Sprint is getting aggressive with DirecTV customers. CNET Sprint has found a novel way to lure away customers from a rival: give its service away for free. The nation’s fourth-largest wireless carrier said on Thursday that as a way to “celebrate” rival AT&T’s acquisition of DirecTV, it would offer any of its satellite TV customers …

Hybrid laptops like the Lenovo Yoga line represents the one bright spot in the PC and tablet businesses. James Martin/CNET When was the last time you were excited about a tablet or PC? That’s an enduring question the consumer electronics industry has to grapple with, and the news isn’t getting any better: Research firm IDC on Wednesday forecast that sales …

Sprint pitchman and soccer star David Beckham should be happy about the RootMetrics results. Sprint Sprint, long the laggard in the national wireless service scene, can claim at least one minor victory over rival T-Mobile. The nation’s fourth-largest carrier, which dropped one position in the past month thanks to T-Mobile’s speedier customer growth, scored a solid third place in a …

When it comes to premium smartphones, a brave new world is coming — and it’s unclear where Samsung Electronics fits in it. The change is coming slowly, but surely. You’re starting to see it with the emergence of smartphones like Motorola’s Moto X Style , ZTE’s Axon Pro or the Xiaomi Mi Note — so-called flagship products with one shared …

Verizon has made some big changes to how it sells wireless service. But that has also left a lot of questions. On Friday, Verizon said it would eliminate its long-standing practice of signing customers up for long-term service contracts and offering subsidies to blunt the high cost of smartphones. Instead, it opted for new plans that are slightly cheaper (with …

Nextbit is already shifting from software to hardware. Screenshot by Roger Cheng/CNET You would normally laugh off any no-name company’s attempt to jump into the brutally competitive smartphone business. But given the pedigree of the members at startup Nextbit, you have to at least be curious. Nextbit, which began life as a secretive software startup focused on a cloud-based tool …

Verizon is shaking up how you pay for your wireless service. Verizon Wireless on Friday introduced a set of new data plans that require customers to pay for their smartphone in monthly installments or buy it outright. The new plans go into effect August 13. It’s a radical change in how Verizon operates and signals a broader shift away from …

Sprint has been trying programs like a direct-to-consumer approach to stir up interest. Roger Cheng/CNET Sprint has managed to reverse its customer growth trajectory, but it wasn’t enough to fend off T-Mobile. The Overland Park, Kansas, wireless carrier added 675,000 net new customers in the quarter that ended in July, helped by its wholesale business and a return to growth …

Those would be fighting words. Masayoshi Son, who serves as both the CEO of Japanese carrier SoftBank and chairman of Sprint, railed against the wireless networks in the US as he made the case for why Sprint is poised for a turnaround. “When I come to the [United] States, this network is not something you should be proud of,” he …

Sprint said on Monday that it had added two new key executives. The nation’s third-largest wireless carrier named Tarek Robbiati, formerly the CEO of financial services company FlexiGroup, as its chief financial officer. He replaces Joe Euteneuer, who will leave after an “orderly transition of responsibilities.” Sprint also named Gunther Ottendorfer chief operating officer. He replaces former SoftBank executive Junichi …