s3

Lenovo sees 7-inch tablets vying with phones, not PCs

Lenovo expects the growing market for 7-inch tablets to compete with large-screen smartphones, not PCs.

During the company's second-quarter earnings conference call Thursday, Lenovo Chief Executive Yang Yuanqing said he had just read a report on Apple's iPad Mini and was encouraged about the trend in the tablet market.

"The market accepts the 7-inch [tablet] better than the 10-inch. That's a very strong signal, the tablet will not replace the traditional PC," he said during the conference call.

Yuanqing continued. "Probably, the tablet will compete with the large-screen smartphone rather than the PC," … Read more

Galaxy S3 claims top spot in smartphones worldwide

The latest statistics from research firm Strategy Analytics peg Samsung's Galaxy S3 as the world's most popular smartphone model, holding 10.7 percent of the global smartphone market in the third quarter.

According to the research firm, Apple's iPhone 4S was relegated to a close second place with 9.7 percent of the market after two years at the top of the list, while the iPhone 5 held just 3.6 percent of the global share.

According to the figures, Samsung shipped 18 million Galaxy S3 units in the third quarter, up from 5.4 million in … Read more

Design of the times: The secret to creating cell phones for seniors

Allen Calvin earned a doctorate in experimental psychology, was a consulting professor at Stanford University, and is currently the president of Palo Alto University, a post he's been holding for 28 years. He's learned a lot during his 84 years of living -- except for how to cut and paste text on a smartphone.

"I just want to copy anything and paste it out of an e-mail," he said with a voice that sounds like sandpaper. "This is obviously harder than it looks."

Calvin and his wife, Dorothy, are inside a brightly lit Verizon … Read more

LG Nexus 4 vs. Samsung Galaxy S3: Does LTE really matter?

When choosing a smartphone or a wireless carrier, it's important to know what your deal-breakers are.

There are so many choices today when it comes to picking out a new smartphone or even choosing a service provider. Devices come in different sizes, with different software and even different network support. And wireless carriers, which all have different strengths when it comes to network coverage, offer different packages with different prices for their services. When it comes to choosing a device or a carrier, which of these things is most important to you?

In this edition of Ask Maggie, I … Read more

New Samsung Galaxy S3 ad: It's good for sharing sex tapes!

If you've ever wondered about that intimate thing where two Samsung Galaxy S3s touch each other in order to communicate, wonder some more.

For here is a quite brilliant exposition of the full breadth of possibilities afforded by the NFC hidden in this marvelous device.

Just when you thought married life was nothing more than a repository of drudgery, woe and sinking feelings, here is a family that truly knows how to share.

For it isn't just this lovely husband's little kids who have made a video for him to share. It is also his wife.

Though … Read more

Sprint 4G LTE may not show up in NY, SF until March

Sprint Nextel's super-fast 4G LTE network may not show up in major markets such as New York and San Francisco until as late as March, CNET has learned.

When Sprint said in September that it would launch in 100 markets "in the coming months," many customers were left scratching what exactly that meant. Internally, coming months refers to a period of three to six months, according to a person familiar with the company's roll out plans.

So the best-case scenario is a December launch, while the worst-case scenario calls for the service to be turned on … Read more

MetroPCS gets its Samsung Galaxy S3, too

Samsung is making good on its goal of turning its flagship Samsung Galaxy S3 smartphone into a household name.

Today, prepaid carrier MetroPCS announced that it would sell the Android 4.0 smartphone for $499. The 4.8-inch Galaxy S3 will ride MetroPCS' 4G LTE network at rates ranging from $30 to $70 per month.

The Galaxy S3 continues to sell like hotcakes around the globe. MetroPCS' offering not only brings good tidings to Samsung's bottom line, it also offers customers on the no-contract carrier one of the top phones available today, something that prepaid carriers like Metro often … Read more

iPhone users driving nearly half of smartphone Web traffic

iPhone owners really are driving a lot of Web traffic.

Online advertising network Chitika determined that nearly half of all Web traffic via smartphones is generated by the various versions of the iPhone. The iPhone 5 alone creates 3 percent of the total smartphone usage, while older versions of the device make about 43 percent.

By comparison, Samsung devices make up 17 percent of traffic, with the Korean handset maker's flagship phone, the Galaxy S3, generating 2 percent of total smartphone Web usage.

Chitika earlier this month determined that the iPhone 5 was already generating more Web traffic volume than the Samsung Galaxy S3. … Read more

U.S. Galaxy S3 owners, your wait for Android 4.1 is almost over

The Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update will wend its way to Galaxy S3 smartphones in the United States in "coming months," Samsung announced in a press release (see below). The specific launch dates will be revealed by each of the carriers, including AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, and U.S. Cellular.

S3 owners will potentially be able to grab Android 4.1 either over the air or through Samsung's Kies software, which downloads the update to a computer and then syncs it with the smartphone. Each carrier will announce its own update method.

Beyond … Read more

Galaxy S3 Android 4.1 update continues trek through Europe

Android 4.1 continues to reach more Samsung Galaxy S3 owners throughout the world.

France, Spain, Romania, and Austria are the latest spots in Europe to receive the Jelly Bean update for the S3, according to blog site SamMobile. Users in those countries can actually grab the new version from SamMobile. But the site advises people to use Samsung's own Kies software, which downloads updates to a computer and then syncs them with the phone.

CNET has contacted Samsung for comment and will update the story if we receive any information.

So far, the Android 4.1 update has … Read more