Apple’s iPhone 5S and 5C. Apple Apple saw some healthy gains in smartphone shipments last quarter. But its rivals were considerably healthier. Announcing its March-quarter results last week, Apple revealed iPhone sales of 43.7 million units. That number surpassed analyst expectations and showed a 16.8 percent rise over the 37.4 million iPhones sold in the …

Maggie Reardon/CNET AT&T has raised the possibility of a merger with DirecTV, according to the Wall Street Journal, the latest indication of the changing landscape of the TV industry. The tie-up of the telephone giant and satellite TV provider would challenge the combination of Comcast and Time Warner Cable if that proposed $45 billion merger is completed, the newspaper noted. …

A new sticker placed on the back of your Android device uses NFC to add four programmable physical buttons to your phone. (Credit: Dimple) Smartphones these days are all about losing the physical buttons — even though that might not necessarily be what consumers want, as evidenced by the popularity of Pressy, the programmable physical button for Android that sits …

TechInsights Google’s Glass wearable device carries a hefty $1,500 price tag if, like the ambitious early adopters called “explorers,” you’re one of the limited few who has had the opportunity to buy the device. The company recently held a one-day sale and sold out of every one of its five available colors of Glass in less than 12 hours. However, …

Motorola’s press invititation to its London event. Motorola Looks like London really is calling. Soon after LG announced that it will be throwing a May 23 launch event for its G3 flagship in London, Motorola sent out invitations today for its own London presser as well. It will be held earlier on May 13, for the debut of its newest …

Aloysius Low/CNET The much-anticipated OnePlus One smartphone will reach general availability in June, the makers of the phone have said, in a post that outlines the company’s manufacturing plans. The phone, which runs a nearly-raw version of Android, and is currently only being offered to those who have an invite, is built by Chinese company OnePlus — in partnership with …

Lynn La/CNET It appears that Sprint continues to lay the groundwork for its reported upcoming bid to buy T-Mobile US. According to Bloomberg, Sprint is said to have secured funding for debt arrangements with six banks. Two of Sprint’s executives, Chief Financial Officer Joe Euteneuer and Treasurer Greg Block, reportedly met with the banks to ensure financing structures and to …

At the start of last month, Sony and Foxtel announced that the Foxtel Play app was landing on the PS3. (Credit: Foxtel ) At the time, both companies said a PS4 version was coming “soon”. It looks like they weren’t kidding either, with the Play app ready to be installed on your PS4 dashboard today. As usual, Play has no …

While many may have already written about 3D TV, if you’ve been hanging out for glasses-free models your perseverance might be rewarded very soon. Dutch company Dimenco has launched a Kickstarter campaign for its 4k glasses-free television which it plans to sell this year for €899 (US$1,244). The 39-inch television will feature an UHD resolution and it has a lenticular …

The HTC One M8 Harman Kardon edition. We know, it’s a mouthful. Sarah Tew/CNET Sprint has something it thinks is worth a listen. On Tuesday, the carrier announced a deal with Spotify to bring six months of free premium service to customers who sign up for its Framily friends and family program. It also pulled the wraps off the HTC …

Now playing: Watch this: Nod, one wireless ring that aims to control many devices 1:21 I wasn’t sure what I would see when I got my first peek at Nod. A wearable-tech ring? I expected something that would track fitness, or show my mood by glowing. I wasn’t thinking about gesture controls. I didn’t expect a practical angle. If you’ve …

Lensbaby Creative Focus lens prototype Sarah Tew/CNET Lensbaby is taking its signature special-effects lenses for interchangeable-lens cameras (like the Spark and the Edge 80) and shrinking them down to phone size. Now a beyond-fully-funded Kickstarter project, the company plans to ship the Creative Focus Lens for Mobile Phones to iOS backers in July and make it publicly available in August. …

Lynn La/CNET Sprint’s Framily plan may sound funny, but the company was quite serious when discussing its potential. Framily is the wireless carrier’s friends and family program, in which the discount increases with each additional member. It is also Sprint’s best weapon against the aggressive pricing and promotional offers doled out by the likes of AT&T and T-Mobile, which caused …

Apple and Samsung are presenting closing arguments in their patent-infringement trial. James Martin/CNET SAN JOSE, Calif. — Samsung didn’t copy Apple’s patents because Google created the technology first and Apple doesn’t even use the specific accused features in the iPhone, attorneys for the Korean electronics maker told a jury here. “It’s true that if you don’t practice a patent, that …

Lynn La/CNET Sprint’s painful transition continues. The long slog of improving its network continues to take a toll on Sprint’s customer base, with nearly half a million net customers leaving the carrier in the first quarter of 2014, a 12 percent higher level of defection than a year ago. The Overland Park, Kan., wireless provider on Tuesday posted a first-quarter …