Cash-strapped wireless subscribers can now get unlimited everything smartphone service for less than $20 a month. So what's the catch? And is it really worth it?
Over 30,000 U.S.-based cellphone users were surveyed recently and an interesting statistic was discovered: About one in ten was an iPhone user. How do you like them Apples?
On Tuesday Futuremark said that a version of 3DMark for Android tablets is currently in development and expected to go "retail" sometime in 2012. The company is currently calling on Android device manufacturers to join its Benchmark Development Program and play a critical role in the development process.
As tablets and smartphones become more popular, so do their use as gaming devices. Now Futuremark, best known for their PC gaming themed benchmarking software 3DMark, has announced plans to offer a version of 3DMark for Android-powered devices. The program will be released sometime in 2012.
Anyone who bought this $2.5 million iPhone should consider upgrading to the latest lavish technology, the iPhone 4S Elite Gold from bling king Stuart Hughes.
While American network operators proudly roll out their high-speed 4G mobile networks across the United States, there are many other nations where 4G has yet to arrive. The UK is one such example; while elsewhere in Europe, such as Germany and Scandinavia, operators already sell 4G services to customers, Britain has yet to even award spectrum licenses to carriers.
Though were kind of, sort of, moving past the era of the butt dialing on our cellphones thanks to the advent of the touchscreen, it's still happening to a significant degree. The worst is that it's quite often 911.
Finally, after a two-day delay, we have a winner for a shiny, new Galaxy Nexus smartphone. We asked you to offer 2012 New Year's resolutions for Google -- and you did, and some too late to qualify. Among the many on-time submissions, we chose 25 resolutions that Google should consider for the year ahead.
In addition to the recently-outed white Galaxy Nexus and Sprint 4G LTE Galaxy Nexus, it seems like the elusive 32GB GSM version is now on the horizon, too. So far all the GSM-flavored Nexuses sold in Europe and Asia (and imported into the U.S.) have been of the 16GB variety, but according to one British retailer, the 32GB version should be available in a little over a month.
When 360 Panorama hit the iPhone last year, we liked being able to spin in a circle and have the phone create a panorama in real-time. Now Android users can do the same, thanks to some impressive trickery.
The mystery of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus' 900MHz bug continues. Sort of. We've just been sent this video of the Galaxy Nexus volume buttons being affected by a nearby 900MHz signal while the Galaxy Neuxs is in the bootloader.
It's hard to know who has had a worse 2011. Microsoft, because during the first ten months of the year, its old OS outsold its new one? Or RIM, because its market share has more than halved during the same period?
The modern smartphone is the true Swiss Army knife of gadgets. Want to listen to music? Watch a video? Browse the web? Read a book? Keep up with your friends? Take a picture? Make a video? A smartphone can do all those things, with ever increasing competence.
Favourite aggregator of anti-corporate campaigns, SumOfUs, has started a petition calling for an "ethical" iPhone 5, and has already garnered more than 40,000 signatures.
Here's a great look at the Verizon Galaxy Nexus extended battery that should be available at launch this week, courtesy of forums member reflekt2099. It's not a huge boost in available juice at 2100 mAh -- about 13 percent -- but with an LTE radio tucked inside, we'll take whatever we can get.
The LG Connect 4G and Samsung Galaxy Attain 4G--both offered through MetroPCS--were the first of many LTE phones that launched Monday on Press Day at CES. These phones piqued my interest due to the simple fact that they’re contract-free. Remember those days when the only smartphone you could get prepaid was an ancient BlackBerry? My, how things have changed.
Water and personal electronics are probably the two most essential elements in this modern life, yet the two don’t get along very well at all. Drop your Blackberry in the drink--or even simply spill your coffee on it--and often enough that’s the end of your device. A California-based company called Liquipel feels your pain, and has devised a clever nanotech solution to the water-meets-brand-new-iPhone problem via a thin, clear coating that causes water to wick right off the guts of your gadgets.
The prototype glove, which was demonstrated at a recent Google developers event in Tel Aviv, incorporates a number of sensors to detect hand gestures which are then interpreted via a smartphone app to produce text. Flex sensors embedded in the fingers of the glove detect finger position while an accelerometer and tilt sensor detect hand movement and orientation as demonstrated in the video below.
Something interesting is going on in the Android Market this morning. A bunch of our favorite apps are suddenly going for a dime, with no real rhyme or reason for the discount.
Add the names Acer, Lenovo and Samsung to that of Asus as members of the list of manufacturers who'll be offering Android tablets based on Nvidia's five-core Tegra 3 chip.
Thanks to a new app that uses the same approach as submarines for measuring distance, you can now add 'semi-reliable tape measure' to the list of things your iOS devices can do.
The app will allow users to add legally-binding signatures electronically to documents on the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch and then send them on securely to their intended recipients. The app is an extension of Adobe's EchoSign online service, which is used by four million people worldwide, according to the company. Adobe bought EchoSign in July this year, acquiring this electronic signature technology.
Although Adobe has stopped all new development on the mobile front for Flash, they're keeping their word by rolling out updates to address compatibility and security concerns. The latest update for Adobe Flash Player 11 is now available in the Android Market and in addition to that, Adobe also went ahead and updated Adobe AIR as well:
Adobe knows something about image editing, and the free Adobe Photoshop Express 2.0 (for iPhone) gives you a taste of this expertise. But you'll need the $4.99 upgrade for full app functionality, and you get finer editing controls in Snapseed, and more effects in Instagram and Camera+.
"Adobe will release one more version of the Flash Player for mobile browsing, which will provide support for Android 4.0, and one more release of the Flash Linux Porting Kit -- both expected to be released before the end of this year," the company told Pocket-Lint in a statement.
Tablet visitors spent more per purchase than their counterparts on smartphones, PCs or laptops when visiting retail websites in 2011, according to a new report from Adobe.
It might not be long until your iPhone gets a whole new layer of protection, according to PatentlyApple. Apple recently filed a patent for bringing airbag-like devices to their portable devices, and they keep water out, too.
Staying at a hotel is so 2009. Airbnb has made it easy for landlords to put rooms and entire properties up for rent, and easy for rentors to find a place to stay. And today, we now have an Airbnb Android app.
New research from Nielsen shows that the smartphone is continuing to make big leaps in popularity in the U.S., now accounting for some 44 percent of all cellular phones being used in the country.
A popular Android application for Muslim users has been curiously hacked to commemorate the memory of a Tunisian produce vendor whose suicide kicked off anti-government protests in the country a year ago.
Amazon this morning's offered up a list of apps that will be available on the Kindle Fire tablet when it launches next week. And among the usual suspects -- Facebook, Twitter, Pandora, etc. -- is a pretty big one name: Netflix.
RIM has had a year its management team would probably like to forget. The PlayBook has been a disaster, BlackBerry phones may be surviving in the business sector, but consumers prefer iPhone and Android devices, and to cap it all off the company's value has tumbled.
Amazon has released it app Price Check by Amazon to both the Android Market and its own Appstore. Price Check by Amazon is an app that allows you to compare prices for products across a variety of retailers.
Unlike getting hold of iOS apps, it's always been possible to trawl the web for software that doesn't appear in the Android Market. But that process is about to get even easier, because soon there will be an unofficial store for banned Android apps.
Apple’s second-most important market for mobile devices in the world is China, behind only the U.S. One analyst thinks the growth for the Chinese market for the iPhone and iPad maker could be huge during the next two years.
Nokia is expected to reveal its financial numbers for the fourth quarter of 2011 on Thursday. Ahead of that announcement, Bloomberg reports it has taken a survey of 22 analysts who have predicted how many of Nokia's Windows Phone-based Lumia smartphones have been sold by the end of 2011.
Know that Android 4.0.2 update the Verizon Galaxy Nexus owners were so proud of yesterday? It's old news today. Google just announced Android 4.0.3 and an increase in API level (it's now 15). So what's new? Google gives us the big strokes:
This started out as part of my Galaxy Nexus review, but there was simply so much to talk about I split it into a second review. Check out the Galaxy Nexus hardware review for comments on the first Android 4.0 hardware experience.
As promised, Google has released Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich to the open source community. And as a bonus, the code encompasses the complete source code history tree, which includes Honeycomb's line up as well.
HTC, which rose to smartphone prominence with Google's Android operating system, will begin offering the new Ice Cream Sandwich version in "early 2012," the company said today.
Thanks to the homebrew effort I have installed Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) on my Nexus S 4G. It is the best smartphone version of Android to date.
Samsung is raising the ire of some existing customers with word that Android 4.0 won't be ported to older handsets. In spite of the official reason, I believe it's all about the money.
Ever lay in bed trying to send a text message only to have your screen fight your for which orientation it wants to be in? Yeah, well it gets old quick trying to do something in portrait mode while your display is switching to landscape mode, doesn't it?
Did you know that you can manage what labels sync to your device, and how far back the sync goes for each label individually? Pretty sweet huh -- so now let's take a look at how you can set it all up.
Hacking. It means a lot of different things to different people, and to the public at large it conjures up imagery of evil people in exotic places. When we talk about hacking here at Android Central, we usually mean it in its original sense -- tearing into software (or hardware) and changing things until they fit our liking. That's the good kind, and what we're going to talk about now.
What is a kernel? If you spend any time reading Android forums, blogs, how-to posts or online discussion you'll soon hear people talking about the kernel. A kernel isn't something unique to Android -- iOS and MacOS have one, Windows has one, BlackBerry's QNX has one, in fact all high level operating systems have one. The one we're interested in is Linux, as it's the one Android uses. Let's try to break down what it is and what it does.
What is an Android launcher? Probably the most powerful feature of Android is its ability to be customized. And that starts with what's typically called the "launcher." The launcher usually is considered to be the homescreens and app drawer, and they come in all sorts of flavors and designs.
What is a QR code? These things are everywhere nowadays. Little square barcode-looking things. They're on website, they're on pictures, they're on advertisements -- they're everywhere. So what's a QR code and what do you do with it?
What is fastboot? In Android, fastboot is a special diagnostic and engineering protocol that you can boot your Android device into. While in fastboot, you can modify the file system images from a computer over a USB connection. It's a powerful, nerdy tool that deserves to be broken down into terms we all can understand -- let's try and do that.
What is GSM? When it comes to Android devices, especially for us here in the U.S., there are two major differentiators that really have nothing to do with Android and everything to do with the carrier you plan on using the device on. When you're talking about a mobile device, you're either talking about a GSM device, or a CDMA device. GSM stands for Global System for Mobile Communications and is the network standard for much of the world.
Antivirus programs have long held a place of importance on the desktop, but as mobile operating systems have grown in popularity the desktop security dogma has bled over. So indoctrinated are the users that when Android antivirus apps began appearing, users snapped them up.
It's tough being an Android developer these days. Not only do you have a variety of devices and OS versions to consider, but there's also some 500,000 apps you're competing with in the Android Market. You have to be creative, thinking of new marketing strategies and design implementations to launch an app that stands out.
Mobile Checkbook, a hugely popular personal accounting application on the BlackBerry platform, is now available for Android devices. Mobile Checkbook allows the user to quickly enter in both deposits and withdrawals while maintaining an accurate bank balance on the go.
Keyboards are a big deal on Android. Some let you swipe, other peck, but regardless of the method, they all have one thing in common: they're how you say anything on your phone. So imagine my excitement when I'm introduced to a new keyboard, promising more bacon never-before-seen levels of text prediction, all in a nice, shiny, new beta package.
Not too long ago we mentioned a new Reddit app called BaconReader for Reddit. The screenshots looked so clean and slick I decided I had to try it out and give it the courtesy of a full-blown review. After having spent some time with it, I'm glad I did.
Back when Google unveiled the Galaxy Nexus, we were shown a pretty cool time-lapse video that was recorded using nothing but the phone. I was curious if there was something out there that'd let all the non-Galaxy Nexus users (see: all of us) do the same thing. What I found was Lapse It.
The official Nordstrom app lets you browse the store's collections and purchase clothes right from your Android device. When the app opens, you'll see the main menu which can be filtered by Department or Brand. If you select the Department filter, you'll get a list of different shopping departments:
I might not think Siri is all that and a bag of chips, but I've got to hand it to Apple for one thing: it sounds good. Listening to the articulate, smooth-talking Siri, I couldn't help but think how archaic Android's own text-to-speech sounded. Compare Android's voice to Siri and you're left with the inevitable comparison to the Speak and Spell.
BlueStacks App Player, the Windows application capable of smoothly virtualizing Android apps has launched for Windows XP. The alpha version that launched in October only ran on Windows 7 machines, but the company says nearly 20 percent of Android users are also Windows XP users, so this new version is for them.
RIM has been promising Android apps for its BlackBerry PlayBook tablet since before it was even released. But now, almost a year since its April debut, the pieces finally seem to be falling into place.
Android continues to woo more customers, increasing its lead over Apple's iOS in the U.S. smartphone arena, according to new stats from ComScore today.
The cameras in our Android phones have certainly gotten better than most would have expected. The old standard of "it's a cell phone camera, it'll never be as good as a cheap point-and-shoot" is no longer valid.
Sony Ericsson reported a net loss and a fall in revenue for the fourth quarter, further highlighting the struggles of many vendors who rely on Google's Android to power its smartphones.
With a hungry consumer market at its feet, Android's OS continues to dominate in the US market. According to the latest Nielsen report, Android's share of the smartphone market grew to 43 percrnt in the third quarter, up from 39 percent in Q2. Apple's share stayed flat at 28 percent, while RIM's BlackBerry OS continues to fall, dropping another 2 percent in the past three months. Microsoft's mobile platforms combined make up 7 percent of the market, while Nokia's Symbian OS and HP's webOS have been relegated to the "other" category.
If you're writing apps for Android, or even thinking about it, Google has a new site for you: Android Design. Well, I think it's new. A blog post popped into my RSS feeds late this afternoon, but dated yesterday. So I can't say whence came Android Design.
If you're an Android hacker or developer, you know about BusyBox. For the lay-people among us, it's a utility that extends the limited commands provided by the Android toolkit in the shell -- copying and renaming files, reading and writing data, that sort of thing.
Android continues to make an impression on developers and consumers alike. According to a new report from Ovum, Android is set to replace Apple’s iOS in terms of importance to developers in the Asia-Pacific region over the next 12 months. Looking at its second annual developer survey, Ovum’s findings mirror noted trends in the wider smartphone market.
The importance of bundling services and software with mobile devices is finally resonating with Android device makers as they compete with Apple, and some of them outlined their cloud strategies at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
More than half of the smartphones sold worldwide in the third quarter of the year were powered by Google's Android software, technology research firm Gartner said Tuesday.
My recent TIME.com column on Android fragmentation didn't provide an exhaustive list of reasons to be frustrated by the degree to which the Android ecosystem is dominated by old versions of the software. In fact, I didn't mention one of the biggest ones: Old versions of Android don't have the newest security fixes, and are therefore potentially dangerous.
The topic of Android fragmentation comes up often, especially with the bubbling anticipation over new Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich devices (or lack thereof). Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt hoped to clarify some of the issues around Android fragmentation during his presentation at this week’s Consumer Electronics Show, saying “differentiation is positive, fragmentation is negative.”
Remember in The Fox and the Hound how Tod is a likeable, heroic fox that ends up saving the day in the end? He must be from a different breed of fox than the ones you'll meet in Chicken Coup Remix HD, because these foxes are nothing but muderous, bloodthirsty creatures with only one goal in mind: eat all your brainless chickens.
What happens if you take one part Advance Wars, one part any tactics game, give it a hilarious storyline with a rough-and-tumble stereotypical general, and release it for Android? Oh, well then you'd have Great Little War Game by Rubicon Development.
If there's one game I loved playing as I was growing up, it'd have to be Hydro Thunder. Piloting souped-up speed boats with ridiculous turbo jets tacked onto their backs was one of the highlights of any trip to the arcade, and I could burn endless amounts of quarters playing again and again and again.
Android is an increasingly popular platform for the gaming industry, even attracting interest from venture capitalists. Bionic Panda Games is the latest startup to receive funding, with seed financing from SoftTech VC, Norwest Venture Partners, Google Ventures, 500 Startups and angels Craig Sherman and Kal Vepuri. Bionic Panda has proven successful with the hit game Aqua Pets, reaching more than 3 million downloads as a top-grossing app in the Android Market.
Android game popularity may be decreasing in lieu of entertainment apps, but an emerging trend for mobile gaming communities may offer the best of both worlds.
Android gamers can delight in CES this year, as many manufacturers and developers set out to deliver Android games to as many devices as possible. It’s already turning out to be the year of connected device, and it’s becoming a two-way street for game apps and services. From game-ready gadgets to new portals, you’ll soon be hard pressed to find a device that’s not capable of providing your regular game fix.
The Android platform has been quite a boon for mobile game developers. Rovio has become the poster child for mobile gaming, surpassing Zynga as far as daily active users go. While Zynga remains top dog amongst Facebook's social gaming platform, mobile is where the good stuff is.
Computer scientists have discovered a weakness in smartphones running Google's Android operating system that allows attackers to secretly record phone conversations, monitor geographic location data, and access other sensitive resources without permission.
Dianne Hackborn has posted on Google+ about some common myths regarding Android's graphics rendering pipeline, and we have a rebuttal to that one as well. Interesting stuff, but I want to talk abut something related: Android's gaphics performance.
Android hackers are discussing the creation of a specialist app store, listing software for rooted handsets and other things that even Google won't allow.
Your Android-based smartphone could be watching just about everything you do, Android security researcher Trevor Eckhart argues in a video posted earlier this week.
In a land where smartphone adoption rates are among the highest in the world, South Korea has become one of the most targeted areas for mobile development. Now that restrictions on game approval have been loosened, South Korea can join in the Android gaming fun.
Android tops the charts in mobile malware, largely due to the failure of Google's Android Market to properly review apps before they hit the marketplace, says a new report from Juniper Networks.
Android users take note: Researchers have found a whopping 472 percent increase in Android malware samples since this summer. The free-for-all Android Market has seen a striking increase in the volume of attacks since July, according to research from Juniper Networks, as attackers continue to become more sophisticated in the malware they write.
Google has pulled another batch of malicious apps from the Android Market, this time for secretly sending out text messages that result in hidden charges for users.
Google said Tuesday that over 10 billion applications have been downloaded from the Android Market, which offers free and paid programs for smartphones and tablet computers running the Internet giant's operating system.
Android handset owners looking to see what apps are available in the Android Market will now have a better way to see what others thought of a given program.
With version 3.3.11, Android users can set all apps to update automatically by default. Users could previously allow individual apps to auto-update, but this new setting applies auto-update to every app the user owns.
Late last week HP announced its plans for webOS, the platform it originally hoped would power its array of devices in an era clearly headed in the mobile direction. HP rescued webOS from complete shut down by making it an open platform, but it must first compete with Android, the dominant open source platform in today's mobile arena.
The US smartphone market has become so consistent -- Android gains, iPhone is stagnant -- that Nielsen has started revealing other interesting trends, as it did today.
Market research analysts Gartner have released worldwide smartphone sales data for the last quarter, and it seems that the only platform that's going to be celebrating these results will be Android. In a nutshell, the figures tell a simple story: Android up; iOS, BlackBerry, Symbian down; Windows Phone flat.
Hacktivists have released a manipulated version of a popular Android app to commemorate a Tunisian man whose suicide triggered anti-government protests in his country a year ago.
In the overwhelming majority of cases, mobile Trojans are designed to steal money or information which will ultimately be monetized. But occasionally, there are some out there whose main goal is not to change the contents of users' accounts or wallets.
This week, Nielsen listed the most popular Android apps by age group -- 18-24; 25-34; 35-44. Well, well, talk about age discrimination. Perhaps people 45 or older are considered to be iPhone users?
The next time an Android user mocks your shiny new iPhone or BlackBerry, just smile, nod ... and avoid touching his phone. Because odds are quite high that the device has been used while its owner sat on the toilet at some point — and who knows if he even washed his hands.
Google's Android will become the preeminent platform for developers over the next 12 months, edging ahead of Apple's iOS, according to a study by research firm Ovum. Nearly all developers, however, will support both platforms.
This is a project to port Android open source project to x86 platform, formerly known as "patch hosting for android x86 support". The original plan is to host different patches for android x86 support from open source community.
The screen is big -- the screen is 4.7-inches of Super LCD glass -- and it looks quite nice. But the Galaxy Nexus beats it with its 720x1280 Super AMOLED HD display. It's less about the screen type than it is the pixels. The 720p screen just trumps it, hands down.
If you've ever looked at some of our past coverage of trade shows, you no doubt noticed that when Google is in attendance -- they like to do things big. They bring lots of phones to put on display, have plenty of Android gear around and its always a very hands-on experience,
Androidland, which opened this week, is a store within a store, dedicated to Android phones and tablets. Australian carrier Telstra designed the shop in collaboration with Google, HTC, LG, Motorola, Samsung, and Sony Ericsson. They've been working on it since July.
Music industry chiefs must have been pleased to hear that the maker of pig-squishing iPhone game Angry Birds has learned from its mistakes in combating piracy.
It's not that much of a surprise but it's certainly worth mentioning that Rovio's hit game Angry Birds has flown past 500 million downloads. In just two years, Angry Birds has soared past milestone after milestone, gaining popularity on every platform it supports.
The Angry Birds are set fly from the virtual into the real world next year as the cartoonish birds from the popular smartphone game get their own theme parks, a playground company said Thursday.
Four American iPhone users have launched a class action suit against Apple over its exclusive deals with carriers in the country and the way it runs the App Store.
We've said before that we fully expect U.S. carriers other than Verizon to make available subsidized versions of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, and this looks like a pretty good step in that direction. The FCC has approved the GT-i9250T, which is a Galaxy Nexus sporting radio frequencies for 3G on 850 MHz and 1900 MHz, which AT&T uses.
Since iOS devices top many gift wish lists, a new holiday tradition can be added to your annual routine: family get-togethers, unwrapping presents, and hitting the App Store.
iTunes Match determines which songs in your collection and libraries are in the iTunes Store, including ripped-CDs and pirated music, and replaces any content which is found to have better audio quality.
Apple has opted to stay out of the burgeoning technology of near-field communication with its iPhone, but a newly awarded patent suggests the company will eventually offer services similar to what Google and credit card companies are providing.
Apple closed its flagship store in Beijing after frustrated fanbois rioted and pelted the windows with eggs when they were told the shop didn't have the iPhone 4S.
Good news for Apple: even as the giant Android persists in its quest for world dominance, those who prefer buying iPhones still figure prominently, with nearly half of smartphone buyers choosing an iPhone in the past three months.
Steve Wozniak may have helped Steve Jobs build one of the greatest consumer electronics empires in the world, but this Apple co-founder admits that he loves his Android handset. During an interview with the Daily Beast, the Woz blasts the iPhone for its limitations and highlights a number of perks that Android brings, including voice commands that are better than Siri and navigation. “My primary phone is the iPhone, I love the beauty of it,” Wozniak says. “But I wish it did all the things my Android does, I really do.”
Apple on Wednesday confirmed that some users of the iPhone 4S and other devices running iOS 5 are experiencing poor battery life and attributed the problem to a software bug. The company says it will soon issue a software update that fixes the problem.
Apple is going after Samsung again in Germany. According to a report on Bloomberg, Apple has filed two lawsuits against Samsung, claiming that 10 of its smartphones and five of its tablet devices, including the Galaxy S II, violate Apple's design rights. A Samsung spokesperson said that company had received both lawsuits but would not comment further.
An Italian regulator has fined Apple €900,000 ($1.17m) for trying to sell a two-year extended warranty when customers were entitled to such a thing for free under Italian law.
Apple spent much of 2011 attacking manufacturers like HTC and Samsung over their "slavish copying" (Apple's words) of the iconic company's products, but new information suggests the Cupertino-based manufacturer is willing to roll around in any degree of muck if it gets them an edge in court.
Things just got a little bit easier and possibly closer to legal for hackers trying to bring Apple's digital personal assistant Siri to iOS devices other than the iPhone 4S, according to a prominent iOS hacker.
It's easier than ever to pay your "Apple Tax" -- that price premium the company collects for its products. Well, that's how Microsoft refers to the price gulf between Windows PCs and Macs, as do many BetaNews readers. If you enjoy paying the tax then perhaps the Apple Store 2.0 app is just for you.
Apple's Broken Promise aka Siri aka The iPhone 4S' Gimmicky Party App has a lot of problems and Apple is trying to fix them. There are two new job openings for iOS software engineers to work with Siri's user interface team:
In the fight against malware, Apple's iOS outshines Android as a safer environment, but no mobile device is free from risk, says a new report from McAfee.
Apple Inc. has once again been targeted by bullish commentary from the brokerage community. This time around, Sterne Agee lifted its fourth-quarter earnings outlook, citing strong supply chain checks for the iPhone and Mac.
Apple's decision to launch a tweaked iPhone 4 - the 4S - rather than a brand new iPhone 5 may have flabbergasted some pundits, but punters have taken to the phone and narrowed the gap between iOS and Android.
Apple had said the store would open at 7am local time but it was still closed at 7.15am, according to the report. The store stayed closed for safety reasons, with a man telling the crowds that the iPhone 4S would not go on sale via a megaphone.
Apple's voice-recognition app Siri -- the big new feature on the iPhone 4S -- doesn't work in India because it doesn't recognise all regional accents in the country, reports website DailyBhaskar.com.
