2013 BMW X3 xDrive28i

Perhaps it's BMW's fault for cramming so many similarly sized vehicles, between-size variants, and remixed configurations into its lineup, but I had the hardest time deciding if the 2013 BMW X3 xDrive28i is too big or too small.

The second-generation vehicle's aesthetic is more wagonlike and it seems to press down into the ground when viewed in the round, which makes it look smaller -- both in photographs and in person -- than the pre-2010 model, which has a more angular, upright design. However, put the models side by side and it becomes apparent that the new model has actually grown by a few inches in every direction.

Adding to the spatial confusion, front and back seat passengers remarked that the 2013 X3's cabin didn't feel as spacious as they thought a small SUV should, even while I was raving about enjoying about the crossover's tall driver's seat position, which gives a good view of the road ahead and the area around the vehicle when maneuvering into tight parking spaces.

For the entire week, I went back and forth on the X3's scale, but ultimately decided that I liked it -- perhaps the X3 is just right. It looks and feels smaller than it is, which is a good thing for drivers who want a vehicle with more space for people and the flexibility of the crossover's hatchback, but don't want to feel like they're behind the wheel of a Hummer.

Fortunately, it's not my job to decide whether the X3 is rightly sized -- that's a subjective decision that ultimately lies in your, the buyer's, hands -- I've only got to decide whether it's good or not.

xDrive28i
Almost everything that you need to know about this BMW X3's power train can be derived from the xDrive28i designation in the model name. Let's break it down.

xDrive indicates BMW's on-demand all-wheel-drive system, which in this implementation defaults to a rear-biased torque split of 40:60, front-to-rear. The system can steplessly and infinitely vary the torque split from front to rear, sending up to 100 percent of power to either axle as the system dictates. The X3 is only available with the xDrive all-wheel-drive system.

The 28i suffix lets us know that this X3 is powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine with direct injection and twin-scroll turbocharging technology that is designed to increase output while preserving the efficiency of the small engine. With a twin-scroll turbo, the X3 can avoid turbo lag -- that hesitation followed by a surge of power when you stomp the accelerator on older turbocharged engines. The result is power delivery when you need it and efficiency when you don't, with very little waiting in between.

Output is rated at 240 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque. Thanks to the engine's technology and BMW's EfficientDynamics system -- which ditches the alternator in favor of charging the 12V system with regenerative braking, reducing drag on the engine -- fuel efficiency is stated at 24 mpg combined, which breaks out to 21 city and 28 highway mpg. During our testing, the digital trip computer stayed safely within that range.

The 2.0-liter turbocharged engine feels like a good fit for the relaxed X3, but there's room in the engine bay for the more powerful 3.0-liter mill.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

Between the xDrive system and the engine is a single-option eight-speed automatic transmission that features a manual shift mode and a sport program, but our tester didn't have paddle shifters -- which says something about the X3's realistic sporting aspirations.

That doesn't mean that the X3 xDrive28i doesn't try to have a little fun. Our example was equipped with a $3,000 M Sport package that adds 19-inch wheels, an adaptive suspension system, BMW's Performance Control torque-vectoring system, sport seats, and a variety of aerodynamic and styling upgrades. Also equipped was the Dynamic handling package, a $1,300 option that adds variable sport steering.

Drivers who want a bit more giddy-up can opt for the xDrive35i variant, which fills the X3's spacious engine bay with a larger, 3.0-liter turbocharged engine that outputs 300 horsepower and 300 pound-feet of torque.

Performance and Drive modes
BMW combines the controls for the X3's adaptive suspension, steering, and power train in one place: the drive mode selector. With this rocker, the driver can select from four drive modes at the touch of a button.

Comfort is the default setting that places the suspension and steering in their most, well, comfortable settings. The accelerator sensitivity and engine responsiveness in this mode are also baselined for relaxed, around-town driving.

The X3's various performance and economy modes are within easy reach of the driver's seat.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

Switching up to Sport mode boosts the responsiveness of the accelerator pedal, making the engine feel more alive under your foot. Variable sport steering and the adaptive suspension, if equipped, are also set to more aggressive settings, slightly improving turn-in and causing the car to at least feel more planted. There's also a Sport+ mode that takes these settings just a step further and also loosens (but doesn't fully release) the reins on the stability control system for more dynamic handling with a bit of slip when you want it.

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Google Now comes closer to Chrome, shares TV show info

Chrome prompts users if they want to receive Google Now updates through their browser. On a Mac, the prompt is through a menu-bar icon; on Windows, through a status bar icon.

(Credit: screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET)

Google Now notifications are expanding from Android to Chrome, and now the service can show information on TV shows you're watching and sales offers you've signaled interest in.

Chrome and Chrome OS have had a flag that lets people enable Google Now for weeks, but it hasn't been connected to an actual Google server. But a notification now appears that asks, "Enable Google Now Cards -- Would you like to be shown Google Now cards?"

On Windows, Chrome lets you configure the list of apps you want to let use the notifications service.

(Credit: screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET)

I got the prompt to enable Google Now for Chrome through a menu bar item on OS X 10.8 and a status bar item on Windows 8. Though it's not yet clear if notifications are actually active, the fact that Chrome is asking people to enable the service shows Google is making steady progress toward that goal.

On Windows, there's also a control panel for setting which Web apps and extensions are permitted to send me notifications. Along with Google Now, options on my machine include Google+ Photos, Google Documents, Google Drive, Google Calendar, Gmail, Tweetdeck, Amazon Cloud Reader, and The New York Times.

The Chrome expansion means many more people could get access to the notification technology. Google Now is designed to prompt people to find information before they actively ask for it -- for example, navigation instructions for a location they searched for on Google Maps or sports scores for a game.

Google Now is an ambitious project that holds the potential to change Google from a company that reacts to what people search for into one that actively anticipates what they need or want. It's well on its way to becoming the interface for a digital assistant -- at least for people who have lots of personal data stored in Gmail messages, Google Calendar appointments, address book entries, Google Maps saved map locations, and other Google services.

On the flip side, there's a risk that for a lot of people, notifications on PCs and mobile devices could become just another overloaded communication channel. The more often we're pestered by buzzing phones and pop-up alerts, the less attention we pay to the and the more likely it is that high-priority updates will be overlooked amid the noise. So it's good that Google offers Chrome users a way to permit or deny notifications from Web apps and on Android to enable or disable various Google Now alert channels.

Google is steadily adding new notification channels to Google Now, and Wednesday night, it announced two more for the Google Search for Android app: TV and Google Offers. Google described the features thus:

TV Cards: If you have an internet-connected TV, Google Now can help unlock more information about what you're watching. Just connect your Android device to the same network that your TV is on and tap "Listen for a TV show" in Google Now. We will show you information, like where you've seen an actor in the cast before, or more information about the people mentioned in the show. So if you were watching Nik Wallenda cross the Grand Canyon this weekend, with Google Now, you could learn that the "King of the Wire" in fact holds seven Guinness World Records, including highest bike ride on a high-wire.

Google Offers: Now you can get reminders for your saved offers when you're near the store -- right when you need it. Google Now will pull up the offer so you can use it quickly and easily.

Google Offers is a service that lets people sign up for discounts from retailers. The Google Offers app for Android and iOS already could be used to alert people when they got near a store for which they'd signed up for an offer.

To use Google Now in Chrome, you have to open the "about:flags" Web page and enable the feature then restart the browser.

(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET)

Google Now cards, such as these stock prices, appear underneath the search box on Android, accessed by swiping up from the bottom of the screen.

(Credit: screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET)

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Nvidia's graphics brawn powers supercomputing brains

Stanford machine-learning researchers and the Nuance voice recognition company are using Nvidia chips for neural networks.

(Credit: Nvidia)

Nvidia, trying to move its graphics chips into the supercomputing market, has found a niche helping engineers build brain-like systems called neural networks.

For years, the company has advocated the idea of offloading processing tasks from general-purposes central processing units (CPUs) to its own graphics processing units (GPUs). That approach has won over some researchers and companies involved with neural networks, which reproduce some of the electrical behavior of real-world nerve cells inside a computer.

