One of my missions in this Cheapskate life is to encourage folks to look beyond the Big Four phone carriers. Why? Simple: You can save big by switching to an MVNO — a smaller carrier that leases the same cell towers used by the big ones. I’m talking Cricket, Mint Mobile, Ting and Tello, to …

At CES 2019, there were a lot of robots waiting to chat to you, but Alena was probably the most haunting and terrifying.  Designed by Oregon startup Robomodix, Alena is a robot designed to create a more human interface between you and your smart speaker. The robotic bust has six digital motors inside that move its head, eyes and mouth …

Though it’s not usually something you can buy at your local store, hearing aids and associated devices are nonetheless out in full force here at CES 2019.  There’s a device designed to help the deaf experience music at concerts, a truly invisible hearing aid that goes deep in your ear canal and an improved Cochlear “bionic ear.” Hearing loss affects …

We strolled by Samsung’s enormous booth, hoping to get our hands on the 5G prototype phone that Samsung brought to  CES 2019 in Las Vegas. And there we found it, trapped behind glass in its dock, so near yet so far away. At first glance, the phone doesn’t look like anything special. Again, it’s a prototype, not a final design, so we can’t …

In recent years, there have been any number of pet cameras that allow you to see what your dog is doing while you’re away from home. Some are just cameras, other have speakers so that you can talk to your furry friend and, more recently, several can give your dog or cat a treat. But at CES, the French company …

It’s not just you, spam calls have become way more prevalent in recent years. It’s even estimated that almost half of US mobile phone calls in 2019 will be spam. T-Mobile plans to help people fight spam by rolling out its caller verification technology. On Thursday, T-Mobile said it’s launching a feature called Caller Verified. Right now the feature is …

CES 2019 marks the first time AMD has ever given a keynote at the international trade show — so naturally, you’d expect the company’s debut conference to be packed. On Wednesday morning, AMD President and CEO Lisa Su didn’t disappoint, talking up the company’s upcoming third-gen Ryzen desktop CPUs, the new Epyc Rome chips for data centers and how, in …

This story is part of CES, where CNET covers the latest news on the most incredible tech coming soon. Laptops were big business at CES 2019, not a surprise to anyone who has followed the show over the past several years. It’s usually a very popular category with dozens of new products, but I’ve rarely seen a year so packed …

Every major PC maker has a division that makes PC gaming desktops and laptops, from Dell’s Alienware brand to HP’s Omen line. But at an event like CES 2019, it’s a bad idea to sleep on the smaller boutique PC makers who often bring new and interesting prototypes to the show. Origin PC’s sweet sixteen Origin PC has been building …

The first time I opened my Lyft app to summon a ride here at Las Vegas for CES 2019, I nearly screamed. Instead of seeing the usual map interface, a message popped up offering me a chance to ride around Las Vegas in an autonomous car. HELL, YEAH! I couldn’t opt-in fast enough, imagining myself pulling up to events in …