Smartphones

Best smartphones for $100 (roundup)

A hundred greenbacks is a respectable chunk of change, but when it comes to personal electronics like the ultra-personal smartphone, $100 (before taxes and fees) is a darn good deal. Since the smartphone operating system remains the same across handsets from the most entry-level to the most premium, what a price hike usually gives you is a step up in features -- like LTE or HSPA+ 42 support, a faster processor, and more premium camera components, for example.

Here are some of today's top picks.… Read more

Huawei's AT&T; Fusion 2 Android starter phone clears FCC

Huawei and AT&T are teaming up to bring forth a sequel of the AT&T Fusion, an entry-level Android GoPhone. The A&T Fusion 2 recently cleared the FCC; the files include elements as rich as a consumer-ready user manual.

That user manual tells us that the Android follow-up will has a microSD card, an FM radio, 3G speeds, and the Swype virtual keyboard. A blurry image of the phone's back shows a 3.2-megapixel camera without flash.

So far it isn't clear what differentiates the Fusion 2 from the original, but it's … Read more

How to delete Facebook activity using iPhone, Android app

As more and more apps integrate with Facebook and each app shares more of your online activity to your Timeline, there's bound to be information you'd rather not share. As Mashable recently reported, Facebook has given users the ability to edit their Activity Log while on the go.

You'll need to go to your profile, or Timeline. While there scroll the About, Friends, and Photos thumbnails over until you see an Activity Log thumbnail. Once you select Activity Log, you'll be able to view, edit, or delete any unwanted activity from your Facebook Timeline by tapping … Read more

Ikea AR catalog gets under furniture's skin

Ikea has already introduced its catalog for mobile devices, but now the Swedish furniture giant is going a little more in-depth with the 2013 edition. There are more than 40 bits of extended content sprinkled throughout the catalog.

The 2013 physical catalog pairs with a special Ikea catalog app to unlock more than meets the eye on the printed page. Unlike the Moosejaw X-ray catalog peep show, expect to see furniture rather than statuesque Scandinavian models.… Read more

Samsung vs. Apple: Patent fight sinks Qualcomm truce

Samsung had signed an agreement with Qualcomm not to sue the chipmaker or its customers for using Samsung's 3G patents, but this agreement was called off when Apple took Samsung to court over the Galaxy Tab, Samsung admitted in the Australian Federal Court this morning.

The Federal Court today commenced the long-awaited case between Apple and Samsung over alleged patent infringements by the two companies. The court began hearing Samsung's counterclaim against Apple -- that the company infringed on three standards-essential 3G patents held by Samsung in the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S and iPad 2.

Lawyers for Samsung … Read more

Samsung Galaxy S3 hits 10 million sales mark early

Samsung's chief executive predicted last month that sales of the Galaxy S3 would hit 10 million by the end of July and the smartphone appears to have passed that milestone a little early.

Shin Jong-kyun, the president of Samsung's information technology and mobile communication division, told reporters that the Android-powered smartphone surpassed the 10 million sales mark but did not reveal specific sales figures, according to the Yonhap news agency. That translates to about 190,000 Galaxy S3 devices sold every day for the past two months.

Samsung's flagship handset, which is available through AT&T, … Read more

First images of midrange Samsung 'Jasper' surface

The first images of the Samsung SCH-I200 Jasper have appeared online, giving us a decent look at the midrange Android smartphone. This time, rather than the usual blurry "in the wild" photos, we're actually treated to press-ready renders of the front and back sides.

The details of the Jasper first surfaced a few months back when we heard that the it would include a dual-core 1.5GHz processor. Then, rumors over the next few weeks suggested that the handset would end up on Verizon's 4G LTE network and feature a WVGA (800x480 pixels) display. Beyond that, … Read more

Samsung could launch Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet August 15

Samsung has something up its sleeve for August 15, but it's not saying what. Several CNET editors just received cryptic save-the-date invitations for an event that will likely take place in New York.

Here's what we got:

SAVE THE DATE August 15, 2012 10:00AM EST Please join Samsung Electronics America for a major announcement and unveiling of the newest GALAXY device. An exclusive press conference will take place where full details will be disclosed.

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that this could be a debut of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 … Read more

CNET updates tablet test results

Editor's note:This list was originally posted on July 25 and is updated regularly.

Back in March I posted test results for the most popular tablets at the time. Since then, many more tablets have been released and thanks to our new CNET Labs intern, Xiomara Blanco, we now have updated tests results for some of the newest non-Windows tablets.

Due to its somewhat unpredictable nature, I've removed Web site speed testing from the test suite. Web site speed tests are great for videos, since they take only a few seconds to run, are relevant to most people'… Read more