blackberry

Android is top OS, but Apple top smartphone maker

Android reigns as the top smartphone OS in the U.S. with a 39 percent slice of the market, according to a report out today from Nielsen.

In second place is Apple's iOS with a 28 percent share, followed by RIM's Blackberry with 20 percent.

Trailing the three top platforms, Microsoft's Windows Mobile and Windows Phone 7 combined grabbed 9 percent of the market, leaving HP's Palm/WebOS with 2 percent, and Nokia's Symbian also with 2 percent, Nielsen said.

Looking at the mobile industry by device makers, Apple is the only company making smartphones … Read more

Top 5 tablets

The iPad is synonymous with "tablet" for most people, but that's starting to change. The reason is a crop of fairly well-realized alternatives that offer different sizes, operating systems, and prices. Brian Cooley runs them up to No. 1.

Here's a quick tutorial on how to "root" a Barnes & Noble Nook Color to make it a cheap, capable Android tablet.

And all of CNET's reviews in the fast growing tablet category are here.

Verizon accidentally reveals Bold 9930

Verizon made a bit of a boo-boo this morning and accidentally revealed the BlackBerry Bold 9930. It was unveiled in the "Explore Features" video on the product page for the BlackBerry 9650; instead of a movie of the 9650, viewers were treated to a sneak peek of the 9930 instead. That video is now no longer available, but Engadget managed to snag a rip of it.

That, along with RIM's recent news that it'll soon release OS 7, leads us to believe the Bold 9930's release is imminent.

Revealed at BlackBerry World earlier this year, the BlackBerry Bold 9930 has a 1.2GHz processor, a 2.8-inch touch screen, a super-slim profile, a larger keyboard than before, and BlackBerry 7 OS. Even though BlackBerry 7 doesn't look dramatically different from 6, the device might be sleek enough for loyal BlackBerry users to stick with RIM. What are your thoughts about the new hardware?

Update: Verizon has a page up for the Bold 9930 now.… Read more

The 404 865: Where we don our bedtime spanx (podcast)

The Sleep Doctor Michael Breus is back on the show to answer your questions about how sleep affects everything from your weight to your memory, and even your mental health. We never get enough time to talk to Dr. Breus, but today we pick his brain about waking up sleepwalkers, how to get your kids back on a summer sleep schedule, and the best natural sleep aid.

The 404 Digest for Episode 865

Rocked to sleep-- not just for babies anymore. Check out Dr. Breus's book, " The Sleep Doctor's Diet Plan: Lose Weight through Better Sleep" For-hire Brooklyn woman reads you bedtime stories. Go the ***k to sleep! Add Dr. Breus on Twitter!

Episode 865 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Pew: One-third of U.S. adults own smartphones

Smartphone adoption is growing in many demographics, according to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center.

The Pew poll estimates that 35 percent of American adults own a smartphone device. The data is based on a survey conducted in May, which found that 83 percent of U.S. adults have a cell phone, and 42 percent of those people have a smartphone.

The types of people adopting smartphones vary, but Pew found the highest concentration of individuals range from "financially well-off and well-educated; under the age of 45; and African American and Latinos."

Internet access is critical … Read more

An unexpected Prizefight: TouchPad vs. PlayBook

Now, we could have taken the obvious route with our latest tablet Prizefight. The HP TouchPad is the new tablet kid on the block and of course the "on the nose" comparison would be the iPad 2. Less on the nose, but almost as obvious would pit the TouchPad against the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. Boring, boring, boring! (Incidentally, typing the word "boring" three times in a row doesn't preclude us from making the two aforementioned theoretical comparisons in the future.)

The tablet market is growing beyond Google or Apple-based devices, so we thought … Read more

This Day in Tech: Interview with Mac pioneer and Google+ contributor; Twitter handles 200 million tweets daily

Too busy to keep up with today's tech news? Here are some of the more interesting stories from CNET for Friday, July 1.

Google+ contributor and Mac pioneer talks with CNET (Q&A) A core feature of the new Google+ service is Circles, which makes it drag-and-drop easy to build "circles" of friends in the browser. Meet Andy Hertzfeld, the man behind Circles--and the original Mac. More

Living life without unlimited data CNET's Maggie Reardon helps current Verizon customers understand their data options, and also offers pointers on choosing among Apple, Google Android, and RIM … Read more

AT&T finally adds BlackBerry Bridge

More than two months later, and AT&T has finally allowed the BlackBerry Bridge software to be downloaded from BlackBerry App World, according to AllthingsD.

Previously, AT&T customers were the only ones who weren't able to download the Bridge application, which tethers the PlayBook to their BlackBerrys. This is the only way PlayBook owners could get secure access to BlackBerry e-mail as well as calendar, tasks, contacts, and BBM messages. With the Bridge software, all of that information is safely confined on the phone and won't leave a trace on the tablet.

To pair the … Read more

The 404 849: Where we're taking a mulligan (podcast)

Did Shakespeare smoke the devil's lettuce? Joey Kaminski fills in for Wilson today to help us discuss this question and more, like should Jeff go to the world's first tickle spa? How would you evaluate Subway's $5 foot-long sandwich policy? And how do I get free Uncharted 3 and Call of Duty Black Ops (Annihilation)? We'll try our best to answer them all!

The 404 Digest for Episode 849

Capcom tries to kill used video game sales with the one-save game. Instead of pejazzling, Jeff should go to the world's first tickle spa. Twenty craziest job interview questions and the right answers. Crazies exhume Shakespeare's body to see if he smoked marijuana. Did you know that every episode of "Seinfeld" has a Superman reference? Whoa...dude!

Episode 849 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more