Mobile Tech

GADGET DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES

Swedish Sounds, Cool Phones, and Smart Switches

Not content with furnishing every other aspect of our homes, IKEA has continued its push into smart home territory with its first Bluetooth speaker. The Eneby comes in two sizes: 8 x 8 and 12 x 12 inches. You can use it as a portable speaker with up to 10 hours of battery life with the optional $20 ...

Gesture control and a curved body may be in the iPhone's future. Apple has been experimenting with those features for the iPhone, and they could be ready for prime time in two to three years. Gesture control would allow a user to execute tasks without touching the screen. The technology could be use...

Intel has unveiled its latest family of 8th generation Core processors. "As with previous new-gen Core launches, these initial solutions are aimed at customers who value high-end performance and dynamic market segments," said Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT. The 8th Gen processors incorpo...

Nearly half of all the small businesses that participated in a recent survey said they handled their mobile application development in house, in part to cut costs and speed time to deployment. Forty-six percent used in-house staff to develop critical mobile applications in an effort to drive new bus...

Snapchat soon may have a Connected Apps feature that is similar to the functionality at the heart of the Cambridge Analytica brouhaha, which has Facebook writhing under congressional scrutiny and consumer backlash. The latest beta features a new Connected Apps tab within the setting page. The page d...

Smart homes are here. Although not every home in the U.S. is tricked out with the latest technologies, they're no longer a rarity. For example, a hefty 41 percent of the people who responded to an online survey conducted last year said they already owned smart home devices. Sales of smart refrigerat...

Apple on Tuesday announced a refresh of its iPad as part of a new approach to the education market. CEO Tim Cook and other Apple officials also outlined a number of new education initiatives at an event held at Lane Tech College Prep High School in Chicago. The new 32-gigabyte, 9.7-inch iPad, which ...

Facebook on Sunday confirmed that its Messenger and Lite apps for Android smartphones routinely collect call and text histories. The call and text history logging are opt-in features for people using Messenger or Facebook Lite on Android devices, the company said in a post. The feature is designed t...

Google has announced it will open its Maps APIs to video game developers, which could result in far more realistic settings in augmented reality games. With access to real-time map updates and rich location data, developers will have many choices of settings for their games. The APIs will provide de...

Fitbit on Tuesday added a new smartwatch to its wearables line with a pricetag of $199.95. The Fitbit Versa, which will reach global retail outlets in next month, will be the lightest metal smartwatch in the U.S. market. It includes a new dashboard that simplifies the way health and fitness data is ...

Oh, look, it's a new flagship smartphone duo from Samsung. Shockingly enough, they're called the "Galaxy S9" and "Galaxy S9+." They have a similar appearance to the previous year's models, but there are also a few differences, such as a new camera and stereo speakers. There's a 960-frames-per-second...

The general consensus appears to be that these new models were successfully built on past designs yet fell short in numerous areas. The new phones are good -- but anyone expecting revolutionary functionality may be disappointed.

Amazon has agreed to buy smart doorbell maker Ring for $1 billion, the companies have disclosed. Ring users already could use the Echo Show to see and hear visitors at the front door. The deal means Ring will be able to further its "mission to reduce crime in neighborhoods by providing effective yet...

The program, which is currently in beta, will offer healthcare providers a way to order rides for their patients to help them keep their appointments. Uber Health addresses a growing problem, especially with seniors and others who lack good transportation options for visits to doctors or clinics. As...

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