Apple Inc. has named Dixons Retail CEO John Browett as its top retail executive, charged with developing the sales strategy for the iPhone and iPad maker as it expands Apple stores around the world.
Apple is looking to expand its current German ban on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 to a variety of Samsung smartphones on similar grounds of design patent infringement. The Galaxy S II and Galaxy S Plus are both in the crosshairs, and no doubt many other touchscreen slate smartphones.
If you've been looking forward to a non-jailbroken build of sassy Siri to land on your old iPhone, abandon hope. Apple officially has no plans to take Siri beyond the 4S, says Michael Steeber. It's Apple bullshit, but totally expected.
I'm guessing Apple is getting desperate, since its software patent lawsuits aren't doing particularly well. Moving on from software and design patents, the company is now suing Samsung over... Patents for mobile phone and tablet cases.
Apple proffers design advice on how Samsung could avoid stepping on Apple's design patent toes, in a legal brief filed as part of its ongoing patent infringement lawsuit against its competitor.
Comments on my article, "Siri Is Apple's Post-Jobs Ticket To $1,000," prompted us at The Arora Report to do a head to head study comparing Google Android voice recognition capabilities with voice recognition capabilities of Apple Siri.
At the Apple education event on Thursday, Apple executives Eddy Cue and Jeff Robbin unveiled the iTunes U app, a new way for students and teachers to manage course material for classes on an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch.
Apple has removed a tethering app for the iPhone that let users share the smartphone's cellular connection to the Internet with a Mac or Windows notebook.
Apple saw its global iPhone sales skyrocket to more than 37 million last quarter. Just imagine what the number might have been if the iPhone 4S had been available in China at that time.
It's kind of hard to gauge the influence that mobile devices have on other markets. For example, Apple believes that the iPad is having a pretty serious effect on the PC market (as well as some effect on Mac computer sales), diverting customers away from traditional computers and toward its tablet.
Apple's iOS is the most popular mobile platform among corporate workers, at least according to a survey from mobile security provider Check Point Software.
Starting November 11 regional cellphone carrier C Spire Wireless adds the Apple iPhone 4S to its lineup making it the smallest US carrier to offer the coveted phone. C Spire primarily serves customers in four states including Mississippi, and parts of Florida, Alabama and Tennessee.
After releasing the iPhone 4S in November, Apple and its iTunes App Store saw a big jump in app downloads, rising 83 percent over the same period in 2010.
iPhone 4S users are using almost twice as much data than its predecessors, according to a study. Apple’s Siri is thought to be driving up the data usage, but it’s not unique to the iPhone.
My first phone call this morning following Apple’s filing of its proxy statement – apart from two questions on the subject from colleagues at GMI which came in before 10am – was from The Guardian in the U.K. asking just that question: is that still quite a lot of money, even by U.S. standards.
My informal polling reveals that no golf course in America prohibits cellphones on the course. It is a sport where cultural common courtesy screams for quiet during shots and immediately prior thereto. We can now safely assume that every single golfer who can afford to play can also afford a smart phone. If nothing else, Apple made sure of that. Public course users can buy its older iPhone 3 for as low as $49 on specials as it attempts to slow the increased market share of Google's smart phones that use the Android operating system. My fearful prediction is that Apps will add time, distraction, disgust and disgorgement from the traditions of golf. The demise is not just because of Apple smart phones, but that's a good place to start.
If you're looking for a fun little Android-powered radio, the Archos 35 Home Connect is now available for $149. As you'll recall from our hands-on earlier this year, the Archos 35 Smart Home Phone is a DECT-compliant device running on a 1GHz single-core Texas Instruments OMAP chip.
It was way back in June 2011 that we first saw Archos' Android based Smart Home Phone. Flip forward to January 2012 and the device is finally available to purchase, coming in at £130 over here in the UK.
On the back of a business card-sized name badge at a conference I attended in Stockholm, there was a printed agenda for the Nordic Mobile Developer Forum. Keynote speakers included the likes of RIM, Nokia, Microsoft Windows Phone 7, Qualcomm and Adobe – those who are at the epicenter of what’s next in mobile phones – the operating system, the chip, the user interface, etc.
Did you get a notice recently from AT&T stating you use more than your fair share of wireless data? Ask Maggie explains why this is happening and offers some advice to help you keep the data flowing. Ask Maggie also offers some advice on deciding between an iPad and a MacBook.
I sure am, and it's not even on my shopping list. Every day there's a new rumor about the US launch date. We all expected December 8 -- even Verizon Wireless stores (I spoke with a rep last night, who confirmed the date). Perhaps I should ask a different question: Could Google have bungled Galaxy Nexus launch even more?
Surveillance companies can use your iPhone to take photos of you and your surroundings without your knowledge, said a representative from the Bureau of Investigative Journalism at a panel chaired by Julian Assange™ today.
In the five months since Asus announced the Asus Padfone, few details have been revealed about this Android smartphone that can turn into a tablet. On Monday, however, specs leaked on a mobile benchmarking tool reveal the hybrid device may very well sport a qHD screen resolution and a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor.
Microsoft's app store for Windows Phone 7 devices now hosts more than 40,000 applications, according to unofficial figures from the All About Windows Phone website, which uses a custom tracking system.
This morning, before the opening bell, AT&T announced calendar fourth-quarter earnings and record iPhone sales -- 7.6 million. Combined with Verizon's number that works out to 32 percent of iPhones sold during the quarter. Sprint will announce earnings results on February 2, conceivably pushing the number close to 40 percent.
AT&T today took the wraps off the LG Nitro HD -- the carrier's verison of the Optimus LTE. Leading the specs charge is the phone's 4.5-inch display, with the new high-end resolution of 1280x720.
Steve Ballmer took to the stage at this morning’s AT&T Developer Summit keynote sharing his excitement for the future of Windows Phones and Windows 8. AT&T revealed that it will be the first carrier to offer LTE Windows Phones starting with the HTC Titan II.
The AT&T Galaxy S II is getting a nice little update this morning that brings its Android version number to 2.3.6. A number of people have reported that the update failed at first, but others have installed it with nary a hitch.
AT&T is bulking up its 4G LTE lineup with five new Google Android smartphones and one Google Android tablet. All will operate over the company's upgraded network, the company said at a press event here today.
Apple's new iPhone 4S may work fastest on AT&T's network, which may lead buyers to choose the carrier over Verizon or Sprint when purchasing the top-selling device.
AT&T dropped its $39 billion bid to buy T-Mobile USA in December, but demonstrated Monday that it is still running on all cylinders with announcements at CES of new smartphones, a tablet and new tools for mobile app developers.
Nokia's Windows Phone plans for the US market got clearer this week. Bloomberg reports that Glenn Lurie, the head of AT&T's tablet division, confirmed that the wireless carrier is indeed in talks with Nokia about offering its Lumia smartphones for sale on its network.
It looks like the LG Nitro HD wasn't the only thing to hit New York City last night: the shiny new flagship is currently surfing on AT&T's 4G LTE network, which hasn't been "officially" switched on yet here in the Big Apple. We'll go ahead and assume that AT&T is still in the testing phases here in the five boroughs, with an official statement on its way.
Nokia's CEO Stephen Elop wasn't kidding when he said at the launch of the new Lumia 900 Windows Phone at CES that pricing for the device would be competitive.
Data downloads and Web browsing on new LTE-ready smartphones were slightly faster on AT&T's new 4G LTE network than on the far more widely spread 4G LTE network of rival Verizon.
AT&T has been using Carrier IQ only since March 2011, with the Motorola Bravo the first device to have it integrated. However, AT&T has had its own analytics tool in use since 2009. Called Mark the Spot, or MTS, it differs from Carrier IQ in that it's a traditional application, downloaded and installed by the consumer and not preloaded onto the device before purchase.
Ahh, Atari. Long before PlayStation, XBOX and Wii there was Atari. While many of the Atari franchise games have been re-released over the years, they've not quite may their way to Android.
You want your content served up hot and ready, with a side of buttered toast. OneLouder's made a business of it, launching BaconReader for Reddit alongside similar apps for Twitter and Facebook. Yahoo! also launched a mobile messaging app called Hub, sending texts over Wi-Fi or data connections. Mobile is becoming increasingly important for customer correspondence, and Zendesk's shiny new app delivers an inspiring interface. Here are this week's top Android apps.
HTC may not be able to sell smartphones in Germany in the run-up to Christmas, after the patent licensing company IPCom said it would start enforcing an earlier infringement ruling against HTC.
Just because an app is banned from Google's official Android Market doesn't mean that plenty of users aren't itching to install it on their devices. But where can those folks get the contraband downloads they crave?
There's a strange quirk in Verizon's text messaging system. When entering a recipient, if their phone number doesn't pop up with their name and you send it anyway, it may go to someone else. That someone else is often Leila.
My Android phone has been one of the few turning points in my blogging career. With Internet access, a hotspot and dozens of blogger-specific apps, my Android is one smartphone that keeps me working at any time.
More and more news apps continue to hit the Android Market each month from both major international players and smaller, locally-focused sources. Whatever your perspective, there is likely to be a news app to suit your tastes. Here are some of the best Android news apps we came across in 2011.
This year was a hot year for social networking apps, with the launch of the Google+ app, Facebook Messenger and many other social apps that bring people together to share news, wisdom, answers, laughter and the best and worst of everything.
The clean hardware design encases a 1.4 GHz processor and a 4.3-inch AMOLED ClearBlack display. Every demo I have seen of the display shows off the Windows Phone screen in bright, vivid detail. The front 1MP camera brings video calling to Windows Phone, and the 8MP rear camera with Carl Zeiss optics may be the best on any smartphone.
Verizon has released a large update for their Messages app that includes support for phone and tablet SMS/MMS sync. The update brings the app to version 2.0.
Microsoft's Bing search apps for smartphones moved into a new era this week with the launch of new versions for Apple's iOS smartphones as well as certain Android-powered smartphones.
Since Nokia embraced Windows Phone as its primary smartphone platform, the company's relationship with Microsoft has always been represented as a mutually beneficial one. Nokia would gain the impressive Windows Phone operating system and access to Microsoft’s complementary services – such as Zune, Office Mobile, SkyDrive and Xbox LIVE – while Microsoft would benefit from Nokia’s global retail and network relationships around the world, as well as Nokia’s extensive mapping and location-based services.
Are these two new OS 7-running BlackBerrys enough to dig RIM out of its recent troubles? In a word, no. But the kids will love the new all-touchscreen body of the Curve 9380, and suits will love the virtually-unchanged Bold 9790.
The Verge has a photo of what looks like a Porsche Design BlackBerry slapped with a large all-encompassing touchscreen. The device supposedly replaces the 'Colt' as the first BBX-equipped smartphone to come out of Waterloo, Canada.
Oh dear, RIM may be trying to get us all excited about BlackBerry OS 10, but when reports appear that the company is canceling smartphones set to run it, it doesn’t exactly fill us with confidence regarding an expedited arrival.
Smartphone sales went backwards in the UK during Q3 as customers abandoned Nokia and Apple. The figures don't look good when compared to last year's storming sales, and it's clear shoppers held off buying new gear during the build up to the latest iPhone launch.
Don't nail the coffin shut on RIM just yet. Following a shakeup of executive leadership, and the launch of BlackBerry Cloud Service and Office 365 integration, RIM announced today that the BlackBerry 7 OS has received FIPS 140-2 certification.
The Android love affair with the Blackberry Playbook continues, as the latest to come from the Dingleberry rooting exploit is full access to the Android Market.
Assa Abloy AB, the world's leading lock group, said Tuesday it is collaborating with Research in Motion to include key-card technology in upcoming BlackBerry models.
Another three-month handset report is available from comScore, and BlackBerry and Windows Phone continue their relentless declines. However, new Windows Phone 7.5 handsets shipped after the analyst firm's reporting period. True test will be the next round of data.
Bluetooth Wireless Phones. Nokia 3650 Wireless Phone from T-Mobile. Want to do it without the phone and the Pocket PC ever touching? Bluetooth is the answer.
Near-field communication will help shorten wait times at the airport, as companies continue to experiment with the capabilities of the technology in mobile devices.
I am a strong believer in applying screen protectors to the high priced smartphones of today since we tend to throw them in our jeans pockets and carry them naked.
North Carolina boffins have been watching text entered into iPhones from 60 meters (197ft) behind the shoulders of users -- or from the front, by reading the reflections in the users' glasses.
There's a reason Brazilian retailers are hyping Friday's release of the iPhone 4S so hard. While Siri comes preinstalled on the new phone, she doesn't speak Portuguese.
This site offers the latest News, Reviews, Information and Prices and Discussion on handhelds and smartphones of all kinds. To find a mobile device you are interested in, use our Mobile Device Search feature in the right column.
Wireless chipmaker Broadcom is gearing up to launch new application processors for the lucrative and growing higher-end smartphone segment by the end of the year, co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Henry Samueli said on Wednesday.
The number of international court battles, by multiple companies, against the Android operating system gained another participant this week as British Telecom has filed suit in Delaware court claiming Google's mobile operating system violates a number of BT's patents.
Barcode scanner app ShopSavvy has been around for a few years now, but it’s about to receive a major upgrade. The ShopSavvy developers are integrating a feature into the app to allow users to scan an item’s barcode and then list that item for sale to other ShopSavvy users, creating a sort of instant Craigslist that they’re calling SavvyListings.
Choosing the perfect holiday gift can be difficult, particularly when it comes to determining the appropriate Apple portable media player to give to your dearest and nearest. This year, however, it's the tiniest bit easier.
Indeed, that appears to have been the case for C Spire, the wireless carrier formerly known as Cellular South. Though the company wasn't suffering under its old name, its phone lineup wasn't exactly thrilling. But since the identity switch, it has made some bold handset moves.
C Spire Wireless, the former Ceullar South that you're seeing in a smattering of TV commericials now, just announced availabilty of the Motorola Milestone X2. That's the same as the Motorola Droid X2 on Verizon that we reviewed back in the summer.
The biggest video game franchise of all time already has a few apps in its Android arsenal, but as of this week, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 fans can analyze their games no matter where they are.
Exciting times are ahead, folks. We're starting to work on the next generation of the Android Central App to complement this little website here and our Google Currents Edition, and we're going to open it up to the developer community at large.
The camera is normally a big selling point, but in Singapore Apple's iPhone 4 and 4S are now available without the function -- to cater to military personnel banned from taking image-capturing devices into army camps.
Details have leaked about Sony Ericsson's new "super phone", and the specs sound impressive. But given the track record, can an Xperia ever actually be a phone that really matters?
Uber, a service that lets people use their smartphones to order and pay for car transportation, has raised $32 million in funding and launched its service in Europe.
One of the reasons many smartphone enthusiasts pick up an Android smartphone is to tweak it with custom ROMs. However, you should also be careful or you could make things worse like I did.
Casio and Verizon are continuing to roll out software updates for the G'zOne Commando, following the rugged phone's Android 2.3 Gingerbread update late last year. The latest software for the Commando brings it up to version C771M100, and adds free push-to-talk capability, along with the usual sprinkling of bug fixes.
The Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY and the LG Ignite will both be available beginning on Black Friday, while the Motorola Milestone 2 is simply listed as "coming soon."
Rocking a Samsung Galaxy S Showcase on Cellcom of Wisconsin? You've got a Gingerbread update waiting for you. The Android 2.3.5 changelog reads as follows:
According to a government report leaked to Bloomberg and then described in a bare-bones news release from the National Executive Committee for Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing, extensive testing of the proposed LightSquared cellular network "found no significant interference with cellular phones."
Faced with providing service for ever more data-hungry cellphones, telecommunications carriers are in a nonstop race costing billions of dollars to boost the capacities of their networks.
Fandroids say that iPhones, Blackberries and Windows Phones are way too expensive. Anyone can buy a cheaper Android! Now a study covering 600,000 support calls has found that these cheap Androids are exactly that: Cheap. And cheap phones break.
In the modern classroom, mobile phones can be the bane of teachers’ lives. An interactive poster produced by Cambridge to promote chemistry in schools is attempting to reverse this, by harnessing smartphone technology developed at the University. The Zappar phone app breathes animated life into chemical symbols featured on the poster, in a bid to encourage more students to investigate the subject.
Following two years of study, China has decided that in-flight calls are safe, but anyone hoping to make a call, or access the internet, on a Chinese flight will still be disappointed.
China has overtaken the United States to become the world's largest smartphone market by volume although the US still leads in terms of revenue, a market research firm said Wednesday.
New research reveals that Generation Y employees prefer device freedom over higher pay, and they would rather lose their wallets than their smartphones.
Apple's iTunes may not be everyone's favorite music player or media management tool, but for millions of iPod, iPad and iPhone owners it is the software they use to work with their music collection.
When Microsoft’s Kinect -- a device that lets Xbox users control games with physical gestures -- hit the market, computer scientists immediately began hacking it. A black plastic bar about 11 inches wide with an infrared rangefinder and a camera built in, the Kinect produces a visual map of the scene before it, with information about the distance to individual objects. At MIT alone, researchers have used the Kinect to create a “Minority Report”-style computer interface, a navigation system for miniature robotic helicopters and a holographic-video transmitter, among other things.
ClockworkMod developer Koushik Dutta has shown off some early progress in bringing touchscreen functionality to his popular custom recovery image for Android. In a video posted on his Google+ page, Koush demonstrates the ability to navigate through menus using touch, rather than the regular volume rocker/power button combo required by current ClockworkMod builds.
Just weeks after we saw our first "unofficial" release of a touch version of the popular ClockworkMod custom recovery, developer Koush has put forth a beta version of his own, available for download now.
Building out cloudy server and storage services as well as support the gazillion of apps running on iOS and Android devices has the cloudy server business absolutely exploding, say the box-counters at market researcher iSuppli.
If you are a fan of money -- which we know you are -- odds are that you have read a thing or two on CNNMoney, and who wouldn't enjoy having that information easily accessible while on the go?
It is far too common for a major Android update to get pushed out to device owners, only to cause significant problems. Google needs to get a handle on the Android update process.
Sure you can take time and watch the Sony Xperia S hands-on video and then compare that to the Sony Xperia Ion video and go back and forth looking to see which one you are most interested in.
At least one analyst is advising investors that supplies of the iPhone 4S are going to continue to be limited through the holiday season, citing low supplies on a "key component" in the device.
Gear review standard bearer Consumer Reports has its new phone rankings out. Some interesting news! The iPhone 4 is still blackballed, the 4S made the cut, and some dubious Androids blow them both away.
The iPhone 4S "doesn't suffer the reception problem" of its older sibling, the iPhone 4, Consumer Reports said Tuesday, which has put Apple's phone back on its "recommended" list after more than a year of being off it because of the previous model's antenna woes.
It's too late to help the millions of consumers who bought the first iPhone 4, but Apple has apparently fixed its balky antenna design with the second generation iPhone 4S.
The HTC Vivid, one of AT&T's first LTE phones set to launch on November 6, will be carried by mega retailer Costco, according to the internal doc pictured above. While the announcement doesn't mention anything about price or availability, we don't see the Vivid going for much less than the $199 that AT&T has already announced.
Does having a PC that you can hold in the palm of your hand excite you? Then get ready to be excited. A company called FXI Technologies has announced plans to release such a device. It's called Cotton Candy and it's basically what we described; a tiny PC that runs the Android 2.3 operating system that's about the size of a USB flash drive stick.
I don’t know why I bother testing apps on their launch day — it never ends well. But because I was rooting for new app Viggle to succeed, I gave the app for iPhone and iPod Touch a Day 2 chance. This move was purely selfish. You see, working from home, I watch a lot of TV. Like, a lot a lot. That said, Viggle, which rewards its users with points every time they “check in” to watching a TV show, is probably going to be my favorite app soon — at least if I’m watching TV in real time.
The long-standing legal battle between Apple and HTC could make some real headway with the U.S. International Trade Commission set to issue a key ruling next week that could potentially ban HTC products from coming to the U.S.
Cross-technology licensing by large companies helped establish the PC platform and protect innovation. Could Intel do the same for tablets and smartphones?
Earlier we all got a preview of CyanogenMod 9 running on the HP TouchPad and now, if you're a TouchPad owner looking to get in on the action -- you can do so. CyanogenMod 9 for the HP TouchPad has been released in alpha form. To break things down for you all:
The popular Android custom ROM known as CyanogenMod could soon benefit from its own application store, following the embracing of an idea suggested by one of the team members recently. Posting to his Google+ account, Koushik Dutta said an independent store would be a much-needed source of income for CyanogenMod, which is now active on more than a million Android phones.
With all of the crazy 2011 security breaches, exploits and notorious hacks, what can we expect for 2012? Researchers of the Websense Security Labs provide their top predictions for the coming year.
All the controversy surrounding Carrier IQ has prompted a developer to create an application that helps Android device owners determine whether their handset is running the software.
Smartphone makers are again under fire for another big potential privacy violation through their devices. This time, the software is called Carrier IQ. It's installed on most smartphones at the behest of cellular carriers in the U.S. and it tracks a crazy amount of data.
The Carrier IQ issue continues to unravel as phone manufacturers and some carriers fall over each other in the rush to distance themselves from any involvement with it and the company which produces it.
Mobile networks in the UK have been quick to deny that the phones they sell, to the best of their knowledge; do not contain the mobile tracking Carrier IQ software.
Carrier IQ, a maker of software to monitor smartphone performance, has withdrawn a legal attack against Trevor Eckhart and apologized after the Electronic Frontier Foundation came to the security researcher's defense.
We're all getting tired of the whole Carrier IQ mess. Analytics are necessary evil, but in this case done in a totally bullshit way, with little or no regard to how the consumer might feel about it. No wonder it caused a huge uproar, which has now found its way to Washington.
"Understanding Carrier IQ Technology -- What Carrier IQ Does and Does Not Do" was released on Carrier IQ's website late Dec. 12 and is a PDF that details what Carrier IQ is, how it's loaded on devices, what information is collected, how it can be used by Carrier IQ's customers, and how the data is protected in the process.
The makers of the controversial smartphone app Carrier IQ have reportedly been quizzed by federal regulators over concerns that its technology tracked user activity and uploaded data to mobile operators behind the back of consumers.
The Carrier IQ scandal that we reported on earlier today continues to grow, as the controversial tracking software is discovered on more devices, and manufacturers and operators begin to clarify where they stand on its usage.
Carrier IQ has been in the Internet spotlight in the last few days. The Mountain View, California based company creates software that is used in millions of smartphones, including Android and Blackberry-based devices. Carrier IQ claims the software is used to monitor "the performance of mobile devices and networks to assist operators and device manufacturers in delivering high quality products and services to their customers."
A free app to detect Carrier IQ, a controversial piece of software installed on smartphones without their owners' knowledge, was made available at the Android Market Friday.
Many cellphone users are wondering whether their Android and BlackBerry devices are spying on them after security researcher Trevor Eckhart recently claimed that a piece of diagnostic software on the phones was acting like malware. Eckhart said the software, created by company Carrier IQ and installed on devices by phone manufacturers and carriers, was secretly recording user data such as keystrokes and Web browsing history. Carrier IQ's software is on more than 140 million handsets worldwide.
More than 48 hours after a software developer posted evidence Carrier IQ monitored the key taps on more than 141 million smartphones, a company official has come forward to rebut the disturbing allegations. And he's provided enough technical detail to convince The Register the diagnostics software doesn't represent a privacy threat to handset owners.
Carrier IQ -- a program accused of snooping on the some 140 million mobile phones worldwide it's installed on -- isn't the villain that it has been made out to be by the media and consumer advocates, according to an independent researcher.
Donovan Colbert says that we've become complacent with devices that have built-in tracking and usage monitoring that report back and aren't easily disabled.
Carrier IQ, the carrier-sanctioned keylogger and activity monitor that has been confirmed to exist on Android devices has been found in iOS. In our post yesterday, we wrongly assumed that Carrier IQ was something that carriers added to smartphones -- but now it's clear that Apple bakes Carrier IQ into its closed-source iOS for use by carriers.
An Illinois HTC phone customer seeks class-action status against Carrier IQ and the handset maker for allegedly intercepting private electronic communications.
So, this has been causing a bit of a major dungstorm - and rightly so. As it turns out, many carriers are installing a piece of non-removable privacy-invading spyware on their smartphones called CarrierIQ. It doesn't matter whether you have a webOS, Android, BlackBerry or iOS device - carriers install it on all of them. Luckily though, it would appear it really depends on your carrier - smartphones in The Netherlands, for instance, are not infested with CarrierIQ.
The CyanogenMod team today has dropped a little update on the progress of CM9, its custom, Android Open Source Project-based build of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The short version is they're still working on it, but a slew of phones already have early builds.
I offer a hat tip to Gizmodo, which has put together a list of smartphones that have Carrier IQ. The company disclosed the information as part of a US Senate inquiry. Sprint subscribers are the most likely to have the spyware installed -- 26 million, or nearly half of them. Verizon: None.
Organizations and regulators across Europe, including Germany, have started looking into the use of Carrier IQ's tracking software, to ensure that mobile phone vendors and operators are not violating users' privacy.
With U.S. Senators getting involved in the issue about whether or not Americans' cell activity is being monitored and recorded without their permission, it's worth asking the most obvious question: How did the offending Carrier IQ software get onto the mobile devices in the first place?
Bit shocked that your iPhone has that Carrier IQ logging feature built into the OS? You can switch it off - in fact, I've shown you how to do this before!
