Mobile Technology

When Apple unveiled the iPhone 4S on October 4, Siri was seen as the new iDevice’s biggest selling point and a major carrot to encourage iPhone 4 owners to upgrade. Although Siri originally appeared in the App Store in early 2010 before being acquired by Apple, the assumption was that the new version integrated into iOS 5 relied on the faster processor found in the iPhone 4S for Siri to work her voice recognition magic. Developer Steven Troughton-Smith and Grant Paul have proven that is not the case by not only getting Siri working on an iPhone 4, but also an iPod touch 4G. Read More

There are definitely some situations where it helps to be able to mount your smartphone, tablet or other mobile device on a flat surface, such as a dashboard, kitchen counter, or wall. If you use multiple devices, this entails buying several mounts – one designed for each device. Chicago inventor J.R. Sanchez, however, has created “one mount to rule them all,” so to speak. It’s called MobileMount, and it works with any device it can suck onto. Read More

I've just spent a day with a pre-production unit of Kogan’s new 8-inch Agora tablet and while it's fair to say there's an element of "you get what you pay for" at work here, that’s not to say the Agora is bad - it's an indication of just what kind of technology can be had for a fairly minimal outlay these days. If you're in the market for a budget priced tablet to keep the kids entertained on a long car trip or something to check the occasional email and spot of Web browsing then it will do the trick nicely, but don't expect the same kind of user experience you’d get when investing more money on a better specced unit. Read More

The charge toward glasses-free 3D displays hasn't left the iPad out in the cold, as we pointed out a few months back. Now, using a bit of smoke and mirrors (well, mirrors at least) a team from Japan's Ochanomizu Women's University (OWU) has developed a novel approach that incorporates a centuries-old artist's trick to bring "tangible" depth to the iPad's 2D display. Read More

For touch-typists like myself, tablets such as the iPad present a bit of a problem. I still need a little more tactile feedback to my fingertips than the virtual keyboard can offer, if I'm going to speed through my messages without making errors. When veteran computer designer Steve Isaac was left similarly wanting, he decided to get creative. Along with Seattle product designer and mechanical engineer Brad Melmon, Isaac has designed a transparent, flexible faux keyboard that lays on top of the iPad's virtual keyboard to give users the familiar feel of notebook-like raised keys. Read More

Corning's tough-but-light Gorilla Glass has become a common feature on smartphone displays, along with those of other consumer electronics such as TVs and computers. This Wednesday, however, the company announced the commercial launch of its new Lotus Glass. The material is designed specifically for organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays and next generation LCD screens. Read More

Earlier this month, we reported on the Scosche RDTX-Pro that connects via a dock connector to turn an iPhone or iPod touch into a radiation detector. That device is set to go on sale in Japan from next month but if you’re not in Japan or just don’t want to shell out extra cash on any peripheral hardware, then the WikiSensor app might be worth a look – it won't be as accurate, but the only extra bit of kit you’ll need is some opaque black tape. Read More

During Nokia World 2011 in London, Nokia has announced its first Windows Phone 7-based smartphones in the form of the Lumia 800 and Lumia 710, both featuring 3.7-inch touchscreen displays and 1.4GHz single-core Qualcomm CPUs. Read More

Following the recent release of the iPhone 4S, ThinkGeek has unveiled its IRIS 9000 iPhone voice control module for iPhone and Siri. The dock brings a somewhat sinister feel to the latest iDevice's Siri feature thanks to a red glowing light that mimics the HAL 9000's iconic camera eye from 2001: A Space Odyssey. While the dock won't provide much help in opening the pod bay doors, it will allow users to dock their iPhone 4S and control Siri from across the room. Read More