It’s around this time of year — after more-than-intended gift spending and holiday travels — that bank statements tend to get more of an eyebrow-raise than usual. Mint.com, a free personal finance site, is one of the most popular choices for budgeting and record-keeping, thanks to its clean interface and long-standing reputation. Whether you’re new …

Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET At the end of every year, CNET gives you top lists for products such as the best cameras, the best phones, and the best televisions, but with smartphone apps it’s a little more difficult to make those kinds of selections. Take photo editors as an example. I’ve reviewed tons of iOS and Android photo editors over …

Now playing: Watch this: Use a toothpick to clean out your iPhone 1:07 A simple search on Apple’s forums shows a common trend: a lot of iPhone and iPad owners are having problems charging their device. Two of my colleagues have also run into this problem. There’s a simple solution to this. Before blaming the cable or phone, check your …

Josh Miller/CNET We have all been there, it’s 9 p.m. and you’re suppose to meet a friend in a half hour. To make matters even worse, the battery on your smartphone is in the red. Surely you don’t have enough time to charge your device without being late? Wrong. Before you connect your phone to the charger, close any open …

Viewing a panoramic photo in the Roundme app. Jason Cipriani/CNET Photos have a way of making you feel as if you were there when the picture was captured. Panoramic photos, especially, have a way of amplifying this feeling by capturing the entire atmosphere and surroundings. The only problem is, using your iPhone to capture and share an elongated photo requires …

Now playing: Watch this: Apple Pay vs. Google Wallet vs. PayPal 2:14 It’s undeniable — Apple Pay will be the thing that finally makes mobile payments go mainstream. But it’s not the only option. Google and PayPal are also major players, but if their real-world success rates to date are any indication of Apple Pay’s reception, it’s best we keep …

Xiaomi is know for low-cost phones that pack high-end specs. CNET Xiaomi, the world’s third-largest smartphone maker, is serious about selling devices at or near cost to get ahead in the market. Xiaomi earned 347.5 million renminbi ($56 million) in net profit on 26.6 billion renminbi in revenue ($4.3 billion) last year, according to a disclosure made to the Shenzhen …

Daenerys Targaryen will be gracing Roku boxes. HBO A dispute between Roku and Comcast has led to a deal that will allow Comcast subscribers to stream content from HBO and Showtime via a Roku box — after being denied such a service for years. Most owners of a Roku streaming device have been able to subscribe to HBO Go and …

Is Samsung aiming to challenge Apple Pay? Josh Miller/CNET Samsung may be looking to challenge Apple with its own feature for paying for items on the go via a smartphones. The Korean-based company has been chatting with a payments startup firm called LoopPay, which offers its own mobile wallet system, Recode reported on Tuesday, citing multiple sources. LoopPay’s current system …

LG You’ll hear a lot about the awesomeness of “quantum dot” TVs at CES 2015, but don’t leap to any conclusions. In fact, LG just announced its first QD-equipped TV, with 4K resolution, natch, three weeks before the start of the Las Vegas tech show on January 6, jumping the gun against rival Samsung. Related Stories Samsung says no OLED …

Roku, our favorite streaming platform, just got even better. Sarah Tew Welcome to the 21st century, Comcast subscribers. The nation’s largest cable company announced that it will finally allow its customers to activate their HBO Go and Showtime Anytime apps via the Roku platform. The Xfinity authentication page is now live on HBO Go’s activation site (see screenshot below). HBO …

Opera Coast 4.0 now includes faster page-load times and a Discover feature. Opera Software Opera Software is goosing its browser for the iPhone and iPad. The Opera Coast browser for iOS has been updated to version 4.0, the company announced Tuesday. The software now includes a new Turbo feature that relies on Opera’s servers to compress images and video to …

T-Mobile is closing the coverage gap with the big boys. T-Mobile CTO Neville Ray at a company press conference earlier this year. CNET/James Martin The company said on Tuesday that its 4G LTE network covers 260 million people, and it plans to cover 300 million people by the end of the year. In comparison, AT&T and Verizon Wireless, the nation’s …

Enlarge ImageApple has shuttered its online store in Russia for the time being. The site displays a “We’ll be back” message. Screenshot by Shara Tibken/CNET Russian customers waiting for Apple’s iPhone 6 will have to wait longer. The Cupertino, Calif., electronics giant on Tuesday temporarily shuttered its online store in the Eastern European country because of the instability of Russia’s …

Now playing: Watch this: The perfect flagship phone, LG’s G3 outshines the competition 2:45 T-Mobile announced today that LG’s marquee handset of the season, the G3 , is available for online pre-order for $608.80, including taxes and fees. It will ship out Tuesday, July 15, and then hit retail stores the day after on July 16. Related stories: LG G3 …