A mobile security software company last Friday released a tool that detects Carrier IQ, the software embedded in numerous smartphones that has raised questions from users, privacy advocates and even Congress.
A newly drafted bill, floated by Rep. Ed Markey, would require mobile carriers, cell phone manufacturers, operating system makers, and third-party app creators to disclose to customers when their devices or software includes the ability to track user activity, and obtain explicit consent from customers to do so. The creation of the bill follows last year’s controversy surrounding mobile monitoring software, Carrier IQ.
Our mantra around here is that you should aways start and end your day with Android Central -- we're the center of the Android Universe, after all. But when we're not busy stroking our own egos, we're busy stroking other people's and reading everything we can get our hands on. And there's been some damn fine work regarding the Carrier IQ saga from people we respect that you must read. Here's a recap:
Just a few days ago we caught word of an update that was rolling out to the HTC EVO 3D and reports are that it also removed Carrier IQ from the device. Folks who have checked around in the manage applications tab have noticed that "HTC IQAgent" and "IQRD," both of which were Carrier IQ, are no longer present on the device after the update.
Android developer Trevor Eckhart says that Carrier IQ, a piece of software preinstalled on millions of smartphones to help wireless carriers monitor the quality of their service, secretly monitors users' activities, records keystrokes, and transmits them to the company.
In the weeks following Trevor Eckhart's discovery that there was software on his phone that was recording what looked like a significant amount of information, the situation has boiled down to finger pointing and blame shifting.
Some Android anti-virus firms have begun releasing Carrier IQ detection apps, but only after the controversial software became a talking point on Capitol Hill ... and a month after a security researcher first discovered it.
Night vision is cool. It's also incredibly useful, too, which is why the US military is funding a project that will make it cheap enough to feature on your phone.
9,000 teams registered for the shot at $50,000, but it took one three-man team just 33 days to solve DARPA's Shredder Challenge, a contest to read destroyed documents. San Francisco-based "All Your Shreds Are Belong to U.S." took the prize two days before the close of the competition, exhibiting the ability to blend computer vision algorithms and human know-how to reconstruct five different documents that had been run through a paper shredder and converted to more than 10,000 total pieces of paper.
You've probably seen remote controlled dart launchers all over the place, but this updated version transfers launch control from your PC to an iOS device using Bluetooth, letting you play Khrushchev by putting the launcher wherever you like.
Despite the boom in Android's market share, Apple's iOS is still holding onto the hearts and minds of most app developers, says mobile analytics firm Flurry.
iPhone sales jumped last quarter thanks to the debut of the iPhone 4S. But just how many phones did Apple sell around the world?
January 9, 2012
Did Ballmer just say Windows 8 was coming to phones? No, he didn't.
Ballmer said 'Windows,' not 'Windows 8.' My interpretation of this is that Ballmer was talking about Windows as an ecosystem, not Windows 8 as a specific platform.
The answer depends on how third quarter sales are interpreted. By one perspective, gangbuster smartphone growth is over, as mature markets saturate and economic woes in Europe sap consumer budgets.
Smartphones in 2011 were increasingly the go-to device over traditional cameras and camcorders for Americans looking to capture photos and videos, a recent survey finds. Mobile handset photography jumped from comprising 17 percent of photos taken in 2010 to 27 percent in 2011, according to market research firm NPD Group. Traditional camera usage, meanwhile, fell 12 percentage points from 52 to 44 percent of all photos taken in 2011.
Research firm Ovum doesn't think so, and expects hits such as Angry Birds to drive growth in the digital gaming market. The firm predicts that the market, which comprises any online games played on the PC, console, or smartphone, will double over the next five years to $53 billion.
Corporate types are kissing their company-issued BlackBerry smartphones buh-bye. And Ask Maggie is here to help the newly liberated choose a smartphone of their own.
NTT DoCoMo Inc will ask Google Inc to modify its Android operating system so that smartphones using it would put less pressure on networks, a move that could spark wider protests against the leading mobile software platform, the Nikkei reported.
While it's easy to overlook the Amazon Appstore's daily free app picks, we'd be remiss if we failed to mention this one: Documents to Go, the powerful document editing app, is today's featured freebie.
If you're eyeing the Motorola Droid 4 and want to pore over every inch of the smartphone before it goes on sale eventually, Motorola's made the Droid 4 user manual available for download.
Want to stroll through the Motorola Droid RAZR software without being bothered with all those words and things? We gotcha covered. Here's a quick look at a lot of what Motorola's packed into the Droid RAZR.
Dropbox released its newest Android App iteration Thursday with a revamped layout and better functionality. Were the new app a kitten, it'd now do back-flips and be 500MB larger for college students.
Good news for those of you who paid your 99 cents for Duke Nukem 3D only to be greeted with a few ads in the game menu -- they're gone. Finished. Kaput.
It's promising better graphics and gameplay, plus co-op multiplayer. No word on when it'll be available, or what it's going to cost, but judging from the scant few seconds of gameplay teased on its podcast, it's going to be a worth upgrade.
Emerging from Silicon Roundabout's Old Street, complete with Instagram'ed staff photos and an iPhone app, comes Flypost, which promises to promote events and venues to those with iPhones who aren't already using Foursquare.
Research in Motion may have improved its overall experience on the PlayBook with its recent update, but security researchers recently revealed that the device leaves corporate email and user information open to potential hackers. Researchers Zach Lenier and Ben Nell of Intrepidus Group uncovered a vulnerability in the PlayBook's Bridge application that leaves the authentication token for the Bridge application somewhere anyone could dig it up.
Thanks to the advent of smart phone technologies, many of us already carry the internet with us everywhere we go. But now, scientists have created the world's first wirelessly powered, computerized contact lens with an integrated LED display. That's right -- the same access to information afforded us by the technology in our pockets could soon come to us via devices that rest directly on our corneas.
A new head-mounted display from Epson will let you watch your favorite media content while inside the mall and view your car being towed outside the mall window at the same time. Its new Moverio BT-100 HMD is billed as standout of its kind. The Moverio BT-100 has transparent lenses for see-through viewing.
You see handhelds being used in businesses just about anywhere these days. Your doctor probably uses one, so does the place you grab your coffee. Heck, even some lumber yards use them. Today, Epson is trying to make them easier and more efficient for businesses to use by releasing an SDK for Android that allows devices to communicate wirelessly with a POS printer.
Google chairman Eric Schmidt on Tuesday defended his company as a great innovator despite allegations from late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs that the Internet search giant stole ideas from Apple's iPhone.
The European Commission has asked Google for more information about its planned $12.5 billion deal to buy Android smartphone maker Motorola Mobility, and has suspended its approval process until it has all the documentation it needs, a spokeswoman for the Commission said on Tuesday.
A European consortium has developed global standards for the next generation of mobile communication devices. Their breakthrough will help contribute to new products and business worldwide, while making smartphones even smarter.
C Spire wireless is running a promotion where you can add a line and pick any of their Android phones for free to put on it. They have 11 different models of Android phones to choose from, including the Motorola Milestone X2, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play, and even our old friend the HTC Merge.
It's a feat no less than impressive. Microsoft announced today that the Dell Venue Pro is now receiving the Windows Phone 7 Mango update via Zune. What they didn't announce, is that the release on that device marks all devices being officially updated to Windows Phone Mango.
Wil Limoges ran the iTunes Match service on his setup of four home/work Macs and his iPhone. He describes his hands-on experience and and offers a few tips for those who want to try it.
The success of Siri, Apple’s voice-activated personal assistant app built into the iPhone 4S, has brought on a flood of imitators. It’s hard to blame developers who are trying to catch a little bit of the voice-activated lightning in a bottle that has helped Apple hit a record quarter at the end of 2011, but none of the apps offered on iOS or Google’s Android platform quite match the power of Apple’s version.
There's been a second wave of Siri clones on the rise this week, with the launch of Evi gaining plenty of attention. While Android users seek their own version of the popular iPhone 4S artificial intelligence assistant, Evi, SimSimi and others have continued to gain traction in the Android Market. Lookout Labs unveiled a great app for visualizing mobile security threats, giving you deeper insight to malware behavior over time. Apartments.com also broke out with an Android app this week, joining the top real estate resources in the Market.
Since the EVO 4G came out many moons ago, Sprint promised us we'd see more in their EVO brand, and it delivered. Soon after we saw the EVO Shift 4G, then the EVO 3D, and now the EVO Design 4G.
Since other sites are starting to leak glimpses of what Microsoft is doing with Windows Phone and LTE in 2012, I've decided to simply reveal what's happening. And as you might expect, Microsoft and its Windows Phone partners do indeed intend to release a number of LTE devices in the coming half-year, all on AT&T.
You're looking at a physical QWERTY keyiboard with center jog wheel, a 2.6-inch touchscreen, and Android 2.3. It's got a 3.2MP camera 'round the back, a 1500 mAh battery and can serve as a 3G Wifi hotspot for up to five devices.
The feature is now available for all Facebook users, just visit Facebook's Introducing Timeline page to find out more, but Facebook is already deploying it among its mobile apps. Well, not all its mobile apps. Specifically, right now, Timeline is only available on Facebook for Android.
Now that the folks in Palo Alto have finally churned out that long-awaited iPad app, they'll be focusing on other things, we'd surmise. Apparently, high on the to-do list is a refresh of Android's Facebook app.
Facebook for iOS has been something of a staple installation for iPad and iPhone owners. The app has undergone various developments over the years, including finally getting a dedicated iPad app. As the Facebook website has evolved, so the app has changed to reflect new features and now, as the app hits version 4.1, it seems to have come of age.
Facebook is reportedly teaming up with HTC to make a phone completely based on the service, as the social network makes a more dramatic leap into the smartphone market.
EA's leading soccer football title FIFA 12 is among the wealth of Xperia Play exclusives (on Android, at least) being offered towards the end of the year, and to whet gamers' appetites, EA and Sony Ericsson have released a new teaser trailer.
Celluon turned several heads during the last couple of years thanks to their unique laser projected keyboards. Specifically, the Magic Cube has been a hot ticket item for anyone wanting to escape the cramped confines of a touchscreen interface, due to its ability to create a full-sized typing tool on almost any surface. But for iPhone users who don't want the added clutter of another gadget, Celluon's pushing a new all-in-one solution -- the Prodigy.
A Japanese company Tuesday unveiled a cheap Geiger counter for the iPhone to enable people worried about the March Fukushima nuclear accident to check their environment for radiation.
Android fans have been eagerly waiting for the release of the Galaxy Nexus. Though the phone still doesn't have a U.S. release date, the phone launched in the United Kingdom Thursday. Sadly, it seems the first phone sold was just a little bit screwy
The massively popular ASTRO File Manager received an update about a month back that brought with it the opportunity to register for a free cloud backup account. Registration emails are now being sent out for the private beta of the service, so of course it's only right that we take a quick look at whats on offer.
The fifth addition to the long legacy of ladies kicking T-Virus ass in questionable attire, better known as the Resident Evil franchise, has finally released its first trailer.
Although I use my Windows Phone 7 device primarily for work-related tasks, there is nothing wrong with having some fun once in a while. This article lists five of my favorite entertainment apps for the Windows Phone 7 platform.
This was an exciting year in the Internet security community, with big tech firms like Sony and RSA getting hacked and putting consumer data and corporate networks at risk, and reports of attacks on utilities, among other targets. Scary things that go bump in the night are actually happening to computer systems that matter and it's only going to get worse. Here's what we think will happen in 2012.
Smartphones and tablets are evolving from niche luxury devices to mainstream consumer gadgets. As mobile devices become a ubiquitous part of the mainstream culture, malware developers are paying attention and are anxious to exploit the fertile new territory.
The first owners of the Galaxy Nexus smartphone can finally enjoy Flash-based websites and videos across the Web. Adobe updated the Flash Player in the Android Market to version 11.1, which supports Google's latest mobile OS, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS).
A revolutionary software program which allows mobile phones to communicate when normal phone lines are down has earned Flinders University's Dr. Paul Gardner-Stephen a place in the finals of an international competition.
Flipboard, the popular iPad app that transforms your social networking feeds into a sleek magazine, is now available for the iPhone. The app has been redesigned to suit the iPhone's 3.5-inch display as well as a new Cover Stories feature that learns your favorite topics and brings relevant stories to the main app screen.
When Flipboard debuted for the iPad last year, it got so much attention that the company's servers buckled under the load and the app didn't work. And now, it's deja vu all over again: After arriving in an excellent iPhone version yesterday evening, Flipboard has gone down.
As many of you would know, a major feature introduced with Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich" is face unlock. Through a combination of a front-facing camera (on the Galaxy Nexus) and facial recognition software, you can unlock your phone in around a second using just your face.
If all you did was read mainstream news reports, you might believe that Apple just delivered a "stinging legal blow" to smartphone rival HTC in a recent patent battle. But Apple won only on one minor point. Far more interesting is the news that the US International Trade Commission actually found that HTC didn't violate three other Apple mobile industry patents.
CyanogenMod has decided to drop support for the Samsung Vibrant after discovering that the phone can't dial 911 running the crew's own open-source Android build.
Indonesian police have said they may charge the outgoing Research in Motion chief in the country with negligence in connection to the stampede last month at a BlackBerry event in a mall in Jakarta.
Charlie Kindel was on the Windows Phone team at Microsoft as an app developer, before he left in August to form his own start up company. However, that doesn't mean he has forgotten about Microsoft and Windows Phone.
Taiwanese tech manufacturer Foxconn, one of the companies that assembles Apple’s iOS mobile devices, intends to double the size of one of its biggest plant. This could allow it to produce twice as many iPhones.
Many free-of-charge antivirus products fail to protect Android smartphone against malware effectively, leaving users with a false sense of security as a result.
Ellora Assets Corporation has updated its video conversion suite with the addition of support for the emerging HTML5 standard. Freemake Video Converter 3.0's headline feature is its ability to convert video into a HTML5-compliant format for embedding on websites.
Thin and light is definitely where it’s at right now. Acer yesterday launched what it claims is the world’s thinnest Ultrabook, the Aspire S5. Earlier today, we reported that Toshiba says it has the world’s thinnest 10-inch tablet, the Excite X10. Now Fujitsu has launched its long awaited ‘Arrows’ handset, which it says is the world’s thinnest smartphone.
PC benchmarking software company Futuremark announced on Tuesday that it has begun developing a version of its 3DMark software for Android tablets which it expects to have ready in 2012.
If the winter gets too dreary, download some fun with Amuse -- 9gag, Cheezburger.In games, the fresh list brings platformer Giovanni's Nightmare and the action-packed Kill Box.
Heading to an event over the weekend? Download Eventbrite before you go! Dive into healthcare with Kaiser Permanente and, in games, help the Pyxxis 2 go home.
If we learned anything over the past few years, it’s that home ownership isn’t for everyone. If you want to rent, check out the fresh app from Apartments.com.
Mid-January is not too early in the year to plan your next vacation. Let’s make 2012 a year of new adventure and breaking out of old routines. Why stay in a hotel when you can use Airbnb to rent a villa on the east coast of Borneo?
No, TiVo isn’t dead, in case you were wondering. The official TiVo app has landed on the Android Market and it aims to make your DVR-ing into a transcendent experience in this New Year.
On vacation? Enjoy some quality time with your Android device. Clip Ninja helps you remember everything you typed on your phone or tablet. For games, check out Grabatron, Mike V: Skateboard Party HD, and Alpha Wave.
Bring your Android to every and all gatherings this holiday season. It can aid you in the kitchen (aTimer), get a party started (Multiponk), help you escape family stress (Enchanted Realm), and show you the power of mobile technology (TouchOver Map).
It's time to go pro! It doesn't matter in what sport 'cause Android Market covers them all, whether it's football (NFL Pro 2012), soldiering (Modern Combat 3), or snowboarding (SummitX Snowboarding).
Only a few shopping days left before the holidays. Maybe give some fresh Android apps as gifts, although, without a gift card feature in the Android Market you might just have to hand out cash to pull this off. Check out Frontline Commando, Grand Theft Auto III, and Sonic CD and tie a bow around the Android device of a family member or friend.
Instant Messaging feels passé for personal communications, but it's all the rage at work. Lync is the latest chat service from Microsoft and now it's a fresh app in the Android Market.
Halo remains a great game franchise but it's not very portable. I tried to pry my flat screen off the wall, so I know. Your next best move may be to download the Halo companion app Halo Waypoint.
You'll have to wait until December 25 for the start of the NBA season, but you get your Android device in the mood today by downloading Tip-Off Basketball.
Toss your laptop in the trash. You don't need it anymore. Now your Android device can print office docs wirelessly with Kodak Document Print App. On second thought, just put your laptop aside. I started to imagine all the angry comments.
Do regular jobs make for fun games? You decide. In today's fresh Android list, become a plumber in Where's My Water? or a grocery store bag clerk in Bag It!
Hope you enjoyed your time with family over Thanksgiving! If you're like me, all that family time has made your ready to hit the road, as in road trip. Two of today's fresh apps -- Desert Bus and Extreme Road Trip -- put you behind the wheel for a virtual getaway.
Two more days to turkey! Plan to spend a few hours of your upcoming long weekend going virtual fishing with Fishing Diary. When you've got to run away from family, try Extreme Evasion.
It's Thanksgiving week, so some of you already be starting or about to begin your vacations. For remote file access while you're away, try Syncplicity. And, since you'll have more time for fun on your hands, play Snappy Dragons and NFL Flick Quarterback.
Assembled your list for holiday cards? Even if you haven't started, the Holiday Cards by Sincerely Ink app says it can help you get it done in no time.
The SpongeBob SquarePants character Mr. Krabs says it best -- "I like money!" In this economy, we all do. Find out where yours might be going next with the fresh CNNMoney for Android Phones.
Analysts say Android device owners buy far fewer apps than iPhone owners but at least one game in today's fresh list should make you open the ol' wallet. Beyond Ynth HD is a physics puzzler that arrives to rave reviews after a year in the making. Read more about it below.
What's old is fresh again! Today's list includes the original first-person shooter gangster Duke Nukem in the classic tale of love, loss, and alien abduction called Duke Nukem 3D.
Spend the back half of the week discovering great new recipes care of the Food Network with today's leading Fresh iPhone App, Food Network in the Kitchen. Following that, we've got a new children's book designed specifically for iOS, called The Skunk Who Couldn't Spray. A couple of sharply written, witty titles make up today's game selections:
Manage the relationships you have with your contacts list, and keep track of when you interact with important people both professionally and personally, with VIPOrbit, today’s top Fresh iPhone app.
Start your week with a dose of Hamlet, thanks to our leading iPhone app, Hamlet in Bits. The app brings you all kinds of information that helps to understand Shakespeare’s play, including audio and animated performances and the text to go with it. We’ve also got a big update to Fanhattan, which can help you find new shows and movies to watch on Netflix, iTunes, Hulu and more.
Start your weekend with all the best videos the Internet has to offer with Frequency, an iPad app that makes finding and organizing great videos from all over the place a snap. It's our top Fresh App today, followed by Steam Mobile, an iOS app that ties to the popular digital video game download portal and lets you impulse-buy during Steam's crazy game sales no matter where you are.
Oscar season kicks of this week, so be ready with Oscars, today’s leading Fresh iPhone App and a great way to get info on all things Academy Awards. Following that is Mobile MORE Field Guide to Life, an app for those recovering from alcoholism that can help them stay on the path to recovery.
Start the week by expanding your vocabulary and learning a bit about climatology with today’s Fresh iPhone Apps. Wordy brings a fresh word of the day your way each day, with all kinds of dictionary and thesaurus information from multiple sources, and Earth-Now uses NASA data to show the state of various types of information about the planet on a touch-controlled globe.
Get a hand taking some solid group photos with the help of GroupShot, an app that lets you switch parts of photos with other parts to help you get the photos where nobody is blinking. Moonit, our next Fresh App, makes it easy to find people based on your astrological sign. Monkey Quest: Thunderbow leads our games selections, adding explosives to the Angry Birds-like physics-based arcade gameplay, followed by Scramble With Friends, a social game similar to Boggle and playable on the Internet.
Experience some innovative storytelling with today’s leading Fresh App, Numberlys. The app is kind of like an interactive storybook mixed with an animated feature, telling the story of the creation of the alphabet. It’s fun for kids and adults, and looks great. Following that is an update to Banters, a social network that’s all about sharing and responding to quotes. In games, Blockwick will challenge your puzzle-solving skills, while Darkness Rush: Saving Princess gives a horror spin to the running genre, along with some slick Unreal Engine 3 graphics.
OnLive is known for its streaming video game service, but that's not why its new app is leading the charge on today's Fresh Apps list. Instead, it's OnLive Desktop, a more work-oriented app, that's on our radar.
The weekly iTunes App Store games dump is here, bringing lots of great new titles for the weekend. Star Marine: Infinite Ammo starts our list today, bringing side-scrolling shooter action in the vein of Contra to the iPhone and iPad.
Just pick the video and the soundtrack and let the app do the rest. Following that is a feature-laden text editor for the iPad called Phraseology that’s designed specifically for writers. Life is Crime, a free-to-play massively multiplayer mobile game leads today’s gaming offerings, followed by top-down shooter Ice Wings: Skies of Steel, in which you’ll use tilt controls to pilot a fighter jet around obstacles.
Planning a trip in the new year? Hipmunk can help – it’s latest update adds finding hotels to its repertoire of travel powers. The app was already great for finding flights, and now it’s great for use when you get to where you’re going, too. Following that is one for the gamers out there: Call of Duty ELITE, an app that ties in with the incredibly popular Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 video game. In our mobile game offerings, we’ve got Space Kiwi, an arcade game with tilt controls, and Kingdom Rush, an iPad tower defense title with an epic fantasy inspiration and some really tough battles to fight.
Start sharing video updates with your friends with Shoutz, a mobile-based social network getting some brand new content starting this month. It’s leads our Fresh Apps today, followed by Scribe, a no-nonsense text-editor that lets you save straight to the cloud through Dropbox or iTunes. Tongue-Tied! is our first game offer today, which has you controlling a pair of dogs with their tongues tied together, followed by Walkabout Journeys, in which you’ll need to rotate your device to keep the path clear for a group clowns traveling through a crazy world.
The end of the year is closing in, and it’s time to get ready for some New Year’s partying. Today’s leading Fresh Apps might come in handy. Up first, we’ve got VideoCam3D, an app that lets you turn the videos you shoot on your iOS devices into 3-D videos, and Hatch Plans, an app that makes it easy to organize your friends to get out and do something.
A 3-D arcade flyer with some great graphics called Sleepy Jack leads the charge, followed by a new third-person shooter called M.U.S.E. with lots of stuff to blow up in it. LostWinds, a platformer with swiping controls and mechanics that let you control the winds, is up next, and finally, we've got a port of the classic side-scrolling action title, Mega Man X.
Sure, there are a lot of ways to take and keep notes on your iPhone or iPad. But most of them don't actually preserve the feeling of using notebooks -- which is why Pad & Quill is kind of nice. It's a note-taking app that maintains the feel of actually writing notes, and it tops today's Fresh Apps list.
Go into the weekend with an eye toward relaxation and recreation with today's leading Fresh iPhone Apps. Liftopia makes it easy to grab information on ski resorts and find cheap lift tickets, and an updated Golf Channel app will tie you into all the latest news and videos about the sport.
It's a day of big-time video game releases in the iTunes App Store. Grand Theft Auto 3, one of the most controversial games ever created, just landed this week for the incredibly low price of $5.
Like food and sharing your favorite foods with others? Today's leading Fresh iPhone App is just for you: Evernote Food is all about saving and sharing your meals with others.
Microsoft takes the lead on today's Fresh iPhone Apps list with OneNote, a new version of its note-taking software designed specifically for the iPad. It's followed by literary social networking app Opuss, which is best described as an Instagram for words.
Social networking can help you get a lot done with today's Fresh iPhone Apps. Sundew is a question-and-answer app that lets you get answers to your questions from your friends or friends of friends, and Wenzani uses friends' recommendations (as well as those of professionals) to help you find cool things to do around you.
With the holidays upon us, obviously we all need something to really get us into the mood. This is where Singing Santa comes in. The app is a singing and dancing Santa simulator that actually takes what you say into your iOS device's microphone and turns it into a song.
It's another big launch day in the iTunes App Store, and leading the charge is The Dark Knight himself. Batman Arkham City Lockdown is a one-on-one brawler that controls a bit like the Infinity Blade series and links with the story of Batman: Arkham City, a big release on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.
Rearrange your photos into interesting polygonal collages with today's leading Fresh iPhone App, PolyMagic. We also have RZA's World, an app that takes you into the animated mind of hip-hop artist RZA. In games, MinoMonsters is a role-playing game in which you fight and recruit monsters to help you, and Egg Punch puts a 3-D spin on mini-golf.
Two social networks in the App Store received some big updates to lead today's Fresh iPhone Apps list. Google+, Google's answer to Facebook, has increased capabilities in its iPhone app, and Instagram rival EyeEm has added new capabilities for users snapping and uploading photos to its service, too.
Take an inspirational approach to setting reminders with Bloom*, an app that skips to-do lists in favor of personal reminders that combine photos and music to inspire you to do what your reminders say. It's followed on our Fresh Apps list today by Stachematic Camera, which can add mustaches to the faces of the subjects of your iOS photos.
