smartphones

T-Mobile-bound Sony Xperia Z clears the FCC

Documents listed on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Web site suggest that T-Mobile may soon offer a version of the Sony Xperia Z.

Details show that this flagship Sony smartphone will support T-Mobile's newly launched LTE network as well as pentaband HSPA+. In addition to the standard fare of photos and test results, the docs reveal the user manual and features such as Wi-Fi calling.

First announced in January at CES, the Sony Xperia Z has yet to find a home in the United States. Hardware specifications include a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, a 13-megapixel rear … Read more

Smartphone safety lagging, Consumer Reports finds

Sometimes, you are better off with a dumb phone.

That way, you aren't exposed to all the potential risks of carrying a smartphone. As Consumer Reports shows today in its annual "State of the Net" report, carrying a modern mobile phone is a heckuva convenience but creates all sorts of problems that go beyond what most people realize.

The magazine interviewed 1,656 adult smartphone users and extrapolated the results nationally:

Many users don't secure their phones. Almost 40 percent don't take even minimal security measures. Malicious software is a real threat. Last year, 5.… Read more

LG Optimus G Pro comes to U.S. on AT&T (hands on)

Today at an event in New York we got a chance to spend some hands on time with the new LG Optimus G Pro for AT&T. We can say that the 5.5-inch, quad-core superphone feels just as quick, nimble, and powerful as the international model. Our experience makes us even more eager for the device's launch date of May 10. The handset will cost $199.99 with a two-year contract, but AT&T will begin taking preorders of the phone starting May 3.

The device marks the company's second attempt at a "phablet&… Read more

Flexible smartphone curls up when it gets a call

The MorePhone is a very acrobatic smartphone. It's made with a flexible display and shape memory alloy wires. When a call comes in, it activates the wires and causes the whole phone to curl up. It's an unmistakeable visual cue that you've got someone on the line.

The curling smartphone was developed by researchers at Queen's University Human Media Lab in Canada. The thin electrophoretic display that makes the movement possible was manufactured by Plastic Logic, a company specializing in plastic electronics. The alloy wires can trigger the phone to curl up at all corners, or to curl back individual corners to indicate different events, like an incoming text message or e-mail.… Read more

Tech CEOs say the darndest things

There they go again. Seems being the CEO at a technology company invariably involves hitting the stump and doing what George H.W. Bush (father, not the son) once famously called "the vision thing." So it was that earlier today Blackberry CEO Thorstein Heins made headlines when he predicted that the clock is ticking on tablet computers.

"In five years I don't think there'll be a reason to have a tablet anymore," he told Bloomberg.

Bold words, especially given the big, bold expectations for tablets sounded by the research houses. For example, Gartner said … Read more

Verizon set to roll out Cloud storage 'in the coming weeks'

Verizon Wireless is getting into the cloud business in a big way.

In the coming weeks, Verizon said Tuesday, it will deliver cloud-based storage for smartphones and tablets. The company's customers will receive 500MB of storage at no charge, but can get up to 125GB of storage. Verizon is offering four storage plans to customers:

500MB: Free 25GB: $2.99 per month 75GB: $5.99 per month 125GB: $9.99 per month

"The secure storage app gives customers a place to back up and access their information," Verizon public relations manager David Samberg said Tuesday in a … Read more

The 404 1,259: Where we blow smoke up your tower (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- With few other outlets, inmates review prisons on Yelp.

- SF cops going undercover to stop stolen iPhone sales.

- Smoking near Apple computers voids warranty.… Read more

Does it make sense to buy a PC with a touch screen?

Smartphones with touch screens? Great! Tablets with touch screens? Duh. But PCs with touch screens? Meh.

Recently I purchased a Lenovo IdeaPad U310 ultrabook, my first-ever touch-screen-equipped computer. I didn't necessarily want the feature, but figured I might as well give Windows 8 the benefit of the doubt. It was, after all, designed to be touched -- which explains why using it with a mere mouse and keyboard is such a dreadful experience. Plus, it was priced only about 50 bucks higher than its non-touch-screen sibling.

Having worked with the system for a couple weeks now, I'm ready … Read more

Hands-on with the BodyGuardz ScreenGuardz Pure

We've all seen them: smartphones with shattered screens, the unfortunate victims of sudden outbursts of gravity. Your heart sinks a bit, watching your friends, loved ones, even total strangers slide their fingers over that sad, spidered glass, thinking, "There but for the grace of..."

Knowing full well the costs and hassles of replacing a busted screen, I pressed a BodyGuardz ScreenGuardz Pure onto my daughter's hand-me-down iPhone 4. At 13, well, she's been known to drop stuff.

And just the other day, she did. I'd been planning to write about the ScreenGuardz Pure already, just hopefully without any drop-test data. So much for that.… Read more