google smartphone

For the Apple-loyal, the iPhone 5 is practically an automatic purchase. But for the rest of you, it can't hurt to know what your options are.

A few weeks ago, CNET's Brian Bennett posted a roundup of the best iPhone 5 alternatives. It turns out that there are tons of excellent smartphones out there that can match (and in some ways surpass) Apple's iPhone 5. The above video collects Brian's top picks into a rated list.

So if you're wondering about your smartphone options, be sure … Read more

Whenever Apple introduces a new version of iOS, it's guaranteed that Android fans will protest that Google's operating system has long had most of the new features. Apple is late again, they'll say, and only following Google down the smartphone innovation trail.

Truth is, I don't really blame them for making that case. Indeed, I've done the same when reviewing iOS updates (most recently with CNET's iOS 6 First Take) so I understand where their fervor is coming from. But as right they may be, Android fans forget one important thing. Apple may be … Read more

A year from now, you may be coveting a flashy new ZTE smartphone.

At least, that's what ZTE is hoping for. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal (subscription required), Lixin Cheng, the head of ZTE's North American business, said he plans on introducing high-end smartphones in the U.S. By 2015, he expects the U.S. to be the largest market for ZTE.

ZTE, which makes mobile devices and telecommunications equipment, is a growing power in the mobile-handset business. Globally, the company is the fifth-largest handset maker by market share--just behind Apple, according to Gartner. But … Read more

I know there are many people whose eyelids are fluttering at the prospect of the new Google Galaxy Nexus phone.

There are slightly more people, though, who will never have heard of it.

Which means if you're going to produce an ad that says, roughly: "Hullo, this is the new, frightfully exciting, earth-shuddering phone from your Google buddies," then perhaps that ad should project your thought.

Instead, we are offered something that might well have been for a school, a retreat, or a local Green Party candidate.

It has pretty, caring young people enjoying their lives to … Read more

When Google announced plans in August to acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion, some assumed the company would start actively involving itself in handset development.

But in an interview today at All Things Digital's AsiaD conference, Google Android boss Andy Rubin said that this simply won't happen.

"I don't think you should consider Google's acquisition of Motorola as Google entering the hardware business," Rubin said during the interview. "This is going to be an arm's length thing...Motorola isn't going to get any special treatment."

Rubin's comments seem … Read more

We're less than 48 hours away from finding out for certain, but it looks as though Ice Cream Sandwich will feature photo-editing tools at the platform level.

If a number of uncovered camera icons are to be believed, the next build of Android could make it much easier to touch up photos. AndroidPolice, who initially discovered these icons, indicates that users will have the ability to perform standard editing techniques and apply effects to pictures without the need to download additional software. … Read more

After delaying its original CTIA press conference, Samsung and Google have rescheduled their Ice Cream Sandwich event for October 18 in Hong Kong.

Festivities will kick off at 7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. ET, and it will be live-streamed on Android's YouTube channel. At that time, we expect to hear more about the next version of Android and hopefully see the official debut of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus (aka Nexus Prime).

The oft-rumored smartphone is expected to offer a stock Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich user experience and be a Verizon exclusive, with 4G LTE capabilities. … Read more

It's the end of my second week of life with Windows Phone 7 Mango, and it's time to render a verdict. I should say at the outset that two weeks doesn't sound like a lot of time to live with an entirely new platform, and I might have lasted longer but for serious problems with the HTC Trophy I've been using (one-day record for spontaneous reboots: 15, including 3 in 15 minutes). That said, since my smartphone is a device I'm using almost constantly, I feel like I got to know the thing pretty well. … Read more