Android

Google's new Motorola ad one-ups Apple: It's all-American

Timing is everything.

Motorola has discovered this a few times in its interesting history.

So now that it is a Google company, it is attempting to time the launch of its new Moto X phone perfectly.

It has released a teasingly emotive ad, placing its hand on its heart and its flag in the ground.

While Apple has merely embraced the concept of its products being designed in California, Motorola thumbs its nose and displays its all-American credentials.

In ad due to appear July 3, the headline reads: "The first smartphone designed, engineered and assembled in the USA is … Read more

Android 4.2.2 hits international HTC One

HTC has begun deploying an Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean update to the HTC One, according to Android Central.

Users living in Taiwan are reportedly starting to see the Android 4.2.2 update. While HTC has yet to make any formal announcements, the 456MB update file includes a number of changes to the flagship smartphone. Among the details are a new lock screen style and widget, an enhanced launcher bar, quick settings, and a battery percentage in the notification bar.

For now, only those in Taiwan are reported to see the update; however, we might soon expect some … Read more

Motorola teases Droid Ultra smartphone

Motorola's upcoming Droid Ultra will be thin and still as "tough as steel." At least, that's how the company is teasing it.

A page on Motorola's Web site displays a small gray box with a tidbit of promotional copy for the Droid Ultra: "Available in a bunch of glossy colors, this high-grade DuPont Kevlar body proves you can be even thinner and still be tough as steel."

The rest of the page is filled with lots of technical specs. But as noticed by blog site Droid Life, the specs are the exact same … Read more

Leaked pic hints at HTC One arrival on Verizon soon

Last week I made a visit to my local Verizon Wireless store. As the store employees rung up my wife's new Galaxy S4 and sang its praises, they talked even more giddily about the impending arrival of another phone on the nation's largest carrier -- the HTC One.

This is just one small-town store in a vast network of Verizon stores, mind you, but employees told me iPhone sales had fallen off in favor of Samsung's Note and Galaxy S lines, and that they were expecting even bigger things from the HTC One.

What I couldn't get a straight answer on was when the flagship Android phone might finally come to Big Red. It's been months since the last great hope for struggling HTC was released to the masses, and the HTC One has since landed on all other major carriers in the United States. … Read more

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 could arrive in September

Samsung fans, listen up: a new Galaxy Note 3 phone might be right around the corner. A new report claims the latest phablet device from the Korean tech giant could become a reality in September.

Samsung certainly has made a lot of noise about its newest Galaxy S4 superphone, but another of its popular gadget lines, the Galaxy Note franchise, is sorely overdue for a refresh. Now it appears a Note 3 model is in the works, according to sources close to technology blog Android Geeks.

You may recall that the original Galaxy Note first shook up the mobile device … Read more

BlueStacks' new Android console is (almost) free forever

BlueStacks really wants to see Android spread across all the disparate screens in the universe, and it's willing to hand out a free gaming console based on Google's mobile OS to help achieve that vision.

Today the company behind the BlueStacks app player, which brings Android apps to other platforms like Windows, and the $129 Android-based GamePop mobile gaming console and service announced the GamePop Mini, a free version of the console available to subscribers who pay a $6.99 monthly fee. … Read more

Android 4.3 allegedly caught on Google Play Galaxy S4

Google's next version of Android may have taken its latest bow courtesy of a batch of leaked screenshots.

Images obtained and posted by Sammobile purport to reveal an early Android 4.3 build running on the Google Play Edition Galaxy S4. The screenshots clearly display the Android version number as 4.3, while the model number of GT-i9505G refers to Google's new "pure" version of the Galaxy S4.

Another screenshot shows that Google is apparently sticking with the Jelly Bean moniker for Android 4.3.

This isn't the first time Android 4.3 has surfaced … Read more

Gripe and ye shall receive: Google fixes Gmail for Android

Google has come to its senses with its Gmail app for Android.

A June Gmail overhaul dropped the delete button by default from the e-mail software, a move judged to be silly by me and by 88 percent of the CNET readers who responded to our poll.

Plenty of other people didn't give a fig, the button's absence wasn't a showstopper, and it could be restored by changing the settings, but I thought it a departure for a company that today is supposed to be fanatical about crafting a great experience for users.

Well, happily, it's … Read more

T-Mobile to make bold moves July 10

T-Mobile issued invitations today for a media event in New York City on July 10.

Exactly what the carrier has in store for the shindig remains a mystery, but T-Mobile promises that it will deliver its "boldest moves yet." It all begins at 11:30 a.m. PT.

Of course, a flashy new handset (or handsets) is a big possibility, with the Sony Xperia Z as the most likely star. Remember that last week, CNET's Roger Cheng reported that T-Mobile had confirmed that the Xperia Z would go on sale "in the coming weeks."

The … Read more

Yahoo News gets a face-lift to become 'more personal'

Yahoo News on Thursday became the company's latest site to get a facelift.

The Internet company added new features that it believes will deliver a "more personal, intuitive and modern design." That includes a news stream that's customizable to a user's interests and a redesigned iOS app. A new Android design will be hitting devices soon, Yahoo said.

"This new design is one step towards creating a more consistent feel across Yahoo," Mike Kerns, Yahoo vice president of product, said in a blog post.

Kerns noted that Yahoo News will get smarter over … Read more