Mobile

Amazon is reportedly working on two smartphones, including one that would have 3D capability.

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Amazon is developing a device that features a 3D screen that can be used without special glasses. Citing "people familiar with the company's plans," the Journal wrote that the phone would use retina-tracking technology that would make the images seem to be floating "like a hologram and appear three-dimensional at all angles." What's more, users might be able to navigate through content using just their eyes.… Read more

If you're itching to snap up a budget Nokia Lumia 521, head over to Walmart on May 11 and buy it for $130, its full retail price.

If you aren't in a rush, the Windows Phone 8 handset also goes on sale May 22 at T-Mobile stores, Microsoft retail stores, and T-Mobile's Web site for $150.

However, if you don't want to fork over the full sum at once, you can also buy the budget smartphone for $30 down and pay $5 installments every month for the next two years. Either way you look at it, … Read more

Well, this is interesting. AT&T launched a brand-new prepaid network on Thursday that goes head-to-head with T-Mobile's new no-contract model.

Called Aio Wireless (pronounced AY-oh), the new wireless service provider leans on AT&T's network and offers a range of prepaid devices, including Apple's iPhone 5, which costs 649.99 full retail.

Other smartphones are decidedly more entry-level, and Aio does not offer premium devices like the Samsung Galaxy S4 or Nokia Lumia 920. It does, however, sell Nokia's budget Lumia 620 Windows phone 8 device for $179.99.

There are striking similarities … Read more

Facebook may be aiming to spend anywhere from $800 million to $1 billion to acquire Waze, an Israel-based company that offers a socially informed GPS app for drivers.

Talks reportedly kicked off six months ago, according to Israeli business-news site Calcalist, which says that due diligence is currently under way. This would mean that the two companies are checking each other out before signing on the dotted line. The two also have signed a term sheet, or an agreement in principle on the sale, according to Calcalist.

An agreement sounds like it could be close. However, sources close to Waze … Read more

In the next step of the Apple v. Samsung battle, Apple has asked a judge to make Google hand over documents related to the Android operating system.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul S. Grewal in San Jose, Calif., was told by the tech giant earlier this week that Google is inappropriately withholding information related to the Android operating system. The iPad and iPhone maker argues that as Google's Android is used in all of the devices that allegedly infringe on patents and "provides much of the accused functionality," Google should be forced to hand over documents related … Read more

Huawei's first Windows Phone 8 handset, the Huawei W1, lands later this month in select Walmart stores and on Walmart.com.

The handset, known globally as the Huawei Ascend W1, by the way, is an entry-level device with a 4-inch LCD display, a 1.2GHZ dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, and a 5-megapixel camera that can capture 720p HD video.

That's not all, of course. The specs continue with a VGA front-facing camera, and the phone comes with an Adreno 305 400MHz GPU. Although there will only be 1.7GB of available user storage, the W1 will come … Read more

Nokia's Lumia 928 is again duking it out with Samsung's Galaxy S3.

In a YouTube-posted video of a jam session in a New York subway, Nokia touts the Lumia 928's ability to record high-quality audio. Pitted against the Galaxy S3, the 928 naturally comes out on top -- a given since it's Nokia's spot. In the video, the 928 is able to deliver better sound at a high volume with no distortion, a feat that its rival couldn't match.

Like the Lumia 920, the 928's microphone uses High Amplitude Audio Capture to pump … Read more

A boost in hiring from one of Apple's key suppliers could be yet another sign of a low-cost iPhone.

Pegatron, which makes the iPhone and iPad, said that it will build up its workforce in China by up to 40 percent during the second half of the year, Reuters reported Thursday. Such a huge increase suggests that the company could be equipping its factories to produce the much-rumored low-cost iPhone, which could launch sometime in the third quarter.

Certain suppliers have already told Reuters that Apple is prepping a less-expensive model of its smartphone geared toward developing markets. Several … Read more

Huawei CEO and founder Ren Zhengfei broke his silence and publicly denied that his company is involved with cybersecurity threats directed at the U.S.

Ren emerged from behind his veil of secrecy and publicly addressed the media in a rare appearance in New Zealand, where Huawei had just won a contract to build a 4G LTE network, according to Reuters.

While Huawei has grown to be the second-largest telecommunications vendor in the world, the company has had difficulty breaking into the U.S. market due to security concerns expressed by the U.S. government and the belief that Huawei … Read more