Smartphones

Starbucks, the world’s largest coffee-shop operator, is teaming up with Duracell Powermat to let customers recharge mobile devices wirelessly instead of hunting for available wall outlets in stores. Customers can place their compatible devices on so-called Powermat Spots on counters and tables to recharge them, Seattle-based Starbucks said in a statement. While shops in Boston Continue Reading →

Japanese carrier Docomo has announced an interesting concept design that could change the way we use mobile devices: a wearable that takes the SIM out of your phone and puts it onto your wrist to create an authentication device for all your hardware. It’s calling it the Portable SIM, and it takes the SIM card Continue Reading →

Today, the Apple-made EarPods that come nestled in the box of every new iPhone use a regular old 3.5mm headphone jack. That means you can use them with any other device with a 3.5mm audio port. It also means you can use virtually any other pair of non-apple headphones with your iPhone. A quietly updated Continue Reading →

University of Akron polymer scientists have developed a transparent electrode that could change the face of smartphones, literally, by making their displays shatterproof. In a recently published scientific paper, researchers demonstrated how a transparent layer of electrodes on a polymer surface could be extraordinarily tough and flexible, withstanding repeated scotch tape peeling and bending tests. Continue Reading →

When Tim Cook took to the stage at WWDC this week you could tell something was different. Usually the keynote is dedicated to showcasing all the front-end, user-centric features of the next iOS and OS X, with the new developer tools taking a backseat at private labs during the week. But this time Cook revealed Continue Reading →

Microsoft is trying to cram Kinect-like features into its future flagship Windows Phone handsets. At least one device, codenamed McLaren, will debut on a range of US carriers later this year with features that let you hover your finger over the screen to interact with games and applications without ever touching the display. Sources familiar Continue Reading →

Whenever you walk around a major Western city with your phone’s Wi-Fi turned on, you are broadcasting your location to government agencies, marketing companies and location analytics firms. In shopping malls, for instance, a firm called Euclid Analytics collects, in its own words, “the presence of the device, its signal strength, its manufacturer (Apple, Samsung, Continue Reading →

When Apple unveiled iOS 8 at WWDC on June 2, it officially marked Apple’s entry into the mobile health and Quantified Self arena. While iOS 8 doesn’t revolve around health as early reports suggested, it was one of the most exciting new aspects of the mobile OS. “Health” (the name of the app) and “HealthKit” Continue Reading →

In 2012, Apple won the year’s biggest patent verdict—more than $1 billion against Samsung. The company also lost one of that year’s biggest cases when an East Texas jury ordered it to pay $368 million to a company named VirnetX for infringing patents related to FaceTime and VPN On Demand functions used in iPhones, iPads, Continue Reading →

Rumor has it – and we’ve confirmed – that Amazon will launch its first smartphone on June 18. The device will be unique in the marketplace thanks to its ability to deliver 3D effects courtesy of four front-mounted IR cameras. What wasn’t known is how Amazon planned to scan our faces to handle the UI Continue Reading →