Get plugged into the Technology, Entertainment and Design Conferences wherever you are with TED, today's leading Fresh iPhone App. Formerly available only for the iPad, TED has made the jump to the smaller screen as a free download.
Start the week off socially with today's leading fresh iPhone apps. Myxer Social Radio leads the charge, which allows its users to link up with their Facebook friends to listen to music together. It's followed by ContactsTap, an app that makes organizing your contacts list easy and quick.
There's a definite end-of-year, holiday feel to today's Fresh iPhone Apps. Thanksgiving is just around the corner, but after that, the run-up to the Holiday Season and the New Year begins. Celebrate in style with a classic Charlie Brown storybook narrated by Peter Robbins, or see what 2012 has in store from the brains at The Economist.
Marrying the green movement with location-based check-in apps is today's leading Fresh iPhone App, Green Square. The app is all about checking-in to your favorite green businesses in order to share them with others. I
Get a jump on your holiday shopping with Etsy for iPhone, an app that brings the handmade craft buying and selling website right to your iPhone. The app includes tools both for buyers of Etsy products and sellers.
This week's big games release in the iTunes App Store sees the addition of Minecraft: Pocket Edition, an iOS version of the incredibly popular indie PC sensation in which players have built all kinds of amazing, huge structures.
Try a new form of location-based check-in with Clingle, an app that adds video to the kind of social networking you do when you're wandering around town. The app lets you record short videos to use as your check-ins at businesses or other locations, and you can even leave items, videos or messages for other users to find when they check
Remastered music from Pink Floyd has just found its way to store shelves, and so has a new Pink Floyd app designed to give you a bit of trivia or information about the band every day. Check it out while maybe making recipes from Foodily, which provides daily recipes from food experts and your friends.
Your iPhone can help in lots of different ways. Using today's Fresh iPhone Apps, it can help you choose the right wine for dinner with Hello Vino, and it can help turn Facebook into a giant extreme sports competition with iBeatThat.
TV-based social networking app IntoNow has received a big content update, focused primarily on bringing more info for iPad users to deepen their TV-watching experiences. It's our leading Fresh App today, followed by GOLF Magazine's official iPad app release.
It's Thursday, and you know what that means: a new haul of games in the iTunes App Store. Start with a big update to Dungeon Defenders, which changes the co-op role-playing/tower defense hybrid's name to "Second Wave" and adds lots of content.
Grab your iPhone and download GarageBand, the app that Apple used to show off the power of the iPad 2 way back in March. It's now available for the iPhone as well, along with AmazonFresh, a new app from online retailer Amazon that allows you to purchase groceries using your iOS device.
We've received several tips about a possible bug on the new Samsung Galaxy Nexus which results in the phone schizophrenically switching between volume modes, or randomly muting itself.
Owners of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone awaiting the official fix for the handset's spontaneous volume reduction bug may want to avail themselves of an unofficial fix in the meantime.
Case-Mate's "Barely There" series of cases has a reputation for offering a good level of protection against knocks and bumps, without turning your phone into a bulky, unpocketable brick. The latest Barely There case for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus continues this tradition, with a sturdy yet sleek design that covers the most vulnerable areas of the device.
You don't always want to have to choose between an easy snap-on cover and all-over protection for your phone. Sometimes it's more convenient to have the option to switch things up as and when you need, and that's one of the main strengths of Qmadix's snap-on cover with holster for the Galaxy Nexus.
The Galaxy Nexus is the flagship Android device running Google's Ice Cream Sandwich OS and is a very powerful smartphone. It supports HDMI out and VoIP calling as well.
The UK seems to get all the cool smartphone launches first lately. On Wednesday it began selling the Lumia 800 from Nokia, the first phone from the company based on Windows Phone.
The promised volume bug fix for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is now rolling out over-the-air, with multiple Nexus owners reporting that updated software has arrived on their handsets. The OTA package weighs a little under 1MB, and updates the Nexus from build ITL41D to ITL41F, while the Android version remains at 4.0.1. So far it seems that the update contains only the volume bug fix, and that there are no other goodies hiding inside.
A lot of noise is appearing on some popular tech web sites about the "polish" of Android compared to iOS. I'm not going to wade into that fracas as I recently voiced a similar complaint about Android.
While we wait for Google's and Samsung's Galaxy Nexus to get a U.S. release date and pricing, some reviews are popping up for the international version of the phone. Data speeds aside, these Galaxy Nexus reviews will tell you everything you need to know about the next Google phone. Here's a roundup of what critics are saying:
Verizon Wireless will begin selling its version of Samsung's Galaxy Nexus smartphone on Friday, according to documents purportedly from an authorized Verizon retailer.
Nobody knows when Verizon will launch the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, but one thing we do know is you won't be able to use Google Wallet on the new Android phone. Verizon has put the kybosh on the search giant's plan to put Google Wallet on the Galaxy Nexus. That means Galaxy Nexus owners will not be allowed to download Google's new NFC-based tap-and-pay application from the Android Market.
The Galaxy Nexus has everything you could possibly want in a smartphone, but it comes at the cost of battery life. Here's a simple change to greatly help out in that area.
South Korean users will be happy to learn that they can now download games from the Android Market. The complicated world that is country-by-country licensing agreements has prevented many markets from getting key features available in the United States
Windows Phone may have settled into a comfortable niche with developers, who recently rated the platform third behind iOS and Android, but ahead of Blackberry. But the market researchers at Gartner say Windows Phone still has a ways to go with the audience that matters most: Customers.
Apple's legal war with Samsung isn't the only set of patent fights the iPad and iPhone maker is engaged in. It is also battling Motorola in courts around the world.
The simplest way to watch any form of television on your computer is with a TV tuner --whether it's cable, satellite or terrestrial, it gives you access to the widest possible range of channels, including those you subscribe to.
Whether you are completely new to the world of smartphones or have recently switched providers, below are some helpful hints on how to set things up and get started. No matter what operating system your smartphone runs on, with this advice you'll be a pro in a matter of minutes.
Last week we got word that the Samsung Droid Charge was set to receive its own official Gingerbread update, and now word in the forum is that the update is rolling out.
Rejoice, LG Optimus 3D owners, for your handset's long journey to Gingerbread is finally over. The European version of phone, which launched in August with Froyo, today received an update to version 21a, based on Android 2.3.5.
RIM's proxy-style web delivery is bypassing mobile network operators' filters on internet filth, including the thoroughly illegal sites listed by the Internet Watch Foundation.
If you're hopping on a plane today for the holidays, there's a new free travel app that's worth giving a look. GoHow Airport is a simple app that gives you information on a score of airports. You get an overview, list of shops, and info on food and drinks, services, parking and ground transportation.
Not long ago, Google revealed that it is activating 700,000 Android devices per day. Well, Christmas has been kind to Android. Andy Rubin, head of Android, Tweeted that 3.7 million Android devices were activated on Dec. 24-25, meaning a lot of people got new phones for Christmas.
Good news for many of our readers in the Middle East: Google has announced that its Voice Search service now recongnizes Hebrew and Arabic if you're in Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, the UAE and Israel.
The biggest Android update in ages, Ice Cream Sandwich brings real improvements to the leading smartphone platform, and it'll get even better as phone makers fill in its gaps.
Google today has finally unwrapped its long-rumored news magazine competitor to Flipboard on iOS. Called Currents and available on Android smartphones and tablets, along with the iPhone and iPad, it's a finger-friendly way to sort through the latest news on a wide variety of subjects, much easier on the eye and the brain than sifting through pure RSS feeds.
Google will be happy to know that its apps, like Gmail, Maps and YouTube, are amongst the most used on its own Android-powered devices. According to the latest Nielsen report, Google and Facebook apps are the most popular smartphone apps for Android owners 18-years and older in the U.S.
The Android world is no stranger to lawsuits, but the latest one coming from British Telecom goes right to the top. It's suing Google in the U.S. over claims that six of its patents have been infringed on by technology found in Android, from the system itself through to Google+, Maps, Docs, Gmail and other Google services.
As NFC technology and mobile purchasing move into the mainstream, Google's separate online payment systems, Checkout and Wallet, have become redundant. One of them has got to go.
Google's latest update to its Gmail iOS app fixes a glitch in the first version, but many users are still giving the app a collective thumbs-down over its limited functionality.
Google is again treading a well-worn path that was pioneered by others, this time in digital music: The online giant announced the launch of its Google Music service, which provides iTunes-like functionality on Android devices and free cloud storage for users' music collections. The service was previously available in a limited public beta version.
Disoriented at Minneapolis' Mall of America? Confused at Tokyo's Narita airport? Can't find the bathrooms at your local Ikea store? The Google Maps application for Android phones and tablets may offer some help.
If you're a Google Maps user, you'll find a new app update waiting for you in the Android Market this morning. The new version 6.1.1 fixes "bugs on tablets and phones" according to the latest change log. We're not aware of any serious problems with earlier versions of Maps, but if you've been experiencing any issues in the past, hopefully this latest revision will have you fixed up.
Google announced today that it has finally added explicit support for multiple calendars in Windows Phone 7.5. So if you're using Google Calendar on Windows Phone, it's now much easier to access all of your calendars and not just the primary calendar as before.
Google has released an official app for Google Offers, their location-based deal service. With the app, you can view, purchase and redeem deals right from your Android device.
Ever wondered how many internet-using young men in Denmark watch TV while using their smartphone? No? Oh. Well, anyway, now you can find out, thanks to a new survey and analysis service from Google.
Congress wanted answers regarding Google's updated and consolidated privacy policy that goes into effect March 1, and el Goog has responded with a blog post as well as a 13-page letter to eight U.S. representatives.
Google's chairman Eric Shcmidt told a reporter that Google plans to market a tablet "of the highest quality" in the next 6 months. It may be that Google is simply planning a "marketing push" for Android tablets, but it's more likely that Google will launch their own branded Tablet - just like the Nexus range of phones.
2012 is a big year for the United Kingdom, with London playing host to the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. According to a French newspaper, Google might also be along for the ride launching Google Wallet in the UK in time for the games.
You can talk about Windows, you can play with Android, but according to Google, what people really wanted to know about in 2011 was Apple products, Apple services, and, oh yes, Apple.
Looks like Google's taken the lid off of this 10-cent app thing. The Android Market's now promoting 10 days of offers -- top premium apps -- 10 cents per app.
At the Google I/O conference in May, many Android phone vendors and U.S. wireless carriers made a long-awaited promise: From then on, any new Android phone would receive timely OS updates for at least 18 months following launch, as part of the then newly christened Google Update Alliance.
The question of whether or not things will change for Android OEMs after Google completes the Motorola acquisition has been lingering ever since Google first announced its intentions.
EyeSee360’s GoPano Micro is a case, attachment and software combination that turns your iPhone 4 or 4s into an odd-looking, but effective, 360-degree camcorder--for a mere $80. Put the iPhone into the case, snap the cone-shaped lens onto the camera opening on the back of the phone, and run the free app to capture the action in all directions simultaneously.
Back in 2007, Corning introduced Gorilla Glass, which quickly became the industry standard for damage-resistant glass used on mobile phones, tablets, notebooks, monitors and TVs across the world. Today, it is used by more than 30 multinational technology brands, and is integrated into over 570 products, which collectively amassed global sales last year of more than 500 million units.
Sex, guns, drugs, violence -- and that's just in the splash screen. Yes, folks, Grand Theft Auto III is now available on Android as part of Rockstar Games' 10th anniverssary celebration of the game. It's been optimized for touchscreens.
As O2 customers are getting riled up over news that the U.K. network has been sharing your mobile number with Web sites you visit from your phone, a security expert reckons networks leaking your information is nothing new.
There are a lot of games out there that start life "online" that eventually make their way to mobile platforms due to their popularity. One of those games is Gravity Guy from the folks at Miniclip, where you get run around defying all the laws physics and gravity while being chased by Gravity Troops in a fast paced side scroller that I find similar to the likes of Sonic the Hedgehog.
is one of the nation's most experienced mobile computing software development firms. We consistently deliver groundbreaking work for clients ranging from the Fortune 500 to innovative start-ups.
Vulnerability in a widely used wireless technology could allow hackers to gain remote control of phones And instruct them to send text messages or make calls, according to an expert on mobile phone security.
Three hackers say they have exploited a vulnerability in Research In Motion's PlayBook tablet to gain root access to the device, a claim that could damage the BlackBerry maker's hard-won reputation for security.
Hackers have managed to get Google's Android Marketplace running on the RIM PlayBook, potentially bypassing RIM's App Planet though the mod is far from mainstream.
This was obviously going to happen, there was really never any possibility of stopping it really. Offer the technical types, the geeks, an opportunity like this and they're going to be all over it.
You may be aware of the dangers of driving and texting, using mobile apps, or talking with a handset. But did you know that just talking--even on a hands-free device, such as a Bluetooth headset--is too distracting for most drivers?
After going hands-on with the LG Viper at CES during the stylish-yet-dark Sprint party, we just had to get our hands back on one of these devices to check it out a second time.
The Lenovo K800 has a 4.5-inch display at 1280x720, runs Ice Cream Sandwich and is powered by an Intel Atom Z2460 CPU running at 1.6GHz. It's got an 8MP camera.
After Huawei's song-and-dance this morning at CES, the press got some quality hands-on time with the company's newest flagship device, the Ascend P1/P1S. The P1 is the thinnest smartphone on the market today (the P1S has an LTE radio and therefore is a bit fatter-- you'll see in some comparison shots in the gallery), and it's a fact that is immediately recognizable.
We have seen some manufacturers talk about what goes into bringing Ice Cream Sandwich to their devices, but Huawei has skipped the talking part and gone right for the releasing part.
Another prepaid device to hit the market for Virgin Mobile, but come on now who doesn't like selection? The latest device to hit Virgin Mobile is the LG Optimus Slider, the revamped and enhanced LG Optimus S that is currently available from them.
I managed to get some alone time with Motorola’s latest Android offerings while attending the Digital Experience event at CES: The Droid 4 and the Droid RAZR MAXX. Both Droids feature dual-core processors and 8-megapixel cameras, and both can connect to Verizon’s LTE network. However, though similar, each phone brings something new to the Motorola Droid line on Verizon.
Last year we saw the Samsung Captivate, a great device which was quite popular, and this year we have the Samsung Captivate Glide. Unlike the original Captivate, the Captivate Glide has a slide out keyboard -- as if you couldn't tell by the name of the device. QWERTY sliders are usually written off by many as they would rather have a thinner device with a large display and just type on that, but Samsung has done a great job with this device keeping it relatively thin and rather light while including the physical keyboard.
The first device running Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) is now available as the Galaxy Nexus from Samsung. You can buy import versions with the Verizon one likely to arrive before the end of the year.
The Sony Xperia Ion smartphone, announced Monday, has some pretty drool-worthy specs. Not only does it hook into AT&T’s LTE 4G network, but it has a 4.6-inch display, HDMI-out with a TV launcher interface, and a super thin design. Oh--and a 12-megapixel camera. Yep, you read that right--a 12-megapixel camera. And it is pretty darn good.
As we all know the BlackBerry PlayBook will be receiving a large update in February 2012, which will add an Android App Player to it. Many wondered how many applications would be initially available for downloading, and it seems as though the folks at Handster will be putting forth quite some effort on this.
With the iPhone 4S making record sales in Japan last month, Apple has finally reached the levels of popularity it enjoys in the West. How has the sudden shift affected networks?
Turn your iPad or Android device into an ultra-portable TV and get social with the shows you love to watch! This post shows you how. Traveler-recommended!
Take the two top smartphones available today and put them side by side, and you have what we present before you here -- the iPhone 4S and the Samsung Galaxy Nexus.
Research In Motion’s co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie have quit after a tumultuous period at the company, which saw intense competition, and a long services outage at the maker of the BlackBerry.
Try to drown it, crush it with up to a ton of weight, or give it a ten-foot toss—this prototype G-Shock phone will just laugh its heinous mug at you. Why can't super-rugged things not look like this?
It has been more than a month since Apple, Sprint, Verizon and AT&T started selling the iPhone 4S, and demand is still outstripping Apple's ability to supply the device to all the people who want to buy it.
Hipstamatic shares some similarities to how some would characterize hipsters themselves, a lot of style but not much substance. There are much easier ways to get retro effects on your iOS photos and to share them, but the app is cleverly and stylishly crafted, if a bit buggy and counterintuitive.
Android has plenty of reasons to celebrate this time of year. Their app Market has reached 10 billion downloads, prompting Google to run a 10-day sale on popular apps. It's also the holiday season, and Sony Ericsson is taking full advantage of people's urge to buy new gadgets. Look for the Xperia PLAY to hit C Spire stores this week.
Smartphones with dual-core processors are still a bonus--but what about four of those goddamn things? The alleged Android-y HTC Edge packs that, plus a sizzling Tegra 3 package. That's one spicy processing meatball, if PocketNow is correct.
The Android 3.2.1 update for the HTC EVO View 4G is in the midst of a rollout, bringing Honeycomb and a new "virtual and holographic user interface" to the 7-inch HTC tablet. The official change log reads:
Physical Hard keys replaced with on screen Soft keys
New Google search, available on every page
System Bar: Quick access to notifications, status, and soft navigation buttons available at the bottom of the screen
Notifications menu moved to the bottom right corner of the screen, on the System Bar.
The Action Bar--which can be accessed by touching the Plus Sign icon at the top right of the screen--is the key to contextual, changing menus that are controlled by each application.
Enhanced security including Sprint Data Link and 3LM
Google video chat
Fixed a bug that kept Bluetooth from working in airplane mode
More than 2 million users linked their Hotmail accounts to their iPhones or iPads since the launch of iOS 5 on Oct. 12, and Microsoft reports almost 100,000 new iOS 5 devices are being set up with Hotmail every day.
The House voted to freeze cell phone taxes for five years, helping the administration encourage the spread of wireless technology by reducing a cost barrier.
For parents who are looking for a more educational but still entertaining way of bonding with their children, look no further. Looking Glass children's videos are geared toward kids ages two to eight and cover a variety of fun topics about how things work or how things are made.
Last year, I wrote about how Microsoft could fix Windows Phone in 2011. This year, I'd like to look back on my recommendations and see which the software giant took me up on. And then I'd like to examine the ways in which Microsoft can further improve Windows Phone in the coming year.
As fast as technology in general moves, the mobile device industry is moving even faster. One of the major drivers of this massive growth is the adoption by users of smartphones that eat up bytes over the carrier networks. As a result, the big US carriers have been moving with great haste toward faster 4G data standards. As it turns out, this is what's exerting pressure to change the industry forever.
If you find yourself spending more time in the kitchen and start wondering why some of your dishes work while others fail, pick up a copy of Cook's Illustrated magazine or download the free iPhone app.
Over the weekend, an intrepid XDA developer by the name of Kwiboo managed to corral version 4.0.1 of the Android Open Source Project -- aka, Ice Cream Sandwich -- into a custom ROM that works on the Nexus S. This means, if you have a Nexus S, a thrill-seeking personality, and about 10 minutes to spare, you can be running Ice Cream Sandwich in just a few screen taps.
So Android 4.0.2's starting to roll out to the GSM version of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. But maybe you don't want to wait? Here's how to easily flash the update to your phone, same as we did for the volume bug update. Note that this won't erase anything, and it's really no different than if you sat back and waited.
Amazing strides have been made in recent years towards standardized chargers and connectors for smartphones, tablets, MP3 players, and many other gadget species. In just five years — with the obvious exception of Apple’s iOS connector — Micro-USB has single-handedly destroyed the industry’s penchant for wildly customized and proprietary connectors. Today, you can charge your phone at your friend’s house, plug your Kindle into any computer, and download photos from a digital camera directly to your TV, all thanks to a standardized connector.
HP doesn't get irony. Palm once created the Foleo, a proto-netbook, to pair with your PalmOS-powered smartphone. It got panned so hard it was never released. HP bought and killed Palm, and is now releasing the HP Folio, a 13-inch ultrabook. Can the Folio succeed where the Foleo didn't?
Back when Ice Cream Sandwich was officially announced we all took some joy in predicting what devices would and would not have upgrades heading their way and at the time -- there was alot of love given to the HTC Sensation and EVO line of devices as well as the Amaze 4G.
Google's Android platform reached 46 percent market share for October, says a recent comScore report, while Apple stayed steady around 28 percent. While iOS got a tiny bump from international iPhone 4S sales, Android's ongoing success can be attributed to several factors, the most prevalent being the fact that there's no shortage of Android-powered handsets flooding the global market.
The Taiwanese phone maker's rumored device will reportedly feature a 1.5-gigahertz NVIDIA quad core processor, a 4.7-inch 720p HD S-LCD 2 display with optical lamination, and an 8-megapixel camera capable of 1080p video capture.
For those of you who ever doubted just how fast the smartphone industry moves, here's a glimpse at the "next best thing": The HTC Edge appears to be one of the first quad-core smartphones heading to the U.S. The ladies and gentlemen over at pocketnow got their hands on the first render of the device, which shows a 4.7-inch megadisplay with 720p resolution atop four (yes four) 1.5 GHz cores of Tegra 3 goodness and 1GB RAM.
It was a landmark Android device, and it's been an iconic phone for Sprint, but it seems that this past week finally saw the venerable HTC EVO 4G reach end-of-life (EOL) status. According to an internal memo obtained by Sprintfeed, the EVO View 4G, Sprint's version of the HTC Flyer, will also be put out to pasture from Jan. 29.
The latest from startlingly prolific smart phone manufacturer HTC won't be top of the list for mobile aficionados. It's a basic entry-level Android with middling specs though these are still probably a cut above its bog-standard price. But for smartphone newbies, what it offers may prove to be more than enough.
Apparently, the latest version of HTC Sync will let the HTC Rhyme and HTC Sensation XL sync with iTunes. What? Yep. According to Taiwan News, the HTC Sync app will "automatically detect iTunes (or Windows Media Player) to copy media files such as music, pictures and contacts to their phones."
Owners of HTC phones will have to wait until early 2012 for their device's mobile OS to be upgraded to Google's Android Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0. In a post to its Facebook page, HTC wrote not just phones with fast multi-core microprocessor chip architectures would get Android 4.0, but also HTC phones with fast single-core processors, such as the HTC Sensation XL.
HTC faces a tough 2012 ahead, as the company posts massive losses, and is facing a U.S. import ban on many of its devices. HTC has trouble brewing ahead.
HTC has released the kernel source and other GPL bits for the Desire S Gingerbread update, and for the various Sensation XL versions across the globe. As usual, average and well-adjusted people have no need for this, but for the true Android Geek and kernel developer, it's time to party.
Anxiously awaiting Nov. 14 to arrive so you can get your hands on the brand new HTC Rezound? Well, it seems as though a lucky customer received their order from Verizon Wireless a bit early, and they broke out the video camera to show us what they got.
The second of Verizon's year-end smarpthone troika -- the HTC Rezound -- is officially available today. And for all that scratch, you get a 4.3-inch phone with a new 720p display -- as in 720 pixels packed into the short axis -- along with Android 2.3 and Sense 3.5.
It's going to be a very busy holiday season for Verizon Wireless. With last week's release of the Droid RAZR, Big Red has made it very clear that it wants to be, at least for a few months, atop the Android heap. Now, with this week's release of the HTC Rezound, Verizon has upped the ante even further with a powerhouse of a device that skimps not on the specs.
New smartphones and tablet devices are released at an ever-quickening pace this time of year, and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich has been at the center of consumer hopes. Many manufacturers are taking advantage of these expectations, fighting to be among the first to offer a new Android handset based on the completely revamped OS. HTC among them, the Rezound smartphone will ship ready for Android 4.0.
A new rumor has surfaced that states HTC will release a new Windows Phone in February that supports LTE, according to BGR. The device is said to sport a 4.7in screen and AT&T's LTE bands which would mark the first LTE based device for the platform, if the information holds true.
T-Mobile is pushing out a new software update for its HTC Sensation 4G, bringing the device up to version 1.50.531.31. The new version, which is still based on Android 2.3.4 and Sense 3.0, brings a host of welcome improvements and fixes to Sensation 4G owners.
Following the leak of the HTC Primo earlier this week, our very own Jeffrey Van Camp commented on the presence of Beats Audio on the phone, saying he was disappointed with the feature on the HTC Rezound, as it was only compatible with the standard HTC music player.
HTC has a problem. It realizes it's addicted to new phones. And if HTC's execs make good on recent words, we may no longer be drowning in a torrent of the company's new models every other week. Effing finally.
Now here's where it gets interesting. In HTC's response to questioning from U.S. Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., it listed some 6.3 million "active devices" that have Carrier IQ installed. They include:
And HTC's made it official: Honeycomb indeed is rolling out to the GSM HTC Flyer in Europe. So what about the rest of us? HTC says the Wifi version of the Flyer will "receive its Honeycomb update soon." Here's the full skinny:
Time to unleash your brilliance. HTC is constantly pushing to create the ultimate experience for developers. Now you can access the tools you need to make great things happen.
The Huawei Ascend II is only a modest refresh over the original; if you're willing to spend a bit of money, you can get a much better smartphone on U.S. Cellular.
Chinese infrastructure giant Huawei is bucking the trend by talking to Microsoft about patent licensing before launching potentially infringing Android devices.
If, like me, you had assumed that the Samsung Nexus S would be the first Android phone to receive the official update to Ice Cream Sandwich (after its debut with the Samsung Galaxy Nexus), we'd both be wrong.
