Smartphones

Verizon Wireless is offering an early-upgrade program for customers whose two-year contracts are not quite up for renewal. The company informed customers on Sunday that all Verizon subscribers eligible to upgrade to a new smartphone on or before November 15 will have those dates changed to now, allowing them to get a new device whenever Continue Reading →

iOS 8 is coming on Wednesday. (Hands in the air emoji!). Updates are great, but they’re almost always buggy, which means you should back up your stuff before you load up the new platform. Here’s a refresher on how. For iCloud, first make sure you’re connected to Wi-Fi. Go to Setting. Select iCloud. Select Storage Continue Reading →

Motorola announced Sunday that the next-generation Moto X smartphone and Moto Hint Bluetooth earpiece will be available for preorder on Tuesday. In addition to an AT&T version with a $100 carrier-subsidized price, the handset maker will also make available for preorder an off-contract Moto X with an unlocked SIM card for $500. The Hint, a Continue Reading →

Google has unveiled the first smartphones to run on its Android One platform, a standard designed to help push affordable smartphones in the developing world. The initiative kicks off in India, where Micromax, Spice, and Karbonn are all selling phones with 4.5-inch screens, 1GB of RAM, 5-megapixel main and 2-megapixel front cameras, 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek Continue Reading →

Apple is once again setting new pre-order records for its new iPhone. After announcing a new “overnight” record last week, Apple revealed that it sold more than 4 million iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus handsets in just 24 hours. “iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are better in every way, and we are thrilled Continue Reading →

I’d love to tell you how great Apple’s new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are, and do some hardcore fanboy gushing. But I can’t. The new iPhones are iterative and that’s all they can be. Like a big screen? You’re in luck. If you want a slightly better camera, a little more speed and Continue Reading →

The Apple Watch we got a glimpse at this week is a powerful peripheral device, but most of its tricks require it to be tethered to an iPhone in the user’s pocket. Last night on Charlie Rose, Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed one thing the Watch can do on its own: Send music to your Continue Reading →

The most impressive thing about Apple’s iPhone 6 launch event was not the hardware, software or the company’s fantastic ecosystem. It wasn’t Apple Heath or even Apple Pay. It was Apple’s clear and well-executed strategy. While the Street was not impressed with any of it (as evidenced by the downward movement in share price), analysts Continue Reading →

Amid widespread consumer anxiety about risks to privacy, here’s some disheartening news: A new report from a prominent intergovernmental group found that mobile apps are failing to provide users with basic privacy protections. The report, based on a review of 1,211 different apps over the course of a week in May, was conducted by the Continue Reading →

Yep, lots of people tried to order new iPhones as pre-sales began just after midnight on Friday. There were the usual reports of challenges ranging from sites not loading to error messages, with clear indications that plenty of phones were being ordered. Demand for the new iPhones is higher than that seen in either of Continue Reading →