iphones

iOS 6.1.1 causes battery drain, say some iPhone 4S users

Rolled out this week for the iPhone 4S, iOS 6.1.1 may have fixed one problem only to create another, at least according to some users.

Several iPhone 4S owners chiming in on Apple's Support Communities say their battery drains faster after updating to iOS 6.1.1. In a discussion thread labeled "My iPhone 4S battery life is terrible, Even with iOS 6.1.1," many report that their battery life was much better under iOS 6.1.

Here's just a sampling of the comments:

The battery life on my iPhone 4S was fine … Read more

Rumor Has It: Time to preorder your Apple iWatch

Dear Rumor fans,

Don't cry for me, readers, just because I am moving away from you and my partner in rumor sleuthing, Karyne Levy, to voluntarily shovel snow in Massachusetts for the rest of my life.

OK, cry a little bit (aww shucks, guys, I'm going to miss you, too!) but then dry those tears and rejoice because Rumor Has It is continuing on without me. And it's going to grow and change and highlight all the amazing talent CNET has to offer and make me so proud.

The concept for Rumor Has It popped into my … Read more

A&E brings full-length episodes to iPhone -- for free

Apple iPhone owners can now stream full episodes of popular A&E shows.

The network updated its iOS application this week, allowing iPhone owners to watch everything from "Duck Dynasty" to "Storage Wars" to "The First 48." A&E's other networks, Lifetime and The History Channel, have also received updates supporting the iPhone.

A&E initially launched its app in December for the iPad. The company allows viewers to watch full episodes of the current season of shows for free. As with the iPad application, only Comcast customers will have … Read more

More alleged iPhone 5S photos leak online

iPhone 5S rumors continue to ramp up with a new batch of leaked photos allegedly showing off Apple's next smartphone.

Images from the Chinese Web site Zol.com.cn posted by the Times of India reportedly reveal the front and rear panels of a pre-production model of the iPhone 5S. Not surprisingly, the photos show off a phone with a design similar to that of the current iPhone 5.

Last week, the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 6 reportedly popped up at an Apple supplier in China, according to Chinese blog site Sina Tech. A Sina Tech user posted … Read more

iPhone 5S, 5-inch iPhone 6 allegedly spotted at supplier

The much-rumored iPhone 5S and a 5-inch iPhone 6 have shown up at an Apple supplier in China, according to a post on a Chinese microblogging site.

The models could be released this year, according to a post by a Sina Tech user called Old Yao. He reports that a friend of his at a supplier has seen the models and says that the iPhone 5S resembles the iPhone 5, while the iPhone 6 is wider, longer, and thinner.

CNET has contacted Apple for comment and will update this report when we learn more.

As Apple gets closer to an … Read more

BlackBerry Z10 camera versus iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy S3

BlackBerrys haven't always had the top cameras in the industry, but with the BlackBerry Z10's 8-megapixel camera, things are turning around.

In my tests so far, the Z10's shooter largely succeeds. Over the course of my testing period, I got some really nice outdoor shots, plus some crisp indoor photos of everything from food labels to receipts. Of course, not every indoor picture or portrait turned out great, but I found the images usable overall (check out my Z10 review for even more photos).

So let's see how it compares with two other high-quality smartphone cameras, … Read more

How to jailbreak any iOS 6 device, including iPhone 5

If you've been waiting to jailbreak your iPhone 5, or any device running iOS 6 and higher, today is your lucky day. A new tool called evasi0n was released just this morning.

The new tool is very simple to use -- in fact, it's easier to use than the iOS 5.1.1 jailbreak tool I covered last year. Taking far less time, and only a few steps, if you're comfortable clicking a few buttons on your computer and tapping an icon on your iOS device, you're more than prepared to use evasi0n.

A required warning, … Read more

Play music on your favorite Android gadget using iPhone Music app

Users who have recently switched from an iPhone to an Android device most likely miss the music player that comes stock with Apple devices. The great look and simple layout of iPhone Music will appeal to all users, but there are a couple of drawbacks.

iPhone Music installs easy. The app will automatically detect all the music featured on your device as well as album art. The playback is great and the sound quality is perfect. This app offers a well-designed layout and it emulates the Apple player very well. Users are able to create custom playlists and monitor listening … Read more

How trapped are your digital movies and TV shows?

Have you decided to ditch DVDs and Blu-rays to instead buy movies and TV shows only in a pure digital format?

There are certainly advantages to that. But one of the biggest downsides of going all digital is that how you can view your content is largely dependent on the service you purchased it from.

Digital video providers In this column, I look at how "trapped" video content purchased from iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, Xbox and Google Play may be. The first four video marketplaces were listed yesterday by NPD as among the top ways people purchase digital video. … Read more

One video for all with GOM Video Converter

GOM's latest version already supports the expected list of common formats: AVIs, MP4s, WMVs, etc. If you're not sure which format to use, GOM Video Converter includes presets for the current line of popular portable gadgets, consoles and more so that no Sony, Microsoft, Samsung, or Apple device gets left behind.

Installation takes some more input than standard processes, mostly involving user confirmation of installing certain codecs. Personally, we felt that it's odd to ask for such confirmations as codecs don't really take that much space anyways and the odds of a typical user knowing which … Read more