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The BlackBerry Q10 blends the best of old and new

Say hello to the BlackBerry Q10, which offers a larger and more spacious QWERTY keyboard and a fresh infusion of the BlackBerry 10.1 operating system. It builds on the greatness of past BlackBerry messaging machines, yet blends this with modern smartphone software powerful enough to run multiple apps at once without skipping a beat. It also surfs Web sites like a champ and has a battery that goes the distance. Of course, the BlackBerry ecosystem lacks a wide app selection, but the Q10's hybrid approach should satisfy traditional BlackBerry addicts who crave a practical upgrade.

The Q10 is … Read more

Verizon outguns AT&T in Q1 smartphones

In the battle between wireless giants over consumers, Verizon Wireless toppled rival AT&T in the first quarter.

Growth in the traditional contract subscriber business -- seen as the bread and butter of the wireless carriers -- has been slowing for over the last several quarters. But Verizon appears to be weathering the slowdown better than most.

It wasn't much of a contest. Verizon added a net 677,000 new contract customers, compared with 296,000 net new contract subscribers at AT&T.

"The difference between subscriber trends at AT&T and Verizon is pretty … Read more

WD ships first 5mm hard drive and SSHD

Western Digital announced on Tuesday the availability of its first solid-state hybrid drive, the WD Black SSHD.

SSHD is the new name for hybrid drives that combine both solid-state storage (used in solid-state drives) and regular platter-based storage (as found in regular hard drives) in a single standard box.

The WD Black is not the first SSHD on the market, but it's very different from the Laptop Thin SSHD that Seagate released just last month.

For one, the WD Black SSD is ultraslim, just 5mm thick (compared with 7mm for the Seagate drives), making it almost half the thickness … Read more

Track down a lost BlackBerry 10 device with BlackBerry Protect

One of the first things you should do on your brand-new BlackBerry 10 device after going through the initial setup process is to enable BlackBerry Protect. The free service offered by BlackBerry will allow you to locate a lost or stolen BlackBerry 10 device.

To enable the free service, go to Settings and tap on BlackBerry Protect.

The service will be turned off by default, but only requires you to slide the switch to the right to enable it. You'll need to be signed into your BlackBerry ID on the device. If you need a BlackBerry ID, you can … Read more

Hooked Up: It's the best of celebrity tech. Exposed.

I'm pretty juiced to announce an all-new show that you'll be able to find right here on CNET called "Hooked Up." It's a partnership between CNET and CBS Television Distribution, and it will be a new weekly Web series that brings you today's hottest stars and the technology that surrounds them.

CBS entertainment correspondent and host Kevin Frazier goes inside the homes of celebrities like Cee Lo Green and others as they share the gadgets they love. Each 15-minute show will feature a new celebrity and the shows will air on Wednesdays from April … Read more

How to unfollow a Facebook post using the mobile app

You can unfollow a Facebook post from the Web site with little effort, but unfollowing a post from your mobile device takes some work.

Unfollowing a post on Facebook allows you to comment on friend or family members post, perhaps a birth announcement or a promotion, and not be bombarded with alerts from the 50 other comments on the post all saying "congrats" or "woohoo." After you've done your social-media duty, do you really care what everyone else has to say? Take a look at this how-to for unfollowing posts on Facebook if this is … Read more

BlackBerry 10.1 reveals more than a dozen new features

BlackBerry is shoring up its latest BlackBerry 10 operating system with a slew of changes slated for the next update.

Reaching developers this week, the software developers kit for BlackBerry 10.1 ticks off 14 new features to start, as listed by blog site Crackberry. Some of the notable additions include a higher-quality HDR option for photo takers, PIN-to-PIN messaging available within the BlackBerry Hub, and an improved text picker.

Users will be able to turn off alerts for specific apps, use the power button to unlock the screen at the lock screen, and paste phone numbers directly into the … Read more

How to manage accounts in the BlackBerry 10 Hub

Before I started using BlackBerry 10 I had already written off the Hub feature. The Hub basically consolidates your e-mail, text messaging, BBM, Facebook, Twitter, alerts phone calls, and voice mail into one central place. It allows you to quickly and easily read, compose, and manage all of your messages across multiple platforms and accounts.

Presenting a lot of information in once place can feel overwhelming -- if not chaotic. Thankfully, BlackBerry built in controls to manage which accounts show up in the Hub. If you'd rather not have every Facebook like and comment show up next to your … Read more

Alicia Keys gives PowerPoint presentation to BlackBerry

It would be easy to think that no one, no one was buying BlackBerrys right now.

Somehow, the brand -- at least in the U.S. -- appears to be enduring a soporific phase. Why, only the other day, some highly unreliable research suggested that it was the phone that people least wanted to buy.

BlackBerry, though, believes bigger and brighter days are ahead. Recently, it hired Alicia Keys as its creative director.

Some pointed out, to BlackBerry's discomfort, that Keys was an iPhone user with an iOS app.

Just as that information reverberated, Keys was seen tweeting from … Read more