Why do wireless carriers have to make everything so complicated? Wireless subscribers should be able to subscribe to the service they want and need and not be forced to take services they don’t want or need. This seems like a simple enough concept, and yet customers who want a smartphone but only want to pay …

Related stories Opt out of Facebook tracking Remove your name from Facebook ads Change your default Timeline to Most Recent on Facebook How to change your Facebook vanity URL Facebook offers a gateway for sharing your thoughts, memories, and pictures with friends and family. Unfortunately, spammers are hard at work trying to take advantage of all that information, sending messages …

If you wanna catch a glimpse of the latest, greatest smartphone before it gets released, you can cruise the bars in and around Silicon Valley hoping for a stray, or you can stay in your jammies and cruise the blogosphere. Your chances might be just a little bit better online, but then again, you never really know if you’re seeing …

Android fans eager to get a look at the latest Nexus smartphones and tablets will have to wait a little longer. Google e-mailed reporters today saying that it was canceling the event because of concerns surrounding Hurricane Sandy. As the storm gathered strength, Google faced mounting questions over whether it would continue with the event as planned. The waterfront pier …

This story originally published August 23, 2012, and updated on October 26, 2012. commentary Here’s a list of people who tell me they want a simple phone: my retired parents who have easy access to a computer and two clunky laptops at home, my nonagenarian grandmother, and the tech-savvy CNET reader who recently thanked me for my review of the …

Now playing: Watch this: iPad mini vs Google Nexus 7 vs Amazon Kindle Fire HD 4:26 The iPad mini sports a 7.9-inch screen and lighter, slimmer design than its big bro — desirable traits for sure. But how does it compare to the other popular 7-inch slates? Here I pit it against Google’s Nexus 7 and Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD …

The Nexus 10 leaks just keep coming ahead of Monday’s event. The latest is in the form of photos taken with a Nexus 10 and posted on the Google+ page of a Google exec. Google Senior Vice President of Engineering Vic Gundotra, vacationing somewhere that makes this writer jealous, uploaded a couple beach photos to his profile. Clicking on “image …

HTC is getting into the daily-deals business in Europe. The company today announced a new service, called Best Deals, that aims at delivering “money-saving deals” to those who own HTC smartphones. According to HTC, the service is launching on the One X+, as well as the Windows Phone 8X and 8S, in November. Best Deals will also come to the …

Nokia has crashed out of the top-five smart phone manufacturers, losing its spot in the A-list to BlackBerry-maker RIM, which is also in trouble. The news comes via stat firm IDC, which says Nokia has enjoyed a top-five spot since 2004. Now however the Finnish firm has been toppled, thanks to the massive popularity of rivals Apple and Samsung. When …

Microsoft’s big week continued today with a new app release. Xbox SmartGlass for Android hit the Google Play store this afternoon. Microsoft SmartGlass offers a slick second-screen experience for Xbox 360. Developers of Xbox apps can use SmartGlass to let users interact with TV shows, movies, sports and games. The technology, which was first shown off at E3 this year,will …

CNET’s phone screen measurement setup involves a high-end spectroradiometer and industry-standard software. The mondo Samsung Galaxy Note 2 now provides another reason for Android geeks and image quality purists to let their phablet phanboy phreak phlags phly. The Note 2 is capable of color accuracy that, when combined with the superior contrast of the OLED screen technology, puts it on …

HP’s tablet-laptop hybrid Windows 8 PC has been given a price — the Envy x2 can be yours for a quid shy of £800 when it goes on sale. The Envy x2 looks like a tablet, but like many upcoming Windows 8 devices will slot into an accompanying keyboard dock, transforming it into a tablet. HP says the Envy x2 …

Despite the realistic 3D graphics of today’s first-person shooters, RPGs, and other games, platform games continue to thrive on iOS. There’s something about jumping through levels, solving puzzles, and collecting coins that keeps gamers entertained. Also, the capability to play through a single level while on the go makes platformers perfect for short bursts of play on your iOS device. …

Vodafone is offering a sizeable discount to customers who want to switch to 4G, and the network has promised super-fast phone speeds will spring forth next spring. If you have an iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy S3 or other phone with a 4G version, Vodafone will let you buy your way out of your current contract at a discount rate to make the …

Update, October 27: Google has canceled Monday’s Android event because of Hurricane Sandy. We’ll update you with a separate post when we know more. Google is holding a special event Monday in New York City where it’s expected to take the wraps off the latest version of the Android operating system, plus several new Nexus devices. Join CNET’s live blog …