Phones

Leaked pic hints at HTC One arrival on Verizon soon

Last week I made a visit to my local Verizon Wireless store. As the store employees rung up my wife's new Galaxy S4 and sang its praises, they talked even more giddily about the impending arrival of another phone on the nation's largest carrier -- the HTC One.

This is just one small-town store in a vast network of Verizon stores, mind you, but employees told me iPhone sales had fallen off in favor of Samsung's Note and Galaxy S lines, and that they were expecting even bigger things from the HTC One.

What I couldn't get a straight answer on was when the flagship Android phone might finally come to Big Red. It's been months since the last great hope for struggling HTC was released to the masses, and the HTC One has since landed on all other major carriers in the United States. … Read more

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 could arrive in September

Samsung fans, listen up: a new Galaxy Note 3 phone might be right around the corner. A new report claims the latest phablet device from the Korean tech giant could become a reality in September.

Samsung certainly has made a lot of noise about its newest Galaxy S4 superphone, but another of its popular gadget lines, the Galaxy Note franchise, is sorely overdue for a refresh. Now it appears a Note 3 model is in the works, according to sources close to technology blog Android Geeks.

You may recall that the original Galaxy Note first shook up the mobile device … Read more

Sony Xperia C juggles two SIM cards, but only in China

SHANGHAI, China -- Though the focus of Sony's presentation earlier this week was the supersized Xperia Z Ultra phablet, the company also took the opportunity at Mobile Asia Expo to announce normal-sized handsets like the Xperia C. Meant for the Chinese market, the Android device will come with two SIM slots: one WCDMA and the other GSM.

Featuring a 5-inch qHD (960x540-pixel) screen, the Xperia C slightly resembles the Xperia Z from the front. However, the build is completely different once you turn it around. Instead of a glass chassis, it features a soft-touch back cover that completely envelops … Read more

Meet SK Telecom's tiny Smart Beam pico projector

SHANGHAI, China -- Fancy a portable projector that you can bring anywhere in your pocket? SK Telecoms' Smart Beam projector may be just the device you are looking for.

Measuring 4.5cm (1.77 inches), the wide, cube-shaped beamer fit nicely in my palm. Weighing just 126g (4.4 ounces), it's as light as most mobile phones. The Smart Beam supports the MHL connectivity interface, and you can use any smartphone that supports this standard to connect to the pico projector.

Other key specifications include a battery life of 120 minutes, VGA native resolution, and 35 lumens of brightness … Read more

Rumor Has It: How much better will the iPhone 5S' better camera be?

Last week, Facebook announced video capabilities for Instagram, which nobody was surprised about. But I was a little surprised that the presentation ended with that. I was sure that the company would also announce its answer to Google Reader. Lo and behold, recent rumors suggest that Facebook still has a Reader of its own up its sleeve.

Google could be working its own version of Pinterest, called Google Mine. It would be integrated with Google+, and it could have its own Android app. Of course!

And finally, there's that little gleaming unicorn that everyone is speculating about, the iPhone 5S. Recent rumors suggest that it'll have a boosted camera, jumping 12 megapixels from the iPhone 5's 8. What do you think of those specs? Does it sound likely? Leave a comment below, and don't forget to vote in the poll!

Basis Band gains fresh style

Basis Science, the maker of the Basis Band fitness gadget, announced today three splashy wrist straps. The company hopes the straps will bring a fresh dose of chic to the fitness-minded smartwatch.

Named with evocative titles such as Electric Spring, Carbon Steel, and Cityscape, each strap accessory features a distinctive aesthetic. Cityscape ($34.95) uses a black and white street scene motif, whereas Carbon Steel ($49.95) is made from stainless steel and soft silicone.

The Electric Spring strap ($34.95) is the most daring of all, with wildly colored patterns reminiscent of ink drops and flowers.

If you're … Read more

Verizon upgrades rugged G'zOne series with LTE model

Verizon Wireless today expanded its rugged smartphone lineup by announcing the Casio G'zOne Commando 4G LTE.

An update to 2011's Casio G'zOne Commando, the Commando 4G LTE has largely the same design as its predecessor. Clad in black with a few red accents, the handset packs rubber sidings for protection, and top and bottom ends that almost come to a point.

More importantly, it meets the expected military standards (under the MIL-STD-810G certification) for shock immersion, dust, vibration, salt fog, humidity, solar radiation, low pressure, and high and low temperature. What's more, the touch screen, which … 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

Talk to the hand: No, really, it's a glove phone

I have had the impression for some time that Google has thought of everything.

This impression was mainly fostered by Google, which seems intent not merely on knowing everything I do now, but everything I will want to do in the future.

But then I saw this footage of a man talking into his pinkie finger and thought: "He must be British."

This did, indeed, prove to be the case. For Sean Miles of Designworks in the U.K. decided that the true joy of wearable tech was a driving glove that you can talk into.

At least … Read more

Samsung offers more color variety for Galaxy S4

Consumers looking for a bit more variety in their life will soon have it when it comes to buying a new Samsung Galaxy S4.

During Samsung's big product event in London on Thursday, the company announced a bevy of new color options for flagship smartphone the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the newly introduced Galaxy S4 Active.

Now the company is offering five color options in addition to the already available black and white: Blue Arctic, Purple Mirage, Red Aurora, Brown Autumn, and Pink Twilight. The company also announced additional colors for the Galaxy S4 Active phone, which is a … Read more