gadgets

Normally, you spend dinner over a hot bowl of instant ramen, silently weeping and watching your salty tears mix with the steaming broth. Banish that loneliness by sharing your meal with a companion that won't give you a hard time or ask when you're getting married. The anti-loneliness ramen bowl will hold your smartphone at the ready so you'll never eat alone again.

The bowl is the creation of design firm MisoSoupDesign. The bowl itself is very sculptural, but the highlight is the smartphone holder that keeps your favorite tech buddy at the ready while you're chowing down.… Read more

LAS VEGAS--When you think of CES, chances are it's images of massive HDTVs that first come to mind. This year, however, technology on a tiny scale made a big impact. This new product category we call wearable tech consists of gadgets small enough to be clipped, pinned, or looped around your body and worn constantly.

The smartwatch If you thought that the smartwatch died with the demise of Microsoft's SPOT devices over a decade ago, you're in for a rude awakening. With the recent rise of the smartphone, the need for the wealth of information these devices … Read more

LAS VEGAS--When you're dodging thousands of CES visitors trying to get somewhere quick in the mile-long South Hall at the Las Vegas Convention Center, charging your mobile gear is probably one of the last things on your mind.

But Tylt is all over that problem. With its green-clad booth ladies in their own spot in the hall, Tylt has been showing off its Energi recharging backpack.

While it's definitely on the bulky side, Energi holds a 10,400 mAh lithium-ion battery that charges in seven to eight hours. … Read more

LAS VEGAS--I was sitting in my window seat ready to fly out to CES 2013 when something large and soft landed in my lap.

It was a bingo wing.

A floppy human tricep had somehow bounced onto me without so much as an "Excuse me."

It belonged to a man who was possessed of a bumpered iPhone, a protected iPad and the uncovered manners of a drunken Gollum.

Yes, this was my seat mate, and he'd stumbled a little as he tried to sit. He was holding two gadgets, you see.

Seat mates are like lovers. You … Read more

All joking aside.

It isn't easy, but I'll try.

Technology doesn't always represent progress. It just thinks it does.

Gadgets inspire an astounding degree of self-indulgence.

They make you believe you have 5,000 friends, when you're lucky to have 5. They let you swear at the president and the pope, without them knowing who you are. They let you taunt, abuse, flatter, worship, preen, boast, and whine. … Read more

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On this week's show, we check out Tailly, a wearable robotic tail that wags when you get excited. If that gets you wagging, then you'll definitely want to have a look at the Satis Bluetooth toilet that can flush with your smartphone. And in honor of winter, we look at how a snowflake is born. It's the last show of 2012, and we bid you farewell until the new year. The show returns on January 18. … Read more

The time for holiday shopping has just about come to a close. With just four days until the Big Day, all that's left now is to hope Santa got your letter in the mail -- and thinks you've been a good little gadget hound this year.

So, what did you wish for? What gadget are you most hoping to find under the tree on Christmas morning? Something tablet-shaped, perhaps? Or maybe something boxy (or Boxee) that streams video? How about a Bluetooth speaker, or a new camera, or even that big TV you've been eyeballing at Costco?… Read more

You may have paid only $200 for your latest smartphone, but if you had to replace that device before you became eligible for a subsidy from your carrier, it could cost you more than $600. Is it worth it to get device insurance?

That's the question I answer this time in Ask Maggie. I also offer some advice to an Apple iPhone fan who wants to know if he should wait for the next iPhone, rumored to be out in June or July.

Dear Maggie,

I am getting my son an iPhone … Read more

Apple today made a slight new addition to its Find My iPhone software (iTunes), with a tweak that gives owners driving directions right to a lost device.

Under the previous system, users saw only the precise location on a map with the option to refresh. The new update shows your device's location just like a point of interest within Apple's maps software, with the option to fire up driving directions by tapping a car icon.

In practice this means you can now hunt down a device's location without having to guesstimate a location and switch over to … Read more