hit that price largely depends on … Read more

Samsung Galaxy S4 rocks the best phone OLED yet, says report

The Samsung Galaxy S4 may have a 5-inch screen with a killer 1080p HD resolution, but that doesn't tell you as much about its display quality as you might think.

That's because, as any display guru (like CNET's David Katzmaier) will tell you, a screen's ultimate rating spans resolution and pixel density, sure, but also color reproduction and accuracy, total brightness, viewing angles, and reflectance.

The screen material technology also plays a huge role; when it comes to smartphones, LCD displays make up the lion's share of manufacturers' choice, with Samsung at the forefront of … Read more

Verizon opens preorders for Galaxy S4 16GB

Verizon Wireless is now allowing Android and Samsung fans, and those fleeing the iPhone, to get in line for the Galaxy S4.

Verizon's preorder page for the 16GB version of the GS4 went live Thursday morning, priced at $199.99 with a new two-year contract.

The actual pricing breakdown is a retail price of $649.99, discounted to $249.99 with the contract, and an additional $50.00 coming in the form of a "Mail-in rebate debit card." So, it looks like customers can expect to initially be charged $249.99 before having some of that money … Read more

NYC subway expands wireless service

In a press conference held today in New York's Times Square subway, the MTA announced that 36 train stations now can access wireless data. This newest update is the latest installment in the organization's project to bring wireless networking to the complete transit system. The actual wireless hardware, however, is supplied by Transit Wireless, a subsidiary of Broadcast Australia. … Read more

iPad tops in satisfaction among tablet owners

Owners of Apple's iPad are the most satisfied among all tablet owners, says J.D. Power.

In a poll of 1,857 tablet users for Volume One of J.D. Power's "2013 U.S. Tablet Satisfaction Study," the iPad rated the highest with a score of 836 out of 1,000, outpacing Amazon's Kindle Fire with a ranking of 829.

Conducted in February and released Thursday, the study was aimed at tablet users who have owned their device for a year or less. Customer satisfaction was measured based on the five following factors in order … Read more

U.S. Cellular preps for weekend Galaxy S4 sales

Amid reports of delays with some carriers, U.S. Cellular is announcing its schedule to sell the Samsung Galaxy S4 online and in its brick-and-mortar stores.

The 16GB version of the marquee device goes on sale Friday online for $199.99 with an instant rebate.

A few days later, on Tuesday, the black or white handsets will show up in retail stores.

Starting on Friday, U.S. Cellular will start shipping the Galaxy S4 to customers who preordered the device, along with a free S View flip cover (video), a $60 value.

Imagining a 'Google Glass is half full' world in 2016

By the time the next presidential election rolls around in the United States, millions of us could be watching the results on our Google Glass. That might not seem crazy, being that the election will be only months after the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil, which will be broadcast, viewed, and shared by many via Glass.

This is only a snippet of what the near future could hold if predictions made by research firm IMS come true.

IMS' most optimistic forecast finds that shipments of "smart glasses" -- including Glass and similar products from competitors -- could total … Read more

Android keyboard Kalq quicker than Qwerty, scientists say

It's hard to type fast and not make any spellibg msitakes, but scientists reckon they've solved that with a new keyboard for Android tablets. Kalq is a keyboard calculated to have you typing 34 percent faster.

Developed by keyboard heroes at the Max Planck Institute for Informatics, the University of Montana, and the University of St. Andrews, Kalq -- named, like the standard Qwerty keyboard, for one of the rows of letters -- splits the keyboard in two so you can quickly type with your thumbs. … Read more

GS4 quad-core or 8-core? Samsung chief says it doesn't matter

U.S. customers won't be getting their hands on a Galaxy S4 powered by an eight-core processor, but the head of Samsung Electronics says it shouldn't matter to buyers.

Some models of Samsung's flagship smartphone, available globally in the coming weeks, will feature a quad-core processor from Qualcomm while others will feature Samsung's Exynos 5 chip with eight cores. The U.S. version will use the 1.9GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 series chip.

Some in the tech press have criticized the lack of an eight-core chip in the U.S., but J.K. Shin, co-CEO of … Read more