Smartphones

Huawei Muscles In on Samsung, Apple Smartphone Turf
June 18, 2013

Huawei on Tuesday announced the Ascend P6, its first high-end smartphone. The China-based company is the largest telecommunications equipment provider in the world, but it also has a device manufacturing business among its many operations. In the smartphone realm, it is perhaps best known for its low-end line. That could be about to change.

Apple Phablet, Plastic iPhone May Be in the Works
June 14, 2013

Rumors of an iPhone with a 5-inch screen and a downscale handset targeted at emerging markets popped up once again Thursday. Specifically, Apple may introduce two big-screen phones, or "phablets," and an all-plastic model that would be offered in several colors and sell at a price that would be appealing to handset shoppers in emerging markets like China, according to a report.

WhatsApp Is Killing the SMS Messenger
June 14, 2013

What happens when an industry gouges its customers for years, and then technology comes along that allows consumers to circumvent the gouger? Customers leave in droves is what happens, and it's WhatsApp and its ilk that are enabling the exodus. If you're unfamiliar with WhatsApp Messenger and its brethren, they're text message alternatives that don't rely on mobile-to-mobile SMS technology.

New Drive Aims to Stamp Out Smartphone Crime
June 13, 2013

A coalition of United States officials, institutional investors and consumer advocates on Thursday launched the Save Our Smartphones Initiative nationwide. With smartphone-related crimes, some of which are shockingly brutal, on the rise in the U.S., law enforcement officials have cranked up the pressure on the cellphone industry to come up with technologies to deter theft.

Galaxy S4 Zooms In on Camera Functionality
June 13, 2013

Samsung on Wednesday announced the Galaxy S4 Zoom, a smartphone whose camera offers 10x optical zoom. It is the ultimate smartphone and camera experience in one, Samsung contends, but opinions are divided on that. "This would appear to offer photography enthusiasts a major upgrade in camera performance," said Raymond Soneira, president of DisplayMate Technologies.

EC Mulls Potential US Threat to Europeans' Privacy
June 11, 2013

The European Commission is concerned that U.S. data collection practices such as PRISM may pose a threat to Europeans' privacy rights. Commission Vice President Viviane Reding, who is in charge of justice, plans to raise the issue at an EU-U.S. meeting later this week in Dublin. That announcement comes after last week's revelation of the headline-grabbing PRISM program.

Sprint Launches Spunky $99 Vital Smartphone
June 11, 2013

Sprint this week released the $99 ZTE Vital, a high mid-range Android smartphone that could rock the market. The device, which has been pegged as a competitor to Samsung's highly regarded Galaxy S4, has a host of power-packed features and has already divided analysts. "The price is the key," said Richard Karpinski, a senior analyst at the Yankee Group.

It's a Smart Smart Smart Smartphone World
June 07, 2013

More than half of the adults in the United States now own a smartphone, constituting a new milestone in the history of the device, according to the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project. Specifically, smartphone adoption has grown to 56 percent of American adults. That's the largest percentage since Pew began tracking smartphone adoption two years ago.

Windows Phone, iOS Outpace Android
June 04, 2013

Google's Android operating system leads the smartphone market with a majority 51.7 percent share in the United States, but competitors are gaining ground, according to a report released Monday by Kantar Worldpanel ComTech. Apple's iOS and Microsoft's Windows Phone platforms are now actually surpassing Android in terms of growth rates.

Foxconn Jumps on Firefox OS Bandwagon
June 04, 2013

Foxconn Technology Group, best known as the go-to maker of Apple's iPads and iPhones, said Monday it had embraced Mozilla's Firefox OS and would use the mobile platform on a raft of new devices, including a tablet it showed off at Computex. The company also demoed several smartphones running the Firefox OS and said it would make tablets, laptops and other devices supporting it.

Google Goes All-American With Moto X
May 31, 2013

Google company Motorola has announced a new smartphone that will be designed, engineered and assembled in the United States -- the Moto X. It will be manufactured in a factory in Fort Worth, Texas. "There are more than 130 million smartphones in use in the U.S., but not one of them is made here. That changes with Moto X," said Motorola spokesperson Danielle McNally.

How to Get Music Onto Your Smartphone
May 31, 2013

One of the advantages of carrying a smartphone is that it's an all-arounder, and one of its killer features is that it can function as a personal media player. It's functionality that an iPod or MP3 player would have provided a few years ago -- and Sony Walkman before that. The principal difference between a smartphone and a classic MP3 player is that the smartphone now includes connectivity.

Samsung Lights a Match for New Innovation Trail
May 28, 2013

Samsung piqued media interest this week with an invitation to a June 20 event in London, where it is expected to unveil its latest Galaxy smartphones and tablets, along with new entrants in its ATIV lineup of Windows devices. What exactly the company has up its sleeve is speculation at this point. However, there's some consensus as to the likeliest prospects for a big reveal.

Galaxy S4's Camera Wins Shootout With iPhones
May 25, 2013

The Samsung Galaxy S4's rear-facing camera beats those in the iPhone 5 and 4S as well as other Samsung smartphones, according to a report from digital image specialists DxO Lab. The 13 MP GS4 camera tallied an overall DxOMark score of 75, while the iPhone 5, iPhone 4S, Galaxy Note II and Galaxy S III all scored 72. First place was taken by the Nokia 808 PureView.

Facebook Scrubs European Launch of Home, HTC First
May 24, 2013

It has been about a month since Facebook unveiled the keys to its mobile problems -- its Facebook Home app and the HTC First, a smartphone designed specifically around Home. To date, though, the progress of these duel initiatives has been less than encouraging. European carriers Orange and EE have delayed the rollout of the First, apparently at Facebook's behest.

Food Testing for Safe Tasting
May 21, 2013

As parents of children with peanut sensitivities well know, awareness of what's in their kids' food is of paramount importance. In order to detect this allergen -- and many others -- engineers at UCLA have created a system called iTube. It involves placing a small amount of food in a test tube, shining a light on it, and then using a smartphone's camera and a specially-designed app.

Jolla Floats 1st Sailfish Smartphone
May 20, 2013

Jolla on Monday launched the first smartphone to run its Sailfish operating system. The handset, which is now available for preorder, will come with a removable back plate designed to let the phone user customize its interface. Jolla was founded by former Nokia employees who wanted to continue the development work the company had started with the MeeGo OS.

Will BlackBerry, Nokia or Amazon Replace Apple or Google?
May 20, 2013

Apple and Google are currently at the top of the mobile device heap, but both companies are vulnerable at the moment. Apple has lost its iconic CEO and appears to be chasing Samsung, and you can't lead by following. Samsung is the dominant player on Android, but Google and Samsung are having relationship problems at the moment. Both have been quietly expressing dissatisfaction with the other.

iOS Loses Market Share as Windows Phone Gains
May 16, 2013

Android continues to rule the global smartphone marketplace with the OS accounting for 75 percent of shipments worldwide in Q1, according to the latest IDC report. Apple's once-dominant iOS had only 17.3 percent of the market. Windows Phone unexpectedly took third place from BlackBerry, which was relegated to fourth.

Now It's the EU Harping on Huawei, ZTE
May 16, 2013

What next, Antarctica? Citing illegal subsidies, the European Commission is considering trade duties against Chinese telecommunications equipment makers Huawei and ZTE. This is but the latest headache for Huawei and ZTE. Between them, the U.S., Canada, Australia and India have all publicly voiced concerns about the duo.