If Twitter's 140-character limit is too short for your verbosity, but you want a capped-character limit to ensure your message remains effective, then Shortmail might be the service you're looking for. I signed up for the service back in July, but the company just launched its app Shortmail for iPhone and iPod Touch.
iBike's Dash CC (the CC stands for cycling computer) takes the company's $59 Phone Booth case and adds some mysterious electronics that allow you to use your iPhone or iPod touch as a high-end cycling computer. The standard iBike Dash costs $169, while the $329 iBike Cash CC Deluxe includes a heart-rate monitor, cadence sensors, and spare battery with charger. Factor in the cost of the iPhone or iPod touch and it's clear that this is not a product that's aimed at the casual cyclist, who would be better served with a simple GPS app and website combo like MapMyRide.
Android users are jazzed about news that Google will be rolling out the latest iteration of its mobile operating system to more devices, but how quickly that will happen has some consumers asking questions.
Here's a little tip you may not have known about -- while working inside Google's applications in Ice Cream Sandwich, you can long press any icon and its name will appear.
Are you an HTC Sensation owner looking to get a taste of some Ice Cream Sandwich? RCTeam over at XDA Developers released a Sense based ICS ROM, giving us a glimpse of what we can expect from Sense ICS builds.
Yesterday we showed you how to install Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich on a Nexus S -- and now we have a hands-on video of ICS running on Google's superphone of yesteryear.
It's a great day to be an Android geek -- the Ice Cream Sandwich source code is now being pushed to Google's git servers! This is the full release of Android 4.0.1, which is the version that will ship on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus.
The global standards body approves 802.15.1, a standard adapted from the Bluetooth specification. The Premier Event for Search Engine Marketing & Optimization.
The axe-wielding maniacs over at iFixit are tearing Samsung's Galaxy Nexus limb from limb! O, the humanity! If you've been eager to see what makes Google's new flagship beast tick, here's your photographic anatomy lesson.
Many of you have already read about the Motorola Droid Razr. Some of you may even be itching to get a hold of the device or have already got one. However, a question must be answered. What if the phone breaks? How repairable is it? Can the repairs be done by the user?
India's telecom ministry told mobile phone operators on Thursday that they must scrap "illegal" mutual roaming agreements allowing them to provide seamless nationwide 3G services.
With CES right around the corner, it is about time we got a hot new rumor that could be Sprint's big announcement. A new rumor has cropped up that says Intel and Samsung could be releasing a new Atom based smartphone and it currently looks like Sprint might be the carrier of choice, according to Android and Me.
Specifications and benchmarks of Intel’s 32nm Medfield platform — Chipzilla’s latest iteration of Atom and first real smartphone- and tablet-oriented SoC — have leaked, and if I held stock in an ARM-based company like Qualcomm, Nvidia, or Samsung, I’d be a little jittery right now.
We've been quite patient in waiting for the first of Intel's smartphones to come to fruition, and it seems all the waiting has finally paid off. Today during its CES 2012 keynote, Intel announced the first Medfield-based smartphone in the form of the Lenovo K800. Featuring the low-power Intel Atom Z2460 with Hyper-Threading Technology and support for HSPA+, the K800 packs a 4.5-inch 720p display and Android 4.0.
Intel is reportedly demonstrating reference designs for smartphones and tablets sporting the company's latest Atom mobile chip, dubbed Medfield, running Google's Android OS. Stephen Smith, vice president of Intel's architecture group, says that products based on these designs will be announced in the first half of 2012.
Intel on Friday said it has readied Android 4.0 for smartphones and tablets based on its upcoming Atom processor code-named Medfield, raising the possibility of Intel-inside handheld devices being released next year with the new OS.
Just two months after announcing an alliance with Google, Intel now claims that Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich" will feature support for x86 architecture.
With three new Windows Phone devices now out and another one on the way, it seems that people who want to get quality apps for those phones have a better chance than ever.
Although Android Ice Cream Sandwich makes some big leaps in HTML5 browser performance, Apple's iOS 5 is still the king, according to a study by Sencha.
Apple released iOS 5.1 beta to developers, who already unearthed reference codes for the next-generation Apple TV, as well the next iPhone and two new iPad models. Other tweaks in iOS 5.1 beta include the ability to use cellular data to sync iTunes Match, as well as new geofencing settings to conserve battery power.
Apple's iOS and Google's Android are nearing 15% of the web purchase market. No, that's not that the two operating systems are 15% of all things purchased, rather than 15% of purchases are being done by hardware running those two.
According to a new report from research firm NPD, iOS’s U.S. market share (by sales) jumped from 26% in the third quarter of 2011 to 43% by October and November. Android, however, came out on top, with 47% market share during those two months, down from 60% in Q3.
Good Technology and ActivIdentity today jointly announced an effort to bring federal-level authentication to Apple iOS devices, such as the iPad and iPhone, and Google Android devices.
Rumours - fuelled by comments from a MasterCard chief and an iOS developer - suggest that this year's next-gen iPhone could be packing a wireless pay-by-wave chip.
The iPhone 4S is kicking in plenty of subscribers for all three of its U.S. carriers, but Verizon is proving to be the biggest beneficiary of Apple's latest refresh, according to a new report from J.P. Morgan.
The antenna on Apple's iPhone 4S has gotten a clean bill of health, more than a year after its predecessor was plagued by a problem that came to be known as Antennagate.
Chris Foresman of Ars Technica conducted an ambitious comparison of the iPhone 4S camera vs. an Olympus point-and-shoot and a Canon DSLR. The results weren't conclusive: Foresman says that the best camera is the one you have with you, which was always true and always will be true.
When Apple released its monster financial figures for the fourth quarter of 2011 earlier this week, it revealed that it had sold over 37 million iPhone smartphones in that time period. However, Apple didn't reveal how many of those sales were for the newly launched iPhone 4S.
The iPhone 4S looks like Apple’s catalyst to regain market share in the face of Android’s dominance. Out of those who bought a new smartphone in December, only a minority (2.4 percent) chose Android over the iPhone, according to the latest Nielsen data, helping Apple close the gap on the Android army.
Analyzing last year's smartphone market, NPD found that iOS's share surged to 43 percent in October and November from just 26 percent in the third quarter, thanks largely to demand for the iPhone 4S. Though Google's mobile OS maintained its lead, its share dropped in October and November to 47 percent from 60 percent in the previous quarter.
Apple's iPhone 4S enjoyed record sales in the US and other parts of the world when it launched in October. That sales success has not translated to every country, at least according to a new research report. Reuters reports that the research firm Kantar Worldpanel ComTech claims that in some European territories the market share of the iPhone has gone down in favor of devices that use Google's Android operating system.
Some iPhone 4S users are experiencing SIM card failures, adding yet another glitch to Apple's newest device and opening the door for competitors like Android.
The iPhone 4S has been a big sales hit for Apple. But are the owners of the smartphone using up a lot more wireless data than normal? A new study claims that iPhone 4S users have now become the ones that use the most wireless data compared to other smartphones, including earlier versions of the iPhone.
Cool as she is, the iPhone 4S' new personal assistant Siri hasn't been able to tell me in a meaningful way which iPhone 4S offers the fastest data speeds. In the end, I resorted to the usual do-it-yourself approach: a real-world test. And the results were interesting.
Photojojo's iPhone 4 and 4S case gives the device three unique lenses for taking photos, as Apple's smartphone continues to evolve as a photography tool.
Apple increased its share of the world phone market in Q4 2011, accounting for 8.3 per cent of mobile shipments, but it's still a small fry compared to the likes of Nokia and Samsung.
This morning before the opening bell, Verizon Wireless announced fourth-quarter results. The carrier sold 7.7 million smartphones. Earlier this month, the nation's largest carrier disclosed 4.2 million iPhone activations during the same time period. Divide it up, and iPhone accounted for 54.5 percent of Verizon smartphone sales.
While not the extreme telephoto lens many people wish their iPhone had, this new 2X Tele lens from iPro will bring your subject in closer for better portraits and head shots.
For CIOs, the year 2012 will be one of huge opportunity and incredible risk as Android phones and tablets drive deeper into the enterprise, mobile device experts say. CIOs will be in a bit of a bind with employees pressuring IT to support newfangled consumer devices that may not be enterprise-ready.
If you were to ask an average Android fan what the best part of the operating system was, there is a good chance that their reply would be that it's an open source project. The fact that it's freely available to use and work with is the cornerstone of the Android movement.
AT&T has jacked up the prices of its data service, but it's giving customers more bandwidth each month. Is the carrier offering its subscribers more bang for their buck or simply trying to squeeze more cash from its customers?
The use of Microban antimicrobial protection sets iSkin’s Solo for iPhone 4/4S ($30) apart from the crowd. Otherwise, it’s a pretty standard translucent silicone-like case.
I'll fess up. Sometimes there are issues I want to support, but I'm too lazy to look up my congress person's phone number and call him. Or her? I don't know, like I said, I'm lazy.
If you plan on jailbreaking your iPhone 4S using the new greenpois0n Absinthe software, you better hurry because there's a chance jailbreaking smartphones could become illegal again in the United States. Two exemptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act that allow you to jailbreak and unlock your phone are set to expire in 2012.
Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo has reportedly identified "Android app traffic" as the cause of a recent network outage which affected some 2.5 million of its customers. According to Japanese newspaper Nikkei, DoCoMo did not identify the app, aside from saying that it offered "free voice services."
I'm not a big app guy, I'll admit. I like to check them out, and maybe even keep them around for a week or so, but there's just a few I keep around forever. I do happen to like buying them and checking them out, though, so I go through a lot of them.
In recent years, a software project called jQuery has spread far and wide across the Web, bringing sophisticated user interface features and easing the difficulties of working with multiple browsers.
Welcome to Just Show Me on Tecca TV, where we show you tips and tricks for getting the most out of the gadgets in your life. In today's episode we'll show you two amazing to-do apps for your iPhone.
Welcome to Just Show Me on Tecca TV, where we show you tips and tricks for getting the most out of the gadgets in your life. In today's episode we'll show you how to check the data usage on your iPhone.
Welcome to Just Show Me on Tecca TV, where we show you tips and tricks for getting the most out of the gadgets in your life. In today's episode we'll show you how to enable automatic updates in the Android Market on your Android phone.
Kaiser Permanente, the largest managed care organization in the United States, has unveiled an Android app and mobile-optimized website through which its 9 million patients can access their own medical information anywhere in the world on their mobile devices.
Your smartphone is as likely to be lost or stolen as your wallet—and mobile payment systems on the horizon make the personal information on your smartphone more valuable than ever before. Kaspersky Lab released a free security application to keep your contacts, email and banking information from falling into the wrong hands.
If you have a health plan with Kaiser Permanente, the recent story by TechCrunch noting that the California-based company would be making its medical records available via its Android app was probably a welcome bit of news.
There are a number of tools that computer users will install by default on their Mac or PC -- an email client, web browser, media player and an office suite. Make the move to a mobile platform such as iOS or Android and the range of apps you need changes slightly. Most phones and tablets will comes with a number of apps pre-installed including a calendar, messaging tool, web browser and various other tools. One thing that is generally left out of the mix is a mobile office suite.
Kodak will launch a new version of its iPhone app today that won't get the sort of hype Color did this spring. But it may well be the app that Color should have been from the start.
If you're looking to give another early build of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich a go on the Nexus S and prefer the ROM Manager route, Koush has made available in ROM Manager an early alpha build.
The result is a machine currently in place at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. Patrons who approach the machine are scanned, and if deemed old enough, are urged to use their smart phone to type in or swipe a code that then allows the assumed grown-up to pick a flavor, which is then dropped down for them to grab and eat.
Want to mount your iPhone on a tripod? There are lots of third-party accessories that can help, but few are as practical or affordable as the Kungl iPhone Tripod Mount.
We at Medgadget have been covering an increasing number of lab-on-a-chip (LOC) technologies over the last number of years. Many of these existing LOC devices consist of a microfluidic cartridge containing reagents which typically needs to be analyzed by larger bench top devices. Recently, researchers from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology have come up with an interesting low-cost concept for performing these analyses using the touchscreen of a smartphone.
U.S. Rep. Edward Markey has proposed a bill that would require all phone companies to notify consumers of any user tracking and monitoring software in their cell phones.
The Galaxy S III has already set tongues wagging concerning its will-it-won’t-it appearance at Mobile World Congress, and here’s another phone that could also be unveiled during the show, the Galaxy S Advance.
Members of a U.S. government commission tasked with investigating national security as it pertains to China may want to turn their eyes toward another state actor. According to a memo allegedly from India’s military intelligence that was leaked by hackers, Indian intelligence was able to get access to emails exchanged by the Congressional-appointed members of the U.S-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC).
From the thinnest televisions to the slickest tablets, from ultra-light notebooks to super-fast broadband, technology just keeps getting better. But the cost of keeping up with the latest and greatest gadgets mean that most of us end up stuck with what we've got for a while before we can buy the next big thing.
A Lenovo product manager in China has confirmed that the PC giant will launch a Windows Phone handset by the end of 2012. What's unclear is whether this device will only be for the Chinese market, or whether it will be available worldwide.
Lenovo unveiled three new tablets and a smartphone for the Chinese market on Tuesday and said it will launch a smart TV product in the first quarter of next year.
If you have an LG Optimus 3D in your hands are currently wondering, when exactly you may see an update for your device we have the answer. Nov. 21 -- that's date LG just announced as the starting point for rollout of enhanced Android 2.3 Gingerbread update for the LG Optimus 3D in Europe followed by other markets until the end of the year.
LG says it's sold more than one million Optimus LTE smartphones worldwide since the device's launch late last year. The Optimus LTE made its international debut in LG's native South Korea last October, before moving to Japan and North America in December. On AT&T it's the Nitro HD, on Verizon it's the Spectrum, and Canadians will recognize it as the Bell Optimus Eye. The names may be different, but all these devices are built around similar hardware -- a 1.5GHz dual-core CPU, 1GB of RAM, a 720p IPS display and that all-important 4G LTE radio.
LG this morning on its Facebook page announced four of its smartphones -- its top four, in case you're wondering -- will receive updates to Ice Cream Sandwich. The lucky quorum are the Optimus 2X, Optimus Black, Optimus 3D and Optimus LTE. Timing for the upgrade schedule is yet to be determined. Here's the skinny:
LG has been evaluating its Optimus smartphone range over the past few weeks, in order to see which models would be blessed with an upgrade to Android 4.0. Initially, it was just a handful of phones on the list, but according to a new post on their official Facebook page, several other devices have been deemed suitable too.
Looks like LG is having another go at making a 3D phone. The follow-up to last year's Optimus 3D has leaked online and is set to offer another round of glasses-free three-dimensional kicks.
With rumors of the LG Optimus LTE coming to AT&T as the LG Nitro LTE, Canadians are already ahead of the curve on availablity for this one as Bell Mobility has released the device.
Feast your eyes on a phone most of us will likely never own -- the LG Prada 3.0 announced late last month. That little slice of sexy is being officially unveiled in London in a few hours (we'll be there, of course), but it's sneaked out of other parts Europe ahead of time.
It's been approximately 254 days since (give or take) the last 3D-capable Android smartphone was announced. Two hundred fifty-four glorious days of not squinting, not forcing 3D pictures on our friends and family.
It's been about a month since LG first announced which of its phones would be getting Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. And it's going to be at least three more months or so before any of them actually see it.
LG Electronics unveiled its first LTE-capable tablet, the Optimus Pad LTE. Initially launching in Korea, LG has equipped the tablet with both LTE technology and True HD IPS display, the two features that have helped LG differentiate its latest smartphone, Optimus LTE, from the competition.
Because PR messages too often are, well, borked on Facebook, we instead point you to the most recent statement from LG on, erm, Facebook, regarding Ice Cream Sandwich updates and the fact that the Optimus 2X will indeed be updated to Android 4.
This is getting interesting. After the recent news that federal testing determined LightSquared's LTE network plans would never work without interfering with GPS LightSquared has come back with guns blazing.
Exacting foodies use the LocalEats restaurant finder on their iPhone to track down the best places to eat in a particular city. Thanks to the latest update to the app, they'll also have a pretty good idea of what will be on the menu when they get there.
Google recently introduced a fun (and more secure) way to log into your Google account from a public terminal without entering your password into the PC, and instead using your smartphone and a QR code.
Logitech may have taken a bath on the Google TV-powered Logitech Revue set top box, but we have to give points to the company for not abandoning the handful of customers who purchased the product. Logitech has announced it will be pushing Android 3.1 to the devices this week, bringing the most recent version of Google TV and access to the Android Market so users can load up on apps.
Logitech has announced a new little Bluetooth speaker that in addition to handling music and media playback also serves as a speakerphone for honest-to-goodness phone calls. Logitech's specs only mention the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch as being supported, but we're willing to bet our lowly Android smartphones will work as well.
LogMeIn has ditched the $29.99 price for its basic iPhone and iPad remote access app and is now offering it for free under the simple name "LogMeIn." The new app lets you remotely control PC or Mac computers, so you can leave your bulky laptop behind and use your iPad instead.
The iPhone 4S costs, at minimum, $199 with a new two-year contract to customers wanting to purchase one -- more if you buy the phone without or with only a partial carrier subsidy when you're not eligible for an upgrade.
While The Dark Knight Rises isn't due to be released to theaters until the summer of 2012, the marketing tie-ins for the latest Batman movie have already started. Slashgear reports from London that Nokia has create a very limited edition of the Lumia 800 smartphone that has a black finish and has the Batman logo laser etched on the back.
Nokia has announced that the company has started offering a new software update for its recently launched Lumia 800 smartphone. As previously announced, the patch will be one of two such planned software updates for the Windows Phone-based device. The update will be downloaded via the Microsoft Zune application.
While the phone still has yet to be announced by Nokia, there are now some real and official images of the Lumia 900. Pocketnow.com managed to get the images ahead of Nokia's press conference which is scheduled to take place later today at CES 2012 in Las Vegas.
Nokia's launch of its Lumia 900 flagship certainly made an impact at last week's Consumer Electronics Show, with the device making an overwhelmingly positive impression on those who got to see and handle it.
Seven years have passed since I first strongly suggested to Microsoft product managers that they should add a software applications store to Windows. The idea didn't go over too well. Today, Apple showed Microsoft why an app store makes loads of sense inside the operating system and why Windows Store's February launch is way too late.
FoodSwitch, an Australian-first iPhone app, has been launched recently to help shoppers make healthier food choices in the supermarket and reduce high levels of fat, salt and sugar from their diets.
Four members of the Windows Phone Shell Team talk to the Microsoft News Center about their work designing the Windows Phone user interface as well as life inside and outside Microsoft.
Over the last year, prepaid carriers have upped the ante when it comes to high-end smartphones in their roster, making it more and more tempting to say goodbye to two-year contracts forever. Continuing this trend, MetroPCS today announced that it is adding two 4G LTE Android phones to its portfolio. The LG Connect is the first dual-core smartphone from MetroPCS while the Samsung Galaxy Attain is more multimedia-centric.
While other vendors have offered multi-platform bundles, only McAfee's will protect every device you own. Well, almost every device; iOS and Windows Phone 7 are out in the cold. Still, McAfee All Access is impressively comprehensive.
Intel-owned McAfee has released Mobile Security 2.0, which allows users of Android-based smartphones and tablets to keep better track of what applications are up to, the company said on Monday.
Microsoft Corp. and LG Electronics have signed a patent agreement that provides broad coverage under Microsoft’s patent portfolio for LG’s tablets, mobile phones and other consumer devices running the Android or Chrome OS Platform. The contents of the agreement have not been disclosed.
With only 2% smartphone market share versus Apple and Android’s combined 82%, Microsoft is going to have a tough time edging its way into the mobile market. But that hasn’t stopped the software giant or its partners from trying.
Microsoft has announced two new individual challenges for the upcoming Imagine Cup 2012. These two new challenges will take place on the Windows Phone and the Windows Azure platforms.
Betting heavily on Microsoft to revive its fortunes, Nokia is in a position to sell as many as 37 million Windows Phone handsets this year and 64 million in 2013.
Microsoft expects its Windows Phone 7 mobile operating system to launch in China during the first half of 2012, rather than in late 2011 as originally planned, the company said Saturday.
While Windows Phone 7 has been available for over a year now in the US, Europe and other parts of the world, the massive smartphone market that is China has yet to experience the revamp of Microsoft's mobile operating system. Now it appears that the country will have to wait a little longer to get their taste of Windows Phone 7.
Today, Microsoft was literally giving away Windows Phone devices at a launch event in New York City, where the company created a giant Windows Phone replica (that actually was a giant display, not static).
It's true, Microsoft has its own mobile phone platform that is gaining some ground against Apple's iOS platform and Google's Android operating system. The Xbox maker has also rolled out new functionality to bring together Windows Phone 7 and the Xbox LIVE online platform, giving players the ability to control their Xboxes with their phones.
Microsoft could get even more royalty payments from another Android-based smartphone company if current negotiations go Microsoft's way. The Guardian reports that Victor Xu, the chief marketing officer for Huawei, has confirmed that it is in talks with Microsoft concerning patent agreements surrounding Huawei's Android smartphones and tablets.
Microsoft has issued its first update to the Office 365 cloud portfolio, adding support for the Windows Phone 7.5 Mango release and Apple's OS X Lion operating system, and updating storage and sharing services.
Microsoft and its partners launched new Windows Phone Mango optimized phones on AT&T and T-Mobile at an event in New York City. There's still no new word on any new WPs on Verizon.
If you live in The Netherlands and develop apps for a living (or hobby) and don't yet own a Windows Phone or want a new one, this could be right up your street.
And it's been interesting to watch Microsoft turn up the volume considerably in recent days around accessory cloud services like Windows Live SkyDrive, which is excellent but not broadly understood by consumers.
Microsoft this week announced that developers who create Windows Phone apps will soon be able to sell their wares in 6 new markets, including Argentina, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Peru and the Philippines. This increases the reach of Windows Phone to 41 markets.
It was only a couple days ago that Microsoft Research published Face Swap to the Marketplace and the crew is at it again with Face Mask for Windows Phone. As the name suggests, it is very similar to Face Swap but allows you to add a mask to a photo for simple enjoyment or for privacy too.
Windows Phone evangelist Ben Rudolph, with endorsement from Microsoft, is asking Android users to explain their #droidrage on Twitter. That is, to explain how Android malware has screwed Android users over. If people's stories are epic enough, Microsoft will give away free Windows Phones.
Say what you want about Microsoft, but it is standing behind Windows Phone and is calling out Android at every chance it can get. The company’s leading proponent of the platform, BenThePCGuy, is calling out Android once again and if you tell your story, you could win 1 of 20 Samsung Focus phones.
So, a couple of days ago, we reported that Microsoft had stated that the Windows Phone operating system already supports NFC. The confirmation came from Will Coleman, product manager at Microsoft's UK outpost, who said that "NFC is supported by it, but needs to be enabled by the OEM. So if any wants to enable it, that can be done by all means."
Companies may be excited about doing Google-style analytics on all aspects of their business with Hadoop and other "big data" tools, but big businesses are bracing for bigger phone bills as big data is starting to generate big traffic across the distributed operations of enterprises.
Over the weekend, several websites picked up Symantec's story about Trojanized apps on the official Android Market. This happens from time to time, but what got everyone's attention was that they said the number appeared to be between one and five million downloads, which is a pretty big number.
Mojang reveals $7 portable iteration of indie adventure game nearing platinum status since August launch; presently selling 5,000 copies per day across iOS and Android.
Mint, Intuit's popular personal finance app and long-time favorite of ours here at Android Central, has finally been given the Honeycomb treatment in its latest update. Available now in the Android Market, Mint's tablet attire has all of the features included in the smartphone version, along with a few extra goodies, including an updated overview page, spruced-up spending graphs, and a very handy offline mode.
Early Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich" adopters must do without Flash, as Google confirms that current versions are incompatible. However, Adobe says they won't wait long: a compatible Flash release should be available by the end of the year.
Competition between mobile telephone companies unleashes an offers war between operators to capture new customers. A study at the University of Valencia shows that although the majority of existing customers remain loyal, operators should pay them more attention so that they do not feel discriminated, thus making them move to another company.
NQ Mobile released Mobile Security 6.0 for Android as a free download. This update offers Android users several new features to protect their privacy and financial information, as well as improvements to the user interface.
When you are done reading this article, you will agree that Intel is going to overtake Qualcomm in three years. We know that Intel's technology hasn't gone into any smartphones yet, while Qualcomm realized more than $4 billion of revenue in the last quarter.
was formed in October 2000 to specialise in supporting the mobile data market, such as handhelds, GPS navigation, mobile fax, bluetooth, wireless LAN and GSM/GPRS product lines.
Capturing photos and videos while out and about has become so ubiquitous that a recent study tags smartphones with shooting more than 25 percent of all pictures taken by U.S. consumers.
The latest Motorola Atrix is still based on an idea that's ahead of its time. But if you're the geeky type, you can have plenty of fun with this 4G phone that, with the right accessories, transforms into other devices.
The International Trade Commission this past week set aside three Apple patent infringement claims against rival smart phone maker Motorola Mobility. And while this legal defeat is unlikely to change Apple's tactics against the Android horde, it's worth noting that this is the second such defeat Apple's had in as many months.
The Motorola Droid 4 has already been spotted in all its glory but there isn't a whole lot of info out there when it comes to a release date. Its been speculated that it would be a while yet before you can head on down to a retail location and pick one up given the Motorola Droid 3 hasn't been out all that long but we're not so sure about that.
