Smartphones

Did you find some variety of iOS device under the tree this week? If so, you've likely spent more than a fair amount of time trolling through the App Store in search of apps for your new toy. If you feel you've exhausted your search efforts in the App Store, give Hip by Kinetic a try. This free app points you toward new and interesting apps, pulling in recommendations from 10 tech blogs (CNET's own How To blog is not included, due to what I can only imagine was a gross oversight). It also lets you build … Read more

The latest update to the Gmail app (4.2.1) for Android has provided some welcome new features, like pinch-to-zoom and swipe-to-delete. But another useful feature you might not be aware of is hiding check boxes.

To select multiple e-mail messages in Gmail for Android, you have to tap the tiny check boxes to the left of each message. If you miss the check box and tap the message instead, the message launches and you have to go back to the conversation list and try again. Luckily, there's a Gmail setting that will remove the check boxes entirely, and … Read more

Apple certainly enjoyed a jolly Christmas, at least to judge from its App Store downloads.

Data out yesterday from mobile analytics firm Distimo revealed an 87 percent jump in iPhone and iPad app downloads on Christmas Day as compared with the average for the month. Sales from all those downloads rose by 70 percent on December 25.

The iPad seemed to be an especially popular gift this season, according to Distimo. App downloads for Apple's tablet lineup grew by 140 percent on Christmas compared to the monthly average, while revenue for iPad apps shot up by 83 percent.

Among … Read more

Toshiba is in the process of upping its smartphone camera game. The device-maker is creating Lytro-like camera technology for mobile devices that should be released before the end of 2013, according to the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun (h/t Engadget).

Much like Lytro's light-field camera, Toshiba's technology reportedly lets users choose what part of a photo they'd like to focus on well after they've taken the shot. It will also allow users to put the entire picture into focus. For the most part, this type of technology has only been seen in Lytro cameras and has … Read more

When I first read Rafe Needleman's tweet where he encouraged his iPhone to dance, I shrugged it off. Then I clicked on the cycloramic.com link in the tweet and watched one of the videos posted on the site. I shook my head in disbelief as I watched an iPhone 5 spin in a circle -- hands-free -- while standing on end. I was convinced there had to be some sort of special effects or movie magic going on. Obviously this was a prank. Right?

Boy was I wrong. So I followed the link to the App Store, forked … Read more

A few weeks ago, Facebook introduced the ability to sync photos taken on your iPhones, iPads, and Android phones to your Facebook account automatically. Jason Cipriani describes how to enable the feature in "Getting started with Facebook photo sync on Android, iPhone."

Your smartphone or tablet might prompt you to activate the service, which uploads via Wi-Fi or the cell network the most recent 20 photos taken with the device and all subsequent photos it takes. As Jason explains, the photos are stored in a private folder and aren't posted to your Facebook Timeline until you post … Read more

More stockings were stuffed with Android and iOS devices this Christmas than ever before, according to new data released today. And new device owners spent much of December 25 downloading apps for their new toys.

The analytics firm Flurry said device activations soared from their daily December average of 4 million to 17.4 million on Christmas Day, a 332 percent increase. And it's more than double the 6.8 million devices activated on Christmas last year, the previous single-day record holder. More tablets were activated on Christmas this year than phones. Apple tablets dominated the category, but the … Read more

The upcoming Galaxy S4 from Samsung is already carrying the weight of the whole Android smartphone world on its shoulders, even though it hasn't been officially announced yet, and we'd be lucky to see it actually available within the next six months.

Many are hoping the next flagship phone from Samsung could finally be the legendary and long-foretold Apple eater first documented in the book of Genesis. Actually, maybe that's something else. But there's still much speculation that Samsung could pull something groundbreaking out of its huge chaebolic hat to vault ahead of the iPhone (some, … Read more

Windows Phone users can now find a wider array of apps in Microsoft's online phone store.

A new Microsoft blog post touting the growth of the Windows Phone store in 2012 revealed the latest facts and figures. Over the past year, Microsoft has published more than 75,000 new apps and games (which more than doubled the total number). And more than 300,000 app updates were added.

The average Windows Phone user has downloaded around 54 apps, according to Microsoft. Live Apps in particular have drummed up a lot of interest. Based on customer feedback, 85 percent of … Read more