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Smartphone shipments to hit 1 billion this year, says report

The smartphone industry will ship more than 1 billion units before the year is over, according to a preview of a Deloitte report due out next week.

And that number could actually come closer to 2 billion, at least based on Deloitte's definition of a smartphone. Most analysts and industry watchers consider a smartphone a device that runs a specific operating system, such as iOS or Android. But Deloitte has expanded that definition to consider phones "smart" if they have touch screens, use full keyboards, and run apps, regardless of what OS they run internally.

"In … Read more

Men in Black 3: Movie Touch brings pop-up everything to your iPad

You know how most movies appear letterboxed on your iPad? Those black bars are kind of a waste of space.

So what if you slid the movie upward and filled the empty bottom area with, you know, stuff? Things like actors' filmographies, still images and art from the movie, little bits of trivia, sharing and social-media options, and so on?

That's the idea behind Men in Black 3: Movie Touch, a free iPad app designed to enhance the experience of watching -- wait for it -- "Men in Black 3."

Although the app is free, it limits … Read more

7 features Apple killed off in iTunes 11

Apple's latest iTunes brings plenty of new features, but also puts some golden oldies out to pasture.

The software, which went out yesterday as a free update, comes with a redesigned player and a more extensive album view for browsing music. Apple's also more deeply integrated iCloud and its stores within the software.

But some of that march towards simplicity has come at the expense of some old features. Few of the deep-sixed features seem like logical deletions, and others are already bringing ire from longtime users who expected to see them on the other side of the … Read more

Back to cell phone basics: Buying a non-smartphone

For some people, smartphones and their always-on Internet connections and apps is a waste of money.

If you don't need apps or games and you can live without fast, robust access to the Net from your cell phone, then a smartphone might be expensive overkill. All four of the major U.S. wireless carriers still offer basic feature phones, which don't require expensive data plans. In this Ask Maggie, I offer some advice to a reader who is looking for one of these phones.

I also offer some advice regarding the new all-in-one desktop computers.

Going retro with … Read more

Apple once again rumored to be eyeing carbon fiber

Apple is once again rumored to be looking into carbon fiber as a material for use in a future product. Citing a source within a Japanese company that produces carbon fiber, Japanese Apple blog Macotakara today says Apple has ordered up "large" samples of the product.

The outlet didn't into specifics about where that carbon fiber might be headed, short of noting that Apple has filed for patents that make mention of carbon fiber, and is on the lookout for a senior engineer to work on carbon in Japan.

Rumors about Apple and carbon fiber have been … Read more

Apple TV update hints at iOS multi-user accounts

Apple quietly updated software for its second- and third-generation Apple TV set-top boxes today to make it work with iOS 6 features.

The new version of the software, dubbed iOS 5.1 (though not the same 5.1 iPhone, iPod, and iPad users got earlier this year), adds things like shared Photo Streams, search, and showtimes for local theaters through the trailers app, and a way to reorder the icons on the home screen (something that leaked out a few months ago in a developer build).

However chief among the items of interest is a way to switch iTunes accounts, … Read more

iPhone 5 launch-day mania

Friday's CNET Update visits the iPhone fanboys and fangirls:

Six years after the first iPhone, people are still excited and lining up at stores around the globe. The iPhone 5 launched in nine countries Friday morning, and Australia was the first to sell it. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak was seventh in line at a store in Australia just to say he was one of the first in the world to get one. (That put him 17 hours ahead of customers in California.)

For today's show I interviewed the loyal Apple fans waiting at the iconic 5th Ave. Apple … Read more

4 smaller useful tweaks in iOS 6

iOS 6 became available for download today, and if you want to get up to speed on what exactly is included with the update, check out my review here. Some of the major highlights are the completely redesigned Maps app, upgrades to Siri, and several other new features. But with iOS 6 there are more than 200 new features, and clearly I couldn't cover them all in my review.

Part of what makes this update a must-have for Apple's mobile devices are the numerous smaller tweaks that make using your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch easier. I'm … Read more

Google brings new 'e-mail via text message' service to Africa

While a huge percentage of Africa's more than 1 billion residents have cell phones, far fewer have access to e-mail. Google is trying to change that.

According to the Associated Press, the Web giant is embarking on an ambitious endeavor that will let people receive e-mails via text messages. In effect, Google will be giving people access to the Internet with feature handsets. Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya are the first countries to get the service.

Nigerians began seeing ads posted on billboards around the country for Google's text message email service in July, according to the Associated Press. … Read more

iPhone 6: 9 most-wanted features

The iPhone 5 is here and millions of people will buy it and love it. But its arrival also starts the clock ticking on the next iPhone. Approximately a year from now Apple will have a new model, which may be the iPhone 6 or simply be another iteration of the 5 (a lot of people have their money on a 5S).

What will the next iPhone have that this one doesn't? That I don't know, but I do have a wish list for what I'd like it to have.

Click on any image to begin the … Read more