The top two carriers have announced more data for the money. Scott Webster/CNET The back-and-forth game among the top US wireless providers over family plans got more interesting Friday as both AT&T and Verizon announced promotions. AT&T has adjusted its $40 and $70 Mobile Share Value plans, boosting data by 50 percent in both. Anyone …

Amazon If I might paraphrase Rodney Dangerfield for a moment, Amazon’s big tablets don’t get no respect. No respect at all, I tell ya. Why? Probably because they’re pricier than 7-inch Kindle Fires, and therefore not perceived as such a screaming-good deal. Also, it’s mighty easy to get lost in the mammoth shadow cast by iPads. But, holy moley, check …

Weibo Oppo may have just released the world’s thinnest smartphone with the 4.85mm R5 , but the company’s new-found fame may not last. A trending Weibo post showcasing images of a smartphone by China’s Vivo offers a glimpse at a device that’s just 3.85mm thick. In one of the published images, the mysterious Vivo device is posed next to an …

Sales of Amazon’s Fire Phone cooled down quickly. James Martin/CNET David Limp, Amazon’s senior vice president of devices, has acknowledged that the Fire smartphone didn’t match Amazon’s lofty ideas and says the price of the device was “wrong.” Last week, the online retail giant released third-quarter financial results which fell far short of expectations. The Seattle-based firm reported a net …

CNET Android continued to dominate the smartphone market last quarter, far outpacing Apple’s iOS, according to research released Friday by Strategy Analytics. For the third quarter, global shipments of Android-based smartphones reached 268 million, up from 206 million for the same quarter a year ago. Those numbers helped the OS win a market share of 84 percent, up from 81.4 …

AFP Commissioner Andrew Colvin. Screenshot by Claire Reilly/CNET The chief of Australia’s Federal Police has had a swift about-face over the finer details of proposed data retention legislation currently before parliament, saying police are not interested in using metadata to police piracy. The comments follow a press conference yesterday, during which AFP Commissioner Andrew Colvin joined Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull, …

The Nexus 6 is a more premium take on the Nexus smartphone. Google Google is taking a different tack with its launch of the Nexus 6 smartphone: Following the standard flagship phone playbook on pricing and carrier relationships. In an era where the iPhone 6 and Galaxy S5 are assumed to be available virtually anywhere, it would seem obvious to …

Microsoft Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system has largely missed out on the smartwatch and fitness tracker fun, but with the new Microsoft Band it’s finally in the game. And what’s more, the Band actually works with more than just Windows-based mobiles: it syncs with your iPhone or Android phone too. In terms of features, the Microsoft Band covers the field. …

Lenovo said Thursday that it has closed its acquisition of Motorola Mobility, gaining a larger foothold in the US and other developed markets. Motorola is now under Lenovo. CNET Under the agreement, Lenovo will pay former parent Google $2.91 billion, including $660 million in cash and $750 million in newly issued Lenovo stock. The remaining $1.5 billion will be paid …

Google’s health platform, which first debuted on Android Wear watches earlier this year, is now available on the Web and for Android devices running version 4.0 or higher. Here you will find everything you need to know about the new Google Fit app. What is it? Google Fit is Google’s answer to Apple’s Health app. It uses the sensors built …

The Gear S wearable will launch next week in the US, Samsung has confirmed. Samsung Samsung’s Gear S smartwatch, which lets you to make calls, receive notifications and check emails when not tethered to a smartphone, is heading to US store shelves next week. Samsung on Thursday said the Gear S will be available in the US starting on November …

EE Capital-dwelling customers on EE are getting a 4G speed boost, as the UK operator turns on LTE-Advanced network tech on the second anniversary of its 4G service going live. 4G mobile data has existed in other countries like the US for several years now, but in the UK it launched two years ago today. EE was the first UK …

Jason Cipriani/CNET Transferring music from your Android device to your Android Wear watch is a simple process, as we pointed out earlier. But once you get music on the watch, you’ll need to have a Bluetooth headset, speaker or headphones paired to the watch. Pairing another Bluetooth device with your watch is easy, taking just a few minutes of your …

LG’s latest creation, the 5.3-inch Neo Edge display. LG The face of next year’s LG flagship smartphone could incorporate a bezel so slim it’s barely there at all. The hardware-maker is showing off its latest creation, a 1080p HD 5.3-inch display with a .7mm (0.027-inch) border. Yes, the same thickness of a stick of lead from a mechanical pencil. Related …

Samsung About a year ago, the Samsung Galaxy Gear arrived to great fanfare — and was quickly panned by most reviewers. A $299 price tag? Hardly any apps? And it works only with a smattering of Samsung phones? Funny how things can change in a year. The Galaxy Gear may not have been a critical hit, but it seems to …