Using a smartphone over seas can be annoying at best, and at worst, well… this. The Wall Street Journal has some tips to keep you relatively stress free while you’re jet-setting. [More]
smartphones
AT&T To Start Selling LG Thrive, Its First Prepaid Smartphone, Next Week
By 4.13.11
Starting Sunday, AT&T will get into the prepaid smartphone business when it begins selling the LG Thrive. [More]
Federal Grand Jury Investigates App Makers Over Privacy Issues
By 4.5.11
Pandora and other app makers received subpoenas related to a criminal federal investigation in which prosecutors are looking into claims that smartphone apps violate users’ privacy by illegally collecting and transmitting info. [More]
Federal Courts Fear Bombs Disguised As Smartphones
By 3.29.11
If you’ve ever wondered why some federal court jurisdictions refused to allow cell phones on the premises, the answer lies partially in the potential threat of your technological doohickies. [More]
Android Surpasses BlackBerry As Most Popular Smartphone OS
By 3.9.11
BlackBerry’s reign as the king of peoples’ pockets has ended, usurped by Android. [More]
Google Deletes Evil Apps
By 3.7.11
After identifying several malicious apps on the Android Market that exploited security on the operating system, Google not only remotely deleted the apps but installed software that undid the damage to affected devices. [More]
Geek Squad Will Hold My EVO Hostage For Up To 30 Days
By 3.1.11
You’ve heard it from us before, but we can’t remind our readers too many times: extended warranties are usually not such a wise investment. Here’s an excellent case study. Ryan pays $9.99 per month for a Geek Squad Black Tie service contract on his HTC EVO. For that much money, he logically assumed that when his phone malfunctioned, he would not be left phoneless for 30 days or more. He was incorrect. That may actually be worse than getting a replacement or repair under the normal manufacturer’s warranty. [More]
Verizon Gets First Crack At 'PlayStation Phone'
By 2.14.11
Sony Ericsson officially unveiled the Xperia Play, the device the public has long dubbed the “PlayStation Phone.” [More]
Report: Apple At Work On Smaller, Cheaper iPhones
By 2.11.11
Apple is said to be applying its shrink ray to the iPhone, working on a scaled-down, budget version of its ubiquitous electronic leash. [More]
Facebook Will Reveal Sony's PlayStation Phone Feb. 13
By 2.7.11
Sony really, really wants people to start playing its games on new handheld devices. After announcing a follow-up to the PSP and revealing it will make PlayStation games available on Android phones, it’s finally revealed that it’s going to unveil the long-rumored PlayStation Phone. [More]
Use iPod Touch As A Phone To Save On Bills
By 1.27.11
The iPod Touch can be more than the oft-ignored stepbrother of the iPhone – with the right hacking touch, it can be a replacement for its much loved sibling. [More]
T-Mobile Store Can't Explain Why You Can't Have This Deal: You Just Can't
By 1.13.11
Kevin and his wife tried to take advantage of a buy one smartphone, get one free promotion that T-Mobile e-mailed them about. At the time, Kevin was at the end of his contract and eligible for a full upgrade. His wife was a few months away from her full upgrade, but willing to pay a fee to replace her non-working phone. Because Kevin’s wife wasn’t yet eligible, the local store refused to honor the promotion, even after corporate intervened. [More]
How Many Non-Working Smartphones Before You Just Give Up?
By 1.6.11
How many defective smartphones does it take in order for a customer to surrender in frustration and just pay an early termination fee? Craig is on his fourth HTC Evo from Sprint since mid-December. He would like a working phone. Sprint, it seems, would like him to go away. [More]
Smuggled Phones Help Cons Play FarmVille From Behind Bars
By 1.3.11
Just because you’re locked up, you shouldn’t have to miss out on texting buddies, logging status updates and playing FarmVille. Thanks to smuggling channels and intense demand, cell phones have become as much a part of the prison experience as lunchtime brawls and toothbrush shanks. [More]
Verizon Tells Us We Can't Return Phone Because We Bought It On A Promotion That's Over
By 12.27.10
Andrea and her husband took advantage of a Verizon buy-one-get-one-free promotion, taking comfort that if either didn’t like their new devices, they could return them thanks to Verizon’s 30-day guarantee. But the company has refused to let her husband exchange his device because the BOGO promotion had ended. [More]
I Don't See How My Wife Ran Up 20GB Of Data Charges In A Month
By 12.20.10
Tony says his wife got a T-Mobile bill that said she vacuumed up 20 gigabytes of data in a month. He questions whether using that much data on a phone is even possible, and says T-Mobile has been unresponsive. [More]
Your Life Is In Your Phone – Here's How You Protect It
By 12.20.10
Since your phone is almost always close at your side, either in your pocket or bag, it’s easy to skimp on security. But take a moment and consider just how precious the info you’ve got locked up therein and you may want to take steps to safeguard your phone. [More]
Are SmartPhones Making Us Smarter Shoppers?
By 12.16.10
Not so long ago, comparison shopping required actually going to several stores or sifting through every circular in the Sunday paper. And even as at-home internet access became commonplace, that didn’t really help if you’d gone to the store without doing the legwork in advance. But the rapid growth of web-enabled phones could be leading to better retail prices and more informed consumers. [More]
