May, 2014

• 7 May

  Samsung adds Swarovski bling and bedazzle to its Galaxy S5

  

  Samsung’s Swarovski crystal covered Galaxy S5. Samsung Technology and fashion are “deeply intertwined,” according to Samsung. So, it makes sense the smartphone-maker would bathe some of it products in Swarovski crystals, right? The South Korean company released its “Swarovski for Samsung” accessory collection on its online story on Wednesday. The collection is specifically geared toward …

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• 7 May

  Sony Reader store closes in Australia and the UK

  

  Sony It took six or seven years to finally arrive in Australia after its launch in the US, and now the Sony Reader Store will be closing its doors for business after just 12 months. Following the February announcement that it would be selling Vaio and shutting its e-reader business in the US, Sony will close its Reader Store in …

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• 7 May

  Huawei launches Ascend P7, its new flagship Android phone

  

  Huawei’s Richard Yu introduces the Ascend P7 in Paris on May 7, 2014. Stephen Shankland/CNET PARIS — Huawei on Wednesday launched its Ascend P7 , a new flagship Android model with which the Chinese company will try to improve on its third-place ranking in the smartphone market. The company signaled the arrival of the new phone at a press event …

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• 7 May

  Samsung pushing Android 4.4 to more phones, says leaked doc

  

  The plus-sized Galaxy Mega 6.3 is expected to receive a KitKat update. Josh Miller/CNET Samsung could be prepping an Android 4.4 KitKat update for a new batch of smartphones within the coming weeks, according to a new report. Related Links New Galaxy S5 mini pops up on Samsung website Apple v. Samsung patent trial recap: How it all turned out …

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• 7 May

  Most phone theft victims ready to resort to vigilantism, study shows

  

  From left, the Find My Phone feature on Windows Phone, the Find My iPhone app on iOS, and Android’s pattern unlock feature. James Martin/CNET Call it a sign of the times, but most people responding to a new survey say they would be willing to put themselves in “some amount” of danger in order to retrieve a stolen smartphone. The …

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• 7 May

  Customer loyalty the next battleground for carriers

  

  Sprint might have a customer loyalty problem. Lynn La/CNET Customer loyalty — or the lack thereof — might prove to be an issue for US carriers in the next year, according to new data from research firm Kantar Worldpanel. Over the next 12 months, 44 percent of feature phone owners planning to get a smartphone are at the very least …

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• 7 May

  Why iOS vs. Android no longer matters

  

  Android or iOS? An increasingly unimportant decision. Luke Westaway/CNET I know my way around the iPhone as well as I know my own living room. In fact, I know it a little better than my living room, since for the last few years whenever I’ve been in my living room I’ve usually been gawping at an iPhone, ignoring everything around …

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• 7 May

  Samsung’s new ad is destroying Apple (or is it?)

  

  A scene from the “most effective” Samsung ad. Samsung/YouTube screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET How do you know when an ad has succeeded? Do you watch to see how many people talk about it? Do you observe as sales of one or other product zoom or crater? Or do you ask a research firm? Research firms are always right. Except for …

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• 7 May

  Huawei hopes P7 phone will help it ‘Ascend’ to Apple

  

  Richard Ren, president of Huawei’s EU consumer business group Stephen Shankland/CNET PARIS — With the launch of Huawei’s Ascend P7 flagship smartphone on Wednesday, the Chinese company also launched a new phase of its ambition for global power. The Ascend P7 — which will go on sale in June across 33 countries in Europe and Asia for 449 euros (about …

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• 7 May

  Buy a dummy iPhone 6 and spread your own rumors

  

  Something that looks like what the iPhone 6 might potentially look like is potentially on sale! Screenshot by Eric Mack/CNET Did you hear that the iPhone 6 will come with a Kevlar, bulletproof cover? Or that Apple plans to create a special “Hello, Kitty” iPhone 6 to appeal to a very young demographic? I just made those rumors up right …

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