Smartphones

When you’re shopping for a new smartphone, sometimes there's one clear choice. Other times, there are so many options you don't know where to start. But then there are those times when it comes down to two. You know, a good old fashioned duel. Many smartphone shoppers are going through that now, with the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One. After spending several weeks with both phones, let’s revisit this comparison – and see if we can help you with the big decision.  Read More

In the future, there will be no excuse for becoming the next Aron Ralston. Within the past few months alone, we've seen survival watches, tablet computers and satellite phones built specifically for adventure use. Add to that the latest BMW, which isn't a car but a collaborative mobile phone project with mobile company Adaia. The phone will offer both business and adventure modes and will include advanced emergency communications capabilities.  Read More

If you want “pure Android” on your smartphone, you usually have a couple of options. You can either buy a Nexus device, or you can hack a non-Google device and install a custom ROM like Cyanogenmod. But for one of the biggest phones of the year, you'll soon have a third option. Google just announced the Samsung Galaxy S4: Google Edition, bringing stock Android to Samsung’s powerhouse phone.  Read More

The rumor mill has been spinning for quite some time about an Amazon smartphone. What the rumor mill was lacking – as it often does – was detail. Today we might have a bit more of that, with a report that Amazon is working on two smartphones and an audio-only mobile device.  Read More

As the Android world focuses on the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4, it’s almost easy to forget about the Nexus 4. But the latest “pure Google” phone is still ringing up for a nice off-contract price from Google Play. Is it still a good buy? Or are you better off getting one of the newer flagships? Let’s see if we can answer that, as we compare the Nexus 4 and the HTC One.  Read More

Packing powerful processors supported by a healthy amount of system memory and storage, modern smartphones are just like mini computers that can be carried around in your pocket. As a mobile office, however, such devices do have some practical limitations. Even with the relatively large display offered by Samsung's new Galaxy S4, for example, having to use a finger to input text can be a real productivity killer. What's needed is a comfortable physical keyboard and more spacious display real estate. That's precisely what's on offer with the Casetop from Livi Design, a netbook-like LCD panel, keyboard and battery pack combination that uses a smartphone for its computing power.  Read More

While the world waits for fully capable smart watches like the rumored iWatch and Neptune Pine, it'll have to be content with watches that provide a bridge to the smartphone. The Pebble Watch is the most well-known, but it does have some competition. One example is the new Dew Motion iStick Playtime, a sport-specific armband that controls key smartphone functions.  Read More

When you’re facing adversity, what do you do? Do you act out of fear and desperation? Throw everything against the wall and hope something will stick? Or do you use it as an opportunity to refocus, and soar to new heights? HTC chose the latter. The result is the One, probably the boldest Android phone ever made. But is it also the best Android phone ever made? Or even – gasp – the best smartphone ever made? Read on, as we review the HTC One.  Read More

When most people send images from their smartphones, they tend to be of what the photographer is having for dinner or someone doing something very silly in the pub [or cats – Ed]. NASA has raised the bar for phone snaps out of the atmosphere by using smartphones installed in "nanosatellites" in low Earth orbit to send back images of the Earth. The three satellites, called Alexander, Graham and Bell, flew in space between April 21 and 27 as part of a mission to show how satellites could be built cheaper using off-the-shelf components.  Read More