Phones

If you live in America and are passionate about HTC smartphones, the company has a treat in store. HTC just announced via its official blog a special Developer Edition of its hotly anticipated HTC One flagship handset. The device costs an unsubsidized $649 and will ship only to buyers with U.S. ZIP codes. … Read more

Google's Motorola might have had an upcoming smartphone leaked to the Web.

Vietnam-based tech site TinhTe today posted images and videos of a Motorola prototype device that it says could be ready for store shelves in the coming months. The handset has a noticeably softer design than those currently offered by Motorola, with rounded edges and a smooth backplate. The handset also comes with a Motorola's signature "M" logo on the back and above its display.

In terms of specs, it's somewhat impressive. The handset has a 4.65-inch HD display, according to TinhTe, and … Read more

Samsung tried to conjure up a bit of Fred Astaire for its latest Galaxy S4 promotion.

As the new Galaxy phone gets ready for its big debut tomorrow, the smartphone maker took to Times Square to try to wow the crowds with a dance number.

Outfitted with bowler hats and black suits with the number 4 on the back, the dancers emerged from a paneled box entitled "Be Ready 4 The Next GALAXY." The troupe performed the old soft-shoe routine before dancing back into the box.

Samsung described the video as a "a cool flash mob for … Read more

NFC technology has been poised to reach critical mass, at least in the U.S., for years now. Touted to bestow upon smartphones a wide range of magical solutions, proponents of NFC (near field communication) have said it will enable everything from using your phone as a digital wallet, serving as a secure and convenient method of identification, to even unlocking your home's front door.

And if the technology's big presence at MWC 2013 was any indication, it seems the long wait for the wonderful world of NFC might actually be nearing an end. Yes, almost all of … Read more

If you're still waiting for AT&T to update your Sony Xperia TL to Android 4.1 and patience isn't your top virtue, the carrier is now letting you download Jelly Bean yourself.

While connected to Wi-Fi, you can scoot on into the settings and choose "About phone," then select the software update to get things rolling.

Easy-peasy. You can check out the full Android 4.1 Jelly Bean features here.

Apparently there's a reason Sprint passed up the BlackBerry Z10. Along with holding out for the BB10-powered Q10, the carrier may have plans for a new touch-screen handset from BlackBerry.

If sources close to All Things Digital are accurate, then Sprint has its eye on an additional all-screen phone other than the Z10, which BlackBerry may have up its sleeve. … Read more

Freshly leaked details for an upcoming HTC Myst seem to confirm rumors of a new "Facebook phone."

Specifications obtained by Unwired View line up nicely with previous chatter for the so-called Facebook smartphone. Reportedly, HTC and AT&T will again collaborate on an Android smartphone targeted at Facebook addicts. It's still unclear, however, how soon such a device would arrive on store shelves.

Hardware details for the HTC Myst apparently include a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor, 1GB RAM, and 16GB of internal storage. Additionally, the handset could feature a 4.3-inch 720p HD display, a … Read more

Owners of the iPhone 5S or Galaxy S4 will be able to charge their phones wirelessly, claim the folks at DigiTimes.

Based on "industry sources," Taiwan-based DigiTimes said today that the next-generation iPhone will use wireless charging technology developed by Apple. But the sources couldn't say whether the phone would be built with the wireless charging feature or rely on an attached accessory.

Samsung's Galaxy S4 is expected to support the Qi wireless charging technology, which already is used by Nokia and other mobile vendors. The S4 may not include the capability itself but instead require … Read more

The next time you're looking for your misplaced Android smartphone, check the freezer. It's possible, however unlikely, that someone is trying to hack into your data using a new FROST attack method.

Researchers at Friedrich-Alexander University in Germany have learned that it is possible to access personal information on Android 4.0 smartphones using a chilling technique.

Called FROST, or forensic recovery of scrambled telephones, it amounts to placing the phone in temperatures of -15 Celsius for roughly 1 hour. After removing from a freezer, you must repeatedly power on and off the phone and hold down the … Read more