Tablets

Analysts highlight bright spots ahead of Apple's Q2 report

Apple's fiscal second-quarter results aren't expected to be particularly cheerful, but some analysts are still finding reasons to be bullish.

The Cupertino, Calif., company will report its January-March quarter results on Tuesday, and no one is expecting a blowout. The company could make history with its biggest second-quarter sales yet, but it's also expected to post its first decline in profit in a decade.

Despite worries about Apple's recent performance, BGC boosted its rating on Apple's stock to "buy" from "hold," saying investors should take advantage of the recent weakness to … Read more

Research and compare e-readers at ReaderRocket

If you're in the market for an e-reader, you've no doubt read some reviews, checked out some user feedback, maybe even spoken with friends. That's all well and good, but sometimes you just want to put the leading candidates side by side and see which one wins the day.

That's the idea behind ReaderRocket, a seriously nifty tool that compares e-readers and gives you a complete rundown of specs, features, reviews, and more -- all so you can make the most informed decision possible.

To get started, either choose one of the existing comparisons, or type … Read more

Penguin reaches pact with EU to end e-book price-fixing probe

Penguin has vowed to change its pricing strategy for digital books, including terminating an e-book pricing pact with Apple, to resolve an antitrust probe by the European Union.

As part of the deal, Penguin has agreed to terminate existing agency agreements -- those pacts that allow a publisher, not a retailer, to set prices -- and will refrain from adopting "most favored nation" pricing clauses for five years. Those had prevented retailers such as Amazon from undercutting Apple's e-book prices.

If Penguin does enter into new agency agreements, retailers would be free to set the retail price … Read more

Motorola's $271M Q1 loss drags on Google's results

Google's Motorola business continues to struggle in the competitive mobile market, posting a loss of $271 million in the first quarter and hurting results at its parent company.

Excluding items, Motorola lost $179 million.

In the year-ago period, Motorola's last report as an independent company, the mobile-devices and TV set-top box manufacturer posted a loss of $86 million. In the fourth quarter of 2012, Motorola's loss totaled $353 million.

Its revenue, meanwhile, came in at $1.02 billion, down from $3.08 billion in the year-earlier period and from $1.51 billion in the fourth quarter. BGC … 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

Sprint expands LTE to 21 new markets, including Los Angeles

Sprint has expanded its 4G LTE network to 21 new markets, the CEO said Thursday, boosting the carrier's footprint with the high-speed network.

Chief exec Dan Hesse, speaking at the Competitive Carriers Association trade show in New Orleans, said the new markets include Los Angeles; Charlotte, N.C., and Memphis, Tenn. He also noted that customers are seeing LTE in cities that haven't been officially announced yet, such as New York, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.

Sprint has been playing catch-up in terms of 4G LTE, lagging far behind rivals Verizon Wireless and AT&T. It … Read more

Eye Tribe for Android tracks eyes, makes fingers obsolete

Today, during the Demo Mobile conference in San Francisco, The Eye Tribe, maker of eye-tracking software for Android, announced that in June it will release a developers' kit for games and apps.

In its press release, The Eye Tribe claims to make the "world's first eye control software" for Android devices.

The software makes it possible to scroll down Web pages, play games, and unlock your home screen, using nothing but your eyes.

While devices like the Samsung Galaxy S4 are said to have eye-tracking software already, that handset's Smart Pause feature only recognizes whether your … Read more

Possible new Samsung tablets' specs leak, high-end 10-incher among them

Leaked specifications for three new Samsung tablets show some promising additions to its already expansive lineup. Android Community reports that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3, in 10.1-inch and 8-inch versions, were leaked in addition to a higher-end 10.1-inch tablet.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 models are rumored to ship with Android 4.1, sport a 1,280x800-pixel resolution, and house a 1.5GHz dual-core CPU, as well as a 3-megapixel rear camera, a 1.3-megapixel front camera, and microSD card slot.

The 10.1-inch Galaxy Tab 3 is listed to have 1GB of RAM, in comparison to the … Read more

How to add multiple accounts to the new Outlook.com for Android

When Outlook.com was initially released, there were a couple of ways to access it on your Android phone. Microsoft then released an official Outlook.com Android app, but it was really just a rebranded version of the old Hotmail app.

Yesterday, Microsoft released a new version of the Outlook.com app with a completely new interface that's more consistent with Outlook.com for the Web. It has a great new look and some new features, but the ability to add multiple accounts is somewhat hidden. Here's how you can add multiple accounts to the new Outlook.com for Android app:… Read more