The newly announced Motorola Droid 4 and LG Spectrum will soon be able to roam overseas on both GSM and CDMA networks, Verizon told Phonescoop. Both devices will be running on Verizon's 4G LTE networkin the US and because of some network issues, previous LTE phones have not been able to roam in non-CDMA markets.
In this episode of Cracking Open, Bill Detwiler shows you what's inside the Droid Razr, and discuss what he learned from the teardown. That basically, the Razr is an upgraded Droid Bionic.
Don't want to swallow our Motorola Droid RAZR review in one bite? Let's break it up a bit. Here's our official walkthrough of the hardware. Put it this way: It's big. It's thin. It's relatively light.
Although much faster than their 3G competitors, 4G LTE phones have suffered from notoriously short battery life. How short? Try less than four hours in some cases. Fortunately, Motorola’s new Droid RAZR Maxx is set to change the LTE’s power-gulping reputation, as the Android handset lasted a full 8 hours and 25 minutes on the Laptop Battery Test. This test involves continuous surfing over 4G with the phone set to 40 percent brightness.
What a way to enter the holiday season. Verizon Wireless has suddenly found itself with arguably three of the hottest Android smartphones of the year, just as the holiday shopping season begins. There's the just-announced HTC Rezound, the "Pure Google" Samsung Galaxy Nexus and what brings us together today -- the Motorola Droid RAZR.
Reviewers say the Droid Razr might be Motorola's best phone yet, but they're describing its battery life as razor-thin and have a few other complaints about the Android device.
UK online retailer Clove Technology has just revealed when it expects to ship two new mid-range Motorola phones, along with information on exactly how much each device will set you back.
Motorola's Defy+ handset is already touted as a tough-as-nails smartphone, embracing the elements and surviving tumbles from great heights. However, for those who need to turn things up to 11, the company has teamed with digger maker JCB to launch an even more rugged version of the beefy blower.
The first fruits of Mozilla's attempt to make a Chrome OS-like Firefox operating system -- Boot 2 Gecko -- are now beginning to take shape in the Nightly builds of Firefox for Android. Dubbed "WebAPI," these recent additions allow Firefox to access an Android device's hardware through a JavaScript API.
Rupert Murdoch's media empire apologized and agreed to cash payouts Thursday to 37 people - including a movie star, a soccer player, a top British politician and the son of a serial killer - who were harassed and phone-hacked by his tabloid press.
Popular music sharing service Exfm has finally arrived on Android and is now available for free in the Android Market. If you're not familiar with Exfm, it allows you to easily listen, discover and share music with friends and other users on Exfm.
Who needs a bunch of social networking apps when they can consolidate everything into one? That’s the philosophy behind MyLife, a new Android app for busy social networkers on-the-go. Its release is accompanied by an extravagant marketing push, showing a lot of faith in the Android user base. CES attendees will be glad to know of the 2012 release of the CES Android app, helping them get around the conference and stay abreast of news. BuddyTV also made a splash with its programming companion, with personalized recommendations on TV shows, movies and even Netflix.
Rice University scientists have created a nano-infused oil that could greatly enhance the ability of devices as large as electrical transformers and as small as microelectronic components to shed excess heat.
Just a quick heads up that the Netflix Android app has been updated to support Ice Cream Sandwich devices, as well as get a few bugfixes. Go snag it now in the Android Market. We've got download links after the break.
Nokia's upcoming Windows Phone handset, the Lumia 710, has been deemed too expensive by UK networks. And they have pressured the Finnish outfit to lower prices in order to compete more effectively with rival low-end smartphones.
Cry as it might about the new federal rules designed to clarify flight ticket prices, the airline industry brought this on itself. The hidden fees and “after charges” encountered by flying consumers had reached such absurdity that one might rightly call them an attack on the English language.
Ice Cream Sandwich, the latest version of Android, is likely to ease the fragmentation of the operating system, some device executives said on Thursday.
Apple was planning to launch the iPhone 5 this year, but it bottled it because Steve Jobs wasn't happy, Business Insider reports, quoting a source who claims to have played with a prototype months before the 4S was announced.
Back in November, we reported on an image purporting to be that of the first device running RIM's next-generation BlackBerry 10 operating system. The handset, codenamed 'London', was based on the same design themes employed in the crazy-expensive Porsche Design P'9981 by BlackBerry device, with silver highlights and unusual angles.
As sales of mobile devices grow across the globe, one company believes it can grab a sizeable piece of the market, not by embracing the trend towards more powerful devices and app-driven ecosystems, but by creating a focused device for one specific sector. Malaysian company Enmac, the self-acclaimed 'world leader in digital Islamic products', has announced the launch of its new handset tailored exclusively for Muslim customers.
RIM has shaken up the executive leadership. At face value, that seems like a step in the right direction, but the initial indication from RIM’s new CEO, Thorsten Heins, is that he plans to double down on the failed strategies that got the company where it is today. It might be time for organizations that rely on RIM to start exploring their options.
The company is now delivering Windows Phone 7.5 to users of the Samsung Focus with firmware revision 1.4, a particularly difficult version of the phone that often has trouble getting updates in a timely manner.
Mobile users with Apple's iOS devices haven't had much to worry about in terms of security thus far. Unlike smartphone and tablet users who own devices using Google's Android operating system, Apple tightly controls which apps are available in its App Store.
The News of the World, the now-defunct tabloid at the center of the News Corp phone-hacking scandal, paid a private eye to spy on Prince William and a host of other high-profile people, the BBC said on Tuesday.
We all know NFC is coming, but it's still fighting for wide manufacturer support, and even when it does have the hardware there are constant struggles between carriers, manufacturers, and financial institutions. A MasterCard exec was recently discussing his company's goals for NFC payments, and in doing so, he may have let slip a design spec for the next iPhone.
Owners of upcoming iPhone and iPads could enjoy a boost in graphics power 20 times greater than that offered by current models, according to enthusiast site AppleInsider.
The Galaxy Nexus may be the first smartphone that will have Android 4.0 installed out of the box but what all those Android 2.2 and 2.3-based phones that are already out in the market. Many, if not most, of them will likely get the Ice Cream Sandwich update. The first such device to officially get its Android 4.0 upgrade is none other than the Nexus S.
Nokia HumanForm was created in a joint effort to translate the most promising new nanotechnologies into meaningful user experiences, in order to create real devices and set goals for future product portfolios.
The GSM Association, speaking at the Mobile Asia Congress, has announced that a consortium of 45 major telcos have committed to support and implement SIM cards with NFC embedded in them.
Like Jell-o, there's always room for video game football: When your team is doing well, you play to celebrate the excitement of the game, and your team's success at it. When your team is having a miserable season, like my beloved Philadelphia Eagles, you play to give your team the fantasy season it deserves, crushing rivals and--inevitably--winning the Lombardi Trophy.
According to the market researchers at Nielsen, it's still a two-horse race in the US smartphone market. But thanks to a massive splash with its latest iPhone, the Android horde has been temporarily slowed, and Apple nearly caught up to the smartphone platform that is otherwise defeating it at every turn.
Usually, when you buy a new, expensive portable gadget like a smartphone or media player, you want to protect it from bumps and scratches. The most logical thing to do to avoid them is buy a case and put the device inside. That just moves the problem elsewhere though, with the scratches appearing on the case instead. Such a solution is more acceptable, but I think we’d all rather have a device in a case or not, that remains looking as good as it did out the box.
Patent licensing outfit Sisvel has acquired 450 patents from Nokia, 350 of which are essential for mobile telephony, but despite appearances this is no desperate attempt to borrow cash from the future.
T-Mobile is the first stop in the United States for Nokia's Windows Phone line, as a Federal Communications Commission filing and an invite sent to the media confirm the nation's fourth largest carrier plans to bring the Lumia 710 to its network.
Windows Phone has been sort of a ship without a port for a while now, getting along as a platform without a must-have, lightning-rod handset. Nokia's Lumia 800 is the first serious contender for that honor, but Mango's knight in shining polycarbonate might not be enough to make its presence felt across the pond.
If a new rumor is to be believed, Nokia is taking steps to release a version of its Windows Phone-based Lumia 800 smartphone that will finally have support for the faster LTE wireless networks. News.com reports via unnamed sources that Nokia is currently running tests on a LTE equipped Lumia 800 in order to secure approval from wireless carriers.
The latest Nokia Lumia rumor to bounce around the Web is none other than a slightly updated version of the Nokia Lumia, the 910, headed for Europe with a 12-megapixel camera.
Last week, we pondered why Nokia would move its focus from something as beautiful as MeeGo, to Windows Phone. Today, it seems the company should begin wondering this too. According to a press release from Elisa, one of the largest telecommunications companies in Finland, the Nokia N9 was the most popular phone on the market during the month of October for personal customers.
If you have been waiting to purchase a Nokia N9 smartphone just because you didn't care for the color selections, you will only have to wait a few more weeks before getting at least one more color choice. Nokia announced today that it will be releasing a white version of the Meego-based smartphone.
Ever since the beginning of time (or at least since 2008 or so), hackers and developers have worked nonstop to get Android running on all sorts of devices, and we see this continuing now that Ice Cream Sandwich is on its way. Now we can add another device to the list of gadgets that have been Androidified: the Nokia N900.
A Bloomberg survey of over 22 analysts suggests that Nokia's late 2011 entry into the Windows Phone market is a success: The Finnish company sold as many as 2 million handsets between November and December 2011 alone, despite sales being limited geographically mostly to Europe. And with Nokia's US phones just now hitting the market, the once-struggling mobile firm has apparently found its feet.
Nokia launched its first such devices, running Windows Phone 7.5 or Mango, last week. The Lumia 710 and Lumia 800 contain processors from Qualcomm and will cost €270 (US$370) and €420 before taxes and subsidies.
Symbian is officially no more, at least as a brand for Nokia. The mobile phone maker announced today that it will be renaming its next update of the long running mobile OS Nokia Belle, rather than Symbian Belle. It's the end of an era for the name of Nokia's home grown operating system which has been the basis for many of its phones.
Nokia managed to sell "well over" one million Lumia 710 and Lumia 800 Windows Phones, the company announced in its latest earnings report. That's a fine start for the company as it bets its future on Microsoft's mobile OS, but the biggest challenge is yet to come.
Network infrastructure joint venture Nokia Siemens Networks announced on Wednesday its plans to cut more than a billion Euro in overhead by the end of 2013. These plans involve refocusing on mobile broadband infrastructure, and cutting its global workforce by 17,000 workers.
Nokia is reportedly testing a 4G LTE version of its Lumia 800 Windows Phone for AT&T and Verizon, as the company preps a potential U.S. launch for a comeback.
Nokia this week reported that initial sales of its first Windows Phone handset, the Lumia 800, are well above expectations. The news comes shortly after a rumor in Forbes that claimed Lumia sales were "surprisingly weak."
Despite overwhelming positivity in the majority of its media coverage, and a great deal of satisfaction and evangelism among those users that have made the switch, it has so far struggled to gain much traction in the marketplace, even as iPhones and Android handsets continue to fly off the shelves.
A manual for Nokia's Lumia 710 that appeared on the Federal Communications Commission website was spotted by WPCentral. The Lumia 710 is the lesser of two Windows Phones that Nokia has released overseas so far, the other being the high-end Lumia 800.
Nokia has undergone a dramatic convulsion this year, abandoning its two smartphone software platforms, and allying itself with Microsoft. The company's software was widely seen as uncompetitive, and hadn't moved with the demands of the market.
New evidence has emerged that shows that the News of the World was not responsible for deleting voicemail messages on murder victim Milly Dowler's phone, a move that gave her family false hope that the schoolgirl might still be alive.
Is this irrational exuberance over a smart phone competitor that simply won't offer up yet another me-too experience? Or are the market researchers who have routinely picked Microsoft's Windows Phone to surpass Apple's once-dominant iPhone by 2015 on to something?
Sprint Nextel customers had been waiting for years for the iPhone to come to the carrier. And it finally arrived this fall. But will the iPhone be the only important device Sprint promotes from now on?
The National Security Agency (NSA) has released SE Android, a security-enhanced version of Android, which provides and enforces stricter access-control policies than those found in the popular mobile operating system by default.
NTT Docomo Inc, Japan's biggest mobile phone service operator, said Tuesday it will partner with South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co and other Japanese firms to develop chips for smartphones.
Dragon Go takes the best of Nuance’s Dragon voice technology to create a compelling offering that allows direct voice access to what is now over 200 content providers, such as AccuWeather, Bing, ESPN, Facebook, Fandango, Last.
While it's been known for some time that NVIDIA has been working on a quad-core mobile processor with the code name Kal-El, the company officially announced on Tuesday that the processor will now have the official name of Tegra 3.
The Tegra 3 chip boasts a low-power fifth core that helps devices conserve power, and reduces battery-draining backlighting when not needed, features Nvidia says significantly increase battery life on mobile devices.
Last night, my colleague Ed Oswald made the most ridiculous statement in defense of iPhone 4S: "Battery life is not a showstopping defect", and he put it in italics! I disagree and told him so in group chat: "It's a real apologist post. Battery life is a showstopping defect".
News is coming out of the UK today from retailer Clove Technology, says that we're going to have to carry on waiting for the official Samsung Galaxy Nexus accessories as the release date has slipped back to February.
It hasn't even been a year since coffee giant Starbucks rolled out its various mobile apps, notably on Apple's iOS platform as well as Google's Android and Research In Motion's BlackBerry, and it seems customers who love coffee love the apps as well.
I've begged and begged and today, finally, we get a peek at what I think is going to be an important future for Microsoft: Today, Microsoft released OneNote 1.3 for iOS, an update to the excellent iPhone app. But this isn't any old update. It's also accompanied, for the first time, by a native version for the iPad as well.
Even though most mobile phone manufacturers have denied installing the Carrier IQ software before delivering the devices, HTC and Samsung - along with the Carrier IQ company - have been hit with lawsuits filed by private citizens who are worried that the companies have been monitoring their private communications and have, thusly, violated the Federal Wiretap Act.
After what seems like an eternity, iPhone users can download a new version of Opera. Two weeks ago the Norwegian web company updated its Mobile and Mini versions just for Android, but now it has brought those updates to other platforms -- including the Jesus Phone.
The Orange San Francisco II, which features a 3.5in capacitive touchscreen display, runs on a faster, 800MHz processor with Android 2.3 Gingerbread. Memory is also up, to 512MB, which can be expanded to 16GB using Micro SD cards.
Microsoft announced today that it has signed LG Electronics to its growing list of Android patent licensees, bringing the total number of licensees to 11. More important, this addition means that over 70 percent of all Android devices sold today now come with a Microsoft licensing fee, a further indication of the software giant's successes in getting these companies to pay up for using Android, a product Microsoft says infringes on its patents.
File this one away in your hugely-geeky-but-tenuously-useful folder: There is now an Android and iOS app that lets you overclock and monitor your PC's graphics card via WiFi -- as in, this is an overclocking remote control.
We knew that Panasonic's mobile division was summoning its strength for a return to the Old World, and finally we have some detail: it's aiming to bring an "ultra-slim D-shaped" Android smartphone with a slim bezel, 4.3-inch qHD OLED screen, NFC and some rugged credentials to Europe in March next year.
The Pantech II is a much better deal than the first version was; for texting fiends or anyone looking to avoid smartphone-like monthly fees, it's a solid choice.
A smartphone that can be controlled touch-free with a wave of the hand in the air is due for the Korean market this month. South Korean mobile phone manufacturers Pantech yesterday announced the launch of a high end smartphone with gesture-recognition technology developed by eyeSight Mobile Technologies. Video demos circulating over the Internet suggest the new smartphone will not only be seen by gadget-hungry buyers as cool but by many phone users as useful.
The Paris Metro will be getting new payment cards next year, cards which pave the way to board-by-bonk phones by being compatible with the NFC standard.
IPCom, a German company that licenses technology patents for mobile phones, is suing German retailers for continuing to sell 3G phones from High Tech Computer (HTC) in violation of a court injunction issued in 2009.
While I'm not sure it makes a lot of sense for me to review the latest official Google phone, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, I have been using this handset for the past couple of weeks and would like to at least provide a quick overview. Put simply, I do prefer the "pure" Android experience offered by this device over the sometimes heavily modified versions sold with other phones, and certainly Android 4.0 is the best version of this mobile OS yet. But I don't see anything here to sway my preferences for Windows Phone.
The world of personal computing is changing as smaller, sleeker and more capable devices are replacing the bulky desktop towers and heavy laptops that formerly dominated the market. New data from Asymco shows just how profound the shift has been, finding that half of all computing devices sold in the U.S. are now mobile devices such as tablets or smartphones.
provides hardware, software, and accessories, as well as reviews, tutorials, and other resources for users of mobile and wireless technology in healthcare.
Bestsellers, 01. HP iPAQ H2210 Bluetooth Pocket PC PDA. 02. CoPilot Live Pocket PC 4 UK Bluetooth GPS + 128 SD CLP4UK-BT. 03. Bluetake Bluetooth Mouse BT500. 04.
It’s a good day for Android, with a few key developments shining a ray of hope on some of Android’s recent woes, and even drumming up excitement for Android’s future. For starters, Android has been approved by the Pentagon for use on Defense Department computer networks, giving the OS an inroad to one of the nation’s most secure systems.
The opening day of a judicial inquiry into phone hacking and other privacy-invading skullduggery by the British media was briefly interrupted on Monday - by a suspected Trojan horse infection.
A 37-year-old woman was arrested this morning by Scotland Yard officers working on Operation Elveden, which is an investigation into allegations of "inappropriate payments to police".
PhoneFactor, an authentication system that uses mobile phones as a second factor for improved security, is now available as an app for Apple's iPhone and iPad.
PhoneSuit's $80 Elite Battery + Case for iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S in many ways emulates the Mophie Juice Pack Plus. And that's not a bad thing, because the Juice Pack Plus is excellent. The Elite isn't quite as good, but it's close.
Photojojo, a combination photo hobbyist/retail site, is offering the iPhone Lens Dial, a case for the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S that adds three lenses to the handset -- a wide angle (0.7x), fisheye (0.33x) and telephoto (1.5x).
Haptic (literally "touch") feedback has certainly improved in recent years -- those gentle, phone-wide vibrations caused by key taps are better than nothing -- but what we really need is a level of tactile response that actually feels like you're typing, where instead of your fingers slipping soullessly over the screen, there is friction and the touchscreen actually gives under pressure.
Plants vs Zombies coming to Android was big news, albeit big news if you lived in the US and could access the Amazon Appstore. All that changes this week though, with the announcement from Popcap Games that Amazon's exclusivity on the title is over.
Most Pocket PCs are Bluetooth capable. Some Pocket PCs, like the iPAQ 2215, have onboard Bluetooth and come ready for Bluetooth connectivity out of the box.
CyberLink has today released the latest version of its flagship media player, PowerDVD 12 -- and the build sees major steps forward in the formats it can handle, and the way the program works with mobile devices, social media and more.
The tech meets trendsetter partnership between the fashion tour de force Prada and Korean electronics giant LG continues where others have failed. Indeed, that was the message both companies were pleased to convey as the third Prada phone by LG was unveiled with some seriousness at Claridges in London yesterday.
Good news for any fashionistas looking for an upgrade on T-Mobile UK. The British network has today confirmed that it'll be getting LG and Prada's latest smartphone in February, in a new entry on its "coming soon" page.
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission should investigate Verizon Wireless for allegedly blocking Google Wallet on a new smartphone available to the carrier's customers, a law professor has said.
Most screen protectors are just a thin layer of flexible plastic that do an adequate job at shrugging off scratches. But they're no where near as tough as Spigen's new GLAS.t which adds another layer of glass for maximum protection.
If you're a user of Pulse News you'll want to the Android Market and grab the latest update. Getting bumped up to v2.7.4, this releases addresses some issues with dark mode and more importantly takes care of a few bugs for tablet users. It's not a huge update but it's an update either way and we like updates -- especially when they improve the end-user experience.
The unannounced Samsung Galaxy S III will hit shelves in April with some meaty specs, including a quad-core processor and a 12Mp camera, it has been alleged.
Competition in the smartphone sector will remain cutthroat in 2012, as vendors will improve performance using LTE, high-resolution screens and quad-core processors and GPUs.
New chips with better performance and enhanced battery life are always welcomed in our devices, right? Well this morning Qualcomm announced some additions to their new lines of processors, bringing a next generation Snapdragon processor to all smartphone and tablet devices. These new processors, which were built from the ground up, not only aim to bring better power management and a significant performance boost, but it will also carry lower inventory costs, which is a huge plus.
In an interview with Digital Foundry, Raspberry Pi executive director Eben Upton claims that the little $25/$35 credit card-sized PC will crank out twice the performance of the iPhone 4S "across a range of content." He even trashes Tegra while comparing his home-grown GPU core to Nvidia's mobile solution.
Attackers can force mobile phones to send premium-rate SMS messages or prevent them from receiving messages for long periods of time by leveraging a logic flaw in mobile telecommunication standards.
At a time when the job market is tough and the US economy is struggling, news of Verizon gaming the system and seeking to maximize profits at the expense of contributing to society is unfortunate.
O, Canada! On the heels of yesterday's report that Amazon got a little tipsy and tried to take a peek up RIM's skirt last summer comes the WSJ's news that both Microsoft and Nokia thought about buying the beleaguered BlackBerry maker. Sheesh, RIM, people are gonna start talking.
In-app purchases are a big deal in the mobile gaming space. It’s something we’ve heard time and time again, and new research suggests that nothing is changing. In fact, there may be more money to be made by selling in-game items.
The beleaguered Blackberry maker has said that it expects earnings at the "low to mid point" of its previously forecast range of $1.20 to $1.40 per share. Analysts are currently expecting RIMM to earn roughly $1.20 per share in the third quarter.
Like it or not, when someone is talking to you, your brain is listening, processing and thinking about what's being said - even when you're in the driver's seat trying to concentrate on traffic.
Mozilla Firefox is one of the most popular web browsers in use in the present day, and due to its open-source nature, Firefox has always had a good starting position. Of all the platforms it's available on, it never really took off on Android devices, but Mozilla are now tackling this.
Now that the Balsillie/Lazaridis reign of failure has ended at Research In Motion, consumers and investors alike are beginning to turn their attention towards what the ‘new’ RIM will look like under the care of its new chief executive officer, Thorsten Heins.
With recent growth in other mobile OS platforms such as Android and iOS, RIM has realized they needed to do something to keep those customers, which is why they have announced BlackBerry Mobile Fusion.
The BlackBerry Curve 9370 is a fitting send off for BlackBerry 7 OS in the face of the upcoming QNX-based BlackBerry 10, but anyone who like apps should buy an Android device or an iPhone.
The BlackBerry Curve 9350 is great for email, texting, and (finally) browsing the Web, but even this latest version feels like a leftover from three years ago.
Research in Motion capped an already dismal year with a steep profit warning on Friday, taking a huge charge to write down inventories on its languishing PlayBook tablet and sending its shares tumbling more than 8 percent.
RIM needs to make changes and figure out a strategy to stay competitive in the smartphone market and a major first step was taken last night with the announcement that the co-CEOs are stepping down.
Research in Motion executives are holding closed-door meetings to discuss a major management shakeup, but the BlackBerry maker needs more than new leadership to solve its current woes.
RIM is leveraging its (relatively) strong reputation for mobile security with the upcoming BlackBerry Mobile Fusion, a mobile device management platform with a twist. BlackBerry Mobile Fusion will cover BlackBerrys and PlayBook tablets, and it will also support competing mobile OSes, including Apple's iOS and Google's Android.
Research In Motion has announced two new smartphones, including the first device from the Curve lineup to include a touchscreen. But while RIM is touting the advantages of its new Blackberry 7 OS-based devices, BlackBerry watchers were more interested in a leaked image showing a purported next-generation BlackBerry smartphone.
Prompted by a court order temporarily preventing it from using the name BBX, smartphone maker Research In Motion this week announced that it would rename its next-generation device OS to BlackBerry 10. Inexplicably, RIM had apparently never investigated whether the name BBX was owned and in use, and that brand's long-time owner, Basis International, sued to protect its trademark.
Research in Motion never released a long-rumored Android client for its BBM service. Samsung never got around to purchasing HP's webOS. So it only makes sense that the latest and greatest anonymously sourced rumor puts RIM as "going hard after Samsung," hoping to be whisked away from the Island of Misfit Toys.
BlackBerry maker Research in Motion says its music-sharing application for its popular messaging service will be available for downloading in the U.S., Canada and Australia within a day.
Shares of Research In Motion jumped more than 10 percent on Tuesday after a tech blog said the BlackBerry maker was actively seeking to sell itself to South Korean smartphone rival Samsung Electronics.
Following Research in Motion's launch of the BlackBerry Bold 9790 and BlackBerry Curve 9380, Canaccord Genuity technology analyst Michael Walkley lowered his price target to $21 from $28, noting slowing sellthrough trends for the new BlackBerry 7 smartphones the past couple weeks. Mr. Walkley said:
The popularity of RIM's BlackBerry may be on the wane elsewhere but here in the world, it was the most popular smartphone platform for the second year running in the UK, RIM claimed today.
