Mobile Tech

Last week was defined largely by two interesting stories. One had Apple bringing some manufacturing back to the U.S., and the other revolved around the outcome of the latest trial between Apple and Samsung. It shows you how hard it is to read a judge, though. I thought Judge Lucy Koh would likely ra...

WHICH APPS DO I NEED?

All Things Appy: 5 Best iOS Transportation Apps

The travel experience has been enhanced by the portability of the iPhone and its apps. Travel planning, making reservations, and getting information while on the road are all easier with the top five free transportation-oriented apps available for the iOS platform. Orbitz provides strong sort-and-fi...

Facebook on Tuesday introduced a new messaging app for Android smartphones that can be used by members and non-Facebookers alike, a move aimed at building an alternative to SMS text messaging. Initially, the distribution of the Messenger app will be limited to Australia, India, Indonesia, South Afri...

TECH TREK

China Toughens Smartphone Standards

New smartphone regulations in China have caused concern among technology companies. The regulations, which would add a new layer of licensing and testing for smartphones, reportedly were filed to a WTO database of technical barriers to trade. They were submitted by China's Ministry of Industry and I...

The rural broadband delivery business is rapidly changing. When Dish Network's super-cheap broadband-via-satellite service, dishNET, went live in October, it prompted a satellite Internet price-war. dishNET download speeds reach 10 Mbps. Service starts at $39.99 a month for 10 GB of data at 5 Mbps i...

The iTunes store has opened up in Russia and a slew of other countries that were previously left off its coverage map. The 56-country expansion nearly doubles the number of countries in which iTunes is now available. Turkey, India and South Africa were also part of the launch, which Apple says will ...

Microsoft on Thursday laid out the specifications and pricing of its Surface tablet with Windows 8 Pro, which goes on sale in January. It will offer the 64 GB standalone version at $899 and the 128 GB standalone version at $999, both including a Surface pen with Palm Block technology. Palm Block pre...

The Basis wearable fitness monitor -- announced back in January at the 2012 International CES -- has finally shipped. Already sold out for the holidays, according to the website, the Basis can be reserved for $199. The device enters a market with notable competition from Jawbone, LarkLife and Nike.

A simple AM radio can keep you abreast of events during a disaster. However, a smartphone is ideal for two-way communications, as well as for news and government messages via text message and social networks like Twitter. I've been using a signal booster kit while backpacking around network-sparse, ...

The End of the Printing Press?

Electronic communications are reshaping personal life, and may right now be causing the rapid demise of print. Media academics know well the theories of Marshall McLuhan. He came up with the phrase "the medium is the message," and the term "global village," among other juicy contributions to our com...

Those who want to post reviews on Google Play will be required to use a Google+ account, the parent company of both announced on Tuesday. The new rules will be implemented with the latest version of Google Play, which the company is now introducing for Android devices. They have already been impleme...

On Cyber Money -- the Super Bowl, if you will, of online shopping -- U.S. authorities seized some 130 domain names in several countries to prevent them from selling counterfeit merchandise. This is the third straight year authorities have launched a Cyber Monday counterfeit crackdown. Websites selli...

PRODUCT REVIEW

Samsung's Galaxy Note II Is a Phabulous Phablet

The Samsung Galaxy Note II could very well be the best high-end smartphone/phablet on the market today. It brings the best features of Android Jelly Bean to this combination of high-powered tablet and state-of-the-art phone. The Note II has so many things to like, but if you have a phobia for reall...

As many as 10,000 Twitter users in the United Kingdom face the threat of legal action because of their tweets regarding recent sexual abuse allegations. The tweeters could be in trouble because of comments -- either posted to Twitter or forwarded to other people -- in which they refer to a BBC repor...

After seeing the new Microsoft offerings, Steve Wozniak recently lamented that Microsoft is now out innovating Apple. Wozniak is the surviving founder of Apple, and his perspective clearly is important, but he was the guy who got the product to work. It was the other Steve who was largely responsib...

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