Mobile & Wireless

Checking in should have always been automatic — a feature every phone shipped with that lets you keep up with friends and track where you’ve been. Even Foursquare CEO Dennis Crowley, who popularized the check in, would say so. But until the last year or two, the technology required to track your location without eating Continue Reading →

There is nothing sweeter than pulling out your phone, asking it a question, and getting back the one obscure piece of information you need to settle a debate or win a drunken bet. Smartphones from Google, Apple, and Microsoft all offer a personal assistant who claims to be flush with knowledge drawn from around the Continue Reading →

Google’s Web-connected headset, called Glass, is still just in its prototype phase, but its reception thus far has been polarizing. Astro Teller, head of Google X, the experimental division of the search giant that makes Glass, on Tuesday opened up about its challenges. “I have learned, at a certain next level, that wearables are tough,” Continue Reading →

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the much-rumored 12.9-inch iPad is being delayed by Apple because of high demand for the new iPhone 6 Plus. The newspaper claims that, while production of the jumbo tablet was slated to begin in December, Apple isn’t satisfied with the rate at which the iPhone 6 Plus is Continue Reading →

Over the last few years, iPhone and iPad users have been quick to adopt the latest version of Apple’s mobile OS. But iOS 8 seems to be playing out differently. A lot differently. According to multiple sources, iOS 8 downloads have basically flatlined. Mixpanel reports iOS 8 users currently make up 45 percent of total Continue Reading →

Facebook, which closed its acquisition of mobile messaging service WhatsApp on Monday, has no near-term plan to make money from the service, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said on Thursday. Zuckerberg, who is visiting India to participate in an event to boost Internet usage, did not give details. Facebook’s final WhatsApp acquisition price tag has risen Continue Reading →

HTC is best known for its Android smartphones, but on Wednesday the company announced the Re Camera, a device that’s not a smartphone at all. The Re Camera is a standalone digital camera that pairs to either Android or iOS smartphones and is designed to make it easier to take quick photos and video. It’s Continue Reading →

Best Buy is creating new in-store Connected Home departments that should roll out to more than 400 stores by Thanksgiving (yes, there’s also a website). The departments will contain more than 100 smart home products, including the Peq hub, Nest and Honeywell thermostats, Dropcam cameras, Hue lights and many other brands large and small. There Continue Reading →

The US government is slapping down AT&T for allowing extra charges on customers’ phone bills with what it calls the “largest cramming settlement in history.” The news was announced on Wednesday in a joint press conference held by the FCC, the FTC, and all state attorneys general, who worked together on the resolution. That resolution Continue Reading →

In the human-machine relationship, you, fellow Homo sapiens, are commonly designated as the owner, operator, or otherwise dictator of the subservient device in your possession. Consider, however, the reality of your relationship with your phone. First of all, it knows everything about you. It reads all your emails, sees all your pictures, learns your favorite Continue Reading →