Geoffrey Morrison Recently we took a poll where we asked “What’s stopping you from getting a plasma?” A majority of voters rebuked my premise, picking “I love my plasma.” The other responses were fairly evenly split among the choices. However, there was a surprisingly common reason given in the comments that baffled me, and it’s …

Australian video-on-demand service Quickflix has used its existing relationship with HBO to score a distribution deal for the new True Blood season, which premiered on 16 June. (Screenshot by Nic Healey/CNET) The episodes will be both streamed and on demand, and will be available “only hours of airing in the US”, according to Quickflix. The Quickflix site says that the …

AT&T announced that it is rolling out wireless emergency alerts to all of its U.S. customers that have an iPhone 5 or 4S. This means that anytime there is a government-issued safety announcement, like when there’s natural or man-made disaster, a presidential alert, or an Amber alert for a missing child, a message will pop up on users iPhones explaining …

A team of researchers from Microsoft and Rice University have developed a solution to battery drain from camera use. (Credit: Sony) Most users are aware that constant use of a smartphone’s camera, or indeed the camera on any mobile device, is a sure-fire way to use up plenty of juice. In this paper (PDF), the researchers found that five different …

Now playing: Watch this: Smart TV 101: watching video 3:26 In our ongoing Smart TV 101 video series, we look at how smart TV is offering you more viewing choices than ever before. A smart TV not only opens up the free-to-air channels: you’ll also be able to access subscription TV, such as Foxtel; videos services, like Quickflix; catch-up TV; …

Now playing: Watch this: Limit volume on iPhone, iPod or iPad 2:41 If your kid is using an iPhone, iPod, or iPad to blast music at unsafe levels, you should consider setting a limit on their maximum volume. I mean, they’ll hate you for it — but they’ll also hate having tinnitus in their 20s, right? In the above video, …

Show me the place where the smart phones roam, and I’ll show you somewhere calls cost the same as at home. The EU is a step close to ending mobile roaming charges when you’re abroad in Europe, which could end unwanted bill shock in the next year. European officials have voted to fast-track proposals to ban phone companies from charging …

Nokia has seemingly set a date for the debut of its long-rumoured ‘EOS’ smart phone, with the Finnish phone-maker inviting press to an event on 11 July. The invite teases “zoom reinvented”, which certainly tallies with reports that Nokia’s next phone will have a whopping great camera unit. The event kicks off at 11am in New York. That’s 3pm UK …

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini, the wallet-friendly spin-off of the Samsung Galaxy S4, hits shops on 5 July — and you can order yourself a free phone now as the first deals are revealed. You can now place an order for the S4 Mini on Orange and T-Mobile, with deals starting at £10.50 per month. Orange’s cheapest deal nets you …

Google has faced some European Union antitrust scrutiny as of late, but the company’s troubles might have only just begun. The Financial Times reported Thursday, citing EU documents it claims to have seen, that the governing body’s competition watchdogs are conducting an informal investigation into whether Google is violating competition regulations with its Android operating system. According to the documents, …