Five power-user tools in Gmail for Android

Though it's not nearly as robust as the Web version, Gmail for Android packs a good number of tools that, when utilized correctly, can make managing e-mail on the go a little less painful. And, when mastered, they'll even increase your productivity.

Gmail veteran or not, dig through this guide to uncover understated workflow tips, along with some of the not-so-obvious features you may have missed. And, hey, maybe you'll finally achieve that mythical "Inbox Zero."

1. Use search the right way. Search is one heck of a powerful tool that often masquerades as a … Read more

Best Buy offers $50 gift card with Samsung device purchase

Best Buy plans to offer something a little extra to Samsung mobile device buyers.

Anyone who buys any Samsung Galaxy device from June 26 to July 6 will receive a $50 gift card. The offer includes all Samsung Galaxy mobile phones and connected tablets including the Galaxy S3, the Galaxy S4, the Galaxy Note 2 , and the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0.

A two-year activation is required for post-paid mobile phones and tablets. For mobile activations with a wireless contract, the gift card can be applied immediately to the purchase. For prepaid mobile and tablet activations, the gift card must … Read more

A Samsung Galaxy S4 supporting LTE-Advanced surfaces

Get ready to drool, folks. A version of Samsung's Galaxy S4 has been spotted that reportedly supports LTE-Advanced, a mobile broadband standard that could finally deliver on the true promise of 4G networks.

LTE-Advanced is designed to deliver higher capacity and peak data rates of as much as 3Gbps for downloading and 1.5Gbps for uploads. While carriers here in America are still working on blanketing our significantly more vast landscape with regular old LTE coverage, South Korea's SK Telecom claims to already be hard at work on its first LTE-Advanced network.… Read more

Disable autoplaying for videos in Instagram

No matter how you feel about Instagram adding video, I think we can all agree that being greeted with a random sound every time you launch the app and a video starts playing without you doing a thing is very annoying.

As previously touched on when video capabilities in Instagram first launched, you can disable the "feature" (more like curse) of autoplay with just a few quick taps. I have to hand it to the Instagram team for even putting the option in the app.

Launch Instagram and navigate to your profile page. From there, tap on the … Read more

Samsung Galaxy S4 Developer Edition debuts for Verizon users

Verizon Wireless subscribers interested in the Galaxy S4 Developer Edition can now order one directly through Samsung.

Selling for $650, the unlocked developer edition offers all the features of the standard S4. But as per its name, it's geared toward developers and other people who want to tweak the phone without running into the obstacles posed by the locked version.

An unlocked boot-loader gives you the ability to reprogram the phone with custom ROMs that carry only the OS and basic apps. You can then install a variety of apps of your own choosing and make other changes.

The … Read more

iPhone 5 sees mixed demand, says analyst

The iPhone 5 may not be quite as hot as its precedessors, at least according to a new report from Oppenheimer analyst Ittai Kidron.

In an investors note out Tuesday, Kidron cited retail checks that indicate "steady demand for the iPhone 4/4S and mixed demand for the iPhone 5." And the analyst predicts the trend will continue. As a result, he now expects iPhone sales of 26 million for the current quarter, down from his prior forecast of 27 million.

The September quarter may also be a bit dicey. Though Kidron still believes a new iPhone will … Read more

Samsung scores another win versus Apple, this time in Japan

Score one for Samsung in the company's long-running patent battles with Apple.

A Japanese high court upheld a lower court ruling that Samsung did not infringe on an Apple patent related to synchronizing music and video on Galaxy smartphones and tablets with servers, according to a report from Bloomberg.

The Intellectual Property High Court in Tokyo backed an August decision by Tokyo District Court that Samsung's mobile devices don't infringe on Apple technology. Following that ruling, Apple filed paperwork in October to appeal the decision.

Samsung gave us the following statement:

We welcome the court's decision, … Read more

Huawei's Prism 2 'coming soon' to T-Mobile

Slipping under the radar is the T-Mobile Prism II, a new handset that was posted today on the carrier's online site. Manufactured by Huawei, the successor to the original Prism does not have any pricing information listed yet, but apparently it will "come soon" to T-Mobile users.

The 3G device will feature marginal upgrades from its last iteration. It will run Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, and powering its insides is a 1GHz processor (in comparison, the Prism housed a 600MHz CPU).

It will also sport a bigger, 1,750mAh battery, which is estimated to yield up … Read more

AT&T's mobile chief: We've sold out of the Facebook phone

So, the HTC First wasn't a complete disaster after all.

AT&T managed to get rid of most of its inventory, according to AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega. The move to a 99-cent price tag helped spur sales of the Facebook phone, which struggled to catch on with consumers.

"We sold a bunch more when we lowered the price," he said in an interview on Monday. "We sold everything we had on that."

It's unclear how many HTC First phones AT&T had in its inventory, and the … Read more