Services and applications

Today marks exactly one year since Google rebranded the Android Market into the Google Play store and the company is observing the occasion with limited-time deals and freebies.

Deals this week include $5 books and 99-cent movie rentals as well as select magazines for only $1 each. What's more, a number of television shows are being offered at no cost, including "Breaking Bad," "Community," and "Justified."

A handful of Android games also have gotten in on the birthday love, offering free, exclusive in-game features. Disney's Gnome Village, for instance, features an Android-exclusive … Read more

As I write this, CNET writers from three countries are traveling to Barcelona, Spain, to bring you the best of the annual Mobile World Congress trade show.

If you're a smartphone fan, you probably know that Mobile World Congress (MWC) is a big deal. And if you don't know about it but still love gadgets and technology, there are very good reasons why you should care. I'll explain.

To put it simply, MWC is the most important wireless trade show of the year. It's bigger than CES (where, no … Read more

Along with the latest smartphone releases from Nokia, LG and more, this year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, will play host to 20 of Britain's most innovative mobile companies thanks to the Smart U.K. competition.

The competition -- organized in association with U.K. government body U.K. Trade and Investment (UKTI) -- saw over 60 British-based companies enter, which was narrowed down to 20 by an expert judging panel. All 20 will be given entry to Mobile World Congress by UKTI -- although they'll have to pay for their own flights and accommodation -- … Read more

It's frustrating when you share the Internet between multiple devices and some of them hog all the bandwidth, leaving the rest crawling. Qualcomm has something that could potentially ease this pain.

The mobile chipmaker today introduced its StreamBoost technology, which is designed to "optimize performance and capacity of home networks" by enabling the home router to intelligently manage the broadband connection. Qualcomm says the new technology allots to each connected device and each application the bandwidth it needs, and no more, to ensure the best possible experience on all connected devices.

It's important to note that … Read more

The Wi-Fi Alliance and the Wireless Gigabit Alliance, aka WiGig, announced today their agreement to consolidate WiGig's certification and development under Wi-Fi Alliance. This is the result of longterm collaboration between the two organizations, since they reached an agreement on the standard of multigigabit wireless networking in May 2011.

While the Wi-Fi Alliance is a popular organization that tests and certifies Wi-Fi devices to guarantee their interoperability, WiGig is a lesser-known entity that develops the 60GHz-based WiGig technology specifications. The Wi-Fi Alliance, however, initiated the work to develop an interoperability certification for 60GHz products.

The WiGig standard, also known … Read more

Samsung Galaxy S3 users may soon see their handset acting more like its bigger brother, the Galaxy Note 2.

That's because according to the SamMobile blog, the Galaxy S3 will soon receive Samsung's MultiView feature as part of a coming 4.1.2 update.

In addition to Multi-View, which lets the user run and view two applications at the same time, the update allegedly includes a customizable notification panel, a new gallery app, the continuous input keyboard, and Smart Rotation (where display adjusts to angle of view).

It's unclear how far along Samsung is at this stage, … Read more

Verizon Wireless is set to become the next wireless provider to offer carrier billing for Google Play purchases, according to unconfirmed reports. An internal Verizon screenshot obtained by Droid Life shows that the feature will be enabled later this week, specifically on October 18.

It it follows through, Verizon would be the last major U.S. carrier to adopt the billing strategy for apps, games, and other content. With that in mind, it appears that Big Red is going to employ a somewhat different tactic from the other players.

As evidenced in the photo, Verizon will put a $25 cap … Read more

When I read the news this morning that Motorola had acquired facial and gesture recognition company Viewdle, the first thing that crossed my mind was, "Here comes multi-user profiles for Android."

Why? Because it's the next logical step for the platform, and one that could help differentiate it from Apple. That, and it's something for which I'm really hoping. Assuming I read the tea leaves properly, future versions of Android will introduce the capability to unlock a device with your face that leads to individual profile settings. … Read more

Samsung plans to acquire CSR's handset connectivity and location development operations and technology, the companies announced today.

Under the terms of the deal, Samsung will hand over $310 million to the semiconductor company to take control over its "Handset Operations." In addition, Samsung will take on all 310 CSR employees operating in those divisions.

CSR says that Samsung will also invest $34.4 million into its operation in return for a 4.9 percent equity stake.

"I believe that under Samsung's ownership the handset operations will be in a better position to prosper in the … Read more