Gadgets

Finding a satisfying Android phone on a prepaid carrier is getting easier every day. Case in point, the new LG Motion 4G for MetroPCS. This pint-size $149.99 handset features Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, a 3.5-inch screen, and a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, plus 4G LTE data. … Read more

If you're thrilled by Sony's Xperia S, then you have another reason to get excited. The company has just revealed plans for an Xperia SL phone, which sees the Xperia S and raises its 1.5GHz CPU up a notch to 1.7GHz. Of course, both phone's processors are last-generation Snapdragon S3 chips, which while technically dual-core, are roundly trounced performance-wise by Qualcomm's current Snapdragon S4 processors. … Read more

In addition to slithering, crawling, and flying just about anywhere, what if robots could camouflage themselves? This tentacled prototype can be made to look like -- or stand out from -- its background with a simple injection of dyes.

Developed by engineers at Harvard University's Whitesides Research Group, the "soft machine" silicone quadruped crawls along on pressurized gases fed through an umbilical cord.

Users can send different dyes through channels in the robot's body, allowing it to blend in or stand out in startling fashion, such as glowing in the dark. Color changes take about 30 seconds, but don't require further power to sustain the disguise. … Read more

I'd call this week the calm before the brewing Motorola/iPhone/rumored smaller iPad/Kindle update/Surface storm, but in truth, fall gadget winds are already whipping up. This week's Microsoft Release to Manufacturing of Windows 8 signals the company's final few weeks before a hurricane of Windows 8 machines blow into the market.

Storm metaphor too heavy-handed? I'll just cut to the chase: Seth Rosenblatt took a very close look at this final version of Windows (it's the code that ships to partners installing the OS on new computers) and made a call: It'… Read more

Motorola just dropped a bomb of an invite that hints at the promise of sweet new smartphones. Scheduled for September 5, the press event will be held in New York and vaguely states, "Motorola. On Display," which is down right tantalizing.

Could Motorola's afternoon festivities herald the coming of a much-rumored Droid Razr HD or even Droid Raxr Maxx HD? Might Moto's new partnership yield fantastic nexus handset fruits? No product details were provided save a Motorola and Verizon logo, which lends weight to my Razr HD theory. … Read more

The iPhone and iPad get all the ink nowadays, but I think the iPod Touch is one of the single greatest gadgets ever built. It does nearly everything an iPhone can, but with a thinner form factor and without the monthly fees.

Today only, and while supplies last, Woot Sellout has the refurbished current-generation iPod Touch 8GB for $139.99, plus $5 for shipping. I'm pretty sure that's the lowest price I've seen on this model.

Update: Wow, my batting average is a disaster this week. Woot has already sold out. My apologies, cheeps.

Update No. 2: … Read more

If a TMO News report pans out, Samsung might be quietly planning a new Windows 8 smartphone boasting a connection to T-Mobile's new 4G LTE network. Other specs the device could feature include a nimble 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor, 1GB of RAM, and a big 4.65-inch Super AMOLED HD (1280x720-pixel) screen. … Read more

Smartphones have become part of daily life but are often too delicate to withstand everyday abuse. Not so for the Sony Xperia Go, an Android handset built to shrug off treatment that would destroy typical mobile devices.

CNET UK took the Xperia Go for a spin, a few dunks, plus crevice-clogging dust-ups to put this rugged machine through its paces. … Read more

Store your data in the cloud and have it accessible to you from any computer, anywhere. That's the pitch we hear more and more from companies like Apple, Google and Microsoft. So how is it that all of these companies allow Outlook for Mac 2011 to remain absurdly earthbound?

I'm a long-time Outlook user on Windows, now working with Outlook full-time on the Mac. Even though Gmail is my email provider (the Google Apps version of it), I find Outlook a better way to interact with Gmail than using Gmail directly through the … Read more