A new challenger has entered the smartphone ring.
I'm Bridget Carey and this is your CNET update.
This is going to be one competitive year for smartphones.
In October, consumers will have another choice besides Apple, Android, Windows and BlackBerry.
The new player is called Ubuntu and it's currently an open source operating system for computers, but now it's being redone for the smaller screen.
And the company's CEO told the Wall Street Journal
that smartphones running Ubuntu will be out in October and app developers get access to tinker with it later this month.
It wasn't revealed which carriers or handset makers will be working with Ubuntu and it wasn't even confirmed if North America will be getting it first.
This system would be unique because apps that are programmed to run on a desktop PC also will work on the phone, so you can just make one app from multiple devices.
When docked, this phone can also be used as a PC but it's likely that this is gonna be something that interests corporate
IT departments more than the average consumer.
Here is another fun product to say, OUYA, the Android-based game console will be updated with a new version every year.
At least, that's the game plan.
The company's CEO told the verge that starting next year and every year going forward, the OUYA system will be refreshed with the best performing chips possible for its $100 price point.
Usually, you don't see an upgrade with the game console in several years.
The Wii U came out six years after the Wii.
The console is expected
to be available at retailers in June and players can make pre-orders now.
Microsoft is picking on Google again with the marketing campaign, titled "Don't Get Scroogled by Gmail." Microsoft is drawing attention to how Google scans user's e-mails to determine which ads to show alongside the e-mail and thereby, it's urging people to switch to the free Outlook.com e-mail.
But Google maintains that its automated scans do not invade privacy because no humans read user e-mails or account information.
Right now,
Yahoo is the top free e-mail provider in the U.S., with Google at close second.
Hotmail is a distant third and will be phased out for the rebranded Outlook.com.
And speaking of e-mail, a new iPhone app is getting lots of buzz.
It's called Mailbox and it's a third party Gmail client that just hit the apps store.
Mailbox is designed to make it easier to manage e-mails because you could do things like snooze an e-mail to put up answering an e-mail until later and will give you a reminder to check it again for the time you
want.
But you can't just download it.
You have to wait in line to get an activation code.
So, you might download this now and wait for days to even use it.
Clearly people are desperate for a better way to manage the e-mail beast.
That's your Tech News Update.
You can find more details on all these stories at cnet.com/update.
From our studios in New York, I'm Bridget Carey.
