Sony could refresh its Xperia flagship at IFA in September. Xperia Blog Sony’s next flagship smartphone, the Xperia Z3, appears to have made an early appearance in leaked photos posted by Xperia Blog, which snagged them from China’s Twitter-like Weibo.com. Sony has attempted to breach the high end of the smartphone market with its top-tier …

Now playing: Watch this: Get more out of your smartphone 10:29 There are certain limitations of your smartphone that most of us accept. But what if I told you you didn’t necessarily have to accept your smartphone as it is? And with a few simple tips and tricks, your phone could break free of its artificial constraints. First up, if …

A Lyft driver displays the service’s iconic pink mustache on the grill of his car. Lyft Ride-for-hire services like Uber, Lyft, and Sidecar won a battle in Seattle on Monday. The city council voted 8 to 1 to approve legislation that allows car-hailing apps to operate in the city without limits on how many cars they have out in the …

Coles After conducting a consumer trial in 2013, Coles is launching a new contactless payment system connected to its range of credit cards and the Coles-owned Flybuys loyalty program. The Coles Mobile Wallet combines a Coles Credit Card app for managing and tracking card spend and Flybuys points, and a Pay Tag that sticks to the back of a smartphone …

A custom watch face running on LG’s G Watch Jason Cipriani/CNET Changing the watch face on an Android Wear watch is a quick and easy way to customize your smartwatch. The process for changing a watch face is almost too simple, but worth covering for those just starting out with Android Wear or the curious. With the watch face lit …

CNET Samsung announced late Sunday it has temporarily suspended its business relationship with one of its suppliers after finding evidence of suspected child labor violations at its facilities. The move comes three days after US activist group China Labor Watch released a new report that detailed children working on assembly lines at Samsung supplier Shinyang Electronics in Dongguan, China. The …

iPad Mini: An Apple ‘phablet’ may make some consumers think twice about buying a Mini. Apple Research is pointing to a growing preference for large smartphones over small tablets. That means the rumored iPhone 6 can’t arrive too soon. Market researcher NPD DisplaySearch said this week that for the first time global tablet shipments declined year to year in the …

iPhone 5S: Sharp makes the display, with considerable help from Apple. Apple Apple and Sharp are sparring over production equipment, providing a window into Apple’s sizable role in manufacturing the components it uses. And Samsung is part of the bickering, according to a Japan-based report. Sharp is seeking to buy production equipment back from Apple at Sharp’s Kameyama Plant No. …

Apple Some might feel Apple peaked with the original Apple IIe, or maybe the iPhone, or the MacBook. For me, it’s the iPod Classic. There’s no debate that the iPod and iTunes transformed the way millions of people listen to music and upturned the music industry’s distribution patterns. The first-gen iPod debuted in 2001 and so much has changed over …

This alleged sapphire iPhone 6 screen seems able to ward off a knife attack. Marques Brownlee/YouTube/screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET A video showing an iPhone sapphire screen withstanding scratches from a knife and key could be the real deal, according to an expert who said he was consulted by Apple 18 months ago. Posted on Monday, the video displays a sapphire …

Not everyone is into the watch form factor. Jason Jenkins/CNET You can’t turn around in the tech world without stubbing your toe on a new piece of wearable tech. We’ve come a long way from the early days of calculator watches to a whole environment filled with fitness trackers, smartwatches, and Google Glass. Despite the availability of so many options, …

Will LG bless its home turf with a souped-up LG G3? lgbestmall.co.kr While the LG G3 is just making its way to the US now, Koreans can already register for a faster, more powerful version. Related Links Is a souped-up LG G3 already in the works? Verizon picks up LG G3, G Watch on July 17 AT&T tap LG G3, …

Sprint’s exclusive Shine Gold shade of the G3 is also in stock. Sprint If you’ve been checking off the days until you can get your gold LG G3 from Sprint, you can drop that marker and grab your car keys instead. Sprint announced on Friday that it has started selling the Quad HD-screen smartphone in stores and online today, a …

The Samsung Z is the first smartphone powered by Tizen software. CNET Samsung’s own-brand Android rival Tizen faces another setback as the Samsung Z failed to make an entrance in Russia this week. The Samsung Z is the Korean company’s first smartphone to be powered by Tizen software. Tizen has been passed around the technology industry for years as various …

This supposed iPhone 6 screen is tough but not invincible. Video screenshot by Eric Mack/CNET Earlier this week, I nearly had an anxiety attack over the prospect that the expected iPhone 6 would sport a sapphire screen impervious to even the most creative methods of torture-testing, which has became a passionate hobby of mine in recent years. This excited panic …