Time to spin up the Apple hype. Another event is right around the corner. We’re a week away from the rumored debut of Apple’s latest phone, which could be a smaller version of its flagship handset called the iPhone 5SE. It’s expected to have a 4-inch display, like the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5S, designed …

Cellular connection or not, I am not a good drone pilot. That’s what I learned from my brief time at telecom-gear maker Ericsson’s booth at the Mobile World Congress trade show last week in Barcelona. I had a chance to pilot a drone more than 1,400 miles away in Stockholm with the help of an Oculus Rift virtual-reality headset and …

AT&T is ready to go Hollywood. The Dallas telecommunications giant unveiled on Tuesday three Web video services under its DirecTV brand. The services will launch in the fourth quarter, the company said, though it was mum on details like the price and what specific channels and content will be available. There’s DirecTV Now, a package of on-demand and live programming …

For Apple, this is a fight for the soul of every single iPhone. Apple’s top lawyer Bruce Sewell heads to Congress on Tuesday to appear before the House Judiciary Committee. That will mark the next phase of the tech giant’s battle with federal authorities over whether it needs to create a “back door” — an intentional security weak spot — …

Welcome to The 3:59, CNET’s new daily podcast. We’ll be breaking down the top tech news of the day, with a liberal sprinkling of attitude, analysis and awkwardness. The 3:59 will deliver four-minute bites of news and context on Monday through Thursday every week. I’ll be one of your co-hosts, and while I generally focus on the mobile area, we’ll …

Android users, are you ready for your close-up? Facebook has begun rolling out its Live Video feature to devices running Android mobile software, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said Friday at a town hall Q&A session in Berlin. The company has been slowly releasing the feature to Apple’s iOS devices over the past few months. “Live Video is one of the …

Few people have tried virtual reality, but it’s already become a meme. Earlier this week, a photo went viral showing Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg striding past unsuspecting journalists strapped into virtual reality headsets. Reactions ranged from comparisons to “The Matrix” to the observation that Zuckerberg may be our new overlord. The occasion was a Samsung press conference for the unveiling …

Samsung and LG just had their moment in the spotlight with their premium phones. It will be HTC’s turn any day now. The company, which will show off its next flagship phone “very soon,” hints at one key feature to expect: a much improved camera. “We can confidently say that HTC will have a very, very compelling camera experience,” Chief …

LG is taking a break from Google’s Nexus phone program. There are no plans to build a successor to Google’s Nexus 5 or Nexus 5X phones, according to a spokesman for the Korean electronics conglomerate. “LG needs to focus on its own brand,” he said at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona on Friday. The decision comes as …

Car dealerships can be a stressful. Sure, it’s a chance for you to get an up-close-and-personal look at your next potential ride, but then there are the salesmen to contend with. Maybe you just want to check out the vehicle in peace. Augmented reality, which superimposes digital images on top of the real world, aims to cut out the dealership …