Technology

Was there a device in 2012 as hotly anticipated as the iPhone 5? If so, we can't remember it. Even with the astronomically high expectations surrounding the first iPhone unveiled after Steve Jobs, Apple's latest smartphone managed to live up to nearly all of them, delivering a refined, redesigned and utterly beautiful device.

The biggest changes: a screen that finally got bigger for the first time in the iPhone's history, but really got longer as opposed to wider, keeping a small profile compared with supersize Android phones. Also, of course, faster wireless service via LTE. Even with … Read more

Samsung's flagship smartphone successor burst forth this past summer with a surfeit of software features to wow and confound mass-market buyers of premium handsets. Set apart by its thin, light, and sleek design, the Android powerhouse fanned out across the range of carriers (starting with five in the U.S.) and instantly won wide appeal.

Surging sales and additional color choices worldwide have made the Galaxy S3 a global hit. Projections forecast 30 million sales; in November, Samsung pushed more GS3 units than Apple did of its iPhone 5.

For more on this story, see our full review of the Galaxy S3. … Read more

Microsoft's own Steve Ballmer once described Windows 8 as one of the three biggest initiatives the company has ever attempted, but we'd go even further. From small details like the tiled interface and the Charms sidebar to big-picture changes like the emphasis on touch and apps in the new Windows Store, Windows 8 completely revolutionizes the operating system.

The icon-based path Windows began walking in 1995 has taken a sharp turn toward mobility, interactivity, and independence. There's nothing out there that looks or behaves like Windows 8, and Microsoft is finally leveraging its weight to force manufacturers … Read more

This flipping, folding combination of laptop and tablet was one of the very first glimpses anyone got of the possibilities of Windows 8. Starting with a sneak peek way back at CES 2012, the Yoga was seen as a great advertisement for the ability of Windows 8 to serve both the traditional PC and touch-screen tablet equally well, jumping between the two (nearly) seamlessly.

Almost a year after that, both Windows 8 and the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga are finally available. It's still the example of a convertible laptop/tablet most point to, and with good reason. Unlike many of … Read more

How many times have you taken a picture that would've been great if only it weren't out of focus? Well, Lytro's first-of-its-kind light-field camera solves that problem by letting you shoot first and focus later. The camera and software lets users create living pictures that can be focused again and again and again. And again.

Unfortunately, when it was initially released in March, the Lytro came across as unfinished with lots of promises for what was possible and what was to come, which included support for Windows.

To its credit, Lytro has made good on those promises … Read more

Drone aircraft have been a fixture of U.S. combat and intelligence operations for some years now. But in 2012, the U.S. military's use of unmanned aircraft like the Reaper reached unprecedented levels, in both absolute and relative numbers. Looking at Pentagon stats, Wired reckons that the record 447 drone strikes in Afghanistan last year accounted for 11.5 percent of the U.S. air war, more than double the level of the year before. It's easy to understand why military planners are leaning more and more on drones -- they're a bargain, relatively speaking; they'… Read more

Much of the talk about smartphones in 2012 centered around swifter processing power and 4G data. Mobile addicts know, however, that all the fancy features in the world are useless if your battery runs dry.

Luckily handset-maker Motorola decided to make battery life a serious priority this year in its Droid series phones on Verizon. First the Droid Razr Maxx broke all the run time records with its massive 3,300 mAh battery. A little while later, Motorola followed up with the Droid Razr Maxx HD, which used the same legendary 3,300mAh battery but upped the ante with fresh … Read more

Voice control apps for cell phones have been around for years before Apple launched Siri, but they've only this year come to the fore on Android with the same kind of energy and attention. Samsung introduced S Voice, its own take on Siri's spoken and card-form response. Unfortunately, Samsung's S Voice couldn't compare, though the device-maker continues preinstalling the S Voice app on its newer smartphones.

Google's redesigned Search app with voice actions fared much better against Siri, and version Android 4.1 of the OS also includes Google Now, a system of predictive alerts … Read more

At 1,588, it's the final episode of Buzz Out Loud, the podcast that launched a thousand news stories, arguments, hosts and co-hosts, producers, and good times. We packed the studio full -- Tom Merritt, Veronica Belmont, Jason Howell, Rafe Needleman, Donald Bell, plus, of course, Molly Wood, Brian Tong, and Stephen Beacham...and it's possible there was some Champagne, a little whiskey, some cake, and even a couple of news stories. Oh, and tears. Definitely tears.

Subscribe: iTunes (MP3) | iTunes (320x180) | iTunes (640x360)

RSS (MP3) | RSS (320x180) | RSS (640x360)… Read more