Gadget news

Samsung's next flagship smartphone is here.

Samsung took the wraps off the Galaxy S4, the much awaited successor to the S3, at an event in New York tonight.

The handset, which has a 5-inch display, will be available on 327 carriers in 55 countries, starting in April. The company did not provide a price.

It packs new features like simultaneous shooting from dual cameras, "smart" scrolling and pausing that works by tracking eyeballs, health tracking, and a built-in language translator.

The phone will come in both black and white, which the company is calling "black mist" and "white frost."

As expected, the S4 has got an onslaught of new hardware and software features. Here's a quick rundown:… Read more

MakerBot and open-source hardware pioneers Adafruit Industries have partnered to produce a limited edition Adafruit Replicator 2 3D Printer bundle.

For $2,295, buyers get a Replicator 2 -- one of the hottest consumer-grade 3D printers on the market today -- and three of Adafruit's most-popular kits. A Replicator 2 normally sells for $2,200.

The three kits included in the package are Adafruit's MintyBoost V3.0, an open-source hardware charger; a 512MB RAM Raspberry Pi Model B; and a Timesquare do-it-yourself watch kit with a red display matrix. … Read more

No matter whether you're deciding if you should wait and get the Samsung Galaxy S4 next week, making sure you don't have buyer's remorse from just having purchased your Galaxy S3, or perhaps just plain curious, CNET makes it easy to compare the two sibling handsets with this chart.

Physically, the GS4 didn't get any bigger. In fact, it even sports a thinner build and weighs a hair lighter. But with a slimmer bezel, its 5-inch full HD Super AMOLED touch screen had room to expand, and the display now sports a higher pixel density.

Also new is its quad- or octo-core processor. Similar to the situation when the GS3 debuted, which CPU is available will depend on where you live. The U.S. will receive the 1.9GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600.… Read more

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Google closes the book on Reader, announces July 1 sunset.

- Petitions beg Google to reconsider closure of Reader.

- Google Reader alternatives including Flipboard, Feedly, and more.

- Google to retire more services in new round of spring cleaning.

- Google yanks ad-blocker apps from Google Play.

- Samsung Galaxy S4 event: Join us at 3p.m. PT today (live blog).

- Berkeley creates the first graphene earphones, and (unsurprisingly) they're awesome.

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There are two meanings for illumination: light and knowledge. As such, a lamp that looks like a book seems apropos -- and Lumio by San Francisco architect and industrial designer Max Gunawan immediately appeals.

When you open its cover, a concertina crafted to resemble the pages acts as a filter for the bright LEDs inside.

It's not just a pretty face, though. Like a book, it's portable, its lithium ion rechargeable with a discreet charging port hidden in the spine. Because it's lit with LEDs, its power consumption is low, lasting up to 8 hours. Neodymium magnets in the cover mean you can stick it to metal surfaces, and the wooden cover is flexible for a variety of configurations. … Read more

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Bonobos opens stores that don't sell anything.

- The Smithsonian gets Warner Bros. movie props no one else wants.

- Moving Image art fair sells first ever "Vine art" for $200.… Read more

Taking apart the Pebble smartwatch proved a challenge for the folks at iFixit, so it's definitely not something you'd want to try at home.

Beyond just telling you the time, the Pebble smartwatch can sync with iPhones and Android phones to alert you to incoming calls, e-mail, instant messages, and appointments. In its quest to see what makes the watch tick, iFixit employed its usual tools and tricks to go behind the scenes.

Prying the watch apart, iFixit found a lot of adhesive designed to keep out water. Opening the watch cracked its face, though, so Pebble owners … Read more

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Baauer of "Harlem Shake" sued over unauthorized samples.

- Surprise hit "Harlem Shake" was a shock for artists heard on it.

- "Sweet Brown" sues Apple and radio stations for unauthorized interview.

- SXSW: Marvel to give away 700 first-issue digital comics.

- Marvel giveaway crashes Comixology's servers.… Read more

Google Glass fans who wear actual glasses will also be able to don the wearable tech, without abandoning their prescription glasses, according to a Team Glass post today.

The company said one of the most asked questions about Glass was whether Google is making a prescription version. Clearly, Google has seen the value of making Glass versions for those beholden to their corrective lenses.

"The Glass design is modular, so you will be able to add frames and lenses that match your prescription. We understand how important this is and we've been working hard on it," Project … Read more