Mobile

Apple should be blowing us away with the iPad 3, but it probably won't.

The latest rumors call for a higher resolution screen on par with the iPhone's Retina Display, a possible upgrade to the iOS software, and possibly a few other improvements. That's certainly enough to draw the Apple faithful and sell a ton of iPads. But with the rapid advances that the competition is making, will it be enough to secure the company's continued dominance in the tablet business?

Sure, the iPad has been a blockbuster franchise for Apple. In the fourth quarter alone, … Read more

Will Samsung unveil its next major smartphone next month? One report says yes. The company says no.

The Galaxy S III will reportedly make its grand entrance in April as part of an ad campaign related to the 2012 Olympics in London, according to sources cited by ZDNet Korea (English translation).

ZDNet apparently received its intel from Cheil Worldwide, an ad agency owned by Samsung. The Korean handset maker will be a major sponsor of this year's summer games. So Samsung may be aiming to launch the new phone in time for the opening ceremony in July, speculates CNET UK.… Read more

Square is well-known in the payments business. Now it wants to replace a retailer's register.

The payments company has launched a new iPad application, called Square Register. Available for free in the App Store, the app is designed to replace a brick-and-mortar retailer's register, and can accept everything from credit card to cash payments.

According to Square, the application lets users input the many products they sell in their stores and assign prices to them. Those items can also be placed into a "favorites" list for easy access when customers buy a product. As with any … Read more

HTC has beaten out ZTE, Nokia, and other vendors hoping to capitalize on the growing Chinese market.

After opening a flagship store in Beijing yesterday, HTC is said to have started accepting preorders for the HTC Titan. The move reportedly made the Titan the first Windows Phone sold in China, beating out the line of devices that HTC's competitors have planned for the country this year.

According to Chinese site Weibo, which first reported on the story, HTC is selling the device for about $700 without a contract.

The HTC Titan is one of the more capable Windows Phone … Read more

With each major milestone in its App Store, Apple hands out some serious cash. And this time is no different.

After announcing that the App Store reached 25 billion downloads over the weekend, Apple today said that it has awarded Chunli Fu of Qingdao, China a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card for downloading the app that put the marketplace over the mark. According to Apple, Fu downloaded Where's My Water? Free, a Disney game.

Apple has given out $10,000 gift cards in the past, including last January when its store hit 10 billion downloads. Although a gift card … Read more

Google could be cooking up a new voice assistant designed to out-Siri Siri.

The company is said to have a new system in the works dubbed "Assistant" designed to help people complete tasks by voice. And if Google's plans come together, Assistant could debut in the fourth quarter, according to TechCrunch.

Citing information from a source, TechCrunch said on Friday that the search giant would control all of the layers involved in Assistant. But Google would let third-party developers tap into the system to create their own unique apps, a marked contrast from Apple's Siri, which … Read more

CES may dominate the technology calendar in the United States, but for wireless at least, Mobile World Congress is the trade show that matters. No event is more important, and as the calendar turns to February, you can bet that the entire industry will flock to Barcelona, Spain, to outflank and outshine the competition.

Of course, no gadget show would be complete without a gaggle of tech journalists scurrying to cover the news and the flood of product announcements. And as we've done over the past few years, CNET was on the ground in Barcelona to bring you the … Read more

Foursquare co-founder Naveen Selvadurai announced today he is leaving the location-based social network.

Selvadurai, who co-founded the social network with Dennis Crowley in 2008, will remain on the company's board of directors, serving as an adviser, he wrote on his personal blog. He said the move was motivated by a desire to do something new.

"I'm not sure about my exact next steps, but I'll probably get back to what I love most--being an entrepreneur, learning, and building new things," he wrote.

In the post, he marveled at the progress the company has made since … Read more

It looks like Google is making plans to expand its Android menu.

The Web giant has chosen the codename "Key Lime Pie" to follow the "Jelly Bean" version of its operating system, a source tells The Verge. However, there was no indication of when the new OS will appear or what its version number will be.

The Key Lime Pie codename would follow Google's tradition of naming its operating systems alphabetically after food. Previous versions have included Honeycomb (version 3.0) and Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0).

Although Ice Cream Sandwich is only now beginning … Read more