RIM says so itself: it doesn't need good phones and tablets, it just needs better marketing. Jonny Phone will buy a BlackBerry if he's persuaded by a team of poorly-drawn cartoon characters and a hashtag, right? Right? Guys? Right?
TechRepublic's Smartphones blog has been busy this year, considering all of the advances in mobile telecommunications technology. We've featured tips, perspective pieces, information about mobile apps, and even a few product reviews. Here are the posts that resonated the most with the TechRepublic community in 2011.
Rogers announced today that their LTE network currently sitting in the core of Montreal has now expanded to the outskirts, including areas like Laval, Terrebonne, Brossard, Longueuil, and Vaudreuil. One of the devices that will be sporting the high-speed data standard is the recently-announced Samsung Galaxy Note, but Rogers also has the LTE Galaxy S II, HTC Raider, and HTC Jetstream.
The biggest problem with the Android platform has been how slowly many phone makers release the latest version of the OS for their older models. It's also not unusual for them to never do so.
Rooting and modding gadget has been a favorite past time among geeks for decades and it is now endanger of becoming illegal in the US. Interestingly it is not through a law being passed but one that is about to expire. An exemption law granted by the U.S. Copyright Office was passed three years ago to help protect those of us who chose to modify the software on our devices from legal threats.
Angry Birds Seasons just got a new holiday update. But along with the new levels in "Wreck the Halls" came a few new permissions, including phone state and SMS permission, that furrowed a few brows. We caught up with Rovio for a big of explantion.
"Hotels around the world have it, so why wouldn't we?" is what Michael O'Leary, boss of budget European airline Ryanair, says about in-flight porn. Joining the mile high club might be about to get a lot quicker and easier.
Nokia's plans for launching its Windows Phone-based devices may include a all new addition to the family if a new Internet rumor is correct. Boy Genius Report has posted word via unnamed sources that Nokia plans to launch the Lumia 900 in the US sometime in early 2012. The new device will have a much larger screen than the Lumia 800 which is currently on sale in several European countries.
iPhone 5 will grow 8mm in length to accommodate a new 4in screen, according to rumours on iLounge that conjure the shape of the next Jesus mobe out of the mists of speculation.
The TV series "Scrubs" was killed off in 2010, but it's apparently being resurrected as an Android game. The usual cast of characters and forced jokes are there, and the developer's describing it thusly:
LG Electronics, the world's third-largest handset maker, said Thursday it would raise about one trillion won ($884 million) through a rights offer to strengthen its troubled smartphone business.
Samsung announced today that it has reached a major milestone in global sales, with 300 million handsets sold in 2011. Driving the momentum, Samsung says, is its Galaxy S line, which includes the original Galaxy S devices as well as the Galaxy S II smartphones, the latter having reached 10 million units sold faster than any device in the company's history.
The Galaxy S Advance is being aimed towards those users on a budget and is powered by a dual-core 1.0 GHz processor, a 4.0” WVGA (480x800) Super AMOLED display, HSPA 14.4 Mbps connectivity and a 5MP camera.
Samsung became the biggest smartphone vendor in the world during the third quarter, and Android's market share has surpassed 50 percent for the first time, market research company Gartner said on Tuesday as it reported on phone sales to end-users.
Samsung's got a lot going for them these days. They're shipping mad numbers of devices, making phones for different price points and consumers, and shoot, they even got build the coveted Galaxy Nexus.
Sprint and Samsung think that access to a 4G network shouldn't be limited to handsets that will require you to take out a small loan in order to purchase. Enter the Conquer, a $100 Android handset with WiMax power.
Samsung has agreed to waive its request for a preliminary banning order in Australia against the iPhone 4S in exchange for a fast-tracked hearing for a final injunction next year.
The Samsung Focus Flash offers excellent value for its modest price, with a zippy 1.4GHz processor, two cameras, and a vivid screen, though the screen's smallish size and the phone's middling call quality are detractions.
As the first U.S. phone with Ice Cream Sandwich, Verizon's Samsung Galaxy Nexus takes a coveted, solitary step forward. However, once other premium handsets receive the updated Android OS, the Galaxy Nexus will lose some of its competitive edge.
The LG Viper is an eco friendly phone running Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) and is powered by a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor. The Viper features a 4-inch WVGA NOVA display, a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera, as well as a front-facing VGA camera for video chat.
We've got around a fortnight of Galaxy Nexus use under our belts, so we thought we'd offer up some updated thoughts on the device's battery performance. Before we begin, remember that we're talking about the international GSM/HSPA+ version here, as opposed to Verizon's upcoming LTE model.
I originally reviewed the international version of the Galaxy Nexus, but I've been using the Verizon one--with LTE!--for about a week now, so our review is updated accordingly.
Got your shiny new Samsung Galaxy Nexus yet? Nope, didn't think so. But when you do, you'll be pleased to hear that MoDaCo's Paul O'Brien has already got a root solution ready and waiting for you. Paul's "Superboot" program installs a specialized boot image to the Galaxy Nexus, which automatically roots it at startup, meaning you don't have to worry about mucking around with your paritions to gain full control over your phone.
The Samsung Galaxy Nexus, the newest and best Android smartphone we've ever used, had a few key facts kept under wraps for a surprisingly long time, most importantly price and release date.
Earlier today we saw some more proof of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus in Verizon's internal systems, and here we have the device passing through the FCC. While we patiently wait for Verizon's big announcement of the device, we can be happy to see the device moving along the approval path.
Aiming directly at the iPod touch, the Samsung Galaxy Player 4.0 gives you all the power and features of a popular Android phone, just without the phone.
Whatdaya get when you slap TouchWiz on top of Ice Cream Sandwich on an original Samsung Galaxy S II? Something that looks very much like TouchWiz on top of Ice Cream Sandwich on an Original Galaxy S II.
It seems that British retailer Mobicity may have jumped the gun with the announcement of a new high-end smartphone from Samsung -- the Galaxy S II HD. The device appeared on Mobicity's site today, alongside a promotional blurb promising "a larger, higher resolution screen and more battery power."
Korean site Etnews reports that Samsung may introduce its Galaxy S III phone at Mobile World Congress in February. Strangely, the site also claims that it will have 3D technology built into the screen, which is odd considering that the LG Thrill (Optimus 3D) and HTC Evo 3D both failed to capture any attention with their glasses-free 3D screens.
Last night Samsung Mobile held a concert in Toronto, during which they had a VIP event, and the folks at MobileSyup were able to snap a picture of an unannounced Android device. The device looks to be the Canadian version of the Samsung Galaxy S II, which is apparently launching as the Samsung Hercules on TELUS. As you can see, unlike the UK version, this device does not have an optical track pad, instead the standard four buttons we are used to on Android devices. This guy's also reported to be a larger 4.5 inches. Noyce.
New Fonts options added include Choco Cooky, Cool Jazz, Rosemary
Keyboard Changes: Android Keyboard with Wider Spaced keys and Quick Keys at the top
New Widgets: The name of the content provider will be listed on the widget list along with the widget name. Previously only the widget name was provided.
New Widget: Traffic (Android) added to list of available widgets
Menu Changes/New Apps: Downloads and Google Books added new, Promotional pre-load of Angry Birds removed.
The Samsung Galaxy Note and Galaxy Tab 7.7 will be the first Samsung Approved for Enterprise (SAFE) devices provided to consumers who wish to use their own mobile devices in both their business and personal lives.
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a global leader in advanced semiconductor technology solutions, announced that it started producing embedded multi-chip package (eMCP) memory for use in the rapidly expanding market segment for entry- to mid-level smartphones. Samsung's new eMCP solutions come in a wide range of densities, utilizing LPDDR2 (low power double-data-rate 2) DRAM made with 30 nanometer (nm) class process technology and NAND flash memory using 20nm-class technology.
It is clear that Android is becoming the OS platform of choice for smartphone buyers and with Samsung overtaking Nokia for all mobile phones they look to be the top choice for consumers.
Samsung back making promises to owners of late model Galaxy devices. This time the company has stated that handset owners will see an Ice Cream Sandwich update by Q1 2012. It seems Samsung has not learned its lesson from the original Galaxy S update debacle, when the company promised consumers that if they bought the handset that they would have Gingerbread in just a few short months after launch.
And another case of the internet apparently wielding more influence than it seems to. To much dismay, Samsung announced last week that several of its popular smartphones, most notably the Samsung Galaxy S, would not be getting an upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich. The internet backlash was palpable, and today, word on the street is that Samsung is reconsidering its position.
Samsung said it has shipped one million Galaxy Notes since the mobile gadget hit the market in late October. But the electronics giant didn't say how many it has actually sold.
The report finds the worldwide smartphone market grew by 42.6 percent year-over-year in the third quarter, a lower rate than previously expected due to a later-than-usual new iPhone launch. The growth figures for the second quarter in the smartphone market were 66.7% year-over-year.
Samsung announced today that they shipped over a million Galaxy Note phones. The company considers this a great success as they have invented a new market with this phone-tablet hybrid, and the phone isn't shipping in the US yet (Samsung does have plans to introduce it in 2012).
There are already speculations about the Galaxy S III specifications, and now Samsung says they are indeed working on a successor to the Galaxy S2. They won't unveil it at the Mobile World Congress 2012 - but rather in a separate event during the first half of 2012, closer to the commercial availability.
The Samsung Transform Ultra gives Boost Mobile users a powerful, keyboarded Android smartphone to take advantage of the carrier's inexpensive plan pricing.
The Samsung Transform Ultra is about as close as you can get to a pure Android experience on a slide-out QWERTY keyboard phone. It runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread, of course, over which its most notable overlay is Sprint ID.
If you have an affinity for Android Tablets, you'll certainly fawn over the next generation Exynos 5250 chipset, complete with a 2 gigahertz, dual-core ARM Cortex A15 CPU and a GPU capable of powering a 3D display at 2560x1600.
It's hard to recall an app I've found as frustrating as Tipirneni Software's Scan To PDF. I've used and reviewed worse apps, and I've used and reviewed more complex apps. But none have come with as many preconditions for proper use--preconditions that seem to be, unfortunately, completely warranted.
On January 6, the US National Security Agency released the first public release of the Security Enhanced Android Project, a program designed to find and plug security holes and risks in the Android flavor of Linux. SE Android is based on the NSA's SELinux, first released in 2000.
Seagate and Verizon will show off an LTE enabled wireless storage device today at CES. As part of the GoFlex Satellite line, the device not only allows network streaming and storage via Wifi, but with LTE enabled users can download content directly to the device or use it as a hot-spot for up to three other devices.
WatchDox, a provider of secure document access and collaboration solutions, today announced that its users can now securely view and make annotations to documents directly on their iOS devices, while maintaining the ability to control, protect and, if necessary, remotely destroy the documents at any time.
Antivirus experts disagree with Chris DiBona, Google's open-source programs manager, who recently said that there is no virus problem on the Android platform and that companies selling anti-malware software for mobile operating systems are charlatans.
A list of 12 smartphones that pose the highest security and privacy risks to consumers and corporations was released today by a maker of security software.
A malicious message sent to Windows Phone's message hub can disable the handset in a manner reminiscent of the "nuking" attack from the Windows 95 days. At the point the bad message is received, the phone reboots, and worst of all, it appears that the message hub application is permanently disabled. Back when people used to only use their phones to call and text, you'd perhaps think that having your phone reboot on you would be no big deal. But these days I find myself often as not composing some important missive.
A new role-playing game for the Android platform enhanced with Papaya's social features has been released in the Android Market and for those of you who enjoy classic turned-based battle controls that don't really require a lot of attention-- it might be worth a look.
If you're a clumsy, phone-dropping fool, you either have a very scratched phone or a very scratched phone case. But this scratch-proof case from Nissan (yes, that Nissan) saves the klutzes of this world from their fumbling.
U.S. Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., didn't like what he'd heard about the whole Carrier IQ saga. And after receiving answers from the analytics company, he still doesn't like what he hears.
Looks like HTC is going on something of an updating spree. According to reports from multiple HTC users, the Desire HD and Incredible S have both received updates to Android 2.3.5 and HTC Sense 3.0, bringing their software in line with more recent phones like the Sensation and EVO 3D.
The Radar 4G and Lumia 710 are both excellent low cost Windows Phone devices on T-Mobile USA. After spending time with both, I am using the Radar 4G as my primary device for several reasons.
There are myriad rating apps out there focused upon every category possible, so Stamped for iPhone and iPod Touch isn't aiming to fill a niche -- it wants to take over all of them with its rating app that covers absolutely everything.
You should know by now just how we feel about benchmarks -- they're easy to manipulate, and really don't tell you anything about how a device will actually behave. And so you should know by now that we're really not going to get all that worked up over the ASUS Transformer Prime showing up in a benchmark app.
The iPhone camera does a lot on its own, but it can't do everything. Shooting 360-degree, panoramic videos is one example. But addressing that missing feature is as simple as snapping a specially designed lens onto your phone's camera.
The barcode product scanner isn't anything new to iDevice -- or even to Amazon's family of apps for that matter -- but the speed and accuracy of new app Flow Powered by Amazon is a step above its predecessors. Available on the camera-equipped iPhone and iPod Touch, Flow's augmented reality is just the app you need as holiday shopping season looms.
RIM’s smartphone market share continues to decline and nothing new is coming until at least the end of 2012. What should they do to stay relevant in today’s fast moving mobile world?
Last week, The New York Times gave us an inside look at what it's like to work at Foxconn, the manufacturing company that owns several China-based factories that crank out Apple's iPads, iPhones and iPods by the millions.
Google has a new challenger to its dominance in search, and it may be only a matter of time before you dump Google for the new service. But the new challenger is not Bing or Ask or even search newcomers such as Blekko or DuckDuckGo. Nope; it turns out the latest threat to Google search is Siri, Apple's voice-enabled digital personal assistant on the iPhone 4S, according to Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt.
Santa has a new assistant this year to help him deliver gifts to good children around the world, according to the latest Apple TV ad. Before he comes slinking down your chimney, Santa makes use of Siri, the iPhone 4S voice-controlled assistant to find your address and local weather conditions at his delivery points on Christmas Eve.
UK satellite broadcaster Sky has announced that it'll be bringing its Sky Go service to selected HTC and Samsung smartphones from February. Sky Go, which has been available on iOS for some time, allows subscribers to view live TV and archived content from certain channels on the on mobile devices.
Android's Skype app got itself a nice little update today, with improvements to battery life and video quality, the ability to send photos and videos to your contacts, and it's now much easier to sign out.
Skype's 2.1 Android app supports a wide range of phones and tablets now, including Samsung's Galaxy S, S II and Galaxy Tab; HTC's Desire, Thunderbolt, Sensation and EVO 3D and 4G; plus a bunch of Sony Ericsson devices.
Smart meters issued by an electric utility in Maine are interfering with a wide range of customers' electronic devices, including wireless routers, cordless phones, electric garage doors, and answering machines.
LG Electronics was hit by a drop in revenue and a net loss for its fourth quarter, but that loss was lower than a year ago thanks to strong demand for smartphones and TVs.
Research in Motion has squashed a nasty bug in its BlackBerry server software that allowed it to be commandeered when handset users received messages containing booby-trapped images.
Apple hasn't cornered the market on a feature that allows you to find your smartphone if it's been lost or stolen -- Android and Blackberry handsets, as well as some other devices, can pull off the trick, too.
When it comes to taking photos and videos, an increasing number of consumers are reaching into their pocket instead of a camera bag, a new study suggests.
Smartphones are capable of many things, from identifying your location and bringing you the news to playing video games. Now, thanks to a UConn professor's efforts to make lectures and class discussion available on mobile devices, smartphones can make you smarter as well.
Google is yanking a number of apps from the Android Market after discovering that they are fraudulent. Although such apps are more likely to be found with Android than on rival platforms, the concept of fraud is an equal opportunity threat that extends far beyond Android mobile devices.
Most people enjoyed playing Snake on their ancient Nokias, gobbling dots and chasing their tail in zig-zags around the screen, at some time in their lives. Well, gamers can now revisit the past and install the ol' classic on their Lumia handsets, retro stylee.
Sony said Monday it has developed new technology for the tiny imaging chips that power cameras in portable devices, which will allow for clearer photographs while using less space and cutting manufacturing costs.
Sony Ericsson today confirmed that its entire "2011 Xperia portfolio" will receive an update to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich -- an bold move considering the Xperia line was once more or less a model of how not to launch with current software. But those days are gone, and the past year's phones have been promised updates.
Sony has taken to its mobile Developer World blog to confirm thats 2011 Xperia smartphones, as well as the recently-announced Xperia S and Xperia Ion, fully support the Russian GLONASS positioning service in addition to GPS. GLONASS is run by the Russian Aerospace Defense Forces, and performs similar tasks to GPS, but operates independently of it.
We've seen leak after leak of the Sony Ericsson Nozomi over the past couple of months, but now it seems we may have some early details of the device's American cousin, the as yet nameless LT28at. A Bluetooth SIG listing for the phone, spotted by XperiaBlog, suggests that it'll sport an impressive list of specifications.
Sony Ericsson has become one of the first manufacturers to release an early Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich ROM, hot on the heels of Huawei, which uploaded a test build for the Honor a couple of days ago. The alpha ROM released today supports bootloader-unlocked Xperia Arc S, Xperia Neo V and Xperia Ray handsets, and is intended to give developers a preview of what's to come.
Sony Ericsson is offering owners of its Xperia smartphones 50GB of free online data storage in partnership with cloud storage company Box, the smartphone maker said on Thursday.
We got our first glimpse of the Sony ST25i "Kumquat" last week, and now it seems we may have the official name for the device, too. According to a new entry on the website of the Indonesian telecoms authority, the phone will launch as the Sony Xperia U.
Sony Ericsson's Xperia line of Android-powered smartphones have some of the more unique designs in the industry. Now come word directly from Sony that the Xperia smartphones will be getting a nice free software update sometime in the near future.
The Sony Xperia Ion is Sony's first new smartphone since they called it quits with former partner Ericsson. It has a 12 megapixel shooter, and of course, will run on AT&T's LTE network.
Here's the first decent look at the forthcoming Sony Xperia U. Also known as the ST25i and code-named Kumquat during development, the Xperia U is one of Sony's first phones since taking control of the Sony Ericsson brand.
Sophos announced Mobile Control 2.0, a mobile device management solution that supports iPhones and iPads, Android phones and tablets, Windows Mobile devices and RIM BlackBerry - managing all of these from one web-based console.
SoundTracking was a highly talked about app launch this past week, with a new take on music identification and sharing for the check-in happy. Local restaurant recommendation engine Alfred had a major launch this week, followed by an acquisition deal with Google.
Way back in May we first covered that Nokia may sell its phone division to Microsoft. Those rumors have again show their face and this time it was picked up by Bloomberg citing Danske Bank saying that "the mobile-phone maker may sell its smartphone business to Microsoft Corp".
A recently released Siri port called Spire promises to bring Apple's personal digital assistant to any jailbroken device running iOS 5. And unlike previous Siri ports, Spire is not burdened by copyright issues, according to its developer. But as is typical for hacks that put Siri on non-Apple approved devices, Spire is not a complete solution and there a few technological hurdles to overcome.
Now that Splashtop has its consumer Android remote desktop offerings on the market, they've now placed their efforts on the next logical customer -- businesses. Aiming for the enterprise market and looking for the love of IT Admins everywhere Splashtop Pro is now available and will help bring your desktop PC to your Android tablet or smartphone.
Spotify recently announced a new mobile application for Windows Phone 7 users, more than a year after the music streaming service first said it would bring its service to Microsoft's newest mobile OS. The new app, simply called Spotify and available now in the Windows Phone Marketplace, requires a Phone 7 device running version 7.5 (Mango) or higher and a premium Spotify account.
Sprint today is rolling out the EL29 update for the Epic 4G Touch. This is the update we first told you about a week ago when the source code dropped. And today, the update has begun to push out to devices.
An early Sprint LTE landing page listed the Sprint Galaxy Nexus as having 16GB of internal storage, compared to the 32GB offered by the Verizion version. Sprint got in touch with us today, however, to confirm that its version of the Galaxy Nexus will ship with a full 32GB, just like Verizon's. So that's that.
Sprint has over-the-air updates scheduled to roll out beginning today for the HTC EVO 4G, the Samsung Epic 4G, and the EVO Design 4G. Using the opportunity presented by removing Carrier IQ, Sprint has bundled up a few other fixes for these handsets and the OTA updates, beginning today, should be 100 percent complete in 10 days.
Sprint's two newly announced 4G handsets both support Google Wallet, bringing an important boost to Google's aspirations, but they also hammer the death nail into WiMAX in the USA.
Mobile payment startup and PayPal competitor Square has a new way to pay that doesn't involve lifting a finger. Or even taking out your phone. You simply walk in to a business, place your order, collect your purchase, and walk out.
STMicroelectronics hopes to make blurry low-light images from smartphone cameras a thing of the past with a new chip designed to boost light output from LED-based flashes.
You can use the browser-based Google App to check email and calendar or you can use Google Sync to sync your mobile phone's native mail and calendar apps. Either way will keep you in touch and productive.
Fresh out of the box, your iPhone 4S can launch Siri in one of two ways: You can press and hold the Home button, or you can simply lift your phone up to your ear, and Siri should start listening. An anonymous hints reader discovered that Siri's Raise to Speak feature works for text-entry, too.
Sort of like putting a fancy new hat on a terminally ill patient, RIM's dropped details on the third version of their app store. It'll now be much easier to browse their limited catalog on your mediocre handset.
Just like many other iPhone 4S users, I am experiencing poor battery life that has left me running for the charger far more than I would like to. The issues are a black eye on what has been an otherwise stellar experience with Apple's latest smartphone.
A study measuring the performance of the iPhone 4S on the three major U.S. wireless carriers found AT&T to be superior in Web browsing and data downloads and uploads when compared to Apple's latest smartphone on either the Verizon Wireless or Sprint network.
Thirty-eight percent of iPhone owners have already updated their handsets to run iOS 5, compared to 30 percent of iPad owners and 12 percent of iPod touch owners.
There is hope for you if you don't fancy the recently released Nokia Lumia 800 or Lumia 710, as an unannounced Nokia phone running Windows Phone has popped up in a promo video.
My reaction mirrored many others this week. Apple's big iPhone holiday quarter seemed simply unbelievable -- 37 million, up 128 percent year over year. But Samsung was close. Real close: 36.5 million smartphones, according to Strategy Analytics. Together, the two companies accounted for 47 percent of fourth-quarter smartphone shipments.
Sometimes life is just too cool. Here are a smartphone and some earbuds that take information from a webcam attached to a pair of sunglasses and allow blind people to 'see.'
Samsung has been leading the global charge to put an Android phone into everyone's hands, and if we're to believe some specs listed by Mobili Linija, an online retail shop from Lithuania, we have a slew of new models with some great specs coming. They have listed details for seven new phones and two new tablets, with the words dual-core and Super AMOLED thrown around liberally. Hit the break to see the list, and a bit 'o commentary.
When it comes to third-party keyboards on Android devices, there are two roads developers take. You have the likes of Swype, which makes its money getting preloaded onto devices (but also has a "beta" line for anyone else to download). And then there's most every other keyboard developer, which uses the Android Market (among others) for distribution. Such has always been the case with Swiftkey. Until now.
Symantec on Tuesday launched the public beta of Norton Identity Safe, a free password management application for mobile and desktop devices. The software was originally a feature built into Norton Internet Security and Norton 360, and is now available for the first time as a standalone application.
If you have an Android device, malware threats are nothing new, just something with which you’ve learned to deal. Mobile security companies usually alert the public when any major malware or Trojan threat is discovered in the Android Market, but rarely do they disagree over what’s actually considered malware.
I don't really use Google Calendar and don't have Windows Phone. If you do, here's a tip. Google has enabled multiple-calendar sync with Windows Phone 7.5. It's now possible to select among the calendars and sync up to 25 of them. Gasp, who has two dozen plus one?
There is no shortage of cloud file sharing and sync services today, and most of them focus on mobile accessibility: Dropbox with Dropsync, Box.net, SugarSync, YouSendIt...there are tons of options.
Last night I watched Samsung TV commercial "The Next Big Thing is Already Here" about a dozen times on YouTube. I'm a sucker for good advertising, and this one is clever to a punch and already is viral among tech blogs.
AT&T's new plans are only really decent choices for moderate data users, but T-Mobile will be offering a few that are geared for more hardcore smartphone owners. A leaked internal memo is detailing two new plans that will be available for a limited time starting January 25. The Unlimited-Premium 5 GB and Unlimited-Ultra 10 GB plans will both toss in mobile hotspot and cloud storage for photos as free additions (normally costing $20/month combined).
During the three-month period ended June 30, T-Mobile generated $5.05 billion in revenue, down from $5.36 billion during the same quarter last year. And although it was able to post a profit of $212 million during the second quarter, that was down nearly 50 percent compared to the second quarter of 2010 when the carrier tallied a $404 million profit.
T-Mobile's Samsung Galaxy S II is getting an update today to Android 2.3.5, software version T989VUVKL1. You're getting a trio of "enhancements" with this update, including caller ID, battery and Wifi calling.
T-Mobile USA may be preparing to wrap up sales of a handful of its mid to high-end Android devices, if a leaked internal screenshot is to be believed. The leaked photo, obtained by TmoNews, appears to show part of an internal stock system. In it, the following devices are marked as "nearing EOL", meaning "end-of-life" status --
Apple today announced that over 100 million apps have been downloaded from the Mac App Store in less than one year. With thousands of free and paid apps, the Mac App Store brings the App Store experience to the Mac so you can find great new apps, buy them using your iTunes account, and download and install them in just one step.