Neurons in the real world work by sending electrical signals around the brain, but much of the actual functioning of the brain remains a mystery. Neural networks in computers, somewhat perversely, emulate this mysteriousness. Instead of running explicit programming instructions to perform a particular job, they're "trained" by handling source data that creates communication patterns among many nodes in the neural network. The trained neural network then can be used to recognize patterns -- or cat pictures like one Google research example that's now commercialized as part of Google+ photos.

One Nvidia customer is Nuance, which uses neural networks to develop speech recognition systems that ultimately end up in places like cars or tech support phone lines. "We have been working with GPUs for over four years, but the recent models -- specifically the 'Kepler' line from Nvidia are providing the most substantial benefits," said Nuance's Chief Technology Officer Vlad Sejnoha in a statement. "We use a large-scale computing grid composed of a mixture of CPUs and GPUs, and are achieving an order of magnitude speedup over pure CPU-based baselines."

Neural network experts at Stanford University -- including Andrew Ng, who's worked on neural networks at Google -- have been working on marrying GPUs to neural networks. In a paper (PDF) for the International Conference on Machine Learning, they describe their work to get around thorny issues of getting the right data to the right GPU.

"Attempting to build large clusters of GPUs is difficult due to communications bottlenecks," they wrote in the paper, but the researchers' approach "might reasonably be packaged into optimized software libraries" to help others with the problem.

High-performance computing is in the news with the International Supercomputing Conference in Leipzig, Germany, this week.

GPUs are particularly well suited to doing large numbers of calculations that can take place in parallel. CPUs such as Intel's Core line are generally designed for tasks that run sequentially instead of being split into independent chunks, though multicore models of the last decade are increasingly parallel.

Still, general-purpose CPUs are not as parallel as GPUs, and Nvidia has made inroads into the Top500 list of the fastest supercomputers, with GPUs giving 39 machines a processing boost.

Intel isn't standing idly by while GPUs gain ground. It's got its own accelerator technology, the Xeon Phi co-processors, which plug into servers' PCI Express expansion slots. The current fastest supercomputer, the Tianhe-2, gets a boost from the Phi chips.

On Monday, Intel detailed its second-generation design, code-named Knights Landing, which will be built on the next-generation 14nm manufacturing process that enables more circuitry to be crammed onto a given sized chip. Two significant changes: the Knights Bridge co-processors will be able to plug straight into a regular CPU socket, which should make programming easier, and they'll have a built-in memory controller for faster data transfer.

In addition, Intel introduced new products based on the current-generation Phi chip, including the 7100 that doubles available memory to 16GB, the less expensive 3100, and the 5120D that can be mounted in a chip socket for high-density computing designs that lack room for a plug-in card.

Intel argues its approach is easier to program. Nvidia's GPU programming technology, though, called CUDA, has been maturing for years.

Nvidia is bringing its CUDA technology for programming graphics chips to computing devices with ARM processors. One interested company is robot maker iRobot.

(Credit: Nvidia)

At the supercomputing conference, Nvidia announced CUDA 5.5, which lets programmers use GPU-based programs on machines with ARM-based CPUs, not just x86-based CPUs such as those from Intel. ARM processors are selling like hotcakes for use in smartphones and tablets because of their energy-efficient designs, and now they've begun expanding into some corners of the laptop and server market, too.

Nvidia itself has licensed the ARM design for its own Tegra processors, so it's got a vested interest beyond just graphics chips in seeing CUDA and ARM succeed.

CUDA on ARM systems isn't just for supercomputers, though. Roomba is using the technology for image recognition to help robots navigate better, and it can be used to help things like videogame physics engines on mobile devices to give realistic physical behavior to things like blowing curtains or splashing water. In both scenarios, saving battery life is important, said Roy Kim, marketing manager for Nvidia's Tesla group.

"If the workload is right, you're going to get about ten times the performance per watt over a CPU implementation," he said.

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Samsung Smart Camera WB800F (white)

Editors' note: Several of the design, features, and shooting options are identical between the Samsung WB800F and the WB250F we reviewed earlier, so readers of the earlier review may experience some deja vu when reading the same sections below.

For those familiar with Samsung's point-and-shoot cameras, the Samsung WB800F Smart Camera might look a whole lot like Samsung's Android-powered Galaxy Camera.

The cameras share the same 21x zoom lens and 16-megapixel backside-illuminated CMOS sensor. They also have many of the same shooting options, and the WB800F has built-in Wi-Fi for easy shooting and sharing among other things. But other than general appearance, that's pretty much where the similarities end.

The WB800F doesn't have a SIM card slot for mobile broadband and there's no Bluetooth, GPS, or NFC; it's not running on Android; and its 3-inch touch screen is dwarfed by the 4.8-inch one on the Galaxy. It is, however, considerably less expensive because of all this and the photo quality and performance are for the most part the same (actually the WB800F performs a bit better in some respects).

So, if you like the idea of having a connected camera to complement your smartphone shooting, consider the Samsung WB800F Smart Camera.

Picture quality
The Samsung WB800F's picture quality is very good for its class. As usual, the more light you have, the better your photos will be, so if you're considering this primarily for daylight shooting, you'll likely be very satisfied with the results.

Subjects do get noticeably softer as you increase ISO, which means with less light you'll lose sharpness and fine details, and things start to look flat. (They definitely benefit from some light post-shoot sharpening.) On the other hand, the f2.8 lens and the BSI CMOS sensor keeps the camera from immediately ratcheting up ISO, so you can take low-light photos (at least at the wide end of the lens) with better results than some competing models.

Basically, if you're considering this for its online-sharing capabilities and don't typically make large prints above 8x10s, regularly enlarge and heavily crop pictures, or view them at large sizes on screen, it's a fine choice. You can read more about picture quality and shooting features in the slideshow above.

The zoom lens does function while shooting. It can be heard moving while recording, but Samsung includes an option to damp the audio when you zoom. The continuous autofocus can be slow to adjust and may pulse in and out of focus, so it might be best to zoom in first and then start shooting; you can always pause the recording (yes, the camera lets you pause) and zoom out and start capturing again.

Shooting performance
If you're feeling like you're not getting the shots you want from your smartphone because it's just not fast enough, you won't fare much better with the WB800F (or most other point-and-shoots in its class); it's not slow, but it isn't lightning-fast, either. From off to first shot takes 3.7 seconds, which is longer than competing cameras and the lag from shot to shot averaged 1.9 seconds. Using the flash tacks on another second to that time. The time it takes from pressing the shutter release to capture without prefocusing is low, though, taking 0.3 second in bright lighting and 0.4 second in dim conditions. Keep in mind, though, this is with the lens at its widest position and focusing with the lens zoomed it takes slightly longer.

If you're trying to capture a burst of action, the camera's continuous mode is capable of capturing up to six photos at 8 frames per second (my lab tests clocked it at 9.5fps). However, focus and exposure are set with the first shot, so depending on how much subject movement there is, all of the shots may not be in focus. This is typical of most burst modes on point-and-shoots, however.

Design and features
Despite what the numbering might indicate, the WB800F is actually the successor to the WB850F. While some of that camera's features transferred over to the WB800F (the lens and sensor, for example), much of the design is different, which is for the best.

The WB850F's flash was poorly placed on the top of the camera, but that's been replaced by a handy pop-up flash that can be pulled back and aimed up so you can bounce the flash; a feature few if any cameras have at this price point. However, you do have to press the flash button on top next to the mode dial to use it; it won't release on its own.

