How some people scoffed when Nokia announced it was ditching Symbian in favour of Microsoft’s Windows Phone OS. Nokia and Microsoft? They’re both washed up, right? Surely the Finnish phone firm should have got on board with Android? Well Nokia chief executive Stephen Elop has explained his reasoning. It turns out he was scared Samsung …

The new Google Maps for Android. Screenshot by Nicole Cozma/CNET Related stories Five tips for the new Google Maps on Android New Google Maps for Android moves in on Yelp, Foursquare Google Latitude to be retired on August 9 Just two days ago, Google started rolling out a new version of Maps. While the app is still making its way …

The next Nexus could be with us within weeks. New reports suggest the next generation of the 7-inch tablet — apparently dubbed the Nexus 7 II — will be launched in late July or early August. Google is once again teaming up with Asus to build the tablet, which will showcase the latest Android software, DigiTimes reports. The Nexus 7 …

AT&T’s $1.2 billion acquisition of regional prepaid carrier Leap Wireless suggests it may be moving into the no-contract business in a big way. But the deal may ultimately end up being a spectrum land grab by AT&T, which has shown an eagerness to shore up its war chest of wireless licenses. Related stories When Does My Phone Unlock? And How …

No more room at the inn? At one point or another, most mobile-device users run out of storage space, usually at the expense of music or movies. One option: upload everything to a cloud service like Dropbox, then stream your stuff as needed. But that requires both time and money. Another: turn your PC into a media server and stream …

The powerful Nokia Pro Camera app from the newly unveiled Nokia Lumia 1020 is coming to the rest of Nokia’s PureView phones. Although they only have a fraction of the 41-megapixels found in the new Lumia 1020, the app is coming to the Lumia phones branded with Nokia’s PureView camera technology. That’s the Nokia Lumia 920, the Lumia 925 and …

Programmers and fanboys fixated on the thorny problem of Android fragmentation had reason to pay attention to Google statistics that this week showed the latest version of Android, Jelly Bean, surpassing the two-and-a-half-year-old Gingerbread as the most-used version of Android. It’s a notable achievement for Google, which has been trying to push the Android world toward the modernized features and …

The Moto X, the next smartphone from Motorola Mobility, got a glimpse of daylight thanks to Google Chairman Eric Schmidt. Schmidt was spotted using Motorola’s upcoming phone at Allen & Co.’s Sun Valley, Idaho, media conference this week. You can see a photo of the Moto X in Schmidt’s hands above and at right. Another look at the Moto X …

It has a 41-megapixel camera. Well, that was the shortest ever post on CNET — I’m off to get a coffee. Just kidding. The Lumia 1020 is Nokia’s most ambitious and exciting product since it started making Windows Phones. In a world of pretty damn samey Android blowers, it’s something laudably different. You can’t ignore that mahoosive megapixel count, but …

AT&T announced Friday that it will acquire prepaid wireless provider Leap Wireless in a deal valued around $1.2 billion. The carrier has agreed to pay $15 a share in cash for Leap, which operates under the Cricket Wireless brand. As part of the agreement, AT&T will get Leap’s wireless properties, including its licenses, network assets, and stores, as well as …

Although Apple and Google have watched their relationship deteriorate over the last several years, the search giant’s executive chairman, Eric Schmidt, says things are getting better. Speaking to Reuters in an interview published on Thursday, Schmidt said that Google’s relationship with Apple has improved over the past year, and the two companies are now holding “lots and lots” of meetings …

Is this the new BlackBerry A10? Frickin’ A. This leaked photo shows off the 5-inch screen on the device reported to be the next BlackBerry 10 smart phone. The first rumours suggested the A10, also known as the Aristo, supposedly looks a lot like the Samsung Galaxy S4. It’s hard to tell from this blurry snap though, leaked by Boy …

Limiting the number of potential customers for your latest flagship smartphone may not seem like a smart decision, but for Nokia, it’s a “business strategy opportunity.” That’s according to Nokia CEO Stephen Elop, who was justifying his decision to sell the Lumia 1020 as an exclusive product to AT&T. Elop sat down with CNET to talk about exclusivity deals, a …

BlackBerry’s set to unveil a new flagship 5-inch touchscreen phone called the A10 later this year — and apparently it looks a lot like the Samsung Galaxy S4. That’s according to sources quoted by Boy Genius Report, which reckons the A10 is an effort to take on powerhouses like the S4 and HTC One, although it’s packing a mere dual-core …

Nokia’s Lumia 1020 is expected to make a showing at a special press event the company is holding today. But already, it’s made an appearance on the Web. Official press photos of what appears to be the Lumia 1020 have been obtained and published by The Verge. The images show a new handset from Nokia featuring different colors, a prominent …