Messaging app WhatsApp keeps growing more popular with users each month. The Facebook-owned app, which is used by people around the world to send texts without paying carrier fees, now has more than 900 million monthly active users, according to a Facebook post by Jan Koum, the CEO of WhatsApp. The milestone represents an increase …

Apple may soon find itself playing the role of producer of original video programming, according to a new report. The Cupertino tech giant has held meetings with Hollywood executives in recent weeks to gauge their interest in helping make original movies and TV shows, producing content that would challenge offerings from Netflix and Amazon Prime, Variety reports. The Apple unit …

Netflix users in the US will soon have to find somewhere else to get their fix of “Hunger Games” and “World War Z.” The streaming service announced Sunday it has decided not to renew its movie licensing deal with Epix when the current contract expires at the end of September. In the announcement, the streaming service said it was putting …

How likely is your cell phone use to offend others? Josh Miller/CNET You generally won’t offend others if you use your cell phone while walking down the sidewalk or on public transportation, but use at the movies or church is definitely out. Those are some of the findings of a new survey by the Pew Research Center on what Americans …

The Amazon Fire phone did not fair so well. James Martin/CNET Following Amazon’s failed efforts to break into the smartphone space with its Fire handset last year, the company is said to be laying off engineers in the hardware unit responsible for the handset. “Dozens” of engineers have been laid off in recent weeks from within Amazon’s Lab126, the secretive …

TV viewers will have to wait until at least 2016 for Apple’s much-hinted-at subscription TV service. CNET Cord-cutters expecting to get their movies and television shows over an Apple-administered TV service this year will reportedly have to wait until at least next year. The much-hinted-at subscription TV service was widely expected to be unveiled next month, but sources tell Bloomberg …

The LG Wine Smart has a clam-shell design but runs Android 5.1.1 Lollipop. LG The LG Wine Smart, an Android-powered smartphone that plays on nostalgia with its clamshell body, is ready to make its international debut. Sporting a physical alphanumeric keyboard like those commonly found on cell phones not too long ago, the handset is designed to appeal to users …

MatchStick was due to be released this month. MatchStick/Kickstarter Matchstick, the dongle intended to challenge Google’s Chromecast in streaming video and music to your television, is no more. The team behind the HDMI media-streaming stick announced Monday it has decided to cancel the unreleased product and refund all the money raised in a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign last year. The …

Mozilla’s CEO complains that Firefox is being Edged out by Microsoft. CNET Mozilla isn’t happy with Microsoft’s decision to make its Edge the default browser in Windows 10, and the Firefox maker’s chief executive has taken his displeasure public. In an open letter to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Mozilla CEO Chris Beard accuses Microsoft of hobbling users’ browser choices by …

Enlarge ImageA price cut is at hand for Samsung’s Galaxy S6. CNET It seems that demand for the Galaxy S6 is not quite what Samsung expected after all. In announcing its most recent quarterly earnings Wednesday, the Korean electronics giant warned that its handset division would likely face a difficult market environment and said it would be “adjusting” the price …