Price (MSRP)	$269.99	$329.99	$349.95
Dimensions (WHD)	4.2x2.4x0.9 inches	4.2x2.4x1.3 inches	4.4x2.4x1.3 inches
Weight (with battery and media)	7.7 ounces	8.2 ounces	7.3 ounces
Megapixels, image sensor size, type	16 megapixels, 1/2.3-inch BSI CMOS	12 megapixels, 1/2.3-inch BSI CMOS	18 megapixels, 1/2.3-inch BSI CMOS
LCD size, resolution/viewfinder	3-inch touch LCD, 460K dots/None	3-inch LCD, 460K dots/None	3-inch OLED, 614K dots/None
Lens (zoom, aperture, focal length)	21x, f2.8-5.9, 24-483mm (35mm equivalent)	20x, f3.5-6.8, 25-500mm (35mm equivalent)	22x, f3.4-6.3, 25-550mm (35mm equivalent)
File format (still / video)	JPEG/MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 AAC (.MP4)	JPEG/H.264 AAC (.MP4)	JPEG/MPEG-4 AVC H.264 AAC (.MOV)
Highest resolution size (still / video)	4,608x3,456 pixels/ 1,920x1,080 at 60fps (interlaced)	4,000x3,000 pixels/ 1,920x1,080 at 60fps (progressive)	4,896x3,672 pixels/ 1,920x1,080 at 30fps (progressive)
Image stabilization type	Optical and digital	Optical and digital	Optical and digital
Battery type, CIPA rated life	Li ion rechargeable, 280 shots	Li ion rechargeable, 230 shots	Li ion rechargeable, 230 shots
Battery charged in camera	Yes; via USB to AC adapter or computer	No; wall charger supplied	Yes; by computer or wall adapter via USB
Storage media	SD/SDHC/SDXC	SD/SDHC/SDXC	SD/SDHC/SDXC
Built-in Wi-Fi/GPS	Yes/No	Yes/Yes	Yes/Yes

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Frustrated with Verizon's smartphone lineup? You're not alone

Verizon Wireless has built a loyal following by having a rock solid network. But traditionally, the carrier is not known for having the widest selection of cool devices.

Getting Apple's iPhone a couple of years ago, helped ease the frustration. But Verizon's slow adoption of one of the season's hottest smartphones has some subscribers scratching their heads.

In this Ask Maggie edition, I offer my insights on choosing a Verizon smartphone. I also explain to another reader the best option for making sure you are never left out of a Google Android software update.

Verizon's tired smartphone lineup

Dear Maggie,
I follow your Ask Maggie column on CNET, and I am hoping you can give me some good advice. I currently have the iPhone 4S on Verizon Wireless. I want to get a new smartphone. But I am wondering which one to get.

I don't want the iPhone 5 since I'm looking for a device with a larger screen. But it doesn't seem like Verizon has a very good selection of new devices. It seems like the iPhone 5, the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the Nokia Lumia 928 are the only devices I really have to choose from.

What about other Android phones? Why doesn't Verizon have them? I like the looks of the HTC One, but it's still not available on Verizon. I also am interested in the upcoming Motorola X Phone.

My question to you is what should I do? Should I just buy the Lumia or the Galaxy S4? Or should I wait for any of these other phones? I'd like to stay with Verizon only because the coverage has been good. But I am frustrated with the lack of choices.

Thanks for your help,
Josh

Dear Josh,
This is a great question. You aren't the only one complaining about Verizon's long-in-the-tooth smartphone selection at the moment. My husband, Mark, is in desperate need of a new smartphone. But he refuses to buy a new one until Verizon refreshes its device lineup.

The Verizon Wireless store in South Arlington, Texas.

(Credit: Verizon Wireless)

He said that perusing Verizon's selection of devices in its retail stores is like walking through a museum of yesteryear's smartphones. He might be exaggerating just a tad, but you get the point. Verizon needs some fresh phones.

Meanwhile, competitor AT&T has kept pace with the market for new devices, not only offering the hottest devices available, but also getting the ones that Verizon also offers weeks or even months before Big Red.

This isn't to say that Verizon doesn't offer some of the hottest new phones. It offers the iPhone 5 and the Samsung Galaxy S4. But the carrier is also prominently featuring on its Web site the Droid DNA from HTC and the Droid Razr HD and Droid Razr Maxx both by Motorola. Of course, there isn't anything really wrong with these products, but they were released back in November and October of last year, respectively.

It's now the end of June. In smartphone time, those phones are ancient. Several new devices have been introduced since the HTC Droid DNA and Motorola Droid Razrs hit the market last fall. Not to mention the fact that none of these phones was released to great acclaim even when they were brand new on the market.

That said, as I mentioned above Verizon does offer the iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S4, which are two of the most popular smartphones around. But unlike competitor AT&T, Verizon only offers the GS4 in the 16GB model. It doesn't offer the 32GB version. And it doesn't offer any of the new GS4 branded spin-off phones recently released by Samsung. For example, AT&T offers the water resistant and dust-proof Galaxy S4 Active. Verizon does not.

That said, Verizon is offering other newer devices such as both new BlackBerry 10 devices: the Q10 and Z10. And it is the only carrier offering the newest Nokia Lumia 928.

Where is the HTC One?
But as you point out in your question, Verizon has yet to begin selling the much talked about, and much anticipated HTC One. HTC announced the device in February. AT&T and others started selling it in April when it was released.

Verizon has promised it will offer the HTC One. The company says that it will begin selling the HTC One sometime "this summer." But there has been no official word from the company on when exactly it will go on sale. Some bloggers are speculating it could be mid-July.

It's hard to know exactly what the hold-up has been, since Verizon isn't saying much. But some have speculated that Verizon was hoping that HTC would tweak the device and market it with a different name that is exclusive to Verizon.

But several weeks ago, Verizon confirmed via Twitter that the HTC device will soon start selling is the same model that other carriers offer. Verizon is notoriously slow in approving new devices for its network. The company claims it has a stringent testing process that often slows down approval of some devices.

There is some speculation that HTC's update to Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean on the HTC One may be part of the delay. Verizon may have delayed the release of the phone in order to test the latest software update.

If the HTC One is released on Verizon in mid-July this may be just ahead of when Motorola is expected to take the wraps of its latest phone the Motorola X Phone. This device, which fans hope is the perfect marriage between Motorola's hardware and Google's software, may be announced August 1, according to a few blog sites that say Google and Motorola are planning a big new marketing campaign. Some people speculate that the X Phone could be part of the rebranding effort.

In spite of high hopes for this device, rumors suggest, it might be a bit disappointing. According to reported leaks about the Moto X Phone, it has a 1.7GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with 2GB of RAM, a 720p high-definition OLED screen, and 10-megapixel camera. These specs are nothing to sneeze at, but when compared with the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the HTC One, it seems the performance of this device may not be top notch.

So what should you do?/> If you need something immediately, I'd suggest the Samsung GS4. I also like the Nokia Lumia 928, which runs Windows Phone. But the only problem is that you'd be leaving an ecosystem that is neither as developed as Apple's iOS nor Google's Android ecosystems. The same can be said for the BlackBerry 10 devices now on the market: the Q10 and Z10 have gotten decent marks from BlackBerry fans, but again you'd be entering a less developed app ecosystem.

If you can wait a bit longer, then you probably should. As I mentioned earlier, the HTC One should be on Verizon (cross your fingers) in July. And the Moto X Phone could be introduced in early August. Of course, given Verizon's track record of getting new phones on its network, unless it's an exclusive, which I'm guessing it won't be, you might have to wait weeks or months after it's introduced before Verizon will get it.

And if you can wait even a bit longer, there are rumors that the next iPhone might have a larger screen. The current iPhone 5 has a 4-inch display. Some of the rumors getting thrown around suggest that Apple may be considering models with a 4.7- and 5.7-inch screen sizes. Of course, these are rumors. Apple hasn't said whether the next iPhone will have a larger screen. But people are the next device, whatever size it is, to launch in September. So if you're going to wait until August to see what's happening with the Motorola X Phone, you could probably justify waiting one more month to see what Apple introduces.

I hope that advice was helpful. Good luck!

Making sure you get the latest Android updates

Dear Maggie,
I'm getting ready to upgrade phones soon and I'm having a hard time deciding which way to go. Currently it's between the HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S4. I've had the chance to play around with both of the devices. And I know the big differences between them. However, my issue is updates in software/OS. I've been stuck with a Motorola Photon still on Gingerbread, and it's irritating. I don't want the same thing to happen again.

Honestly I'm leaning toward the HTC One, but I've also considered an iPhone due to less fragmentation (iOS7 is also really pretty). I just bought an iPad 4 and love it. If I get two updates I'd be happy, I just don't want to be three behind again. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you,
Darius

Dear Darius,
This is one of the chief complaints from Android users. It's difficult to say which phones will get which software updates when they come out. That said, I know Samsung Galaxy S4 ships with the most up to date Google Android software, which is Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. Meanwhile, the HTC One ships with Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. It's still Jelly Bean, but doesn't have the very latest update to the phone. That said, it is expected to get the update in July.

