April, 2014

• 15 April

  HTC, Samsung flagships set for new look, report says

  

  Brian Bennett/CNET HTC and Samsung might be taking a page out of each other’s books with updates to their flagship handsets. HTC is considering launching an updated HTC One M8 with a plastic chassis, Digitimes reported on Tuesday, citing people who claim to be in the company’s supply chain. Samsung, meanwhile, is considering a metal-alloy …

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• 15 April

  Intel paints bleak picture for Windows tablets vs. Android

  

  The Dell Venue 8 Pro has been well received but Windows tablet numbers overall are small. Dell When Intel announced its tablet numbers for the first quarter on Tuesday, it was clear that Android buried Windows. Intel CEO Brian Krzanich said during the company’s first-quarter earnings conference call that out of the 5 million tablet processors shipped “80 to 90 …

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• 15 April

  Apple antitrust monitor: So far, so good

  

  The court-appointed monitor tasked with ensuring that Apple acts fairly and in compliance with antitrust laws following the company’s e-book price-fixing case loss last year has high hopes for the company. In a 77-page report filed Monday in US District Court in New York, Michael Bromwich said that his dealings with Apple are off to a “promising start.” While Apple …

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• 15 April

  Large

  

  Will the next iPhone tower in size over the current lineup? CNET Apple’s next iPhone is expected to offer a bigger screen size, and a new image purportedly shows just how big. Posted by a user to a Chinese online forum Weibo on Tuesday, the image displays the front face of what may (or may not be) the iPhone 6, …

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• 15 April

  How to buy Google Glass today, and today only

  

  Screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET Those of you who’ve been yearning to buy Google Glass now finally have your chance. On Tuesday — and on Tuesday only — any US resident with a US shipping address can buy the Google Glass Explorer Edition at the regular price of $1,500. Sorry, those of you outside the US are out of luck. But …

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• 15 April

  Smartphone industry commits to antitheft measures amid calls for ‘kill switch’

  

  Samsung was one of the companies that signed on to the CTIA’s antitheft commitment. Sarah Tew/CNET The wireless industry committed to making a number of antitheft measures available for smartphones, a move that some regulators said fell short of fully protecting the devices and their owners. The CTIA trade group announced on Tuesday its “Smartphone Anti-Theft Voluntary Commitment” program. It …

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• 15 April

  Samsung Galaxy S5 fingerprint scanner thwarted by hack

  

  Hacking into the Galaxy S5 using a phony fingerprint. SRLabs/YouTube; screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET Samsung doesn’t provide adequate security protection with the fingerprint sensor on its new Galaxy S5 smartphone — at least that’s the contention of a group of researchers who were able to hack their way past the sensor. In a video of the hack, a researcher from …

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• 15 April

  Galaxy S5 bests Nexus 5, iPhone 5S, HTC One M8 in torture gantlet

  

  Metal doesn’t always prove its mettle. Video screenshot by Eric Mack/CNET Torture-testing smartphones and tablets has become a joyous rite of passage with each new generation of flagship phones. Now that the Samsung Galaxy S5 and HTC One M8 are roaming the wild, the folks at gadget warranty outlet SquareTrade dropped and dunked both, as well as the iPhone 5S …

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• 15 April

  Samsung expert witnesses: Sorry, Apple, there’s no infringement

  

  Apple and Samsung are facing off in a San Jose, Calif., court. Shara Tibken/CNET SAN JOSE, Calif. — Samsung didn’t infringe on Apple’s patents for quick links, universal search, slide-to-unlock, and autocorrect, several expert witnesses hired by the Korean giant testified Tuesday. Kevin Jeffay, professor of computer science at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, said that Apple’s ‘647 …

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• 15 April

  ​Google targeting Project Ara modular phone for January 2015

  

  Google’s Project Ara project coordinator David Fishman and team leader Paul Eremenko Seth Rosenblatt/CNET MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Google’s first phone for its ambitious Project Ara modular smartphone project will be a boring gray, Ara leader Paul Eremenko said at the first Ara developer’s conference on Tuesday. And that’s by design. Eremenko told an audience of around 200 people at …

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