August, 2014

• 7 August

  How to get better battery life on Android

  

  Android gets a bad rap for short battery life, but that’s only if you stick with its default settings. Make these simple adjustments to give your phone or tablet a battery boost. Now playing: Watch this: Get better life on your Android device 2:58 Disable location reporting and history GPS is a huge battery hog, …

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• 7 August

  Samsung, Barnes & Noble to hold Nook event Aug. 20

  

  Samsung and Barnes & Noble’s Nook business sent an invite for an event later this month. Screenshot by Shara Tibken/CNET Here comes another Samsung event. The company and partner Barnes & Noble plan to host a gathering August 20 in New York to show off their first co-branded tablet, the Galaxy Tab 4 Nook. The event will be held at …

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• 7 August

  Verizon adds Push to Talk Plus to Galaxy S5, more

  

  Samsung’s Galaxy S5 is one phone you can turn into a two-way radio. Josh Miller/CNET Miss the days of walkie-talkies? Verizon will now let companies reclaim some of that ease with its new Push To Talk Plus service. The Samsung Galaxy S5 , Motorola Droid Razr Maxx, and Casio G’zOne Commando 4G LTE will all work with the business service, …

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• 7 August

  Samsung still tops in US smartphone market; Apple takes second

  

  Counterpoint Research Samsung still can’t be beat in the US smartphone market, according to new data from Counterpoint Research. In the second quarter, Samsung accounted for 36.1 percent of US smartphone shipments, topping Apple’s 29.7 percent, the research firm reported Wednesday. During the same period in 2013, Samsung tallied 33.9 percent of shipments and Apple held 25.9 percent LG came …

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• 7 August

  Apple’s China listing status not a ban, says new report

  

  Apple’s iPad Air. Josh Miller/CNET Has China banned key Apple products from government purchase? A new report is throwing cold water on that claim. In a story picked up by CNET and other news sites on Wednesday, Bloomberg said that China had banned Apple’s iPad and Mac from government purchasing over security concerns. Citing “government officials familiar with the matter,” …

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• 7 August

  Meet the man charged with kicking Sprint into overdrive

  

  All of the US telecom chiefs kicked off their careers in the industry with a job at a phone company and worked their way up through the system. Marcelo Claure, the new CEO of Sprint. Sprint Marcelo Claure got his start by being in the right seat on the right flight. Such is the unorthodox journey of Claure, who on …

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• 7 August

  Get a refurbished Republic Wireless Moto X for $199

  

  Stock-Point Looking for a solid smartphone and dirt-cheap monthly service to go with it? Today’s your lucky day. For a limited time, and while supplies last, electronics dealer Stock-Point has the refurbished Republic Wireless Moto X (black) for $199, plus an obnoxious $15 for shipping. (It’s also available in white for the same price.) The phone sells new for $299. …

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• 7 August

  US Patent Office rejects Apple autocomplete patent used against Samsung

  

  Apple and Samsung settled their overseas cases but the fight continues in the US. CNET The Apple v. Samsung patent-battle may have ended overseas, but it’s still going strong in the US. The US Patent and Trademark Office has rejected several claims of one of the patents Apple wielded against Samsung in the most recent patent-infringement trial, saying in a …

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• 7 August

  Fighting over scraps in Apple’s withering patent war with Samsung

  

  CNET Reports of a partial cease-fire in the patent war between Apple and Samsung over various design features of the iPhone is certainly welcome news. Ever since late Apple founder Steve Jobs promised operating system, the mobile ecosystem has been engulfed in over a hundred largely pointless lawsuits, with Apple claiming ownership of such basic features as the rectangular shape …

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• 7 August

  Sprint’s Hesse leaves carrier the way he found it: Needing a turnaround

  

  Sprint CEO Dan Hesse at an event in Chicago. Sarah Tew/CNET Dan Hesse was dealt a bad hand when he took the reins at Sprint, stepping into a wireless carrier that was working its way through a messy merger that was costing it customers and tarnished its reputation for quality service. Seven years later, Hesse can list the many changes …

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