Verizon customers who use the Lumia Icon are finally getting the latest version of the Windows Phone OS — that means access to Microsoft’s Cortana digital personal assistant; a notification center; and a selection of new business-focused features. Josh Miller/CNET A year after launching the flagship Lumia Icon Windows Phone, Verizon is finally enabling users …
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iPhone thefts get walloped by kill feature, officials say
If your iPhone gets stolen and Find My Phone has been deactivated, Activation Lock will prevent it from being re-used by a different Apple account. James Martin/CNET A kill feature that renders a smartphone useless if stolen appears to be taking a bite out of crime. The volume of stolen iPhones dropped by 25 percent in New York, by 40 …
Read More »‘Haunted’ old MacBook fetching thousands on eBay
This old-school spirit writes the old-fashioned way. eBay/wfatzinger With technology advancing so quickly, a MacBook from 2007 might be nearly obsolete for most of us, but if you’re a ghost from the early 20th century, it makes for a downright swanky place to chill. That’s the basic pitch behind the auction of a “haunted” Apple computer on eBay that’s already …
Read More »EE will sell as many tablets, dongles and smart devices as it does phones by 2017
EE offers double speed 4G in London, and plans to bring that speed bump to the rest of the country in the next few years. Tom Dymond/REX The UK’s biggest mobile phone network says it expects to sell as many Web-connected devices as it does smartphones in the next two years. Announcing a £1.5 billion investment in its network over …
Read More »Samsung to pour $3.6B into OLED display tech
Samsung’s Galaxy Note Edge includes an OLED display. CNET Samsung is planning to invest $3.6 billion in the manufacturing of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels. The South Korean electronics giant will make mainly medium and small OLED displays, a Samsung spokesman told Reuters on Tuesday. The $3.6 billion investment in the new product line will be made this year through …
Read More »Twitter to buy Niche, where social media stars meet advertisers
James Martin/CNET Twitter on Wednesday announced it’s acquiring a small New York start-up called Niche, which connects social media stars with brands in order to create sponsored content. Think of it as a sort of talent agency for Twitter and Vine celebrities. Twitter did not disclose terms of the deal, only that it’s signed an agreement to buy Niche, describing …
Read More »Pebble CEO hints at how next smartwatch will battle Apple, Google and others
The Pebble Steel debuted in January 2014, but new hardware is expected this year. Sarah Tew/CNET Pebble may be an old hand at the smartwatch game, but it still has a lot to prove. The Pebble Steel was CNET’s favorite smartwatch of 2014, but with the upcoming Apple Watch, new Android Wear watches and tons of newcomers like Swatch entering …
Read More »One of Sigma’s 150
Sigma’s 150-600mm f5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary is aimed at enthusiasts rather than pro photographers. Lori Grunin/CNET Announced back in September, Sigma has finally revealed the price and availability of its 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary lens, at least for the US: $1,100 (which converts to about AU$1,412 and £722; no pricing or avaliability yet for those locales). Six …
Read More »How to add Dropbox files to Gmail messages
Rick Broida/CNET Want to share a Dropbox link with someone? There are many ways to go about it, but most of them involving a fairly clunky procession of finding, copying and pasting links. If you’re a Chrome user and a Gmail user, however, Dropbox sharing just got a whole lot quicker. The new Dropbox for Gmail extension for Chrome lets …
Read More »Samsung Milk Music launches in Australia for Galaxy devices
The Milk Music app works across Samsung Galaxy devices. Samsung A little over two months after retiring Music Hub in Australia, Samsung has announced the local launch of the radio-style Milk Music streaming service for Samsung mobile devices. Australia is one of the first countries outside the US to get the genre-based music service, which features more than 150 curated …
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