Windows 10’s new Maps app is handy, but what if you need to find your way around a city on a limited (or nonexistent) data connection? Offline maps, that’s what! The Maps app has offline maps built in, though not all countries (e.g., Japan) are currently available for download. In offline mode, you’ll be able …

Your hoverboard is a potential deathtrap. We didn’t say it. The US government did. Hoverboards “pose an unreasonable risk of fire” if they don’t meet voluntary safety standards, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission said in a letter Thursday to manufacturers, importers and retailers. No hoverboard currently on the market meets those standards, which cover everything from the boards’ electrical …

One moment I’m in a room full of people, the next I’m in the sun-scorched Australian Outback. But it takes more than the fancy graphics of the Samsung Gear VR virtual-reality headset I’ve just lowered over my head to convince me I’m really hanging out with aborigines. What it takes, says Richard Marks of Sony’s VR arm, PlayStation Magic Lab, …

Choosing the right carrier plan is one of the most important — and daunting — decisions you’ll make as a phone owner, especially when you’re picking a shared plan for your whole family. While every family is different, for the sake of this article’s calculations, we’ll settle on a family of four comprised on two adults and two kids. I’m …

Now playing: Watch this: LG’s trio of new affordable phones each have one distinctive… 1:12 It looks like LG is too excited about its 2016 lineup to leave any of it as a surprise for Mobile World Congress. The company, having already showed off a new cover for the as-yet-unveiled G5, on Monday released details on two new midrange devices …

A phone should not cost the same as a cup of coffee. A new smartphone company in India, Ringing Bells, is getting lots of attention for introducing an Android phone called Freedom 251, which only costs about $3.70. It sounds great to have such an affordable phone, but the math for the parts doesn’t add up. Watch CNET Update to …

As I write this, a large CNET team, from San Francisco to Singapore, is packing their bags, charging their camera batteries and checking their passports for one one of the biggest tech trade shows of the year: Mobile World Congress. The wireless industry has arrived in Barcelona every February since 2007 (and before that in Cannes, France) for its premier …

If you use a set of external speakers with your Mac, you may notice that the chime you hear as your Mac starts up comes not from the external speakers but from your Mac’s internal speakers. If you’d like to adjust the volume of this startup chime — or mute it altogether (not recommended) — there is way to make …

Search your pockets for loose coins and gather up the petty cash around your house. Done? You may be holding enough money to buy a smartphone. Indian startup Ringing Bells on Thursday began selling what may be the ultimate bargain basement phone — a 251 rupee ($4, £3) Android phone it claims is the world’s cheapest. Interest in the Freedom …

Gmail may not be the only email provider you use, and that’s why Google added the ability to access other email accounts through their app. Unfortunately, those non-Gmail accounts didn’t gain access to the features that make Google’s version of email so great. Now Google is changing that by letting you Gmailify your Yahoo! Mail and Hotmail/Outlook.com accounts. So what …

Apple Pay has landed in its fifth country, one that offers great opportunities but some significant challenges. Apple on Wednesday announced the launch of Apple Pay in China on its Developer page as well as through the Weibo account of CEO Tim Cook. Chinese consumers will now be able to use the service to purchase items at supported retailers using …

My iTunes library sits untouched for long stretches of time. Part of the reason is I primarily use streaming services to listen to music these days, but part of the reason is iTunes itself. I just don’t like using the once-great, now-bloated application. If you have a particular song buried in your iTunes library that you want to hear, there …

The venerable Swiss wristwatch industry may have a smartwatch problem. Global shipments of smartwatches outpaced those of Swiss watches in the fourth quarter of 2015, according to figures released Thursday by market researcher Strategy Analytics. This marks the first time the wearable tech devices have overtaken their luxurious counterparts. Much of the credit goes to Apple, which the research firm …

It always happens at the worst possible time. Right when you’re about to fire off a critical email, the number of bars on your phone takes a sudden dip. Chances are, you’re in a crowded, public place like a hotel lobby or sporting arena. That’s where, despite what your carrier promises, coverage can get spotty and the sheer volume of …

Adobe Systems does a decent job selling software that creative types use on their personal computers. But how is Adobe’s expansion to phones and tablets coming along? That’s one question CNET is trying to answer in our latest survey, run in conjunction with analysts at RBC Capital Markets. We’re also curious about whether Adobe’s consumer-focused Photoshop Elements has a future …