With Tom and Ray Magliozzi, hosts of NPR’s “Car Talk,” hanging up their coveralls and retiring from the radio this fall, there will be a serious void in car diagnostics for ordinary people. We will no longer be able to imitate (very poorly) the sounds that our cars make and get help over the air. So where can we turn now, short of visiting an actual mechanic? Our colleagues a few parking spaces away at Consumer Reports Cars discovered and tested a free Android and iPhone app called Car Trouble that supposedly helps diagnose, well, car trouble. Is it of any use? Yes and no.
iphone
Leap To Offer Prepaid iPhone Plans For $55/Month
By 5.31.12
If you want an iPhone but don’t want to sign up for a two-year contract, you’ve been out of luck. But the popular device is about to cross over into the world of pre-paid wireless plans when it makes its debut on the Leap Wireless network on June 22. [More]
Which iPhone Carrier Is The Best In Your Area? It's Complicated
By 5.30.12
“But I’ve got bars!” you may have howled at your phone while trying to make a call or show your friend that guy on Facebook from high school who is now in commercials. When it comes to getting good service from your carrier, there are more factors in play than what those little bars are telling you. [More]
Disney Cruise Line Places Alleged iPhone Thief On Administrative Leave
By 5.24.12
Well, “Nelson”… If you really did take a passenger’s iPhone while working on a Disney cruise ship, it was silly of you to take photos of your stolen phone shenanigans, because now you’ve been caught. [More]
Bet That iPhone Thief Didn't Think His Disney Cruise Adventures Would End Up On Owner's Facebook
By 5.23.12
Technology combined with social networks can create a kind of vicious oversharing cycle. Yes — we’ve all seen pictures of food, and yes it’s great to know what you made for dinner. But in the case of a woman whose iPhone was stolen, cloud technology paired with Facebook has made for an interesting twist, as she’s chronicling her property’s photographic adventures with the thief in an attempt to get it back. [More]
Size Matters To Apple: New iPhones Will Reportedly Have Larger Screens
By 5.16.12
Hey, iPhoners, remember when you scoffed at your friend’s Android and what you called its “ginormous screen” while lovingly cradling your tiny, precious iPhone? Looks like people really do want bigger screens on their smartphones, as a new report says Apple is preparing to build four-inch screens for its next-generation iPhone. [More]
Five Months Of Verizon Upgrade Runaround, Still No New Phone
By 5.11.12
Jeremy is eligible for an upgrade of his unreliable Droid X. Or maybe he isn’t. No, but today he totally is! It seems like every time he talks to someone new at Verizon, he gets a different answer. [More]
AT&T Can Unlock Your iPhone, But Only If You Leave AT&T
By 5.10.12
We often hear from readers who can’t get their mobile phone carriers to provide unlock codes so they can use their phone on a different network, even just while traveling abroad. AT&T only recently started providing unlock codes to customers with iPhones, and Josh managed to get one for his iPhone 4S. There was one weird condition: he had to sever his ties with AT&T forever. They couldn’t provide the code and keep him as a customer. Wha? [More]
What Could It Possibly Mean That Apple Wants The Domain iPhone5.com?
By 5.8.12
Let the gleeful rumormongering begin! Apple filed a complaint with the World Intellectual Property Organization over the domain name iphone5.com, because it doesn’t control it. And it wants it. So bad. Is it because that’s the next iPhone, or just to stop others from taking advantage of the iPhone name? [More]
Are Verizon Reps Pushing 4G Android Smartphones Over The 3G iPhone?
By 5.3.12
Is there some kind of anti-iPhone conspiracy going on at Verizon Wireless stores? Some customers think so, but perhaps it’s just a matter of 4G versus 3G. After all, there is no 4G-compatible iPhone for Verizon, and many customers want the fastest, newest technology. Or maybe it’s all one big secret deal conducted in dark corners with men in trench coats and fedoras! [More]
Keep On Rocking: EA Not Shutting Down Rock Band For iPhone
By 5.3.12
Good news, rockers! We heard back from our friends at EA, and yesterday’s panic over the kill switch on Rock Band for iPhone was premature. They tell us that the in-app message was an error, and you can buy the game with confidence if you feel so inclined. [More]
Another Seller Swears Off eBay Forever
By 5.2.12
There was a time, around approximately 2001, when eBay was a global marketplace where you could easily and efficiently unload items with any market value that you wanted to get rid of. Now, it’s more of a global flea market full of scams and villainy. eBay and its old accomplice, the U.S. Postal Service, worked together to make Keith’s old iPhone disappear into the ether. [More]
Why Do App Developers Release iPhone Versions First?
By 5.2.12
Even though there are still significantly more smartphones running some version of the Android operating system, it’s not uncommon to see developers come out with an app for iPhone users weeks or months before they release anything for Android. What’s up with that? [More]
(Updated) EA's Rock Band Game For iPhone Will NOT Self-Destruct In 29 Days
By 5.2.12
UPDATE: We heard back from EA this evening. They tell us that the message to players was an error, and Rock band is NOT being turned off after May 31. [More]
Fixing Your Own Electronics Is Fun And Almost Easy
By 4.27.12
Last year, I bought a used iPhone 3Gs that is now well out of warranty. Not a big deal. Only the battery didn’t stay charged all day anymore, and I wondered whether it was time for a new phone, even though mine is otherwise in great shape. Too bad I couldn’t just order a new battery online and snap it in like with previous phones. Except…I could. I just needed a tiny screwdriver, a few other tools, step-by-step instructions, and a lot of patience. [More]
Want To Spy On Your Friends' Bank Accounts? Lend Them Your iPhone!
By 4.12.12
Letting someone borrow your iPhone to log in to their bank’s app quickly, then log back out is no big deal, right? Like letting a friend borrow your computer to check their web-based e-mail. They log in, they log out, they leave no trace. Unless it’s Chase’s iPhone app. Then you get all of their account alerts, no matter what you do. (Short of deleting the app, we assume.) [More]
Small Regional Wireless Companies To Offer Discount iPhones
By 4.4.12
This is definitely not good news for T-Mobile, which had promised customers they would get the iPhone when the merger with AT&T was complete, but which was left stranded after regulators pulled the couple apart: A handful of small regional carriers will soon not only be offering the iPhone to customers, they’ll be selling it for less than their major competitors. [More]
A Million People Download Instagram For Android & Annoy All Their iPhone Friends
By 4.4.12
Just the other day, you might’ve been enviously watching your roommate flip through his Instagram pictures on his iPhone, shooting your Android sullen glances for its Instagram deficiency. But then, then there was yesterday –¬†when one million downloads of Instagram for Android went flying through space and into eager hands. [More]
