android

The five different Galaxy S4s: Which one's for you?

Samsung wasted very little time after sending its Samsung Galaxy S4 into the wild to breed a whole line of variants.

Now, there are no fewer than five Galaxy S4 models vying for your time and attention, and they're rather tough to tell apart.

Take the Galaxy S4 Google Edition, for instance, a model that's almost identical to the GS4 original -- oh, except for its entire experience and price. Then there are the Galaxy S4 Mini, Samsung Galaxy S4 Active, and Galaxy S4 Zoom. What's a Samsung fan to do?

Don't worry, that's what … Read more

Get a Republic Wireless no-contract Android phone for $199

Not everyone needs the latest, greatest smartphone -- the big screen, the blazing processor, the uber-camera. Plenty of users can get by just fine with something simple, especially if they can save money while still experiencing the joy of apps.

Republic Wireless offers perhaps the best money-saving smartphone deal on the planet. For $249, you get a Motorola Defy XT Android phone, then pay just $19 per month for unlimited service (with an asterisk, but still). Nineteen bucks! And you're not stuck with a contract, either.

The whole thing just got a little better: For a limited time, you … Read more

Facebook plans for Home switch in Android app

Facebook Home may have fallen flat among users initially, but CEO Mark Zuckerberg assured shareholders on Tuesday that he has big plans for the software suite.

He said the company will eventually distribute Home -- which blankets your mobile device with your News Feed -- through its Android app, once it's perfected.

"We haven't really made our big push yet ... biggest thing that we're going to do once we feel that we're ready is to encourage people who have the Facebook app to go turn this on from within the app," Zuckerberg said at … Read more

Review: Android gets a bit safer with 360 Mobile Security

360 Mobile begins installation with a standard EULA menu. The first thing we noticed was how clean the process looked; Mobile Security walks you through a fancy but minimal tour that previews what 360 is all about along a lengthy vertical flow.

Despite sporting a slightly different design direction than its older PC cousin, 360 Mobile Security retains the same focus on streamlined design, paired with some subtle indicators of your mobile security status. Depending on whether your phone is secure or not, the background menu's photo changes to reflect the state of your device.

In terms of performance … Read more

Galaxy S4 upsets iPhone 5 in our brutal destruction test (video)

The iPhone 5 and the Samsung Galaxy S4 -- two sparkling smartphones at the top of their game. But which mobile is tougher? That's what our in-depth and brutal destruction video aims to discover. Hit play on the clip above to witness the world's greatest mobiles drowned, scratched, dropped, and crushed -- with surprising results.

For our first test you'll see both phones, which were kindly donated by U.K. gadget insurance company Protect your bubble, dunked underwater, an ordeal from which Samsung's mobile made a truly miraculous recovery. Find out exactly how much … Read more

Set alerts for Gmail categories on Android

The new Gmail features a tabbed interface that sorts e-mail into Primary, Social, Promotions, Updates, and Forums. While this does make your in-box look a bit tidier, it can make the transition to the new style frustrating when it comes e-mail alerts.

Thankfully, you can set alerts for each category, and even disable them for others. When you get an alert on your Android device, you'll know what kind of e-mail you're receiving, and whether you need to read it right now.

Before you set the individual alerts, you need to make sure that notifications for your Gmail … Read more

Change privacy settings for shared posts in Facebook for Android

When sharing a post from the previous version of Facebook for Android, you may have forgotten to tap the itsy-bitsy people-sharing icon before you sent it off to the Interwebs. This icon controls the settings for who can see your post, be it Public, Friends, or other groups you're part of on Facebook. Fortunately, this icon hasn't gone anywhere, but in case you forget to use it, there's a fix -- and it doesn't involve logging in on the desktop Web site.

First, make sure you have the most recent version of Facebook for Android. Just … Read more

Ticket to Ride chugs onto Android

My awesome brother-in-law Steve introduced me to Ticket to Ride a couple years ago, and I've been hooked ever since. As board games go, it offers a near-perfect blend of strategy and luck-of-the-draw, on par with old classics like Risk and newer ones like Carcassonne.

Then came the iOS version, which CNET ranked among the 30 best iPad games -- and rightly so. It affords a decent single-player experience (something the board version can't) and moves the game along at a much speedier clip (meaning you can play alone or with others without investing quite so much time).… Read more

How to install Android apps on your BB10 phone

No matter how slick the new hardware is or how hard BlackBerry strives to convince us that its new BB10 handsets are the cat's meow, there's still one massive stumbling block -- quality apps. Apparently even the BlackBerry faithful agree and intrepid tweakers have stepped in to fix the situation themselves.

Read on to learn how you can quickly take advantage of free BlackBerry 10 apps that others have kindly ported from Android. Best of all, the entire process takes minutes and loading apps to your Z10 or Q10 just a matter of seconds.

Gather your tools So … Read more

Screens test: HTC One vs. Samsung Galaxy S4

The two hottest flagship Android smartphones right now, the HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S4, both earned CNET's Editors' Choice Awards for their stellar designs, massive feature sets, and overall appeal.

So which one has the better screen?

In the tradition of our original screens tests last year, we set out to answer that very question. We used a combination of objective measurements courtesy of the same expensive test gear we use to evaluate and calibrate HDTVs, and subjective observations courtesy of our priceless, expert eyes.

As we found previously, each screen has particular strengths and weaknesses, but to our minds the Samsung Galaxy S4 has the better screen. Its victory over the One, however, was by no means a slam dunk.

Overall color accuracy between the two is nearly a wash by the numbers, and the One has a decided advantage in brightness -- making it the better choice if you spend a lot of time outdoors under a bright sky. But the deeper black levels and insane contrast of the GS4, along with the versatility afforded by its many settings, helped put it over the top.