The LG Nexus 4

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

The next big iteration of Google Android hasn't been announced yet. That's likely to be what everyone is calling Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie. When that software is released, it's really hard to say which devices will get it first. My guess is that the Galaxy S4 will be among the first, mostly because it's Samsung's flagship device, and I would expect the company to do its best to keep this phone up to date. I'm less certain about the HTC One.

That said, device manufacturers aren't the only ones who determine which devices and when they get software upgrades. Wireless operators, which have to test the software updates on their networks, also have a say. And as I mentioned in the answer to the question above, Verizon is notorious for being very slow to test and approve new devices as well as new software upgrades.

If you want to make sure that you get the latest Android updates, you might want to consider getting a Nexus device. Google has just started selling unlocked versions of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC one, which both run stock Android software. These versions of the popular smartphones do not have any software from either Samsung or HTC. It is a pure Google Nexus experience, which means it will run the most up-to-date Android software. The big benefit to getting a Nexus phone is that when new updates to Android are released, you are guaranteed to be among the first to get the upgrade.

The big downside in buying these devices is the fact that you have to pay full price for them. Also, the devices are currently only available as GSM devices, which means they work on AT&T and T-Mobile in the U.S. A Verizon or Sprint version is not available.

The cost of the Google Nexus version of a Samsung Galaxy S4 is $650. The Nexus HTC One is about $600. If this is too pricey for you, you may want to consider the Nexus 4, which in the 8GB configuration is currently selling for $299 on Google's website. Other benefits to getting these Nexus devices is that they don't require carrier contracts. And they come unlocked, so you can use them on other GSM networks.

Switching to the iPhone is also a possibility. Apple has done a very good job of making sure it's older devices can get at least some of the features that its newer software upgrades offer. But there is also a limit to this as well. Not all the features will work on iPhones that are two or three years old, because the hardware isn't able to accommodate the new features.

But since Apple only releases a major software upgrade once a year and it only releases one new iPhone a year, you are right that there is a lot less fragmentation as compared with Android. But some might argue that this also limits functionality.

In your case, I'd say your decision hinges on whether you want to spend the extra $400 or $450 to buy a phone that you are guaranteed will get the latest Android updates. The other option is to pick one of the most popular Android devices on the market and hope that manufacturer and carrier will offer you at least one or two new software updates. (The third option is to root your phone so you can install whatever updates you want, but that takes a bit of technology know-how.). I hope this information was helpful. Good luck!

Ask Maggie is an advice column that answers readers' wireless and broadband questions. The column now appears twice a week on CNET offering readers a double dosage of Ask Maggie's advice. If you have a question, I'd love to hear from you. Please send me an e-mail at maggie dot reardon at cbs dot com. And please put "Ask Maggie" in the subject header. You can also follow me on Facebook on my Ask Maggie page.

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Sony Xperia Z Ultra: one phablet to rule them all (hands-on)

Fancy a larger Xperia Z? Now you have it in the form of the Xperia Z Ultra.

(Credit: Aloysius Low/CNET)

Sony's latest smartphone, an LTE-capable 6.44-inch phablet, is a powerful addition to the Xperia family. It's not only the first smartphone from Sony Mobile to pack Qualcomm's top-of-the-line Snapdragon 800 processor, it's also the biggest handset from the company.

Design

Based on the design language of the Xperia Z, the Z Ultra is a very attractive-looking handset. It combines a metallic frame with tempered glass on both the front and rear, giving it a minimalistic, stylish appeal. During my brief time with the handset, I was impressed with the build quality--it's as good as the Xperia Z and yet impossibly thin at 6.5mm.

The tempered glass rear gives the handset a premium feel.

(Credit: Aloysius Low/CNET)

The large power button is how you tell it's a Xperia handset.

(Credit: Aloysius Low/CNET)

Sony has been pushing thin form factors as its selling point in some of the latest products like the Xperia Tablet Z, and the Z Ultra is no different. I still can't get over just how slim the phablet is. Sure, it's not the thinnest -- Huawei's Ascend P6 is 6.18mm -- but it’s nonetheless a very impressive design from Sony.

While the handset's footprint is large, it was surprisingly comfortable to hold with one hand. The Z Ultra weighed in at 212g, but it just didn’t feel as heavy. Comparatively, the Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 weighs 198g, but its chassis is mostly made of plastic materials, which somehow doesn't quite have the same build quality as the Z Ultra.

Ultra is bigger then Mega.

(Credit: Aloysius Low/CNET)

Bigger, but so much slimmer.

(Credit: Aloysius Low/CNET)

I found the 6.44-inch full-HD Triluminos display to be stunning. The colors were vibrant and crisp, and Sony seems to have resolved the color shift issue first encountered with the Xperia Z. Like more recent Sony Mobile handsets, the Xperia Z Ultra uses onscreen menu buttons.

Features

Like the Xperia Z, the Z Ultra is certified with an IP58 rating, which means it is water- and dust-proof. Essentially, you can use the phone to take full-HD videos underwater with its 8-megapixel camera. The Z Ultra doesn't come with the 13-megapixel shooter for the Z, but the lower megapixel count could indicate better low-light shots

Flaps serve to protect the handset's ports and keep it waterproof.

(Credit: Aloysius Low/CNET)

As a phablet, the Z Ultra will work with a stylus. While it doesn't come with one, the smartphone’s display is capable of taking notes using the built-in handwriting recognition tool. Interestingly, besides the standard capacitive stylus, the Z Ultra also lets you use a pencil or a metal pen to write on the screen, but it is not pressure sensitive, so it won't be able to detect if you're trying to draw a thicker line. You'll have to manually select your brush size in the Sketch app.

Powered by Android 4.2, it's the first handset from Sony Mobile to launch with the latest version of Jelly Bean. Sony's custom UI keeps most of the default stock Android features, while adding little tweaks such as a one-handed keyboard and Sony's own small apps (basically apps that float over your current window and accessible from the multitasking menu). The Jelly Bean 4.2 feature, Quick Settings, is missing from the notification menu. However, you will be able to add lockscreen widgets.

The Quick Settings feature is missing in the Xperia Z Ultra.

(Credit: Aloysius Low/CNET)

Besides LTE connectivity, the handset also packs Bluetooth, NFC, Wi-Fi and screen mirroring. It will come with 2GB RAM, 16GB of onboard storage, and has a microSD card slot for expandability. A large embedded 3,000mAh battery completes the package.

I found the performance of the 8-megapixel camera quite snappy, though I wasn't allowed to examine the quality of the images I took during my hands-on of the phone due to its pre-production status. It seems to handle low-light shots well, but I'll probably have to get a review set to test it more extensively before I make my final evaluations.

Performance

Powered by a 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor, you can expect the Z Ultra to be blazing fast, and it is. Initial 3DMark figures revealed scores of 16,828 and 11,906 for the Ice Storm and Ice Storm Extreme tests, respectively. However, do bear in mind this is a prototype unit, and these scores are not final.

Sony Mobile claims a video playback time of up to 5.5 hours, as well as talktime of 11 hours--I'll be waiting to verify these numbers once we get a commercial set.

Outlook

It looks like Samsung will have to do a lot more to make its upcoming Galaxy Note 3 stand out from the crowd, given that Sony has set a very high benchmark with the Xperia Z Ultra. Else the Korean chaebol may risk losing its leadership position in the phablet space which has become increasingly competitive in the recent months.

The Xperia Z Ultra is expected to launch globally in Q3. It will available in three colors: black, white and purple.

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Samsung Galaxy Amp (Aio Wireless)

A brand-new phone for AT&T's brand-new Aio Wireless prepaid arm, the Samsung Galaxy Amp does a fairly good job balancing entry-level Android features with cost.

Ringing in at $129.99 off-contract -- or $99.99 during an online promotion -- the Amp has a few notable points in its favor, like its strong call quality (it is a phone, after all), Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, and a smooth, compact frame. However, exceptionally cramped storage space forces a microSD card investment on you, it has more-limited software than Samsung's top phones, and the phone lacks 4G LTE support. It also doesn't help that Aio's footprint encompasses only a handful of cities as the carrier starts out.

