Kathmandu as seen by a drone. Screenshot by Eric Mack/CNET The images and mounting death toll coming out of Nepal since a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck near the capital of Kathmandu on Saturday have been sobering. But to really grasp the shock and devastation left by the quake in the city and in nearby base …
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How well is the Apple Watch selling? Tim Cook remains mum
Apple Watch became available Friday. James Martin/CNET Apple CEO Tim Cook on Monday didn’t give analysts and investors the one thing they wanted — Apple Watch sales data. Apple in October said it wouldn’t break out Apple Watch sales, but many hoped the company would give some details about first-weekend sales as it has tended to do for iPhones. The …
Read More »ESPN sues Verizon over new ‘skinny bundles’ for cable TV
ESPN isn’t happy with Verizon. James Martin/CNET ESPN isn’t a fan of Verizon’s new way of offering cable channels under its Fios TV service. The sports network has sued Verizon for allegedly breaching its contract, which was earlier reported by CNBC.com. The lawsuit was filed in the New York Supreme Court. The dispute stems from Verizon’s recently unveiled , which …
Read More »Apple boosts capital return program to $200 billion
James Martin/CNET Apple has made a substantial move to give more of its huge cash stockpiles back to shareholders, announcing Monday it increased its capital return program to $200 billion. The company raised its share repurchase authorization to $140 billion from $90 billion. It also increased its quarterly dividend by 11 percent, to 52 cents a share. Apple’s previous program …
Read More »Apple’s Cook sees Watch hitting more countries in late June
CNET Apple plans to expand availability of its first smartwatch to more countries by late June, CEO Tim Cook said Monday. The company currently sells the Apple Watch, which officially went on sale Friday, in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, the UK and the US. “Right now demand is greater than supply, so we’re working hard to …
Read More »Best Buy to accept Apple Pay for purchases
Best Buy customers can now pay for good and services with Apple Pay. BEST BUY Best Buy shoppers can now use Apple Pay to complete purchases made through the electronics retailer’s app, a coup of sorts for Apple in the intense mobile-payments business. For now, Apple Pay transactions are limited to Best Buy’s app, but the companies expect consumers to …
Read More »How to customize the Digital Touch color palette on the Apple Watch
Jason Cipriani/CNET In addition to sending a series of taps or you heartbeat, Digital Touch on the Apple Watch makes it possible to send disappearing images to fellow Watch owners using a series of colors. But the standard colors are kind of, well, boring. Thankfully, Apple has included a way to access a color picker when your selecting a color, …
Read More »Apple tightens up, restricts fart apps on Apple Watch
Some apps just won’t cut it for the Apple Watch. Those still waiting for an Apple Watch shouldn’t hold their breath for a fart app. But in the fall, you will be able to use Apple Pay with a Discover card. Now playing: Watch this: Apple tightens up, restricts fart apps on Apple Watch 2:55 Also, will Apple be one …
Read More »Bodyprint could let you unlock your phone with your ear print
Christian Holz You may one day be able to unlock your smartphone by holding it against your ear instead of your finger. That is the goal of Bodyprint, an authentication system created by Yahoo Labs that turns a smartphone’s capacitive touchscreen into a biometric scanner. But because the scanning device is much larger than a fingerprint scanner, the system allows …
Read More »How to use your Apple Watch as an iPod (and leave your phone behind)
Sarah Tew/CNET Without a nearby iPhone, the Watch can’t answer calls or receive notifications, but you can use Bluetooth headphones to listen to music stored on the device. Here’s how to set it up. Step 1: Put music on your Watch Of the 8GB of storage on the Watch, up to 2GB can be used for music storage, which roughly …
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