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Smartphones are hitting the mainstream market. And that means old and young want a piece of the action. But at more than $1,000 per year for service, a smartphone may not be the best choice for every consumer.

In this edition of Ask Maggie, I help a reader decide if he should get his parents smartphones or if he should spare them the hefty monthly service fees and get them new basic feature phones. I also help another reader decide if there is a less-expensive alternative to Verizon that will allow him to keep his unlimited data plan.

LAS VEGAS--Achieving DJing glory on the iPad is possible thanks to some pretty nifty apps out there, but there's always been something missing from the experience. A cold flat screen just can't replicate the dynamism and quirks of real knobs and records. Ion Audio is taking a shot at putting the feel back into tablet DJing with a set of tactile controls.

A demo unit of Scratch 2 Go is on the show floor at CES 2013. It consists of a slider control, two round discs for scratching control, and two banks of three knobs each for all the fine tuning. They hang onto the screen thanks to what Ion describes as "industrial suction cups."

The suction cups feel pretty solid. Pull them up and look below to see what makes this tick. Underneath, the spinners have what looks like the tip of a touch-screen stylus. It's nothing fancy, but it works.… Read more

When I first saw a photo of Hitcase's new chest mount for its ruggedized iPhone case system, I thought to myself, "Hmm, I wonder how that fits on a woman." I had to go find out for myself.

Let's backtrack before we get to the try-on stage. Hitcase has splashed down into the category of tough cases for the iPhone. It's a bit chunky and a bit heavy, but it does the job. Unlike the water-resistant and waterproof-for-a-few-inches cases, it can go for a serious dive of up to 33 feet under the blue.

Hitcase is trying hard to replace the need for a GoPro for action sports nuts who love to film mountain biking, downhill skiing, and other outdoor activities with a high probability of wiping out. Instead of treating your iPhone like a delicate flower, you can take it along to record the fun. The case opens up like a book, so it's easy in and easy out. The idea is you don't leave this on your phone all the time, just when you need it. … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Guardian on the Go, a mobile application launched today on iPhone, gives people immediate access to a network of trusted contacts and professional services when they're confronted with an emergency situation.

The iPhone application, made by Proteg-Go, is designed to work in all crisis situations, natural disasters and medical emergencies included, and offers people a one-click way to get help faster than if they were to dial 9-1-1.

After first configuring their contact network, users simply click the red "Crisis" button to message friends via SMS. They can also opt to push an update out to … Read more

Asking your friends on Twitter or Facebook a question is a great way to start a conversation, but not everyone takes the time to give a detailed answer. The next time you have an important question to ask, try asking it by creating a poll using GoPollGo's iPhone app. Hopefully more friends will be able to quickly select an answer, giving you more input on the topic than you'd normally see.

Creating a poll via the app is simple. Enter your question, an optional description and any possible answers for the question you have posed. Don't worry … Read more

Foxconn is branching out from its supplier roots by taking a staking in a camera maker.

The company, also known as Hon Hai Precision, said today that it has paid $200 million to acquire an 8.88 percent stake in GoPro, in turn valuing the camera maker at $2.25 billion overall.

In addition, Foxconn founder and CEO Terry Gou will join GoPro's board of directors.

Headquartered in San Mateo, Calif., GoPro makes a line of wearable and gear-mounted cameras that enable users to shoot videos of themselves in action. The cameras are used by athletes, video production people, … Read more

HELSINKI, Finland -- Local startup Jolla believes what few others do: that even with four major smartphone operating systems vying for supremacy -- or just relevancy -- there is still room for one more at the party.

Jolla hopes to resurrect MeeGo, which was once considered Nokia's savior and next-generation platform before it was dumped for Windows Phone. The company, founded by former Nokia product engineers intimate with the development of MeeGo, brought back the community-driven successor as Sailfish late last month.

There isn't a better example of a David and Goliath story. Jolla is made up of … Read more

I've had a lot of great adventures producing Always On, but I've had a lifelong dream to see a space shuttle launch, and with this show, I got to get pretty close: I flew down to Cape Canaveral to watch the Falcon 9 rocket blast off with the Dragon cargo capsule on board. It was, as you might imagine, a pretty spectacular sight: and a pretty exciting start to the future of privatized space flight.

This episode also features another pretty awesome day for me: a spin around Ford's test track in the 2013 Shelby GT500 Mustang. … Read more

Go Launcher EX is an inventive app that you can use to customize your Android home screen into something unique.

After you install the Go Launcher EX app, you'll have the choice to use its own launcher interface or the default launch screen for Android. You can switch between these two options by clicking on the home link. The app's interface is quite rich in controls. The main menu is divided into three categories, Main, Plugins, and More, under which there are different options and features such as Go Widget, AppCenter, Preferences, Wallpaper, Themes, and Go Store. You … Read more