Wireless carriers are giving customers an incentive to shop around for less expensive smartphones. As operators abandon contract plans and the device subsidies that go with them, they’re giving customers a reason to look more closely at how much it costs to buy a smartphone. These new plans require that consumers buy their phone at …

Netflix users in the US will soon have to find somewhere else to get their fix of “Hunger Games” and “World War Z.” The streaming service announced Sunday it has decided not to renew its movie licensing deal with Epix when the current contract expires at the end of September. In the announcement, the streaming service said it was putting …

Enlarge Image Presto has redesigned its mobile app to focus on content. Presto Presto has announced its first major upgrade since the January launch of its combined TV and movie service, bringing HD streaming, AirPlay compatibility and a redesigned mobile app to its platform. The streaming service says the improvements were driven by customer feedback, with the lack of HD …

Hollywood studios live in mortal fear of piracy, and nowhere is that fear more evident than when a customer tries to copy a movie bought, legally, to watch on another screen. If I buy a $20 Blu-ray disc, I want to be able to watch that movie on my phone, or back it up to a hard drive so I …

More data with a long expiry time: That’s the latest on offer from Optus when it comes to prepaid mobile data plans. The top tier from the Aussie telco is 22GB of data, with a 730-day (2-year) expiry period, for AU$130. For AU$50 you can get 7GB with a 1-year expiry, while the more regular month-to-month plan offers 4GB for …

Enlarge Image Tell time in steampunk style. ThinkGeek I once coveted a massive metal watch with a clock, compass and light just because I thought it would look cool, knowing full well the compass and light weren’t actually practical, usable items. That watch has now been completely discarded from my lust list and replaced with the Tesla Watch. The Tesla …

I make my living writing about sound, and even after all these years describing sound with words still isn’t easy. Not that I’m complaining — I love the challenge of nailing down the ephemeral aspects of sound, because when I get it just right I have some hope that my readers will start to notice the difference between so-so and …

I’ve covered the wide range of Hifiman’s headphones, from their downright affordable to high-end full-size headphones many times on the Audiophiliac. Even so, the new over-the-ear HE400S made me sit up and take notice, and not just because this headphone is the lowest price planar magnetic design ever offered by Hifiman. The HE400S is the best-sounding $299 (around £190) headphone …

Enlarge Image Ian Rogers (from left), Dr. Dre, Jimmy Iovine and Luke Wood worked together at Beats, which Apple scooped up last year. Don MacCathy/London Ent/Splash/Splash News/Corbis Apple executive Ian Rogers, a veteran of Beats Music who led the development of Apple Music’s Beats1 radio channel, is leaving the company. The Financial Times first reported the departure on Friday, citing …

Enlarge Image Jason Cipriani/CNET Slide-over is a new feature you’ll find on your iPad shortly after updating to iOS 9. In a bid to increase the multitasking capabilities of its tablet lineup, Apple is adding features that make it possible to do more than one thing on your iPad at a time. Screenshot by Jason Cipriani/CNET Accessing slide-over is simple; …