smartphones

Why Apple Won't Care About Slow Chinese iPhone Sales

Kit Eaton — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 12:49:59 -0500

According to reports, Apple's ridiculously successful iPhone has stuttered badly in its attempt to conquer the Chinese market. Because conquering is very far from what's going on: It's sold just five units. But Apple probably doesn't mind.

Hey, iPhone, 1964 Just (Video) Called ...

Joseph V. Tirella — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 06:23:22 -0500

It's not often that trendsetting Apple falls behind the times, but Steve Jobs and company are slacking off where video calls are concerned. Just this week Tel Aviv-based Fringland updated its Fring app (free at Apple's app store or Fringland.com) that allows both voice and two-way video phone-calling via WiFi.

New Layar Makes The World Your Augmented Reality Show

Kit Eaton — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 06:53:16 -0500

It's hard not to be excited about Augmented Reality since it's a dream sci-fi tech that's actually real and growing before our eyes--led in part by the AR Browser Layar, which has just been updated. Its new powers show the future of AR really is everywhere.

Augmented Reality Is Both a Fad and the Future -- Here's Why

Farhad Manjoo — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:00:00 -0500

You wouldn't immediately suspect that Yelp's iPhone app might be a gift bestowed upon us by a benevolent superhero from the future. Load it up and the program's in its Clark Kent garb -- a useful-enough guide to local restaurants, bars, and merchants.

iPhone Owners Spend More Money -- and Not Just on Apple Hardware

Kit Eaton — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:07:32 -0500

Mac users may be more individualistic than PC owners, but new data suggests users of another Apple gizmo--the iPhone--are, on average, much freer with their online spending than their peers.

The Best Smartphones on Every Carrier

Gizmodo Staff — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:37:14 -0500

Android Gaining Ground in Mobile Browsing Wars

Kit Eaton — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:33:39 -0500

Though Apple's iPhone still rules the mobile browsing game, it looks like Google's Android OS--spread over numerous devices now--is beginning to catch up. Admob's stats show its actually overtaken RIM to steal second place.

Today's Vision of Tomorrow: Digital Music From Mobile Pandora, Sony's iTunes Rival

Kit Eaton — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:54:11 -0500

Digital music turned the recording industry upside down several times already, and given the amazing rate of change it's going to keep evolving dramatically. A couple of news items today point to how this evolution will mean we consume music tomorrow.

Pandora Users Point to a Mobile Streaming Music Future

iPhone You Can Drive My Car, If It's a New Mercedes Anyway

Kit Eaton — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:56:41 -0500

An iPhone app that lets you control your Mercedes Benz. An iPhone app that lets you control your Mercedes Benz. An iPhone app ... I mean, what more do you need to know? It's damn cool enough by itself isn't it?

Droid's Week One Sales Impress, but Is Android OS the Real Winner?

Kit Eaton — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:30:48 -0500

Motorola's Droid smartphone got serious chunk of press coverage when it launched a few weeks back, and no wonder--it's possibly Motorola's one and only chance for a comeback. But how well did it sell?

You Are Now Entering the Touchscreen Smartphone Era

Kit Eaton — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:22:52 -0500

Touchscreen smartphones are the thing in the U.S. this year, with sales growing so rapidly it would give the Ares I-X a run for its money. And next year the pace of the change is going to be even faster. Welcome to the touchscreen era.

iPhone Poised to Snap Up More Business Users?

Kit Eaton — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:35:57 -0500

The iPhone may or may not be a success in China, but some analysis just out suggests it's actually doing pretty well in the enterprise environment. It may even more than triple its market share compared to last year.

2009: The Year Mobile Web Use Exploded

Kit Eaton — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 07:01:36 -0400

Mobile Web usage has been on the upswing ever since the iPhone leaped onto the stage. But new data form Opera suggests it's not just the iPhone that's delivering the Internet to smartphone users.