First-time smartphone seekers, read on to consider the Amp, but you may also want to peek at T-Mobile's $120 Nokia Lumia 521 (which has comparable specs, including the lack of LTE) if you're also open to getting a Windows Phone device.

Design and build
The Galaxy Amp is all Samsung, from its highly rounded corners and black face down to the oblong Home screen button on its chinny chin chin. A glossy gray trim and smooth, finely textured backing on the black back cover add elements of class you don't see in many cheerfully plastic smartphones of this type.

At 4.8 inches tall by 2.5 inches wide by 0.43 inch thick, the Galaxy Amp feels compact and pocketable by today's gargantuan standards. It tips the scale at 4.4 ounces, making the phone solid and substantial in the hand, even a little heavy compared with larger designs. It's comfortable on the ear, and smooth edges help guide the phone into pockets.

Aio Wireless' Samsung Galaxy Amp is a compact and affordable Android device.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

A black bezel frames the 4-inch AMOLED display with its 800x480-pixel WVGA resolution (that's 233 ppi, by the way). Colors are bright and colorful with the brightness level set to half, and the screen is easy to read. Sure, finer details, images, games, and movies won't look nearly as crisp as they do on HD screens with pixel densities in the high 300 and 400 range, but you won't be squinting at the Amp's screen, wondering if it's time to see your optometrist.

The phone's VGA front-facing camera perches above the display; below it, a physical Home button and two capacitive keys navigate you around Google Now, your "recents" list, and settings. On the right spine, a microSD card slot awaits your external storage, near the sliver of a power/lock button. You'll find the volume rocker on the left, the Micro-USB charging port on the bottom, and the 3.5 millimeter headset jack on the top.

Flip the phone around for the 5-megapixel camera module and LED flash just below.

OS and features
Android 4.1 Jelly Bean guides the Galaxy Amp, topped by Samsung's TouchWiz interface. At least, it's one version of TouchWiz. You won't find quite as many features on the Amp as you will on Samsung's other top phones, like the Galaxy S4 series, but there is Easy Mode (which is like Android with training wheels); options to customize the lock screen; and two gesture-triggered controls.

In addition, the Amp supplies full Jelly Bean access to Google Now and enriched notifications. There's all the usual DLNA and VPN support, though Aio Wireless cuts off the hot-spot feature, which other carriers generally ask you to pay for anyhow.

Minimal default storage space will spur you to pick up a microSD card.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

Samsung's default keyboard gives you two options for ways to type. There's the traditional one-by-one pecking, or you can trace the word you want. Swype, another input alternative, also comes preinstalled if you'd like to make a switch. Also onboard is Samsung's S Voice app, which competes with Google Now as a personal assistant.

All the typical Android capabilities are here, too, from multiple e-mail and social networking sign-ins to the full array of Google's apps and services, my favorite being Google Maps and Navigation.

Cameras and video
Image quality from the Galaxy Amp's 5-megapixel camera was decent. Colors came out looking rich and round. Yes, Samsung's shooters can oversaturate some hues, but on the whole, I got casual, usable pictures I could upload or share with friends.

There's no continuous autofocus on the Amp, but it still takes decent shots with good color representation.

(Credit: Jessica Dolcourt/CNET)

Not having continuous autofocus isn't surprising on a starter phone like this one, but it will add a few seconds to your setup time if you manually focus before snaps. You can also press the onscreen shutter button to start sharpening your scene. In a few photos I shot at dusk, the camera took its sweet time readying the shot before I could capture. If you have squirmy kids or dogs in your life, consider yourself warned.

Samsung limited shooting options and effects for this lower-end device, so while you will see Panorama mode, you won't shoot landscapes in HDR -- though you will get essentials for white-balance and scene options, plus a few extras besides.

The flash blew out the lemon twist in this drink, but details and edges are clear.

(Credit: Jessica Dolcourt/CNET)

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Whistle-blower update: U.S. seeks Snowden extradition; WikiLeaker's Gmail searched

A woman walks past a banner displayed in support of ex-NSA analyst Edward Snowden in Hong Kong on June 18, 2013.

(Credit: Philippe Lopez/AFP/Getty Images)

Several stories involving whistle-blower/espionage suspect Edward Snowden cropped up Saturday, including word of a U.S. demand for his extradition. And news of a Justice Department search of a former WikiLeaks volunteer's Gmail account has also surfaced. Here's a quick summary:

• In a brief report, The South China Morning Post said today that Snowden told the paper during a June 12 interview that the U.S. government has been hacking into the networks of cell phone carriers based in Hong Kong and in mainland China.

  "The NSA [U.S. National Security Agency] does all kinds of things like hack Chinese cell phone companies to steal all of your SMS data," Snowden reportedly said.

  The Morning Post also reported that Snowden said the NSA engaged in extensive hacking against one of mainland China's top universities and had also hacked into computers run by the owner of one of the biggest fiber-optic networks in the Hong Kong region.

  If true, such hacks might, one imagines, add a new wrinkle to the cybersecurity/cyberspying dialogue currently taking place between the U.S. and China.
  

  ---

• The South China Morning Post also said Saturday that Snowden "is not under police protection but in a 'safe place' in Hong Kong." Snowden has been charged by the U.S. government with espionage, and CBS News reports that the U.S. government has asked Hong Kong authorities to extradite him.

  "We believe that the charges presented, present a good case for extradition under the treaty, the extradition treaty between the United States and Hong Kong," House National Security Adviser Tom Donilon told CBS. "Hong Kong has been a historically good partner of the United States in law enforcement matters, and we expect them to comply with the treaty in this case."

  U.S. News & World Report, meanwhile, says an Icelandic businessman has offered to fly Snowden to Iceland if the country grants him asylum (WikiLeaks' Julian Assange told reporters earlier in the week that the group was discussing asylum for Snowden with the Icelandic government).

  CNN reported that Hong Kong Executive Council member Regina Ip said that Snowden would not be turned over to U.S. authorities if the charges are deemed political in nature, rather than a crime under Hong Kong law.
  

  ---

• A petition to pardon Snowden, posted to the White House's We the People site, has passed the 100,000 signatures mark, meaning the White House is required to issue a response. The Next Web pointed this out earlier.
  

  Hacking collective Anonymous sent a flurry of tweets Saturday, voicing its displeasure with government intelligence-gathering efforts. Note the icon embellished with "Protect Snowden."

  (Credit: Screenshot by Edward Moyer/CNET)

  Also, protests against the sort of digital surveillance called out by Snowden, and in support of the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, are being planned for July 4, which is, of course, Independence Day. The group coordinating the demonstrations calls itself Restore the Fourth.
  

  ---

• Britain's Guardian newspaper -- which, along with The Washington Post, ran the first leaks from Snowden about a U.S. surveillance effort involving a computer system called PRISM -- published a couple of follow-ups to its report yesterday that the U.K.'s Government Communications Headquarters intelligence agency (GCHQ), along with the NSA, had secretly gained access to fiber-optic cables that carry the world's communications.

  A long overview details how documents recently leaked by Snowden back up the conclusion made more than a decade ago by European Parliament investigations into "the existence of a global system for the interception of private and commercial communications." The Guardian also reported that the U.K.'s M15 counterintelligence and security agency had expressed concerns in 2008 about the fiber-optic tapping, fearing the GCHQ effort went "too far."
  

  ---

• Wired reported that the U.S. Department of Justice "used a secret search warrant to obtain the entire contents of a Gmail account used by a former WikiLeaks volunteer in Iceland." The volunteer had helped manage WikiLeaks' secure chat room in 2010; the warrant was issued in 2011 and ordered Google not to disclose the search. But this past May, a U.S. district judge said Google could inform the volunteer, Herbert Snorrason, of the search and provide him with a redacted copy of the warrant. Wired says the search is "the first confirmed case of the government obtaining the contents of a WikiLeaks-connected e-mail account," and it quotes Snorrason:

  Because I talked to Julian Assange, all information held by Google relating to my user account with them can be handed over to U.S. prosecutors. How is this reasonable? How is this a particular description? How, in short, is this shit valid under the U.S. Bill of Rights? I'd really like someone to explain that to me. With a straight face. Preferably without making me want to punch them in the process.

  And this is just my Google account. What else did they take -- and whose?

