4s

RadioShack slashes prices on Galaxy S3, iPhone 5 and 4S

With Samsung's Galaxy S4 unveiled last week and rumors of an iPhone 5S on the way, RadioShack is letting loose some of its inventory at a discounted price.

The consumer electronics store is offering deals on the Samsung Galaxy S3, iPhone 5, and iPhone 4S to Sprint customers starting today. A RadioShack spokesperson told CNET that this sale will last between now and April 4.

Of the three devices, the best deal seems to be for the Galaxy S3. With a new two-year contract, customers can save $150 on the device. Typically the mobile phone costs $199.99 at … Read more

Galaxy S4: Cool features, awful launch

CNET Update didn't expect Samsung to be sexist:

Samsung finally unveiled its flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S4. But this was no ordinary press conference. The Galaxy S4 presentation was a campy Broadway-styled spectacle that was painful to watch with sexist caricatures of women.

Despite the distasteful event, the Galaxy S4 will surely be a big seller and top rival to the iPhone. Today's video offers a quick explanation of the smartphone's new features, such as being able to navigate by waving a hand over the screen. (Many of these features will also come to Galaxy S3 users.) … Read more

iPhone 5 beats Galaxy S3 as top seller, says report

The iPhone 5 surpassed Samsung's Galaxy S3 last quarter as the hottest-selling smartphone worldwide, according to a Strategy Analytics report out today.

For the final quarter of 2012, Apple shipped 27.4 million iPhone 5 units globally, winning a market share of 12.6 percent. In contrast, Samsung shipped 15.4 million Galaxy S3 phones for a 7.1 percent slice of the market. Samsung actually saw its S3 shipments and market share both drop from the third quarter's numbers.

Strategy Analytics senior analyst Neil Shah attributed the success of the iPhone 5 to a "rich touchscreen … Read more

iOS 6.1.1 causes battery drain, say some iPhone 4S users

Rolled out this week for the iPhone 4S, iOS 6.1.1 may have fixed one problem only to create another, at least according to some users.

Several iPhone 4S owners chiming in on Apple's Support Communities say their battery drains faster after updating to iOS 6.1.1. In a discussion thread labeled "My iPhone 4S battery life is terrible, Even with iOS 6.1.1," many report that their battery life was much better under iOS 6.1.

Here's just a sampling of the comments:

The battery life on my iPhone 4S was fine … Read more

Camera megapixels: Why more isn't always better (Smartphones Unlocked)

Note: This article originally published May 6, 2012 and updated on February 13, 2013.

Increasingly, the 8-megapixel smartphones camera standard you thought you knew will ratchet up to 13 megapixels for high-end phones.

In many products -- like this past January's Pantech Discover (12.6 megapixels), last October's LG Optimus G for Sprint (13 megapixels), and even last year's HTC Titan II (16 megapixels) -- we're already there.

And no, I won't forget to mention last February's Nokia 808 PureView, a 41-megapixel Mobile World Congress 2012 stunner that CNET camera editor Josh Goldman says … Read more

Apple releases iOS 6.1.1 to fix iPhone 4S issues

Apple has put out a supplemental update to iOS 6.1 for iPhone 4S owners following issues with cellular performance.

iOS 6.1.1, which was released to developers last Wednesday, went out to iPhone 4S owners as a free update this afternoon. In the release notes, Apple says the update "fixes an issue that could impact cellular performance and reliability for iPhone 4S."

The update did not go out to owners on other iOS devices, including newer versions of the iPhone, or cellular-enabled models of the iPad.

Apple's release of iOS 6.1 near the end … Read more

How I replaced my iPhone 4S battery for $8

Talk about an inconvenient truth: right around the 12-month mark, your iPhone battery will start to wear out. You'll notice that it doesn't last quite so long between charges, a problem that just gets worse as more time passes. By 18 months or two years, you'll be lucky to get half a day of run time.

Apple famously (make that infamously) engineers iPhones without a battery door, so you can't just swap in a new power pack. However, you can indeed replace your iPhone's battery, and it's cheaper and easier than you might think.… Read more

Apple sells 47.8M iPhones in Q1

Apple closed out 2012 on a high note with its iPhone sales, but many fear its momentum is already beginning to peter out.

The Cupertino, Calif., company said today that it sold 47.8 million iPhones in the fiscal first quarter (or the last quarter of the calendar year). The results were above analysts' average projected sales of 46 million to 47 million units, although many analysts had higher estimates, and were left disappointed. It sold 37 million units a year ago.

What remains to be seen is whether the iPhone 5 can keep up with the pace of sales … Read more

Best Buy trims $50 off iPhone

Holiday shoppers looking for an iPhone 5 or 4S can save some cash courtesy of a new sale at Best Buy.

The retailer is currently discounting all the various flavors of the iPhone by $50.

That means the 16GB iPhone 5 is selling for $149.99, the 32GB for $249.99, and the 64GB for $349.99. The 16GB iPhone 4S can be had for $49.99. Both the black and white versions are up for grabs.

All of them naturally require the standard two-year contract with Verizon Wireless, AT&T, or Sprint.

A few of the variants can … Read more