If there’s one thing music lovers enjoy, it’s discovering new favorite artists, and there are now a wealth of online services that offer this. I was first exposed to digital music subscriptions in 1999 when They Might Be Giants released “Long Tall Weekend” via eMusic. It was one of the first Internet-only releases, and while …

Now playing: Watch this: John Rhys-Davies: interview 9:02 The much-loved actor from Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Lord of the Rings and more spoke to us about science fiction, gastroenteritis, Uwe Boll and more. To publicise the recent release of the Indiana Jones series on Blu-ray, John Rhys-Davies — Sallah from the Indy films, Gimli from LotR, Professor Arturo …

Relief is coming for wireless customers who have suffered with poor service in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. AT&T and T-Mobile USA today announced that they entered into an agreement to enable roaming on their networks to customers of both companies in areas most affected by the hurricane and where capacity is available from one carrier or the other. AT&T …

Federal Communications Commission officials said today that wireless and wireline communications services have improved following Hurricane Sandy. “Overall, the condition of our communications networks is improving,” FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said in a statement. “But serious outages remain, particularly in New York, New Jersey, and other hard-hit areas.” The storm, which is affecting several states on the East Coast from …

U.S. Cellular is expanding its 4G LTE coverage area to more than 30 new markets on Monday, extending the carrier’s footprint for the high-speed network to more than half of its customers. The rollout will bring LTE to select cities in Iowa, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Oklahoma, and brings new LTE coverage to some of U.S. Cellular’s markets in Illinois, …

Samsung is targeting Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia with a new handset. Dubbed the Samsung Galaxy Premier, the device is basically a watered-down version of the Galaxy S3, boasting a 4.65-inch HD Super AMOLED display, HSPA+ or LTE service, and an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera. According to Samsung, the handset is running Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) and includes all kinds of …

Apple has unleashed a ton of new iOS devices this holiday season: no fewer than four new products, covering an entire range of sizes and uses. iPhone 5, fifth-gen iPod Touch, fourth-gen iPad with Retina Display, and, of course, the iPad Mini: these join other devices still sold by Apple including the fourth-gen iPod Touch, iPad 2, iPhone 4, and …

Popular navigation app Waze rolled out an update with new social capabilities that makes it easer for users to find out where their friends are. Version 3.5 of the app boasts a new design throughout, and it adds capabilities such as being able to see friends driving in a user’s direction. It also makes it easy to share updates about …

New motor safety laws regarding the use of mobile phones and devices with visual displays come into effect in NSW today, as well as strict penalties for drivers who do not observe these changes. (Screenshot by Joe Hanlon/CNET Australia) From 1 November, drivers will not be able to use their phones in any way while the car is moving or …

Prices for the Wi-Fi-only version of the iPad Mini. Apple First, an admission: I preordered an iPad Mini. But I wasn’t happy about the price I was paying. You see, I’ve been around iOS devices long enough to know that 16GB of storage space just doesn’t cut it — throw a couple of high-res games and an HD movie or …

Research In Motion said today that more than 50 carriers are testing its BlackBerry 10 platform, a critical step to getting its next-generation smartphones in the market next year. RIM reiterated the company’s target of releasing its two BlackBerry 10 smartphones in the first quarter of next year. Related stories Best Password Manager to Use for 2022 Your Phone Screen …

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion has been dealt another blow by the U.S. government. The U.S. Defense Department recently announced that it is opening its exclusive contract with the company to other device makers, including Apple and Google. According to Reuters, the Pentagon said it would still use “large numbers” of BlackBerry smartphones but that it was also asking other …

Comcast said today that it will allow anyone regardless of whether they are a customer or not to access its Xfinity Wi-Fi hot spots in several states hit by megastorm Sandy. The cable operator, which with its cable partners operates 50,000 Wi-Fi hot spots in public places throughout country, said that it would make its hot spots available to anyone …

Google Search (free) has been on iOS for some time, with well-known search capabilities, access to Google apps, Google Goggles for identifying products, and Voice Search. But an update to the app yesterday enhanced Voice Search with spoken answers, and it quickly became clear Google Search had an edge on Siri — especially when it comes to speed. Siri has …

Google recently introduced the latest in its Nexus family of phones, and in the process, it has entered a new power player into the Android ecosystem. But how does the new Nexus 4 stack up against one of the current kings of the category? We take a closer look at the Nexus 4 and the Galaxy S3 to see who …