  Google has said previously that "we provide user data to governments only in accordance with the law."
  

  ---

• Finally, WikiLeaks' Assange published a statement after a year in exile in the Ecuadorian Embassy, saying, among other things:

  A few weeks ago, Edward Snowden blew the whistle on an ongoing program -- involving the Obama administration, the intelligence community and the internet services giants -- to spy on everyone in the world.

  As if by clockwork, he has been charged with espionage by the Obama administration.

  The U.S. government is spying on each and every one of us, but it is Edward Snowden who is charged with espionage for tipping us off.

  It is getting to the point where the mark of international distinction and service to humanity is no longer the Nobel Peace Prize, but an espionage indictment from the U.S. Department of Justice.

  You can read Assange's complete statement here.
  

  ---

Updates, 3:18, 3:21 and 10:00 p.m. PT: Adds item on Julian Assange's statement from the Ecuadorian Embassy; adds Donilon quote on extradition and statement from Hong Kong Executive Council member Regina Ip regarding the extradition of Edward Snowden.

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Has Samsung gone too niche with its new GS4 smartphones?

Samsung showed off its expanded line of Galaxy S4 smartphones at an event in London this week.

(Credit: Andrew Hoyle/CNET)

Samsung has expanded its Galaxy S4 family of products to appeal to niche markets, but consumers will likely find trade-offs in certain specifications and functionality in these devices.

The company has been touting the expanded family of Galaxy S smartphones for a couple of months now. But earlier this week, at its event in London, Samsung specifically talked up the three new additions to its Galaxy S4 family of devices. The new devices are meant to address niche markets. But in tailoring the devices for specific audiences, Samsung has diluted some of the core specifications that make the Samsung Galaxy S4 one of the most advanced smartphones on the market.

The Galaxy S4 Zoom

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CBS Interactive)

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom is a camera first but also happens to be a smartphone. The device is designed to provide shutterbugs with a much improved camera that offers a 10x optical zoom. But when it comes to the phone part of the device, it's definitely no Samsung Galaxy S4. CNET UK's Andrew Hoyle, who took a look at the device at the London event, said "its 4.3-inch, 960×540-pixel display and 1.5GHz dual-core processor are much less impressive specs than the standard Galaxy S4."

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Active is designed as a rugged version of the Galaxy S4. It's water resistant up to a depth of 1 meter, according to the company, and it's also sand and dust-proof, suggesting it's a perfect device to take to the beach. And really it's one of the more advanced and high-end smartphones in this rugged category. But is it really a GS4? Well, the name certainly indicates that it is, but some of the specs that make the Galaxy S4 a true high-end smartphone are missing in this device. For example, while the GS4 sports an impressive AMOLED display that produces really great colors, the GS4 Active has a less expensive LCD screen, which isn't as colorful and simply doesn't look as vibrant as AMOLED. The camera has also been downgraded. Instead of a 13 megapixel camera, such as the one on the flagship GS4, the GS4 Active's camera is only 8 megapixels.

The Galaxy S4 Active

(Credit: Brian Bennett/CNET)

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini is being called the little brother of the Galaxy S4. It's specifically meant to be smaller and less expensive than the Galaxy S4. And to be clear, it's not really targeted at the U.S. market. It's really meant to extend the GS4 brand to markets where phones are not generally subsidized by carriers. At any rate, it should come as little surprise that the specs on the GS4 Mini also don't match those of the bigger GS4. While it does sport a Super AMOLED display, it comes with a slower 1.7GHz dual-core processor, only 8GB of internal memory, and an 8-megapixel camera.

I am not at all suggesting that the specs on these phones are not good enough for many users. They certainly are. And many consumers might never notice the difference. But the fact is that while the phones sport the Samsung Galaxy S4 name, they may not be all that similar to the flagship Galaxy S4, which could confuse or disappoint some consumers.

The question then becomes if this might present a problem for Samsung in the future and possibly dilute the high-end brand it has spent years and millions of dollars building.

"Samsung has to maintain some core 'Galaxy S' attributes in each branded product," said Avi Greengart, a market research analyst with Current Analysis. "And Samsung has to continue investing in advertising for the flagship Galaxy S."

But Greengart said he isn't too worried Samsung will falter much here. And he seems to think the newly added devices in the Galaxy S family are good enough. Still, he warns that Samsung must still push hard in marketing the high-end Galaxy S4.

"As long as Samsung does that and makes a desirable flagship, I'm not that concerned about brand dilution," he said.

The Galaxy S4 Mini

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CBS Interactive)

Samsung's marketing approach has long been to develop tons of products at different price points and throw them into the market to see what catches on. But with the Galaxy S series, the company seemed to take a cue from Apple.

Unlike Samsung and many other device makers, Apple has been very focused on selling one smartphone per year. And it takes a very one-size-fits-all approach. Customers looking for less-expensive devices can purchase last year's model, which is always discounted when a new version is introduced.

For the past few years, Samsung has fashioned its Galaxy S strategy to look more like Apple's approach. This isn't to say Samsung abandoned churning out plenty of other smartphones during this period. And in fact, it has also done well building another major high-end smartphone product brand, the Galaxy Note series.

But when it comes to the Galaxy S series of smartphones, consumers around the globe, and especially among the four major wireless operators in the U.S., have had access to a single flagship device. And like Apple, Samsung has introduced these flagship devices once a year: the Galaxy S, which launched in 2010; the Galaxy S2, which came out in 2011; the Galaxy S3, which debuted in 2012; and now the Galaxy S4, which was launched earlier this year.

Samsung has seen a good deal of success with this approach. And for the most part, it's handsets have been the biggest alternative to Apple's iPhone.

But now Samsung is expanding the brand and going after specific niche markets. This might make sense, given the increasing competition in the high-end smartphone market. But as I've described above, it will force consumers to make choices and even some compromises.

For instance, if you want a rugged phone, such as the Galaxy S4 Active, to meet your very active lifestyle, you won't be able to get the top-of-the-line specifications you'd get in the flagship Galaxy S4. The same is true of the Galaxy S4 Zoom. There is no question the camera is far superior to the flagship Galaxy S4's camera, and probably to many other smartphone cameras that rely on digital zoom instead of optical zoom. But a sacrifice must be made in terms of other aspects of the device.

Of course, the reason Samsung is likely skimping on some aspects of these niche market devices is because the advanced features included in the Active and Zoom raise the price of the device. And in order to compete with a bevy of new devices that are hitting the market now and in the coming months, Samsung must keep its costs down and appeal to a wider array of consumers.

In fact, analysts say Samsung will likely downgrade its sales forecast for the flagship Galaxy S4 for this quarter. Earlier this month, an analyst from JPMorgan said sales of the GS4 were "20-30 percent lower" than the firm had previously expected. And now there's talk that Samsung is going to cut production of the device and retire the previous model, the Samsung Galaxy S3, in order to not cannibalize sales of the flagship.

Right now it's hard to say whether the niche products with less advanced specifications will help Samsung or not as it competes with the mighty iPhone and other devices. The market is certainly different than it was a year ago, with competitors such as the HTC One, the new BlackBerry 10 devices, and Nokia's latest Windows Phone device all hitting the market in recent months.

Perhaps Samsung's approach is the right one to take: selling a device for every consumer. But there's a risk that these devices are just creating a noise in the market. And they could confuse consumers. It will be interesting to see what type of reception the spin-off Galaxy S4 smartphones get in the market.

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LG Optimus F7

The fact that the LG Optimus F7 is available on more than one carrier is no surprise. It's an excellent midlevel phone that's packed with quality specs, such as a vivid 4.7-inch touch screen, an 8-megapixel camera, and a dual-core CPU.

Boost Mobile announced today that the F7 will be coming to the carrier on June 27 for $299.99 off contract, and U.S. Cellular customers can already get the device for $99.99 with a two-year agreement.

All in all, despite some of its drawbacks (like its sluggish 3G speeds), I'd still recommend it for current U.S. Cellular customers looking to renew their contracts while on a $100 phone budget. If you're switching to the carrier, however, then I'd go for the Samsung Galaxy S4 instead. Why? As unfair as it is to existing U.S. Cellular clients, the carrier knocks $100 off the GS4 for new customers, making it the same price as the F7, and the more savory buy.

