Screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET Verizon subscribers can now preorder Samsung’s Galaxy S5 smartphone. Available at Verizon’s Web site, the S5 actually retails for $250 with the standard two-year agreement. But Verizon is sweetening the deal with a $50 mail-in rebate debit card. Verizon subscribers who don’t want to be locked into a contract can instead …

You can now grab the original HTC One for a buck through Best Buy. Sarah Tew/CNET Consumers can now pick up the original HTC One smartphone at Best Buy for just a buck. Starting Friday, the HTC One M7 is selling at Best Buy and Bet Buy Mobile stores for $1 with the usual two-year contract through AT&T, Sprint, or …

Apple TV Sarah Tew/CNET The launch of Amazon’s Fire TV is a sign that Apple needs to update its own set-top box and launch a full blown TV set. At least, that’s the view of Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster. Rumors of an impending Apple television set have been floating about for years, but such a product has yet to …

Verizon Verizon subscribers who need big buckets of data can now save more money via the carrier’s More Everything plan. Through the new budget-friendlier plan, customers who choose data buckets of 10GB or higher now pay an access fee of just $15 per month per smartphone line, down from the previously discounted price of $20. Verizon charges $100 a month …

CNET Apple’s iPhone 5S is taking advantage of a downturn in Android sales but its lead may not last long. In an investors note out Thursday, Canaccord Genuity analyst Michael Walkley said that Android smartphone sales have been soft as new devices get set to launch this month. As just one example, Samsung’s new Galaxy S5 will reach consumers on …

The Galaxy S5 Mini may sport a better screen than last year’s model. CNET Samsung reportedly has beefed up the screen quality for the next Mini version of its flagship phone. The as-yet-unconfirmed Galaxy S5 Mini will sport a 4.5-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 1,280×720 pixels, blog Sammobile said Wednesday, citing information from insiders. If true, the …

Apple/USPTO Apple has moved a step further in a proposed invention that could more securely fasten different camera lenses to your iPhone. Granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday, a patent dubbed simply “Bayonet attachment mechanisms” describes a method of using a bayonet mount on your mobile device through which interchangeable camera lenses could be attached. Bayonet …

BlackBerry CEO John Chen speaking at an event at Mobile World Congress in late February. Brian Bennett/CNET BlackBerry may be hit by quarterly losses for at least another two years, according to one analyst’s crystal ball. In an investors note released Monday, Canaccord Genuity’s Michael Walkley said he was impressed with BlackBerry’s cost-cutting moves but believes management’s long-term initiatives may …

Samsung’s Galaxy S5. Sarah Tew/CNET Samsung’s Galaxy S5 has set records for its high-quality screen, in the view of DisplayMate president and research scientist Raymond Soneira. In an in-depth analysis of the new phone’s screen technology, Soneira called the Galaxy S5 the “best performing smartphone display that we have ever tested.” Often dubbed a display expert, Soneira said the S5 …

Apple/USPTO Those of you who have ever bumped into trouble texting while walking may appreciate a patent application from the mind of Apple. Published Thursday by the US Patent and Trademark Office, a patent application dubbed “Transparent Texting” proposes a feature that would continuously capture and display video images of the environment ahead of you via your phone’s rear-facing camera. …