Enlarge ImageSamsung’s Z3 runs on homegrown software. Samsung Samsung on Wednesday unveiled its second phone powered by the company’s own Tizen software, an alternative that so far hasn’t made much headway against Google’s more widely used Android. The Samsung Z3 is due to go on sale in India on October 21 for 8,490 Indian rupees …

Blocks is available to back on Kickstarter for $195 for the core module, or $275 for the core plus a selection of four modules. Blocks Wearables If the current crop of smartwatches fails to impress you, why not build your own? The world’s first modular smartwatch, made by London-based Blocks Wearables, is heading to Kickstarter after 18 months in development. …

A self-balancing scooter was on display at CES 2015 in Las Vegas. Josh Miller/CNET What do pop singer Lily Allen and the son of football star David Beckham have in common? They’ve both been seen riding “hoverboards” in the street, which has now been stamped illegal in the UK. Guidance for the use of the hoverboards, also known as self-balancing …

The 2015 model of Apple’s 15-inch MacBook Pro. Sarah Tew/CNET Apple’s two latest iPhones may be off to a strong start in terms of sales, but fewer people are buying the company’s MacBooks and iMacs. Analysts aren’t in agreement over the rate of the slowdown, with IDC reporting a 3.4 percent decline in Mac units shipped and research firm Gartner …

Enlarge ImageThe Surface Pro 4. Sarah Tew/CNET Microsoft yesterday launched a salvo of gadgets in the battle for your Christmas cash, with a slew of new products announced at a Windows 10 event in New York. These include its latest “laptop-replacement tablet”, the Surface Pro 4 , and an updated fitness-tracking wearable, the Band 2 — both of which are …

Amazon’s latest premium Kindle, the Paperwhite. Sarah Tew/CNET RIP touchscreens; long live paper. Waterstones, the UK’s largest retailer of books, has said it will stop selling Amazon’s Kindle e-book readers. “Sales of Kindles continue to be pitiful so we are taking the display space back in more and more shops,” the company’s managing director, James Daunt, told publishing industry site …

Enlarge ImageThe latest iMac is expected to look identical to last year’s model. Sarah Tew Apple launched a slew of products during its annual iPhone event last month, but not all of its new devices made it on the agenda. Apple is set to add a 21.5-inch iMac with sharper 4K resolution to its lineup next week, according to Apple …

Now playing: Watch this: Microsoft reveals first-ever laptop, Surface Book 2:34 Microsoft has unveiled its first-ever laptop, a 13.5-inch Windows 10 device dubbed the Surface Book . The Surface Book is “the ultimate laptop,” said Microsoft’s head of devices, Panos Panay, announcing the device Tuesday. It is also, he added, the “thinnest, most powerful PC ever created.” Enlarge ImageMicrosoft’s Surface …

Russian authorities have given Google a November 18 deadline to stop bundling its own apps with its Android software for mobile phones and tablets. By installing its apps on all phones that run Android, Google is abusing its dominant position in the Russian market, ruled the country’s Federal Antimonopoly Service in September. The Mountain View, California, company’s contractual requirements for …

HTC’s sales figures have been slowly declining for four years. HTC HTC’s poor smartphone sales and ongoing struggle in a hotly competitive market have resulted in its second net loss this year, the company reported Monday. The Taiwanese phone maker managed to cling to a tiny profit in the first quarter this year, but a downturn in sales contributed to …