Design
With its common black rectangular construction and wide oval home button, the F7 looks like your typical midlevel Optimus device. It's a sturdy, well-constructed handset that measures 5.16-inches tall, 2.71-inches wide, and 0.38 inches thick. At 4.7 ounces, I noticed it was a bit on the heavy side, but not enough that it's overwhelming or uncomfortable in the hand.

One design note that I like is the back plate. Though I'm not a fan of glossy plastic (it traps fingerprints like a magnet and this is no exception), it makes the phone look a bit more premium, and the brushed faux-metal look is a nice touch.

The handset dons a stylish, brushed-metallic look on the battery door.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

On the left are a volume rocker and a shortcut key to launch LG's memo-taking app, QuickMemo. Up top is a 3.5mm headphone jack, on the right is a sleep/power button, and at the very bottom is a Micro-USB port for charging.

On the back center you'll see the camera lens and the flash. Below those are two narrow slits for the speaker. Though it has no dedicated insert, you can slide your finger in the Micro-USB opening to take the battery door off. There, you can access the battery, microSD and SIM card slots.

The Optimus F7 has an excellent, 4.7-inch True HD IPS display. The screen's 1,280x720-pixel resolution isn't as sharp as those high-tier 1080p screens from flagship devices, but it's still crisp, bright, and responsive to the touch. HD videos on YouTube look great; the screen has a wide viewing angle.

Above the display is a front-facing camera; below are two hot keys (for back and menu) that light up white when in use. Between those keys is the aforementioned home button, which has its own LED light that glows red during charging.

Software features
The device runs on Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. As such, it comes with Google goodies like Chrome, Gmail, Search, Plus, Local, Play Books, Magazines, Movies and TV, Music, and store, Messenger, Maps with Navigation, Talk, Voice Search, and YouTube.

Other preloaded content includes a few Amazon apps (Shop, Kindle, Amazon MP3, Amazon Appstore, IMDb, Zappos, and the audiobook app Audible); a portal to download more HD games; two video editing apps; the carrier's native navigator app; a golfing game; Facebook; and Twitter. The handset also holds a translation app; a dictionary; an app to identify the city and state to which a phone number belongs to; a weather app; mobile office suite Polaris Viewer 4; SmartShare, a content distribution app; ToneRoom Deluxe; DailyPerks, which keeps track of local deals and offers; an emergency alert app called Safety Care; U.S. Cellular's TV streaming app; Wi-Fi Now; and Slacker Radio.

You'll get plenty of Google apps and LG's Optimus 3.0 UI with the F7.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

Basic features present are texting, a native e-mail client, a Web browser, a video player, Bluetooth 4.0 support, a calendar, a clock with alarm settings, a notebook, a ti-do list, a calculator, voice command, and a voice recorder.

The phone's Optimus 3.0 user interface, which isn't as stylishly simplistic as the vanilla Android, includes icons that you can customize under four themes (Optimus, Biz, Cozywall, and Marshmallow). You'll get a note-taking feature, QuickMemo, which lets you jot down notes and doodles either directly onto whatever your screen is displaying at the moment, or on a virtual memo pad. There's also QSlide, LG's multitasking window that let's you view and resize apps, like the browser and video player, while using other apps or viewing the home screen. Lastly, there's VuTalk. VuTalk lets you create annotations on documents and photos on your device while sharing it with another VuTalk-enabled device through either a network or Wi-Fi connection. The handsets display each other's annotations in real time and are differentiated by separate ink colors.

Camera and video
The 8-megapixel camera comes with loads of options, such as seven photo sizes (from 1,536x864 to 3,264x2,448 pixels); a 15x digital zoom; a flash; geotagging; a timer; four color effects; five white balances; five ISO options (from 100 to 400); six scene modes; two focuses; a brightness meter; a voice-activated shutter; and a Time Catch option that enables the camera to take shots even before you press the shutter; and four shooting modes, including HDR and panorama.

The front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera includes three photo sizes (from 640x480 to 1,280x960 pixels); two scene modes; and the same white-balance and color effects. You'll also get geotagging, a timer, the option to save a picture's mirror image, a brightness meter, voice shutter, and beauty shot.

Video-recording options with the rear camera include six video sizes (from 176x144 to full HD 1,920x1,080 pixels); a brightness meter; the same white-balance and color effects; audio muting; and geotagging. The front-facing camera has all of the same video options except it only has five video sizes (topping out at 720p). Both cameras can record with fun "live effects." One is "silly faces," which will alter your face in a variety of ways like squeezing it together, shrinking your mouth, or making your eyes huge. The gimmicks are fun at first, but after a while the distortions just started to look creepy. The other is a background module, where you can change your background to outer space, a sunset, a disco, or your own custom image.

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Dish needs spectrum to fuel wireless broadband biz

Satellite TV provider Dish Network plans to take on cable and DSL broadband service with a new fixed wireless service that it's recently begun testing. But the success of its new business could depend on its ambitions to acquire more spectrum.

Last week, Dish announced that is has already begun testing the new wireless broadband network that uses 4G LTE technology in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Waynesboro and Afton, Va.

Unlike other 4G LTE services from carriers, such as AT&T and Verizon Wireless, the 4G LTE service that Dish is building is for in-home broadband service only. Like it's satellite TV service, it requires a receiver to be attached on the roof.

Dish's need for spectrum
Right now, Dish is using wireless spectrum in the 2.5GHz band from partners such as NTelos. The company doesn't currently own any of this particular band of high-frequency spectrum. But it hopes to get its hands on some soon.

This is why Dish is pushing so hard to acquire Clearwire, a company that is majority owned by Sprint. Clearwire owns a lot of 2.5GHz wireless spectrum, which it's used to build a nationwide fixed and mobile 4G WiMax wireless network using 2.5GHz spectrum.

Sprint offered to buy out the remaining shares of Clearwire it doesn't already own in December. But then in January, Dish put in its own offer for Clearwire. Sprint countered Dish's offer. And Dish came back and offered $1 more share for the company. Last week, Clearwire's board recommended to the company's shareholders that it take the offer.

But now it looks like the deal may once again be in question. Sprint filed a lawsuit Monday against Dish stating that it is breaking Delaware state law with its offer.

Meanwhile, Japan's SoftBank is trying to buy Sprint. But Dish has also put in its own offer to buy Sprint. SoftBank recently increased its bid for Sprint, which diminishes Dish's chances of getting Sprint. The two companies have stopped negotiating, and the satellite TV provider has until June 18 to make its best and final offer.

In addition to Clearwire and Sprint, Dish is also supposedly after LightSquared, another company that had planned to build a nationwide wireless broadband network using high frequency spectrum. LightSquared is currently reorganizing under bankruptcy protection.

While Dish may be able to strike deals and partnerships with companies, such as Ntelos to build some areas of its new fixed wireless broadband network, the company still needs some spectrum of its own to deliver this service.

What's the service like?
As for the service itself, initial speed tests show downloads between 20Mbps and 50Mbps. Actual, customer speeds when the network is fully deployed are expected to be lower.

That said, the speeds should be competitive with other cable and DSL services, said David Zufall, vice president of wireless development at Dish. While it's unlikely that Dish will be able to deliver ultra high speed service that competes with higher tiers of service from cable operators and fiber-based services from the AT&T and Verizon, it will be able to compete head-to-head with low to mid-tier broadband services delivered by phone companies and cable operators.

"We're not looking to take over the entire broadband market," Zufall said. "There will be places where fixed wireless works well, and other places where traditional cable is the right answer."

Zufall explained that Dish's new service is geared toward people who are currently underserved by cable and DSL broadband services. While this would surely include rural customers, it might also include others in suburban areas where cable or DSL might not be available.

Dish Network is testing a fixed wireless broadband service in rural Virginia.

(Credit: Dish Network)

In other words, the target market is very similar to the customers Dish already serves with its satellite TV offer. In fact, Zufall said that Dish's existing satellite TV customers are terrific candidates for the broadband service as well.

"The two services go very well together," he said. "We already have to install satellite dishes on roofs for the TV service. And this also requires a receiver on a rooftop."

Zufall wouldn't say when Dish would conclude its network testing or when it plans to roll out the service to other areas. He also wouldn't comment on pricing. But it's clear that Dish needs additional spectrum to build its network.