Patients who received a short course of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) over the telephone from trained therapists reported that they felt "better" or "very much better" at the end of a six-month treatment period, and also three months after it ended.
Task Eater for the iPhone is a simple yet customizable task management app from Tobias Wiedenmann. Task Eater offers a very colorful take on task management, complete with customizable colors and icons for each task.
One of the problems we've seen with Windows Phone devices thus far is that if you've seen one Windows Phone, you've basically seen them all. After all, how much can you do when all the phones feature the same basic specifications and are dominated by a similar touchscreen.
You've got a few more days before you can get your hands-on the Motorola Droid RAZR. In the meantime, you can take the RAZR's wallpapers and ringtones for a spin. We've got it all packaged up nice in neat for you in the link below. Enjoy!
Texas Instrument’s OMAP 5 is based on a 28nm system which works on a chip (SOC) that has a dual core ARM Cortex A15 CPU, 2MB L2 cache, and also a dual-channel LPDDR2-533 memory interface. Each core is capable of a maximum clock rate of 2 GHz, in the GPU department there’s a PowerVR SGX 544MP2, and this thing is even capable of supporting USB 3.0 and SATA.
Your Android smartphone or tablet probably came with a handy weather app and widget pre-installed, but sometimes they're just not detailed or flexible enough. This is where third party Android apps come in handy. Joining the ranks of some already popular weather apps like The Weather Channel and WeatherBug, here are a handful of 2011 weather apps that made us pray for rain.
Increasingly, mobile games developed for smartphones and tablet computers offer comparable graphics, gameplay and entertainment value as those found on less portable devices. The best can also be insanely addictive.
Wireless charging is already here, but in most instances, the charge base is tethered to a power strip. Not so elegant. What if charging a phone/tablet/MP3 player was as simple as placing it near your computer?
The tech blogosphere’ collective head is spinning as Wal-Mart has dropped the price of Nokia’s first commercially available Windows Phone device in the US — the Lumia 710 — to free. Immediately, people began swing that this was a sure sign that the release is a bust: surely a device selling well wouldn’t be available for nothing so quickly? Or would it?
That's my response to the question "Does the Siri outage reveal its success?" posed by Darrell Etherington at GigaOM today. Etherington's post will be one of many Apple apologies that you'll read, following Siri's collapse yesterday. There are conflicting reports about timing, but five to six hours is fairly consistent.
When the relatively open Android platform is compared to a tightly controlled system like iOS, one of the first differences people note is the superior smoothness of apps on iOS. This is something Android has struggled with since its inception, but many of the assumptions made about Android's graphical system, and how that relates to interface smoothness are wrong.
Would you take the easy path and go with a workable, if uninspiring iPhone 4GS? Or, would you take a chance on the wild world of malware and go with Android?
LinkedIn already had one of the better iPhone apps, but it went back to the drawing board and developed a completely new app with more functionality--for both iPhone and Android. If you already have the LinkedIn app on your iPhone or Android smartphone, you should update it. If you don't already have the LinkedIn app, it's time you did.
Yes, you can use your Android or iOS 5 smartphone as a hotspot, but that hasn't stopped Three buying in a stack of ZTE-made 3G dongle-sharing Wi-Fi boxes anyway.
Apple's iOS and Google Android are the two clear leaders in the smartphone market here in the U.S. so it was easy to pick the top two devices from these platforms. The next eight were not as easy in such a competitive market.
I first posted this round up not long after the iPhone 4 hit stores. Readers have requested I update it, and now that enough new cases have hit the market, I've been able to take it from 10 picks to 15.
As enterprises large and small embrace the iPad, we should remember that Apple is not the only game in town. Given the hype surrounding all Apple products, however, it's difficult to get an accurate handle on whether the iPad is actually better than corresponding Android devices.
Switching to a new OS is always bit of a scary experience and if you like the look of Windows Phone but have yet to try it out, Microsoft has you covered.
Microsoft has a big problem. Windows Phone 7.5 is one of its best kept secrets. That's not a good thing. The operating system is fresh, remarkably different from Android and iOS and task-oriented. However, judging by US market share -- a puny 1.5 percent, according to Nielsen -- nearly no one knows about Windows Phone. In product marketing, secrets are very bad.
The Soulo Karaoke app is fun for all ages, and is definitely something you want to download and get up and running before you ring in the new year. It works with the built-in microphone of the iPad or iPhone, but is even better when you add the Soulo microphone.
When Twitter acquired Whisper Systems last month it was unclear what their intentions were for the encryption software maker. But a release from Twitter this week sheds some light on their goals with Whisper's TextSecure. Released on Github as an open source project, TextSecure is now available for developers to use for SMS encryption on Android devices. Encryption can be added for all sent and received texts from an Android phone, and can encrypt texts for transmission if they're being sent to another TextSecure user.
U.S Cellular has been busy getting ready to release the latest device to their ever expanding Android line-up. Announcing today, the Samsung Repp - an Android 2.3 powered smartphone with a a 3.2-inch HVGA LCD touchcreen, 3 megapixel camera, an 800 MHz processor and 2GB of expandable up-to 32GB storage. If you're looking to move into a starter Android the Samsung Repp is meant for you.
Though Google's Android operating system continues to extend its reach around the world, when it comes to app downloads, the ecosystem's biggest market is still its home turf: the U.S.
Sky Go is a big deal in the UK mobile world. Allowing its customers to watch their favourite TV content on demand through their computers and mobile devices including premium content, it's really a top grade service. At the moment, the mobile offering is exclusive to iOS. This though apparently may be about to change.
UK web and phone regulator Ofcom warns that 4G networks may not be generally available until 2015, adding further dampeners on plans for high-speed mobile networks.
A United Nations telecom meeting has approved the next generation of mobile technology, which experts say will make devices 500 times faster than 3G smartphones and eliminate the wait time between the tap of a finger and the appearance of a Web page.
Microsoft does not give consumers the ability to capture screenshots in Windows Phone, but now you can easily unlock your device for development purposes.
Smartphones are already replacing point-and-shoot digital cameras as the consumer's choice for taking quick pictures. Now there's word that an upcoming smartphone from Sony could match the megapixel count of higher end digital cameras.
Mobile phones are always with us and are great for following sports action when we are out and about. ScoreMobile was updated for the iPhone and iPod touch and is an excellent application for sports fans.
Nokia's N9 smartphone may be the only one made by the company that will use the now abandoned MeeGo operating system but the device is still getting good reviews and is apparently selling well where it is officially supported. Now US residents who really, really want to get the N9 have an opportunity to buy one, but it's going to be costly.
Verizon Wireless wants its customers to upgrade their phones and take advantage of the carrier's next-generation LTE network, and is sweetening the data pot to get them to do so. Beginning Tuesday, Verizon will double the data allotments for customers for the same price as its traditional data plans.
Verizon and Motorola have now taken the covers off some new additions to their DROID lineup and while all of them come to us from Motorola -- they kind of aren't really all that new.
Motorola’s Droid Razr, one of Verizon’s high-end 4G smartphones, now costs $100 less than it used to — but those savings come at a price. At the $300 price point, the Droid Razr came with 32GB of internal storage. Now, it’s down to just 16GB, thanks to the removal of an included 16GB microSD card. The $300 package is no longer available.
From the front, the two phones are indistinguishable. Both have that huge tract of Super AMOLED HD goodness, ear speaker and front-facing camera. The power button, volume rocker and charging contacts are all in the exact same spots. Or at least close enough that we can't tell with the naked eye.
It's hard to talk about the Verizon Samsung Galaxy Nexus without talking about the relative mess that was its road to launch. The Galaxy Nexus was announced (after a brief delay) in Hong Kong on Oct. 18. At the time, no carriers were announced. Verizon finally made it official on Oct. 21, saying the first phone with Android 4.0 "will be available later this year." And that's all we got, until Dec. 15, when it finally and unceremoniously went on sale.
Verizon this morning announced that as expected, the LG Spectrum is now available in stores and online for $199. The Spectrum, as you'll recall from our recent hands-on, is a 4.5-inch Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread device (it'll be updated to Ice Cream Sandwich later) powered by a dual-core 1.5 GHz Qualcomm processor.
Verizon this morning in a press release talked up the first anniversary of the launch of its LTE network, pimping that 190 markets and 200 million people will be covered by Dec. 15.
Verizon Communications on Tuesday reported a $2.02 billion fourth-quarter loss, mostly due to one-time charges of $3.4 billion for severance, pension and benefits, as well as increased subsidy costs for iPhone sales.
We're used to getting nickled-and-dimed by our wireless carriers, but this is just getting ridiculous. Verizon confirmed to PhoneScoop today (update: and issued a press release - link below) that it's set to start charging a $2 "convenieince" fee for paying your bill come Jan. 15. With a few caveats, of course. Here's the breakdown:
Looks like the white phone craze has just hit Motorola's Droid RAZR, Verizon's ultra-thin Android superphone. The carrier has announced that it will offer up a white version of the handset for $299.99 with a 2-year contract, on sale December 15.
Microsoft's strategy for Windows Phone is simple enough: Offer consumers a middle ground between the overly consistent but choice-constrained iPhone and the overly-diverse but inconsistent Android platforms. But Verizon Wireless is calling Microsoft's bluff and exposing a major hole in this strategy: And it says it will drop Windows Phone unless Microsoft picks up the pace and starts taking advantage of the wireless carrier's key differentiator, the high bandwidth LTE wireless network.
Behold, the ZTE V66 Android tablet, apparently destined for Verizon at some point. The tablet as already been submitted to the U.S. FCC, and now a thumbnail picture (we've blown it up a tad here) has been listed on the Bluetooth Special Interest Group's site.
So far none of the smartphones that have been made based on Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 have any support for using the faster LTE networks that are being built by Verizon Wireless and AT&T. Now a Verizon executive claims that Microsoft needs to get LTE support for future Windows Phone products sooner rather than later.
We've gotten a ton of tips from Verizon employees this morning saying that the unofficially official -- and very much not publicly announced -- Dec. 9 launch date for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus has been scrapped for an unannounced reason.
Attention women, husbands, boyfriends and anyone who just needs to feel pretty from time to time: The Victoria's Secret app has slinked into the Android Market.
ViewSonic is mostly known here in the states for its monitors and tablets, but did you know that trio of finches the company uses for a logo marks cell phones as well?
Visa has introduced a payments product designed for emerging markets to serve the needs of "unbanked and under-banked consumers" who have mobile phones.
Extrapolating numbers and letters from digital images is still a tough task, even for the best computer programmers. But it would be handy to extract business names, or graffiti, or an address from pictures that are already stored online. Aiming to make its Street View service even more accurate, Google would like to extract your house number from its own Street View photo cache.
The trite thing to do when writing about any software that can handle converting your speech into text is to do so using that software. I'm nothing if not trite, so that's precisely what I'm trying to do here, with Vocal. Vocal is a new app from developer Matthew Roberts that leverages the power of voice transcription on your iPhone 4S to control your Mac.
Confirmation - if it was really needed - that Vodafone was holding back the Samsung Galaxy Nexus because of the infamous volume drop glitch: the day after Google and Samsung fix the bug, Vodafone starts selling the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich handset.
CyanogenMod, the project that lets people use new versions of Android even when their carriers or phone makers aren't caught up, has begun working on its version of Ice Cream Sandwich.
What is a PRL? PRL stands for Preferred Roaming List and is a database used in CDMA phones. It's built and provided by your carrier, and used when your phone is connecting to the tower. It indicates which radio bands, sub-bands, and service provider IDs will be searched for, then allows the phone to connect to the correct tower.
What is Mobile World Congress? The next big mobile trade show on our Android schedule is Mobile World Congress -- or MWC, for those in the know. It's in Barcelona, Spain, and has been since 2006. Before that, it was known as 3GSM World and was in Cannes, France.
It all started with Apple/TechCrunch blogger M.G. Siegler making a huge fuss over something he didn't understand, and while that in and of itself isn't particularly interesting, one of the outcomes of this little internet drama is a comment on Google+ (the tenth one) that so perfectly encapsulates just how important Android is for the world that I felt the need to share it with you. It's the holiday season after all.
Phones and tablets loaded with the Android 4.0 operating system start arriving in stores soon, but when will existing phones get the update and wich models will be left out in the cold? Here's a rundown of the devices expected to get Google's Ice Cream Sandwich mobile OS first.
A month ago today at Midnight, we ended our Windows Phone contest. Finally, after too many delays, it's time to announce the lucky winner. Why did we take so long? The entries were just too good. We argued like X-Factor judges about how best to choose the winner. In the end, we left it to chance among the top contenders.
There looks to be a really weird bug or faulty hardware in the Verizon Galaxy Nexus that's screwing with multitouch. When you hold down the top left corner of the screen, the bottom of the screen doesn't register any input.
I have a second-generation iPod touch. Several others in my home have 4G iPod touches. When apps are updated, my iPod is often obsolete—an app that once worked fine on my iPod is replaced by a version that now only works with the new iPods. Is there a way I can access the older files I know are still on my computer to add to my iPod and leave the newer ones for them?
Asked by the blog VentureBeat what she'd been doing during an apparent service outage, Siri, the voice-controlled "assistant" that's the standout feature of the new iPhone 4S, replied in a way that would raise any employer's eyebrows:
We've had the first retailers bring it up, we've had the first real promotional shots, and now we have the first real, actual shots of the white Samsung Galaxy Nexus.
Custom ROMs on mobile devices have been a staple-mate of the mobile industry since the Windows Mobile PocketPC CE Phone Edition Whatever days. Android took over here, with a lively custom ROM scene, allowing you to tailor your device to your own needs - including updates to operating system versions your device maker of carrier doesn't allow.
Additional reporting reveals that Amazon, not the music industry, asked app developer IIS to pull back an iPhone app that would play music from Amazon's cloud service.
Fascinating, this. As a Windows Phone 7 user, I can attest that it is every bit as good as iOS and Android - heck, in my experience, it is more polished, more consistent, smoother, and faster than either of those two. Yet, despite raving reviews and glowing user comments all over the web, Windows Phone 7 simply isn't selling. Former Windows Phone 7 general manager Charlie Kindel believes it's because neither carriers nor device makers like the control Microsoft exerts over the platform.
How did I know where I was supposed to be -- and when? How did I tweet? When the iPhone 3G came along, with its elegant software and giant screen and the Internet in it, it was like going from black and white to colour, like when Dorothy crashlands in Oz. Ding dong, the WAP is dead.
For those of you who might assume that I had a second handset, I didn’t, the HTC Mozart was my only phone, I didn’t have a review unit to flip on to, I used it as my dedicated handset for 7 months. In case you’ve forgotten that was a few months of Windows 7 before 7.5 Mango was released. When the update was released the three biggest issues that I had were fixed, kind of.
The latest news on the long-rumored project is that Facebook has abandoned its plan to work on both the hardware and software, as Apple does, and instead will partner with hardware manufacturer HTC. The Facebook phone's software, meanwhile, will be a modified version of Google's Android.
Like all other Windows Phone manufacturers, Nokia is using Qualcomm Snapdragon ARM chips in its just-announced Lumia phones. Confirming an earlier statement, Nokia has now stated that it will also make use of the NovaThor system-on-a-chip (SoC) from ST-Ericsson in some of its upcoming Windows Phone devices. When Nokia makes the jump, it will mark the first time a non-Qualcomm SoC powers a Windows Phone. Aside from what must be the most awesome name for a mobile processor, what makes these chips special?
The Motorola Droid RAZR was announced mere hours before the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, which is the new anointed Google flagship device. The comparison has not been terribly kind to the Razr with its heavily skinned version of Android 2.3 Gingerbread. The Nexus is about to launch with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) and marginally better hardware on the same carrier in the US. When it comes down to it, the Razr isn't future-proof, and even though Google is acquiring Motorola, the Razr was never given the chance to be a flagship phone.
I'm a great believer in moving technology forward when it is really needed, be it in UI, memory, processors, screens and even more so with new ideas. What I don't believe in is trying to push technology when it isn't needed by the majority or when it will make little or no difference other than added cost or be a feature that doesn't get full use for a couple of years.
Unless you've just awoken from a coma, you're probably aware that the Galaxy Nexus is now available in the US. Like the Nexus One and Nexus S before it, the Galaxy Nexus represents the purest Android experience, straight from Google's teat. There's no Carrier IQ, no custom skin, no locked-down features, and of course, as Google's flagship developer phone, a bootloader that's easier to open than a courtesan's corset.
An analyst sees strong sales of the iPhone 4S in its current markets. If that momentum repeats overseas, Apple is set up for a monster December quarter.
Talking at CES 2012, Neville Ray, CTO of T-Mobile USA, says that an AWS-compatible iPhone might be coming soon. According to him, the current lack of T-Mobile support goes back to the fact that the various iterations of the iPhone radio chip have never supported the AWS band that T-Mobile USA uses. He believes that with the current and next generation radio chipsets all supporting AWS, Apple will likely include support for the band, making it possible for the next iPhone -- the iPhone 5 -- to operate on T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network.
We've given so much attention to iPhone 4S and Samsung Galaxy S II that Windows Phone looks mightily neglected. It is, and that needs to be remedied. If S2's 4.3-inch screen size, Super AMOLED Plus display, thinness and 8-megapixel camera appeal to you -- but not Android -- Samsung Focus S may be for you. The Focus S and Galaxy S2 share much in common. Call them fraternal twins or near-identical cousins, but these two handsets are kin.
Windows Embedded is a family of operating systems that offer familiar tools and technologies for developers and IT Professionals to deliver the power of Windows and the cloud to specialized devices.
Windows Embedded Compact 7 uses the familiar tools OEMs already know to help create the next generation of devices with attractive, intuitive user experiences. Compact continues the history of embedded innovation started with the first release of CE, providing new technology to OEMs for building devices that stand apart from the competition. Silverlight for Windows Embedded, a UI framework included with Compact, combines the
According to new information that was posted to 4pda.ru, Windows Phone “Apollo” will bring platform parity with Windows 8. We must stress that this new information has not been confirmed but does align to previously rumored information.
Apple late last week published the newest version of Microsoft's free Windows Phone 7 Connector software for the Mac to its Mac App Store. Version 2.01 adds a number of useful new features and fixes some bugs, according to a list provided by Microsoft.
The Windows Phone 7 Marketplace has passed the 50,000-app mark, according to third-party figures from All About Windows Phone, a significant milestone in Microsoft’s quest to re-conquer the mobile space. But despite the number of Windows Phone 7 apps growing at a brisk pace, the market share of the platform was just 1.5 percent in the third quarter of 2011, Gartner figures show.
Windows Phone 7 certainly has its fans. Microsoft has made great strides in adding new features via this year's Mango update. That's not to mention the fact that Samsung, HTC and of course Nokia have all released new smartphones based on the updated OS.
In an era where technologies compete on brand rather than features, I'm always on the lookout for features that differentiate one platform from another. I think I've found a feature that differentiates Windows Phone 'Mango' from the pack - Voice-to-text.
A bug in the recently released Windows Phone 7.5 mobile OS can be exploited to make people's phones lose the ability to send messages by cutting access to the messaging hub, and all it takes is a specially crafted SMS, a message sent via Facebook chat or via the Windows Live Messenger.
Windows Phone 7 devices are susceptible to an SMS vulnerability that could lock users out of their messaging functions. The discovery comes from a tipster at the WinRumors blog, who demonstrated that a malicious SMS sent to Windows Phone 7.5 phones would force it to reboot and lock down the messaging hub.
No one smart phone is perfect for everyone. And while my current favorite, the Samsung Focus S that I reviewed over the weekend, ticks most of my own boxes, and comes awfully close to being a near-perfect device, you may feel differently. Maybe the screen and device are a bit too big. Maybe it's just too darned expensive. Maybe a high quality camera just isn't a huge concern.
Microsoft went all out with the launch of Windows Phone 7 in 2010. It released several smartphones all at once and paid directly for a lot of its marketing and PR to help promote its new mobile operating system. But a year later the results have been disappointing with Windows Phone 7 sales still well behind the two leaders, Apple's iOS/iPhone and Google's many Android-based phones.
The former GM of Windows Phone wonders why the mobile OS hasn’t been a hit. He missed a few reasons like timing, peer pressure and issues like Android forks the user doesn’t care about.
When you have a mobile operating system with downloadable games, it is always ideal to have a ratings board grade your available games. Should parents want to let their children play a game on their smartphones it stops an influx of angry messages to the company, for a start. Microsoft has realised this, as WPCentral has reported.
Nokia is not only pinning its hopes for renewed relevancy with its first 4G LTE Windows Phone, the Lumia 900, it could also break the smartphone operating system deadlock and propel Windows Phone ahead of iOS.
Being able to change the phone theme may not have been something Microsoft envisioned with their mobile operating system but thanks to the coders and owners of the WP7 handsets, you can do just that. It may not be the most simple thing to do though, since a developer unlocked handset is required to modify it.
If you have a Windows Phone-based device, such as the newly released Lumia 710 from Nokia, you may have noticed that there were some issues with the operating system over the weekend.
Since its announcement, I've been an avid fan of Windows Phone. So much that I even created a dedicated news website when it first emerged. This was all without ever having held a WP7 device in my hands or even seeing one in person.
A new survey of mobile app developers shows that Apple and Android are still at the top of the pack when it comes to plans for future apps. But Microsoft has vaulted ahead of BlackBerry to take the third position among phone platforms, and Amazon has a hit on its hands with the Kindle Fire.
Last year, Microsoft pushed reset on its smartphone strategy, jettisoning the old-fashioned Windows Mobile platform for the more modern and innovative Windows Phone. This year, Microsoft is back, with a soft reset of sorts, offering a more fully-fleshed-out version of the software, and--starting this week--a new slate of improved hardware that can take advantage of the new features.
OK, if you're not part of the small subset of rooted users who likes to mess around with things they shouldn't, you can probably skip the rest of this story and read something more interesting below. But if you have fiddled with battery stats on your phone, or used any of the rooted "battery calibration" apps in the Android Market, which do the same thing, it's time to stop.
After a month of using Siri, the new voice-controlled "personal assistant" available on the iPhone 4S, I've decided it may be time to add voice control to the list of paradigm-shifting ways to interact with a computer--right behind the mouse, keyboard and, more recently, touch gestures.
Siri--the equally impressive and gimmicky iPhone 4S' smart assistant--connects to Apple's servers every time you ask for something or dictate a message. It sends your query and analyzes it, returning you whatever it thinks is the correct answer or action.
Thin client maker Wyse Technology has acquired Canadian company Trellia to help it manage the growing number of smartphones and tablets used by enterprises, Wyse said on Monday.
With CES looming, we've already heard our fair share of rumors about upcoming Sony Ericsson handsets, including leaked photos of the "Xperia Arc HD" and specs for the elusive LTE-toting LT28at. A recent trademark filing may provide some further clues about Sony Ericsson's branding for future devices, as shortly before the holidays the manufacturer applied for the "Xperia Ion" trademark in the U.S., for use in connection with "mobile phones".
In contrast to the letter-based naming scheme that it's using internationally, it seems Sony may be sticking with something a bit more unique for its device branding in the U.S. Following the unveiling of the Xperia Ion at CES, it's emerged today that Sony has filed to trademark the name "Xperia Sola" at the U.S. Trademark and Patents Office.
The Mobile Virtual Platform hypervisor that VMware sells for smartphones and fondleslabs running the Android variant of Linux on ARM RISC processors is getting some competition.
Sony Ericsson announced this morning that it has teamed up with cloud-based storage app Box to provide all Xperia owners with 50GB of free file storage and sharing for life.
2012 has just started but already there have been major changes over at Yahoo. The company got a new CEO in former PayPal president Scott Thompson and a few days later its co-founder Jerry Yang announced his resignation from Yahoo. Now Yahoo has announced that it will be discontinuing support for a number of its smartphone apps.
Even though Yahoo remains one of the most popular sites on the Web after nearly seventeen years in the business, the company faces an uncertain future with nebulous branding, improper monetization, and unsteady restructuring efforts.
Those who are skeptical that iOS could ever go buttonless may want to take a look at the latest version of Zephyr. The jailbreak tweak, which enables multitasking gestures on the iPhone, now makes the home button completely obsolete.
The latest YouTube for Android is now rolling out to folks. This version, v2.3.4 now adds a +1 button to the mix and you can now add annotations as well. For videos you're not wanting to watch right away but rather when you get home on say your computer or Google TV -- there is now a watch later queue that has been added.
It's been a great week to be a news junkie with an iPhone. On Tuesday, iPad darling Flipboard finally appeared on Apple's smart phone. Yesterday, Google launched its aggregator, Currents. And today, completing the trifecta, Zite unveiled its all-new iPhone app.
Zite is fundamentally different from Flipboard in that it uses your activity on Facebook or Twitter to help it begin to figure out what topics you're interested in.
China’s ZTE isn’t exactly a household name in the United States, but it’s important to remember the company is the fourth-largest handset maker in the world, largely on the basis of inexpensive feature phones rolled out in China and other Asian markets, many of which feature dual-sim capabilities so users can easily switch between mobile operators. However, ZTE knows the feature phone market is fading in the face of smartphones—and plans to aggressively pursue the smartphone markets not just in China, but the United States as well.
