More details emerge about high-end ZTE Grand S

Event info posted on CES' press page details a January 8 unveiling of the ZTE Grand S.

We already knew that the Chinese company would announce a high-end smartphone during the January trade show, but more specs reveal that it'll be a thin, 5-inch handset with an FHD screen.

Judging by the event summary, the device may also sport a stylish look, too.

It noted that the phone will be made out of ceramic, feature a "traditional Chinese style," and is perfect for the "fashionable set."

Though ZTE is remaining mum about further details, a … Read more

Senator pressures FAA to get moving on in-flight device use

Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill wants you to be able to tweet a photo of St. Louis' famous Gateway Arch while you're soaring above it in your commercial airliner of choice.

At least that might be one option open to you if a letter she sent to the Federal Aviation Administration yesterday has the desired effect.

The Democratic senator said in her letter that she was "prepared to pursue legislative solutions" if the FAA takes too long to loosen its restrictions on the use of portable electronic devices during flights.

"We live in an increasingly connected world, … Read more

iPad Mini sales likely hurt by supply problems -- analyst

It's good to be in high demand, but not when there's not enough supply to go around. That's the case for Apple's iPad right now, Sterne Agee says.

The firm has joined the growing chorus of analysts worried about sales of Apple's popular gadgets. In Sterne Agee's case, the firm feels pretty bullish about iPhone sales but is more concerned about the iPad.

While the iPhone could surprise to the upside amid improving iPhone 5 supply, Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu said, iPad sales may prove to be a bit disappointing. That's because … Read more

iPad Mini to head to Russia this Friday

The iPad Mini will find itself in Russia starting this Friday, according to a Russian retail site.

Trumpeting the arrival of the 7-inch tablet, retail site Re:Store said it would kick off iPad Mini sales at its Moscow stores on December 14 at 18:00 local time, with other stores to follow suit.

The Wi-Fi only version will debut in Russia this Friday, while the Wi-Fi + Cellular edition won't be available until a later date. Russian buyers will have to ante up 13,490 rubles ($440) for the 16GB version, $571 for the 32GB edition, and $702 for … Read more

RIP e-book readers? Rise of tablets drives e-reader drop

The rapid rise of tablets is driving the e-book reader market to an equally rapid fall, according to a new study.

IHS iSuppli said that after "spectacular" growth during the past few years, the e-book reader market is now on an "alarmingly precipitous decline," all thanks to the growing popularity of tablets.

How alarming? Well, the firm predicts that shipments of e-book readers will tumble 36 percent this year to 14.9 million units and then drop another "drastic" 27 percent next year to 10.9 million units. By 2016, IHS iSuppli predicts, the … Read more

Flickr's new iPhone app puts mobile front and center

Flickr released an overhauled iPhone app today, capping a year of effort to reclaim its lost glory with software that it believes will become central rather than peripheral to using the photo-sharing site.

The new app is designed to show off individual photos better, to ease sign-up for new users, to speed photo browsing, and to improve discovery. Better smartphone support was critical, given how much activity has moved to mobile apps.

"Engagement to a high percentage is happening on mobile," said Markus Spiering, head of the Flickr product at Yahoo. "It really brings Flickr into the … Read more

ZTE to unveil high-end smartphone at CES 2013

According to IDG News Service, ZTE's global chief design director, Hagen Fendler, said that the Chinese phone company will announce a new high-end handset in January during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Though ZTE is known for its low- to midlevel devices, Fendler said that CES will mark a new "design era" for the manufacturer.

Recent ZTE handsets, like the ZTE Warp Sequent and the Sprint Flash, have shown a deliberate change in direction for ZTE, toward better-quality devices. The former has a sturdy construction and a 4.3-inch touch screen, while the latter is … Read more

How to enable pinch-to-zoom in Gmail on your Android device

Last week when Google rolled out Gmail 4.2.1 to all Android users, swipe-to-delete wasn't the only feature added to the app. Google also added pinch-to-zoom, but it's not called pinch-to-zoom in the settings. Wait, what? Yeah, it's a bit confusing. So here's what you'll need to do to enable pinch-to-zoom in Gmail on your Android device.

Download the latest version of Gmail from the Google Play Store. It should be version 4.2.1. After you're up to date, launch the Gmail app and navigate to Settings > General Settings. Check the … Read more

Getting started with Twitter photo filters

Twitter has updated its Android and iOS apps with photo filters, following through on the rumors from just a few days ago. The release is timely, considering everyone's favorite photo-filter app, Instagram, just recently pulled integration from Twitter. The benefit of using the Twitter app to filter your photos is that they'll show up natively in Twitter.com and in the mobile apps. Instagram photos appear only as links now, requiring a browser window to view them at Instagram's Web site. If you prefer displaying your filtered photos within Twitter, here's how to get started with … Read more