Related stories: Samsung Gear Fit a surprise hit Hands-on with the new Gear 2 Simpler Gear 2 Neo ditches camera BARCELONA, Spain –If you spent any time at all hating on the snap-over charging cradle that encompassed the original Samsung Galaxy Gear, you’ll be relieved to know that the new Gear family has a smaller …

BARCELONA, Spain — The first Ubuntu phones will launch in the autumn, and will be “astonishingly great in some areas” and “weak in others” — but the software “outperforms” Microsoft, according to Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth. Ubuntu-powered versions of the Meixu MX3 and BQ Aquaris smartphones will debut in the third quarter of this year. I sat down with Shuttleworth, …

Amazon launched its Prime Instant Video service today — which is basically Lovefilm rebadged — and to celebrate, it’s breathed some new life into an axed BBC show. Amazon will fund a new series of Ripper Street, and show it exclusively on Prime Instant Video. After two series, the period crime drama was cancelled last year because of low viewing figures. Filming …

I recently received an e-mail from a reader, Raul, whose daughter is deaf in one ear. She loves music, but with headphones she’d only get one channel. While my initial thought was for a fairly simple fix, as I researched to be sure, it turned out to be more complex than I figured. A short and long answer, to follow.The …

BARCELONA, Spain — The next battleground for carriers is shaping up to be international calling and text messages. AT&T is the latest to fire a shot, saying Tuesday that it would throw in free international text messages from the US to the world for anyone signed up with a Mobile Share data plan. Current members will get the benefit too. …

BARCELONA, Spain — Quixey thinks it can do mobile search better. The Mountain View, Calif., startup on Tuesday showed off the capability to run mobile searches and bring up results straight from apps — including apps that aren’t even on the phone. The company believes these kinds of deeper searches will make it a go-to tool on smartphones. For example, …

Carbon is a wristwatch-like portable solar charger that gives you up to three hours of extra power for your gadgets on the go. (Credit: EnergyBionics) Wearable tech seems to be the hot new thing, and there are some pretty crazy ideas out there — but this one looks to be genuinely useful. Called Carbon, and currently seeking Kickstarter funding, it …

BlackBerry CEO John Chen and Foxconn founder Terry Gou have shown off the BlackBerry Z3 at MWC in Barcelona. We managed to snap a close shot of the BlackBerry Z3 at MWC 2014. (Credit: Brian Bennett/CNET) Previously codenamed the Jakarta, the Foxconn-designed phone has a 5-inch high-res screen, the power to run the latest version of BBOS (10.2.1) and, according …

Sony, it seems, genuinely feels that fitness trackers don’t go far enough. The concept camera from Sony, as seen at MWC 2014. (Credit: CNET) Not content to just track steps taken, hours slept, exercises performed and calories both consumed and expended, Sony’s rather mysterious Lifelog app wants to track every single aspect of your existence. It was initially introduced on …

Now playing: Watch this: Samsung Gear Fit gets its curve on 1:18 BARCELONA, Spain — As if Samsung didn’t already have enough operating systems to worry about, it’s now adding another. Well, kinda. The Korean electronics giant loaded its new fitness band, the Gear Fit, with a real-time operating system instead of the Android software used in its phones or …

The US House of Representatives approved a bill Tuesday that would allow cell phone customers to unlock their devices for use on competitors’ networks. Passed by a 295-114 vote, the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act would repeal a 2012 decision by the Library of Congress that made cell phone unlocking a violation of the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright …

Nokia boss Stephen Elop might have missed out on the top job at Microsoft, but he’s still going to be a pretty big wheel down at the cracker factory Redmond company. According to an internal memo that’s leaked to TechCrunch, Elop will become head of Microsoft’s Devices and Studios business. That means he’ll take charge of Xbox, Microsoft Surface, all …

BARCELONA, Spain–Established just two years back, Lenovo’s smartphone business is going places, according to numbers provided by the company. In Q1 this year, the company’s combined tablet and smartphone volume (17.3 million) has exceeded its PC’s (15.3 million), and this is thanks to the strong combined growth of 47 percent in the Asia Pacific region as well as in Europe, …

BARCELONA, Spain — Bright lights, orchestras, stage shows, and spin — these are the trappings of a modern technology press event. Of course, the most basic purpose of these events is to share new product details with the press and, ultimately, potential consumers. But today’s press conferences have turned into so much more. If you’ve never attended one, you’re missing …

It’s way too early to get excited about a product that was just announced — and that I’ve barely had much time to play with. But Samsung’s latest wearable, the Gear Fit, marks a territory that has been emerging since CES in January: half fitness band, half smartwatch, the little, curved-screen device looks like it’s trying to be both a …