Smartphones

Downloading almost every promotional app or game you come across in the App Store is a good idea, but it's also one that will result in your purchase history being littered with random apps. Some of them you'll need to use one day; others you'll never look at again. Anyone who has tried viewing their purchased history on an iOS device knows how long it takes for the list to appear -- it's ridiculous.

To clear up your purchased history, you'll need access to a computer with iTunes installed and a few minutes of your … Read more

Ubuntu OS, long a favorite open-source platform for computing, is getting ready to move to the smaller smartphone screen.

Ubuntu-run smartphones will using the same drivers as Android smartphones, a boon to developers, but will also run well on entry-level smartphones, the organization says. Ubuntu for phones eschews Java in favor of native code.

In fact, Ubuntu's Web site pushes HTML5 and native code apps, a benefit for developers who can create a single app for both the desktop and the PC.

The OS favors swiping gestures to reveal navigation strips and overview pages, similar to RIM's BlackBerry … Read more

The Google Play Books app was recently updated with a "Read Aloud" feature for Android devices. Once enabled, your Android device will read the text of books acquired from Google Play Books.

There's just one problem; the voice reading the books sounds horrible. It's slow, words are awkwardly broken up, and it just doesn't lend itself to a great experience. The good news is you can enable a high-quality voice to read the book to you directly in the app.

A new year brings with it new iPhone 5S rumors. And this time around the latest from Apple could even come in pink.

Analyst Brian White of Topeka Capital Markets is all bullish on Apple this morning claiming his sources tell him that the next iPhone will arrive in May or June with more choices for customers including "more color patterns and screen sizes." Apparently White's bulls aren't seeing just red Apples, though. Rather, he believes the iPhone 5S could have as many color choices as the most recent generation of the iPod Touch:… Read more

According to the Japanese mobile news site Blog of Mobile, the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is sporting two new colors: red and brown.

However, the version colors officially go by the name Ruby Wine (pictured above on the left) and Amber Brown (right).

Because the new looks were discovered in a South Korean publication, it'll be a while before these models reach the United States, assuming it'll even reach our shores at all.

Currently, the 5.5-inch phone/tablet hybrid (or "phablet") is available here in Marble White and Titanium Gray.

Considering that the Samsung Galaxy S3 … Read more

Sharon,

I have a how-to question for you:

Last summer I drove from Colorado to San Diego to go to Comic-Con, and I used my iPhone 4S for both navigation and playing media. I had a lot of trouble with the phone overheating and either shutting down or not charging.

I've been trying to figure out a cooling solution for my drive next summer.

The image I have in my head is to mod a liquid cooling system from a PC in such a way that I would attach the cold plate to the back of the Ram mount … Read more

It definitely has been a busy week for ZTE and T-Mobile.

Another device slated for the carrier has appeared under FCC listings.

According to the paperwork, the phone's model name is F555, but it also goes by the label "Wombat." The device looks to be a simple feature phone with a candy bar construction.

External pictures also reveal branding from T-Mobile and an onboard four-row keyboard.

Other features include a 2-megapixel rear-facing camera, a shortcut camera key, a 1,000mAh battery, and microSD card slot.

In addition, the handset comes with Bluetooth, a native music player, and … Read more

In case you needed more clues that RIM's latest handsets based on the long-awaited BlackBerry 10 software are really just around the corner, you've got it. A new device, referred to as model RFH121LW, has now shown up within the FCC's official database. Tech site Engadget noticed RIM's mysterious gadget, along with another product called the RFF91LW which reportedly is cleared to operate on AT&T's LTE and GSM airwaves. … Read more

Details have emerged about how Samsung might be affected by an October 24 ruling against it in an Apple patent case before the U.S. International Trade Commission.

A public, partially censored version of the presiding judge's initial determination and recommendations in the case was published by the ITC yesterday, showing Judge Thomas Pender's suggested sanctions, which include an import and sales ban on infringing products, and the posting of a bond for 88 percent of the value of the smartphones at issue in the case.

Pender ruled that Samsung is violating one of Apple's iPhone design … Read more