Snapcat: Because cats like selfies too?

"O brave new world, that has such felines in it!"

Does your cat feel that a lack of opposable thumbs is seriously hindering its ability to be beautiful on the Internet? Never fear; Snapcat is here!

The Android app is designed to let cats snap photos of themselves with their own paws. Following the principle of cats' fascination with laser pointers, it shows a dancing dot on your phone's screen. When your cat goes to bat at the dot, the touch of its paw fires off a picture from the front-facing camera. … Read more

Rumor Has It: Instagram video is so cool, we're already over it

It was a slow week in rumorland, but a couple stories managed to make their way onto the scene.

HTC's long-rumored HTC One Mini is back, now with leaked pictures and specs. The miniature version of HTC's flagship would be thinner, shorter, but still sporting that unibody aluminum design. And now it'll fit into your pocket!

Samsung could also be hopping aboard the mini train, possibly announcing a Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini at an event in London on Thursday. This version of the Galaxy will have a 4.3-inch screen, and will fit nicely into smaller hands.

Also on Thursday, Facebook is hosting a supersecret event, where it might unveil its answer to Twitter's Vine: Instagram videos. What do you think? Is Facebook just being a copycat, or is it really onto something here? Leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts.

… Read more

LG Optimus F7 available on Boost Mobile, June 27

Boost Mobile announced today that it will begin offering the 4.7-inch, LG Optimus F7 on June 27 for $299.99.

The device will be equipped with a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor, Android Jelly Bean, and an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera.

We first caught wind of this smartphone back in February, when LG debuted the handset at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

In addition, U.S. Cellular started offering the Optimus F7 earlier this month for $99.99 with a two-year carrier agreement.

Other features include 1080p full HD video-recording capabilities, 4G LTE, a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, … Read more

DroidLanding Twitter account reactivates for new campaign

The official DroidLanding Twitter account has reactivated itself and is broadcasting beacons again.

After sitting dormant for the better part of two years, @DroidLanding is teasing followers with transmissions and videos.

This account has been used to help drum up interest in previous Droid models as they neared launch. While one might assume that a new Droid-branded smartphone is in order, there is nothing in the rumor mill to suggest that will be the case.

As to what exactly will happen should become clear in short order; a YouTube video tells us "combat begins in June." Reading the … Read more

Super-sharp displays on Android phones take on Apple

HTC, Sony, and Huawei are leading the charge into large, full high-definition phone displays, said DisplayMate Technologies. It's a market Apple has yet to enter.

"With the iPhone 4 Retina display, Apple pioneered the previous generation of smartphone displays in 2010," wrote Raymond Soneira in DisplayMate Technologies' Full HD Flagship Smartphone Display Technology Shoot-Out released on Tuesday.

"This time the pioneers are all Android devices, with the iPhone still not even at the basic HD resolution of 1,280x720," he said.

Apple has some catching up to do to achieve "true Retina," as … Read more

HTC's new 5-inch Butterfly S phone takes wing

HTC has unveiled the Butterfly S at a press conference close to Taipei.

The electronics maker's latest flagship model has now officially launched in Taiwan. The HTC Butterfly S, an updated model based on the original 1080p Butterfly smartphone, comes with a 5-inch, 1080p Super LCD 3 display which is capable of supporting a 440ppi resolution on scratch-resistant glass.

<> The Butterfly S is equipped with a 2.1-megapixel camera for video calls in addition to a 4-megapixel UltraPixel camera on the back which supports HTC Zoe, software that organizes snapshots into 30-second movies.

Front-facing BoomSound stereo speakers … Read more

More 8-inch Android tablets on the way, says analyst

Android tablets have largely been a 7- or 10-inch affair to date, but 8 inches could be the new sweet spot, according to NPD DisplaySearch.

Dell and Lenovo are among the tablet makers preparing 8-inch Android tablets, according to a blog post Tuesday from NPD DisplaySearch.

Supply chain indications point to production of Android-based tablet PCs with 8-inch, 1,280x800 displays in Q3'13 [third-quarter 2013]. Brands including Acer, Asus, Dell and Lenovo are expected...Initial panel production plans suggest that the 8-inch tablets will make up between 5 to 10% of the total tablet PC market by the end … Read more

Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 incinerates the competition

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 will destroy your mobile processor. Not literally, of course. I'm strictly referring to its ability to render real-time graphics so fast as to make your current mobile processor -- on your phone or tablet -- embarrassingly pokey in comparison.

At a benchmarking event in San Francisco, Qualcomm allowed me and others in attendance to run a benchmarks on a reference Mobile Development Platform (MDP) tablet housing its latest Snapdragon 800 system-on-chip (SoC). The results speak for themselves; however, I should warn that these are only benchmark results (3DMark and GFXBench, specifically) and don't necessarily … Read more

Samsung Galaxy Ring circles up with Virgin Mobile for $180

Those eyeing Virgin Mobile's prepaid phones now have another Android 4.1 smartphone to choose from. Starting Tuesday, the Jelly Bean-filled Samsung Galaxy Ring debuts with decidedly entry-level features that are aimed for the budget-minded.

Let's start with the 4-inch display, backed by a 5-megapixel camera with HD video recording, and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera. The Swype keyboard comes preinstalled, and ID packs can customize your phone by adding a themed profile. The more compact Galaxy Ring keeps gaming interesting with a 1.4GHz quad-core processor and a $179.99 up-front price.

Speed demons, however, will balk … Read more