Smartphones

What are you willing to sacrifice to make your iPhone really stand out from the crowd? How about the use of its camera? OK. How about your dignity, too? Great, I have just the case for you. It's the Lobster Mobile Telephone Case from Noddy Boffin.

Way back in 1938, Salvador Dali created a piece known as the "lobster telephone." It involves a lobster attached to the handset of a rotary-dial phone. Flash-forward to 2012 and Australian designer Elliot Gorham channels the ghost of Dali into an accessory for modern smartphones. … Read more

The holidays have arrived. I'm sure with the launch of the new iPads, many young ones may find them, or possibly iTunes gift cards, in their stockings. In light of this, I bring good tidings.

Starting December 21 and running through January 2, Disney Publishing has specially priced some of its more popular titles, including Tangled: Storybook Deluxe; Brave: Storybook Deluxe; Finding Nemo: Storybook Deluxe; and Cars 2: Storybook Deluxe. Normally retailing for $6.99 with the exception of Cars 2 at $5.99 in the iTunes App Store, they will all be reduced to $2.99. … Read more

Not only was 2012 a great year for handset technology like bigger and crisper screens and amazing camera phone improvements, it also witnessed a number of top-notch smartphones that were excellent in and of themselves.

From a brawny battery that liberated users from worrying about their power reserves throughout the day, to a novel design that turned the go-to black rectangle aesthetic on its head, there were a number of handsets that wowed us and pushed the standards of smartphone excellence even higher.

But, what's a year without a few regrets? During our time reviewing exceptional handsets, we also … Read more

Japan already has the market cornered on fancy toilets, but there's always room for more potty innovations. A new line of toilets from Lixil will soon turn smartphones into commode controllers.

The Satis toilets are set for release in early 2013. Through the magic of Bluetooth and an accompanying Android app, users will have minute control over these high-tech privies.

The app can trigger a lifting of the toilet seat or a flush if you've forgotten (or don't want to touch the flusher). According to the promo video, it looks like the app can also control an extending bidet feature that looks absolutely frightening. … Read more

As expected, Sony has now detailed which of its Xperia smartphones will pick up Jelly Bean and which won't.

In a nutshell, the newer and more powerful models will move forward, while a select few will be left behind on Ice Cream Sandwich.

First out of the gate, the Xperia T, Xperia TX, and Xperia V will receive its update starting in February and March. Once completed, Sony plans to deploy Android 4.1 to the Xperia J, Xperia P, and Xperia Go in late March.

The weeks following should see the Xperia S, SL, Xperia Acro S, and … Read more

Google's Nexus 4 has been out of stock since shortly after it went on sale last month, and now one company executive is pinning the blame on the phone's supplier.

Addressing a barrage of questions about the Nexus 4 via Google+, the company's managing director for the U.K. and Ireland, Dan Cobley, served up an apology and an explanation.

"Dear all, I know that what you are going through is unacceptable, and we are all working through the nights and weekends to resolve this issue," Cobley wrote. "Supplies from the manufacturer are scarce … Read more

HTC decided against launching a Windows Phone 8 handset it had planned because of Microsoft's restrictions on display resolution, a new report claims.

HTC was ready to get working on a large-screen Windows Phone 8 device, but believed that Microsoft's limit on screen display resolutions of 1,280x720 and 1,280x768 would have made its handset look less appealing compared with Android alternatives, Bloomberg is reporting today, citing people with knowledge of HTC's thinking.

Google's Android platform has no such restrictions on display quality. In fact, the Droid DNA that HTC released recently comes with a … Read more

From bigger screens and better cameras to multicore processing and NFC, 2012 has been a momentous year for fancy new phone technology. But how practical is any of this cutting-edge gear? Read on as we dive into the gee-whizzery this year's smartphones brought to the table and whether they were huge flops or represent fabulous mobile innovations. … Read more

The Motorola Atrix HD is getting its chance to bite into Jelly Bean according to AT&T.

The Android 4.1 software update is available immediately for Motorola Atrix HD owners, reports the nation's second-largest carrier. AT&T subscribers can manually install the Jelly Bean by navigating to Settings > About Phone > Software Updates on their phone.

The software update brings about a number of improvements, most notably Google Now, richer notifications, and a smarter keyboard. Additional details include enhanced widget support, Quick Settings, and offline voice-to-text.

The Atrix HD marks the fourth Android smartphone from … Read more