phones

iPhone 4 leaker tells all on Reddit AMA

Brian Hogan knew he had something valuable when he discovered that the cell phone he found in a California bar in 2010 was actually an unreleased iPhone prototype. However, it quickly led to some poor decisions, he now admits.

Three years down the line, Hogan feels ready to talk about the saga, which he did on Tuesday via a Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) session titled "I leaked the iPhone 4."

"I rarely talk about topic with people, but my conscience is clear, I'm over the embarrassment, and life's too short for some of the … Read more

Rumor Has It: How much better will the iPhone 5S' better camera be?

Last week, Facebook announced video capabilities for Instagram, which nobody was surprised about. But I was a little surprised that the presentation ended with that. I was sure that the company would also announce its answer to Google Reader. Lo and behold, recent rumors suggest that Facebook still has a Reader of its own up its sleeve.

Google could be working its own version of Pinterest, called Google Mine. It would be integrated with Google+, and it could have its own Android app. Of course!

And finally, there's that little gleaming unicorn that everyone is speculating about, the iPhone 5S. Recent rumors suggest that it'll have a boosted camera, jumping 12 megapixels from the iPhone 5's 8. What do you think of those specs? Does it sound likely? Leave a comment below, and don't forget to vote in the poll!

Microsoft highlights start button return at Build

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer highlighted the return of the start button on Windows 8 at its Build developers conference Wednesday in San Francisco.

The news got a round of applause from the audience, but it may not be everything users had hoped for. Ballmer said users can also boot to the desktop and the Start screen has been tweaked to see many applications at a glance.

Check out CNET's review of Windows 8.1 here and read more news from the conference on CNET's live blog.

Sprint to offer Windows Phone 8 devices with unlimited 4G LTE

Looking for a smartphone with no data caps? Sprint has a couple of new candidates lined up.

The HTC 8XT and Samsung Ativ S Neo, both Windows Phone 8 handsets, will be available sometime this summer through Sprint's self-dubbed Truly Unlimited plan. Offered in select markets, the plan promises unlimited 4G LTE data use with no overage charges. The cost rings in at $79.99 per month for an individual user and 179.98 per month for a three-line family plan.

Sporting a 4.3-inch WVGA display, the HTC 8XT is powered by a 1.4GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon … Read more

Telefonica inks deal with Microsoft to break Android, iOS 'duopoly'

Telefonica, one of the world's largest carriers, has signed a deal with Microsoft to promote far more heavily the software giant's Windows Phone 8 operating system and devices running it.

The carrier said in a statement on Wednesday that over the next year, it will enhance its marketing efforts for Windows Phone 8 and Windows Phone 8 devices. The company will focus those marketing efforts in several of its major markets, including the U.K., Germany, Spain, and Brazil.

Telefonica said that its move is designed to enhance competition in the marketplace. The company said Wednesday it wants … Read more

Basis Band gains fresh style

Basis Science, the maker of the Basis Band fitness gadget, announced today three splashy wrist straps. The company hopes the straps will bring a fresh dose of chic to the fitness-minded smartwatch.

Named with evocative titles such as Electric Spring, Carbon Steel, and Cityscape, each strap accessory features a distinctive aesthetic. Cityscape ($34.95) uses a black and white street scene motif, whereas Carbon Steel ($49.95) is made from stainless steel and soft silicone.

The Electric Spring strap ($34.95) is the most daring of all, with wildly colored patterns reminiscent of ink drops and flowers.

If you're … Read more

iPhone loses market share in Europe as Android surges

Apple lost market share to Android in Western Europe, according to market researcher IDC.

Market trends in Western Europe are not looking good for Apple's iPhone. "Apple's iOS continues to lose ground as market share declined to 20% from 25% in 1Q12 [first quarter 2012]," IDC said Tuesday.

Android, meanwhile, is gaining operating system market share, up 14 percent year-to-year in the first quarter. "Android continues to dominate the smartphone landscape," according to IDC.

In the quarter, Google's OS shipped 21.9 million units and market share increased to 69 percent in the … Read more

Verizon upgrades rugged G'zOne series with LTE model

Verizon Wireless today expanded its rugged smartphone lineup by announcing the Casio G'zOne Commando 4G LTE.

An update to 2011's Casio G'zOne Commando, the Commando 4G LTE has largely the same design as its predecessor. Clad in black with a few red accents, the handset packs rubber sidings for protection, and top and bottom ends that almost come to a point.

More importantly, it meets the expected military standards (under the MIL-STD-810G certification) for shock immersion, dust, vibration, salt fog, humidity, solar radiation, low pressure, and high and low temperature. What's more, the touch screen, which … Read more

Review: ZC Video to iPhone Converter modernizes your video collection for mobile

ZC Video to iPhone Converter fills in for one of the larger missing features in iTunes, converting almost any video format into iPhone-ready MP4 for playback on your mobile device. While it is not perfect and there are some issues with the interface, ZC Video to iPhone Converter manages to do a decent and quick job of converting those files and ensuring they play back at high quality on your phone.

After installing ZC converter, you can immediately load a video from your hard drive for conversion. Choose a video and it will load with metadata for editing. You can … Read more

Top waterproof iPhone 5 and iPhone 4/4S cases

Updated June 25, 2013, with three new cases (Ballistic, Cascade Designs, and Lifeproof).

Waterproof smartphone cases used to be bulky, ungainly contraptions, but they've been trimming down lately.

That said, building a truly waterproof case is not easy (a waterproof case is defined as one that can be fully submerged underwater for at least 30 minutes). Often there are trade-offs in creating a waterproof design, the biggest of which usually involves access to the headphone jack on your phone. They also tend to be pricey, usually costing more than $50.

In boiling down the best of what's currently … Read more