April, 2014

• 3 April

  T

  

  T-Mobile CEO John Legere at CES 2014 James Martin/CNET The spat between T-Mobile and BlackBerry — which resulted in BlackBerry parting ways with the carrier — was capped off on Thursday with an open letter by T-Mobile CEO John Legere and an offer for a $100 credit. Legere expressed his disappointment in the breakup in …

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• 3 April

  BlackBerry Diaries: the prequel

  

  Now playing: Watch this: One week with BlackBerry 2:00 Both the Chromebook Diaries and the Surface 2 Diaries dealt with devices I used mostly in working life. So let’s shake that up a little. This week I’m changing phones. In fact I’m not only changing phones, I’m changing phone operating systems. I’m bidding farewell to my much-loved Samsung Galaxy Note …

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• 3 April

  WA doubles demerit points for using a mobile while driving

  

  Western Australia is upping the penalties for mobile phone use while driving, with double demerit points in effect for breaking the law during holiday periods. The changes, introduced by the WA State Government this week, come as Australians prepare for double whammy of long weekends in April (thanks to Easter and Anzac Day) and the inevitable increase in traffic that …

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• 3 April

  iPhone 5S best seller amid sluggish Android sales, analyst says

  

  CNET Apple’s iPhone 5S is taking advantage of a downturn in Android sales but its lead may not last long. In an investors note out Thursday, Canaccord Genuity analyst Michael Walkley said that Android smartphone sales have been soft as new devices get set to launch this month. As just one example, Samsung’s new Galaxy S5 will reach consumers on …

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• 3 April

  Verizon rivals AT&T by trimming prices on More Everything plan

  

  Verizon Verizon subscribers who need big buckets of data can now save more money via the carrier’s More Everything plan. Through the new budget-friendlier plan, customers who choose data buckets of 10GB or higher now pay an access fee of just $15 per month per smartphone line, down from the previously discounted price of $20. Verizon charges $100 a month …

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• 3 April

  Roaming charges should pack their bags, says EU vote

  

  The EU is one step closer to ending international roaming charges. Shutterstock Holidaymakers are a flip-flop closer to having more euros in the vacation budget for sun, sand and sangria, as the European Parliament voted Thursday to end international roaming charges by Christmas 2015. “This is what the EU is all about — getting rid of barriers to make life …

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• 3 April

  Watch out, Siri: Cortana is coming to Windows

  

  CNET Update likes a phone with attitude: Now playing: Watch this: Watch out, Siri: Cortana is coming to Windows 2:54 In this episode of Update, get to know Microsoft’s new voice-activated virtual assistant, Cortana . She’s able to give personalized help, such as reminding you when traffic is bad on the way to an appointment. She can even set reminders …

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• 3 April

  Vine now lets friends share video and text messages

  

  Vine introduces direct messaging. Vine What do you get when you cross Snapchat with Instagram Direct image messaging? Vine messages. Twitter-owned Vine introduced a new messaging feature on Thursday that lets users send video and text messages to anyone on Vine. The feature also gives users the capability to send videos to anyone in their personal address book, even if …

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• 3 April

  Vodafone opening doors of 150 new shops

  

  Vodafone is opening 150 new stores like this one in Staines. Martin Good/Shutterstock It’s been a bleak couple of years for the British high street, but no-one seems to have told the mobile phone shop. Mobiles are flying off shelves so fast that UK network Vodafone plans to open 150 new shops in the next year. Vodafone says the new …

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• 3 April

  Microsoft’s Cortana doesn’t speak Spanish, for now

  

  One of the star features of Windows Phone 8.1 is the Cortana voice assistant, but it won’t speak Spanish for awhile James Martin/CNET Editor’s Note: This article first appeared in Spanish on our sister site, CNET en Español. As part of the announcement of the Windows Phone 8.1 update, Microsoft on Wednesday introduced its virtual personal assistant, Cortana, to attendees …

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