A look at awareness of fitness-related apps from NPD. NPD Let’s hope Santa has been doing his research on wearable fitness devices. New data from research firm NPD shows they are likely to show up on many wish lists. Related stories The complete guide to the iPhone’s Health app Samsung Gear Fit is a fitness …

Say hello to the Samsung Gear Circle. Samsung The Samsung Gear Circle has officially made its entrance into the US. The device, which is appropriately shaped like a circle when its earbuds are connected, acts as both a wireless stereo headphone and a communication device that sits around the user’s neck. According to Samsung, the Gear Circle works with any …

KiQplans are fitness plans that connect with your activity tracker. Josh Miller/CNET What if your Jawbone Up or Misfit Shine could do more than just count your steps? What if it could actually coach you into losing weight or getting into shape? Fitness company Fitbug is trying to do just that with its latest product, KiQplan (pronounced “kick plan”). Related …

Sprint sees momentum behind its Boost Mobile prepaid wireless service, and is looking to press it further. Boost Mobile Boost said on Tuesday that it is extending its discounted double-data promotion, which was supposed to expire Monday, to January 5. The discounts, which were rolled out in September, offer a $5 discount to each of its plans while doubling the …

Google Google launched the rollout for Android 5.0 Lollipop on Monday, but it also announced that Google Calendar and Gmail would receive significant updates. Google’s Gmail for Android got a new design update that continues to roll out at the time of this post, with a new look and inbox tweaks that should make it easier to use. Obviously, Gmail …

Now playing: Watch this: Steve Jackson’s Appointment with FEAR gets an interactive… 0:58 PAX Australia 2014 ran from October 31 to November 2 in Melbourne and, much like the previous inaugural year, there was an incredible array of indie games on show. More from PAX Aus Crawl: A competitive dungeon brawler Airscape: A gravity-shifting octo-platformer Ninja Pizza Girl: A supreme …

Softcard lets Win Phone users tap to pay — but there are some caveats. Screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET Windows Phone users can now tap to pay for items on the go, courtesy of a new app from AT&T. Released on Friday on Microsoft’s Window Phone store, the Softcard app brings the ability to make mobile-wallet payments at various retail merchants …

Vodafone Vodafone has added another online service to its stable of 4G sign-up rewards — Sky’s Now TV on-demand service. Locking yourself into certain Vodafone 4G contracts will get you access to a Now TV Entertainment Pass, which usually costs £7 per month and opens the door to channels including Sky Atlantic, Fox, Disney Channel, Comedy Central and MTV, as …

The Xiaomi Mipad 2 is shown off in China earlier this year. Aloysius Low/CNET Chinese mobile device maker Xiaomi looks to be eyeing the living room. Xiaomi plans to invest $1 billion in Internet TV content, the company said Tuesday in a blog post on Chinese social media site Weibo. Reuters earlier reported on Xiaomi’s plans. Chen Tong, a former …

The dollars should continue to follow the eyeballs. With consumers spending more and more time online, ad spending on the Web should overtake TV advertising by 2016 in the US, according to a report published Tuesday from market researcher Forrester. It said online marketing is expected to reach $103 billion in 2019 thanks to a 13 percent average annual growth, …

Forget Netflix — if Nine Entertainment and Fairfax have their way, everyone in Australia will soon be talking about Stan. In one of the more curious branding moves we’ve seen in recent times, Nine Entertainment’s video streaming joint venture with Fairfax has been rebranded ahead of its Australian launch, changing names from StreamCo to Stan. Stan now has its own …

The ThriveTracker app tracks your mood, and various behaviors thought to help elevate it. (Click to enlarge.) ThriveTracker Since his diagnosis as bipolar in 2002, computer consultant Adrian Cunanan has worked hard to learn to regulate his mood swings through medication, meditation, exercise and careful sleep monitoring. “After years of denial, I was able to accept the diagnosis and then …

And like that, the Samsung Galaxy S6 rumor season gets underway. Josh Miller/CNET It’s hard to imagine the next phone in the Samsung Galaxy series, particularly so soon after the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and Note Edge launch, but it’s true. The first Samsung Galaxy S6 specifications may have already surfaced. Related Links Samsung Galaxy Note 4 review Five ways …

Nicole Cozma/CNET The latest version of the “recent apps” feature in Android looks and behaves differently from previous ones. In Android 5.0 Lollipop, you’ll find that the recent apps button has been redesigned. Instead of two overlapping rectangles the button is now a single square. This falls in line with the other simplistic navigation buttons, circle (home) and triangle (back). …

Now playing: Watch this: Jawbone Up3 and Move add sleek heart rate, affordability 1:37 Most wrist-worn activity trackers have some type of display. Not the Jawbone Up: its basic low-key design has always made it seem more like a piece of jewelry than a piece of tech. Now, as every other wearable company is working on its catalog of hardware …