Parenting-App Developers Hot in Pursuit of Exploding "iPhone Moms" Market

Clay Dillow — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:20:02 -0400

People tend to think of iPhone users as young, tech-savvy professionals. But there's an emerging consumer segment could be an attractive target for app developers and advertisers: the "iPhone mom." A Greystripe research report (PDF file) on mothers of children ranging from infants to 17 years of age shows not only that iPhone moms make up nearly a third of total iPhone users, but that more than 59% of them let their children use their iPhones.

Nokia Sues Apple: Jealous Much?

Kit Eaton — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 10:54:56 -0400

Nokia may be the World's biggest cell-phone maker, but its performance in smartphones has been largely disappointing, especially in the post-iPhone era. Apple's device is so jealousy inducing it seems to have prompted a lawsuit.

3 in 4 New Phones on AT&T Are iPhones

Kit Eaton — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 09:33:43 -0400

AT&T just revealed its quarterly finances and among the statistics lies one incredible fact, that demonstrates exactly how much the company's future hinges on Apple: 74% of new "integrated device" activations were iPhones.

Will 3-D Displays Spiff Up Cell Phones?

Kit Eaton — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:45:54 -0400

Three-dimensional display tech is coming to all sorts of gear, from TVs to strange desktop prototypes from Sony. And now, thanks to 3M and thin-film tech, it could be making it onto the tiny LCD of your favorite cell phone.

Verizon Getting Some Motorola Droid, and iPhone Action?

Kit Eaton — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 08:24:08 -0400

An iPhone-trashing video that promotes Motorola's Droid phone has surfaced on the Web, and it teases with a few details about the device. But as more Droid data pops up, there's another surprising rumor: Verizon's testing a CDMA iPhone.

Check out Motorola's promotional video below--it pulls no punches and directly suggests it's better than Apple's smartphone.

$834 Million Quarterly Loss Puts the 'Noooo' in Nokia

Kit Eaton — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:11:20 -0400

Nokia's just posted its third quarter financial report, and it's absolutely abysmal: An $834 million loss. But that's not all--there's still more bad news.

Microsoft: Sidekick User Data on Its Way Back

Kit Eaton — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 06:43:59 -0400

A user uproar, rumors of sabotage, and embarrassing intra-organization finger-pointing--that's how the Microsoft's Sidekick user data loss fiasco has unfolded. But it may soon be over: Microsoft's working on recovering the data.

Atlanta Aims at World's Most Mapped City Status

Kit Eaton — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:19:59 -0400

Forget Google's slow-updating Streetview. Forget even high-tech satellite imagery. Atlanta's plans to become the World's most mapped city involve good old volunteer boots on the ground, part of a large Mapathon project this weekend.

Cisco Buys Mass-Data Movement Experts to Speed Your Smartphone

Kit Eaton — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:23:06 -0400

Spend-happy Cisco systems has opened up its purse yet again, and shelled out some $2.9 billion for a company you've probably never heard of: Starent. What will interest you is that this should improve future smartphone powers.

Google-Verizon Taking on Apple-AT&T

Kit Eaton — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 08:52:03 -0400

Google and Verizon have just announced a "groundbreaking" agreement to maximize the chances for success of the Android OS in the U.S. smartphone market. Their intended target? Beating Apple and AT&T at their own game.

Google Makes Gesture Creation Tool, Palm Drops Fees to Woo Developers

Kit Eaton — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 07:16:21 -0400

Nokia may be excited about gesture control on the N900, and Apple may be all over multitouch patents that make multiple gestures possible, but Google's taken the next step, and built a programmable Gestures API into Android 1.6.

Nokia's N900 Takes on the iPhone

Kit Eaton — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:56:55 -0400

Back in August Nokia pulled the veil off its Maemo OS flagship smartphone/MID mini-tablet device, the N900, and touted its advanced Flash powers. Now the Finnish company has revealed lots more on the gizmo, and it's impressive.