smartphone

Don't want to wait for the Samsung Galaxy S4 to hit stores? Then perhaps you'll be tempted by a new purple-hued version of Samsung's hit handset from last year, the Galaxy S3. Sprint announced it will sell a special Amethyst Purple GS3, as well as the older Pebble Blue and Marble White models, for $99.99.

Of course that discount applies only to customers who bring their service and phone number from other carriers, or existing subscribers who add another line. That lops $99.99 off the Galaxy S3's unsubsidized $549.99 price. You also have … Read more

Recently, the folks at Handset Detection pulled together some data to figure out the top 10 Android devices in use in the United States as of February 2013, and the results revealed a surprising diversity of smartphones (and a few tablets) that include both the hottest phones of the past six months as well as some classics that it seems we just can't bear (or afford) to put down.

I decided to dig through the top 10 American Android devices to try and figure out what makes us pick and stick with the droids we love.… Read more

A flexible-display iPhone or iWatch may be on Apple's to-do list after all.

The company has already shown interest in flexible devices by filing a few patent applications aimed in that direction. A recent job ad and still more patent filings provide further hints that the technology is on Apple's agenda.

A job ad posted by Apple on April 1 specifically said the company was looking for a display specialist to work with LCD, AMOLED, and flexible displays. The ad has since been taken down, but 9to5Mac captured a screenshot just in time, revealing the full description:

Samsung has unveiled two new smartphones that push the envelope of screen size in the smartphone space.

Dubbed Mega, the two devices Samsung showed off today come with the customer's choice of a 5.8-inch screen or a 6.3-inch option. Both devices come with Android 4.2 (Jelly Ben) and a dual-core processor. The higher-end 6.3-inch option comes with a 1.7GHz processor, while the 5.8-inch version has a 1.4GHz chip. Both handsets have 8-megapixel rear-facing cameras and 1.9-megapixel front-facing cameras.

Samsung's Mega 6.3 handset will deliver 8GB or 16GB of internal … Read more

As part of a massive consumer push to bring awareness to its brand (involving the Jonas Brothers, no less), Huawei announced this week that it will release a marquee smartphone in the U.S. this summer.

The company isn't sharing its exact time frame or the nature of the hardware in question, but I'd put my money on one of its most aggressive Android designs, either the gigantic 6.1-inch Huawei Ascend Mate, or the Ascend D2, with an enormous 4,050mAh battery -- both of which debuted in January at CES.

Also a contender for the flagship … Read more

At the Intel Developers Forum in Beijing, China, today, ZTE debuted the ZTE Geek, a 5-inch handset featuring a 2GHz Intel 32nm Atom Z2580 processor.

The device also features an 8-megapixel camera with LED flash, and a front-facing, 1-megapixel camera. Inside, you'll find a 2,300mAh battery.

As for capacity, the Geek has 8GB of storage and 1GB of RAM. It runs on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and its HD touch screen has a 1,280x720-pixel resolution.

Despite its rather insipid name, I like what I'm seeing with the Geek -- on paper, at least. Just as … Read more

Go to any live concert these days and you'll see many audience members watching the performance through a small screen instead of their own eyes.

In response to this epidemic of diverted attention, indie rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs recently put the proverbial foot down on concertgoers with a sign that instructs those with a smartphone, tablet, and/or camera to "Put that s*** away."… Read more

How bad is the smartphone-theft epidemic? San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon accuses phone companies of profiting from stolen phones, as Michael Scherer reported last month on Time's Swampland site. Gascon is one of several leading law-enforcement officials calling for carriers to be required to implement technology that permanently deactivates stolen phones. It is simply too easy for thieves to resell smartphones.

One year ago, the major cellphone services announced via the CTIA Wireless Association plans to create a database "designed to prevent GSM smartphones reported as stolen from being activated or provided service." The database was … Read more

iPhone 5S buyers could have their choice of screen size, according to Topeka analyst Brian White.

Citing information from a meeting with a "tech-supply chain company," White said today he believes Apple will unveil the iPhone 5S in at least two or possibly three different screen sizes.

"We believe Apple is coming around to the fact that one size per iPhone release does not work for everyone, and offering consumers an option has the potential to expand the company's market share," White said in an investors note released today.… Read more