devices

When setting up a new device, it's nice to go back and make sure you've downloaded all of your purchased apps (or any purchased content for that matter), but Google's Play store app doesn't make it easy for this to happen at the moment. Currently your download history contains both free and paid apps, with no way to separate the two.

My Purchases is a free Android app that allows users to view their entire Google Play purchase history with just a few taps, as first reported by Droid Life.

After you install the free or … Read more

Your Kindle could finally be liberated during take-off and landing on flights in the U.S. by this time next year.

Many of us have had the experience of doing a double-take when the flight attendant asks us to power down an e-reader, even when it's already in airplane mode. My old-school Kindle isn't even backlit -- there are probably more emissions coming through the fillings in my teeth; perhaps I should stow those under the seat in front of me as well?

I'm guessing that might freak out the federal air marshal aboard my next flight.… Read more

A new survey, paid for by Microsoft Advertising, found that 68 percent of computer users in five countries multitask on multiple devices at the same time.

The survey, conducted in Chicago, London, Toronto, Sydney, and Sao Paulo, looked at the different ways folks use multiple devices at the same time. The most common use of multiple devices is something researchers Microsoft dubbed "content grazing." Those folks, the 68 percent of computer users, will check email on their smartphone while watching television, for example.

The survey, conducted by research firms Flamingo Research and Ipsos OTX, found that 57 percent … Read more

Hitachi today unveiled a robot vehicle that can pick up and drop off passengers autonomously. Take that, all you old-fashioned driver-dependent personal mobility devices.

The tiny, single-seat Ropits (Robot for Personal Intelligent Transport System) is meant to travel on sidewalks, or even be used indoors for getting in and out of elevators.

It's equipped with GPS to find its way and relies on cameras and 2D and 3D laser distance sensors to avoid obstacles (sometimes also known as pedestrians) and slow down in narrow spaces. Gyro sensors help it stay upright on uneven surfaces. … Read more

You may be able to manage your iPhone someday just by giving it a little squeeze.

A patent granted to Apple today by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office details a housing for a mobile device that responds to the pressure of your touch or squeeze. Known as "Sensing capacitance changes of a housing of an electronic device," the patent uses a mobile phone as one example. But could just as easily work with portable music players, laptops, and other electronic devices.

Today's touch-screen devices already react to the tap of a finger. But Apple's … Read more

Your iPhone could one day switch to vibrate mode, adjust its own volume, and wake from sleep mode without you lifting a finger.

A patent application published today by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office suggests a phone or other device empowered with "situational awareness." Dubbed "Electronic device with automatic mode switching," the filing describes ways that the device can automatically perform certain tasks based on different conditions.

Filed in September 2011, the Apple patent application lays out the technology for a variety of devices, including mobile phones and media players. Using such embedded sensors, … Read more

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Cheers! Scientists have created what may be the world's first pill that can make you sober if you've gone a little too far with the booze. Russian meteorite fragments go up for sale online, as do Milla Jovovich's shorts. And later this year a man will have surgery to attach a bionic hand that can feel touch sensations. … Read more

The Thunderbolt technology can be applied to a lot of things, but currently, the most popular use is in storage products. In this regard, it's similar to USB 3.0 but offers about twice the transfer speed, and you can also daisy-chain as many as five storage devices together using a single Thunderbolt port without degrading the data rates.

Despite the fact that Thunderbolt has gone multiplatform, most Thunderbolt storage devices are geared toward Macs. And their pricing, while progressively getting lower since Thunderbolt was first introduced a few years ago, is still quite high when compared with USB … Read more

Lithium-ion batteries are notorious for overheating, catching on fire, or exploding. Yet, they're in most electronics that people use daily.

One such battery set ablaze over the weekend while in a man's pants pocket, according to the Associated Press. The man was walking around with his Samsung mobile phone in his pocket when the battery caught on fire, giving him second-degree burns and a one-inch wound on his thigh. Officials said the battery was not inside the phone when it exploded.

The incident took place in South Korea, which is where Samsung is based. According to the local … Read more