samsung

Apple and Samsung -- the odd couple of the tech world

Apple and Samsung are arch-rivals in the mobile market and in the courtroom but they still need each other to do business.

A story from Monday's Wall Street Journal highlights the co-dependency between the two competitors, pointing out that neither company can truly afford to upset that tenuous fruit cart.

Apple reportedly reached an agreement last month to shift more of its chip production away from Samsung in favor of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). The deal was described by DigiTimes as one "whereby TSMC replaces or supplements Samsung, the incumbent supplier of Apple processors." In recent, … Read more

Nearly half of smartphones sold in Europe hail from Samsung

Android is flying high in Europe, due mainly to the "relentless" popularity of Samsung's smartphone line, according to a new report.

During a three-month period that ended in May, nearly half of all smartphones sold in Europe were produced by Samsung, Kantar Worldpanel ComTech reported Monday. The research firm found that Samsung helped lift Android to a 70.4 percent share of the key European markets, Germany, the U.K., France, Italy, and Spain. During the same period last year, its market share was at 61.3 percent.

Trailing far behind Android, Apple's iOS platform owns … Read more

Smartphone market share consolidates at top, study shows

The smartphone market leaders are more entrenched, and that's bad news for the underlings, based on a new study from ComScore.

ComScore's latest MobiLens report had no shifts in status among the major phone manufacturers and mobile operating systems in the three months ended in May, but the top two in both fields gained share while the bottom three all lost ground.

Apple ranked as the top phone maker with 39.2 percent of U.S. smartphone subscribers, up 0.3 percentage point from the prior quarter, followed by Samsung with 23 percent market share, up 1.7 … Read more

Samsung Freeform 5 QWERTY phone, now available on U.S. Cellular

Available for $69.99 with a two-year contract, or $99.99 prepaid, the keyboard-sporting Samsung Freeform 5 is now available on U.S. Cellular.

Similar to its predecessor, the device features a 2.4-inch QVGA display and a 1,000mAh battery (which has a reported talk time of up to six hours).

There are some minor differences, however. Specifically, it now has a 3-megapixel rear-facing camera (compared to the Freeform 4's 2-megapixel shooter), and design changes include a slightly tweaked keyboard layout, more space between the buttons, and a new coat of blue paint.

When I took a look … Read more

Samsung announces curved OLED for $13,000

Samsung launched its first curved OLED TV in South Korea on Thursday, just a week after announcing availability of its flat-screen OLED, the KN55F9500. But the curve will cost you, with a price of $13,000 U.S., or $4,000 more than the flat version.

The television will ship in July, and according to Reuters, the company plans to release the curved version in other territories as well, though Samsung has yet to confirm if this includes the United States.

The 55-inch display comes with a curved panel and is finished with a "Timeless Arena" design. The … Read more

Apple loses bid to include Galaxy S4 in Samsung suit

U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul S. Grewal has turned down Apple's recent request to include the Galaxy S4 in an ongoing lawsuit against Samsung.

In a ruling dated Wednesday, Grewal wrote that Apple's argument for including the Galaxy S4 in its lawsuit against Samsung is not persuasive enough and creates "undue prejudice" for Samsung as it defends itself against Apple's legal jabs.

According to Grewal:

Throughout the hearing, Apple warned that excluding the Galaxy S4 would result in yet another case with more claims of infringement and would require Apple to continue to play, in … Read more

Verizon says first LTE-only phones to arrive in late 2014

Verizon Wireless will offer smartphones that run only on its 4G LTE network by the end of next year, according to the carrier's network chief.

A 4G-only device could potentially be cheaper and sleeker because it doesn't need multiple cellular radios that current smartphones require. But that can't happen until Verizon gets its voice service to run on the 4G network, which currently handles only data traffic.

But with Verizon essentially wrapping up its 4G LTE rollout, the carrier already has an eye on voice over LTE. Verizon is hoping to offer what's known as VoLTE … Read more

Windows 8.1 has arrived

In this episode of Update:

- All of the goodies announced today for Windows 8.1.

- Early access to Kinect for Windows opens up for developers.

- Square goes after online sales with Square Market.

- 1 million Android users have unknowingly downloaded apps with adware.

- Google is ready to ship the Google Play versions of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One.

CNET Update delivers the tech news you need in under three minutes. Watch Bridget Carey every afternoon for a breakdown of the big stories, hot devices, new apps, and what's ahead. Subscribe to the … Read more

The best pure Android phones right now

There's something magical about owning a Nexus phone. It's akin to belonging to an elite inner circle or cabal, one that's privy to the most up-to-date software straight from Google's top-secret labs. The benefits of running on pure Android unfettered by carrier bloatware, shady third-party apps, and manufacturer skins go beyond feeling special, though. The biggest is that accessories and apps simply run properly when not tripped up by glitzy yet proprietary add-ons.

Unless you void your warranty and root your handset, then flash it with custom Android builds, however, phones with stock Android are hard … Read more