How Dish plans to deploy its broadband service
And the spectrum that Clearwire owns is particularly valuable for this network. What makes 2.5GHz spectrum so valuable for Dish is that there is a lot of it. Zufall said this means the company will have plenty of capacity to offer a speedy wireless broadband service.

Because there is likely to be a lot of spectrum available for the service, Zufall said he doesn't think the company will have to put usage data caps on the service, the way AT&T and Verizon Wireless have done with their own 4G LTE wireless services. This will also help the service compete more aggressively with existing cable and DSL broadband services.

Even though Dish's idea for offering a fixed wireless broadband service sounds great, Clearwire, which offered a similar service in 88 cities using the 4G WiMax technology, had a difficult time delivering consistent and reliable service.

Zufall said that Dish believes its fixed wireless broadband service will be more reliable and will able to reach farther than Clearwire's service. Network coverage can be tricky with the 2.5GHz spectrum because it's considered high frequency. This means it can offer a lot of capacity, but the signals travel over shorter distances and are less able to penetrate through obstacles such as walls as compared to lower frequency spectrum.

But Zufall said that the way Dish is building its wireless broadband network is very different from how Clearwire has built its network. As a result, it won't have the same reliability and distance issues that Clearwire's network had.

The reason why is that Clearwire sold its service at retail and had customers install their own receivers inside their homes. The Dish service requires a special Dish receiver that attaches to the roof to accept the signal, which is then transmitted over coaxial cable into the home. This is how Dish offers its TV satellite service.

"Spectrum at this frequency requires that you put a device on the outside of the home," he said. "Otherwise you lose a lot of the signal range when it has to penetrate in-building."

Zufall said that by keeping the signal outdoors, his engineers are able to overcome the coverage obstacles that Clearwire faced. Also he said the fact that professionals are installing the equipment is another factor that will make reception better.

"When the device is professionally installed, the installer knows where our cell sites are and can configure the device to get better reception."

The question now for Dish is whether it will be able to the spectrum it needs to become a viable broadband competitor.

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2012 Toyota RAV4 EV

Just about every automaker has an electric vehicle in its lineup now, from the Nissan Leaf to the soon-to-be-released BMW i3, but among this crop of quiet cars there is only one electric SUV. The Toyota RAV4 EV came about as tribute from Tesla Motors, in recompense for Toyota ceding its Fremont, Calif., manufacturing digs. I think Tesla got the best end of that deal.

However, the RAV4 EV, powered by a Tesla Motors driveline, steals a march on Tesla's own upcoming Model X electric SUV. With the Tesla-derived 41.5-kilowatt-hour lithium ion battery pack, the RAV4 EV boasts a 103-mile EPA estimated range, greater than those of all other recent electric cars except for Tesla's Model S.

With the RAV4 EV's SUV-format, Toyota can also point to the vehicle's 108.2 cubic feet of passenger space, and 37.2 cubic feet for cargo, making for a roomier ride than other electric vehicles.

In stance, the RAV4 EV reads small, its body needing merely to encompass its five-passenger cabin. Although the gas-engined RAV4 received major restyling for the 2013 model year, the RAV4 EV for 2012 and 2013 is based on the prior generation, with more masculine wheel arches and a subtler beltline.

The grille, which need only do minimal duty as air intake, is a solid piece of sheet metal emblazoned with the Toyota EV logo. It sits above one narrow slit, making the car instantly distinguishable from its fossil-fueled brethren. As an odd quirk, the rear hatch hinges to the side rather than lifting up.

Despite the driveline, it was obvious I wasn't sitting in a Tesla Model S cabin. Hard plastics swept across dashboard and door surfaces, while cloth, probably recycled or otherwise ecologically manufactured to fit the theme of the car, covered the manually adjustable seats.

Is that an iPad in your dash?
However, Toyota seems to emulate Tesla somewhat by putting a big, 8-inch touch-screen LCD in the center of the dashboard. Below it sits one big menu button, making the thing look like an iPad. There are no hard buttons to immediately call up navigation or the stereo. More useful would have been some kind of back button, as it is easy to get lost in the onscreen menus.

Toyota minimizes hard buttons on the dashboard, relegating most control to this touch screen.

(Credit: James Martin/CNET)

The main menu is new for Toyota vehicles, but much of the underlying software isn't. I immediately recognized the navigation system's maps and destination screens. As with other Toyota vehicles, the maps only show in plan, or 2D, view, with no perspective view available. I found that the maps refreshed quickly as the car moved and street labels were easy to read.

Under route guidance, the system showed reasonably detailed graphics for upcoming turns and read out street names. Traffic event and flow data were shown on the maps as well, and the system used that information to dynamically recalculate my route.

Toyota didn't bother to eliminate gas stations from the points-of-interest database, and you won't find an electric-car charging station category, either. However, the system has an option to show icons on the maps representing charging stations, something that proved very useful during my time with the car.

To help drivers find places to charge the RAV4 EV, Toyota adds an online list of charging stations to Entune, its telematics system. Entune is an app that runs on iPhones and Android phones, and pairs with the car to provide data for popular apps, such as Bing search, OpenTable, and Pandora, on the car's touch screen.

Tapping the Charging Station Map icon from the Entune menu on the touch screen didn't exactly bring up a map. Instead, it showed a list of the 24 closest charging stations. I could also have it show charging stations in a particular city. I would have preferred a map interface, but it was convenient that each listing included detailed information, such as now many chargers were available, and whether charging was free.

Outside of the car, I was able to use the Entune app to check the current battery and charging status and schedule future charging. Those features worked where the RAV4 EV could get a wireless data connection, but when I left it plugged in deep in an underground parking garage the app proved useless.

This map approximates the RAV4 EV's range, although does not take into account actual road mileage.

(Credit: James Martin/CNET)

Beyond Entune's EV monitoring capabilities, Toyota builds a couple more useful features into the RAV4 EV. Under an EV menu item, I found a range map, which gave me an approximation of how far the car could go on its current charge, with a shaded circular area overlaid on a map. But because that range was shown "as the crow flies," I knew that I would have to moderate my expectations. The RAV4 EV also includes some energy usage screens, which will help drivers who want to blog about their electric vehicle driving accomplishments.

Range anxiety
Armed with the Entune app on my iPhone and the various tools the car RAV4 EV provided for finding charging stations, I set out on a trip from San Francisco to Palo Alto, Calif., a 66-mile round trip that would obliterate the 65 miles of range the car currently showed available. I chose the destination based on the range, and the proliferation of public charging stations in the area.

However, the tools in the car weren't really geared for scanning a map and finding a concentration of charging stations. I relied on the PlugShare.com Web site and app to help me, which offered a better map view and filters.

The LCD instrument cluster gives the driver a choice of information screens on the right.

(Credit: James Martin/CNET)

Pushing the RAV4 EV's start button caused the LCD instrument cluster to light up, showing a digital speed readout in the center, along with range and a power gauge to the left. On the right, Toyota gave me a choice of six tools, from an Eco Coach to an accessory energy usage gauge, the latter showing how much the stereo and climate control were drawing from the battery.

I tapped the shift knob, which comes directly from the Prius parts bin, into Drive, and the RAV4 EV crept out of the parking garage. In this regard, the car did not reflect its Tesla driveline at all. The Model S features a creep mode, but its default drive program is to sit still until you apply throttle. Lift from the accelerator, and the Model S immediately slows from heavy braking regeneration.

Toyota chose more conventional programming for the RAV4 EV. It creeps forward when you take your foot off the brake and coasts when you lift off the accelerator.

It was actually kind of boring to drive. Electric power steering added enough boost to make the wheel easy to turn and the electric drive motor made acceleration very smooth. The accelerator pedal tuning made it easy to take off without lurching. Whether on city streets or on the highway, it felt very much the same. And despite all the range tools, it was a very easy car to jump in and go.

To maximize range while remaining comfortable, Toyota includes two air-conditioning modes, Eco Lo and Eco Hi, the latter using the least amount of electricity. Cruising around on a day of about 80 degrees dry heat, Eco Hi proved more than enough to keep me comfortable, but there are other parts of the country where drivers will need Eco Lo or maximum air conditioning.

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