Nvidia Shield slams into stores in June for $349

Nvidia's Android-based portable gaming device known as Shield will be released in June with a $349 price tag, the company said Tuesday.

Preorders for Shield -- no longer dubbed "Project Shield" -- began Tuesday for those who had signed up to receive Shield updates from Nvidia. The general public can preorder Shield starting Monday, May 20.

Nvidia debuted Shield at CES 2013. The portable gaming system comes in the shape of a console gaming controller and includes a 5-inch capacitive touch screen with 1,280x720-pixel resolution. The device runs all Google Play apps and can stream full … Read more

OMG! Google's Andy Rubin worries Samsung may become a threat

Andy Rubin, who heads up Google's enormously successful Android business, can read a company's business strategy as well as anyone out there. So it's hardly a thunderbolt when we hear that Rubin frets about the day when Samung becomes so dominant that it becomes a threat.

In a Wall Street Journal post coinciding with the Mobile World Congress show in Barcelona this week, an unnamed source dishes about a Google event last fall where Rubin was said to allude to the potential for trouble with Samsung sometime in the future. That's why Google acquired Motorola Mobility &… Read more

Visa's plan to spur NFC mobile wallet adoption may hit a snag

Visa's new partnership with Samsung to embed its PayWave technology directly into Samsung devices could help kick-start NFC-enabled payments around the world. But U.S. wireless subscribers may be left out of the frenzy.

Samsung and Visa announced the partnership, which is part of a new partner program for Visa, at the Mobile World Congress tradeshow in Barcelona today. Specifically, Samsung will incorporate Visa's PayWave mobile payment applet into future Samsung devices such as the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S4. Visa will also make it easier for customers to tie their Samsung phones to financial institutions and their personal … Read more

Why the BlackBerry Z10 is on sale in the U.K. first

Two days ago, the company formerly known as RIM pulled out all the stops at a super-swanky event in New York to launch two new phones that will either kill or cure the company.

Despite the global launch happening in the U.S., America will be the last in the first batch of countries to see the Z10, BlackBerry's first phone to ship with its new OS, BlackBerry 10. Americans have to wait until March to buy the touch-screen phone, but it became available to buy in the U.K. yesterday. That's six days ahead even of BlackBerry'… Read more

Uber taxi service goes to Washington, D.C.

Uber started offering its taxi service in Washington, D.C., today, according to the controversial on-call car service's blog.

Uber said the number of taxis are limited for now. "Many taxis don't fit Uber standards, so we are curating our supply pretty carefully," the blog reads.

Uber lets users order cars through its app and put all charges onto an on-file credit card. To request a taxi instead of the usual black sedan, customers need to select "TAXI" in the Uber app. Standard taxi fees apply, and a 20 percent gratuity will be automatically … Read more

Radio again seeks to include FM tuners in mobile phones

In the case of a major earthquake, terrorist act or some other disaster, cell phones will be useless, according to radio broadcasters.

Today at a congressional hearing in Washington D.C., broadcasters are expected to tell lawmakers that in emergencies, cell networks become clogged and have proven to be unreliable. What people need are FM tuners built into their handhelds that will enable them to receive radio reports.

That's what Jeff Smulyan, chairman and CEO of Emmis Communications, which owns AM and FM radio stations, is expected to make this argument when he testifies before a House subcommittee on Communications and Technology. … Read more

China to Google: Android must remain open

In giving the thumbs-up to Google's acquisition of Motorola, regulators in China stipulated that Google must make Android free and open for five years, a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed with CNET today.

The stipulation would seem to be designed to keep Google from denying Motorola's handset competitors access to the mobile operating system, or from giving Motorola an advantage of some sort -- such as integration between its handsets and Android that's tighter than connections between rival phones and the OS.

From the beginning, Google has taken an open approach with Android, making it … Read more

Google Play offers apps, albums, more for a quarter

To celebrate the launch of its new Google Play Store, the search-giant-turned-media-middleman is putting some of its top downloads on sale. The former Android Market's top 25 paid apps are now available for 49 cents each, while the rental prices of selected movies have dropped to 99 cents each. Some of the discounted apps include popular hits like Shadowgun, NFL Flick Quarterback, and SwiftKey X Keyboard. And while the discounted movies may not be quite as attractive ("Good Luck Chuck"?) as the app offerings, there are a certainly a few gems worth a look ("3:10 … Read more

Google reboots Android Market, launches Google Play

Google is rebuilding Android Market.

The Internet giant, looking to create a more comprehensive source for movies, apps, music, and e-books, is folding Google Music and Google eBookstore into one store, now renamed Google Play, according to Jamie Rosenberg, director of digital content for Google. The changes go into effect today.

Google Play marks a radical departure from Android Market, which has been a fixture of the company's mobile platform since the debut of Android more than three years ago. The move is a tacit admission that offering apps, games, and e-books--the main features of Android Market--isn't enough … Read more