feature

Console life cycles historically have lasted around five to six years. While Sony and Microsoft seem to be deviating from that pattern, Nintendo has stuck with tradition by fully disclosing that a brand-new home console will be unveiled at next week's E3 2011.

There has been a lot of speculation about what kind of horsepower this Wii successor will bring, with early reports claiming the hardware will trump both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Of course, there won't be any solid answers until the company's press conference on Tuesday morning, but for now, CNET's gaming experts … Read more

There are photo-editing programs for all types of users, from the neophyte who simply needs to crop and resize to the hardcore photo geek who gets her kicks messing with editing algorithms. Image Analyzer is definitely for the photo geek; although it has many of the basic editing tools that would be expected of any such program, what makes it unique is an array of features that might flummox even more advanced users.

The program's interface is plain, with a set of menus and a toolbar across the top of the screen. The typical photo-editing tools are here; you … Read more

Android increased its lead over Apple's iOS in April as the top mobile platform tracked by ad network Millennial Media.

Releasing its April MobileMix report today, Millennial Media found that Android accounted for 53 percent of all ad impressions on its network last month, a gain of 10 percent from March. That marked the fifth consecutive month in which Google's mobile OS was the leader.

Android's growth in April came at the expense of both iOS and Research In Motion's BlackBerry OS.

For the month, the share of ad impressions for iOS fell to 28 percent … Read more

Whenever iPhone 5 arrives, there are a few key features we need to see to make it a worthy successor to the iPhone 4. Here's the short list.

(For the longer list, you can also peruse David Carnoy's thoughts on that.)

Sony Ericsson saw its profits cut in half during the first quarter, but the company managed to stay in the black despite a drop in shipments and a blow to its supply chain from the Japanese earthquake.

For the quarter ended March 31, the mobile phone maker reported net income of 11 million euros ($15.7 million), down from 21 million euros in the year-ago quarter. Despite the drop, results beat the average of analysts' estimates, which had called for a loss of 27.1 million euros, according to Bloomberg. Sales fell 19 percent to 1.145 billion euros from … Read more

When the LG Optimus T and Optimus S phones were announced last year, I genuinely felt for the first time that feature phones were a dying breed. Both of these Optimus handsets were branded as entry-level smartphones, but had very impressive features--they shipped with Android 2.2 Froyo (the latest OS update at the time), had portable Wi-Fi hot spots, and of course the usual Android features like robust e-mail and Google app support.

Sure, they weren't as advanced as their higher-end cousins--no Flash support, no HD video, and so on--but for $30 or less, these phones were an absolute steal. Considering that some feature phones are selling for more than twice that price for far fewer features, it seemed that smartphones were finally affordable enough that everyone could get one. Furthermore, the Android interface is not that difficult to navigate, making the usability factor almost a nonissue.

But there are two important barriers to entry when it comes to smartphone adoption: data plans and contracts. Almost every carrier requires some kind of data plan to go along with its smartphones, while feature phones tend to escape such confines. Also, smartphone contracts tend to be more expensive to get out of, with early termination fees in the $200-$300 range depending on how early on you want to exit the contract. Because of these restrictions, feature phones still continue to be popular with the mainstream despite the smartphone craze that tends to dominate the tech news circuit.

Which is why the Motorola i886 is such an interesting handset.… Read more

One of the questions I've been peppered with since the iPad 2 announcement was whether I was going to replace my first-generation iPad for the new one. The answer for me is yes, since it's part of my job to live with these gadgets so I can understand their strengths, weaknesses, and appeal. But for most original iPad owners, I'm guessing they'll be holding out for version 3.

Why's that? The real big change is less about the external redesign as much as what's inside. New are things like a snappier processor and built-in … Read more

Today's cars so are full to the brim with high-tech gizmos and gadgets that it's easy to see how some users can get overwhelmed with the sheer complexity of it all. We receive e-mails and comments regularly asking what features should one look for in a new car and why.

With that in mind, we've assembled a list of the must-have car tech features for your perusal. From dashboard technologies to safety features to power train and handling considerations, there's something for everyone in this list. And while you may not check every single box with … Read more

Much of the discussion of security threats to mobile phones revolves around smartphones, but researchers have found that less advanced "feature phones," still used by the majority of people around the world, also are vulnerable to attack.

Feature phones have Web browsing, MP3 players, and other programs standard voice-only phones lack, but they have less computing power and feature integration than smartphones.

Because security research on feature phones has been eclipsed by research on popular smartphones like Android and iPhone, mobile researcher Collin Mulliner said he decided to turn his attention to the lower-end phones. After all, so … Read more