Smartphones

Nokia teases global event for Thursday

Nokia has something "colorful" up its sleeve for Thursday, though the company is mum on the details.

The Finnish phone maker said Wednesday that an event is taking place in New Delhi, India, and teased it by asking if you're "ready to add some color to your week?"

A live global Webcast of the event will kick off at noon local time in New Delhi, 9:30 a.m. in Helsinki, and 7:30 a.m. in London. Nokia didn't specifically list the U.S., but the overseas times would put the Webcast at … Read more

Ford cars now sync with Amazon Cloud Player on iOS

Amazon's Cloud Player for iOS is now available in Ford Sync AppLink-equipped cars, a few months after the Android version hit the market, the Internet giant said Wednesday.

Ford owners can wirelessly connect the Amazon MP3 app on their iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch to the Sync connectivity system to access their entire music library using voice commands or dashboard controls.

Android users have been able to use the app in Ford cars since February.

Carmakers have pushed infotainment as one way to attract new buyers, and it allows app makers to reach consumers in more locations. Ford earlier … Read more

Future iPhone could sport invisible buttons

The iPhone could one day come with buttons and controls that blend right into the background, effectively making them invisible.

Granted to Apple on Tuesday by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, a patent dubbed "Disappearing button or slider" describes how various controls on the iPhone and other devices would normally stay hidden and fully appear only when needed.

A button would be made of the same material as the housing of the phone, so it would blend in seamlessly. But it could be selectively backlit through small holes to pinpoint its location, or the backlight itself … Read more

Hooked Up: Hang out with Nelly and his must-have gadgets

In this week's episode of Hooked Up, Kevin Frazier hangs out with Grammy Award winner and multi-Platinum recording artist Nelly. He talks about all the tech he can't live without, and how he co-founded Vatterott College in St. Louis and the Extreme Institute to teach students skills for making music.

Nelly also talks about his MacBook Pro, Canon EOS 7D that he uses for shooting videos, and the Monster Diamond Tears headphones that surprised him with their sound.

I'll break down the best dSLR cameras for shooting video with Kevin that broadcast professionals are using today. And … Read more

Five savvy ways to maximize your Galaxy S4's battery life

With a bigger battery and more efficient processor than its predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy S4 promises to at least survive a typical day. But as Jessica Dolcourt mentions, its slightly larger screen and abundance of features demand that added capacity.

Though the S4 (and most other phones) will almost always need a nightly charge, you'll certainly encounter days when you'll do just a little extra streaming, forget your charger at home, or find yourself staring at 15 percent with a long night ahead.

To get the most out of your battery, follow these best practices.

1. Disable superfluous … Read more

The complete guide to using Android with a Mac

For some reason it's a common belief that Android devices and Macs just don't get along. This misconception may have been true back in Android's infancy, but nowadays there's a long list of methods, apps, and services that let you use your Android device with your Mac. It's impossible to cover every app and service available, but I'm going to share the best of the bunch.

Most of the services listed below rely on the cloud to make the process of moving data between devices painless, while other methods require the tried and true … Read more

Yahoo experimenting with Google Glass, CEO Mayer says

NEW YORK--Yahoo is experimenting with Google Glass, Yahoo Chief Executive Marissa Mayer said Tuesday.

Google's Internet-connected eyewear has generated a lot of buzz, but it's still too early to know if it will take off. So far, the glasses come with few apps and limited functionality, but many developers are working on creating software for Glass, spurred in part by some big Silicon Valley investors looking to back startups making Glass apps.

Mayer said Tuesday at a Wired business conference in New York that Yahoo has gotten its hands on some developer versions of Google Glass, and employees … Read more

Nine tips to help you manage the BlackBerry Hub

The BlackBerry Hub holds a lot of information and provides a unique way of managing all of your communication needs from a central place. But, with so much information being presented to you at all times, you're bound to want to tailor it to meet your needs. Below you'll find some great tips aimed to help you make the Hub work for you, instead of you working for the Hub.

View messages as a conversation

One way to help eliminate clutter from your Hub is to organize e-mail messages into a conversation view. Doing so will group related … Read more

Qualcomm walks fine line between privacy, connected devices

NEW YORK--Qualcomm is walking a fine line between enabling the "Internet of Things" and protecting users' privacy, the chipmaker's chief executive said Tuesday.

Paul Jacobs, speaking at the Wired Business Conference in New York, said that nearly everything people interact with will be connected to the Internet in the future, but that also means companies have to figure out a way to make such technology less intrusive.

For example, department stores or restaurants can detect when someone is walking by and send them coupons, but not all people may want to receive those offers. So Qualcomm and … Read more