Smartphones

In this week's episode of Hooked Up, Kevin Frazier hangs out with Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter and former Destiny's Child member Kelly Rowland at the Kimberly Hotel in New York City. She talks about how she navigates the music world using tech and how tools like SoundCloud have allowed her to give fans a preview of her upcoming album, "Talk A Good Game."

Kelly also talks about connecting with her millions of social media followers, sharing candid moments with Tumblr and Instagram, and her hi-tech watch line for TW Steel.

Also, CNET Editor Brian Tongs breaks … Read more

Word has it that Sprint is looking to debut its own high-end large-screened Android 4.1 smartphone, according to Engadget.

Sources familiar with the matter have given Engadget a host of photos and specs on the alleged ZTE-made device -- supposedly named "Vital." In addition to running on Android's Jelly Bean, the phone is said to have a 5-inch HD display, 13-megapixel rear camera, 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 8GB of internal storage, and a 2,500mAh battery. Apparently, the device will run on Sprint's 4G LTE network.

Though more stylish than what you usually get from manufacturer ZTE, the Engage LT is a $179.99 device that doesn't have much going for it. Other than a rather skinless Android 4.0 experience and Cricket's music service, Muve Music, the handset is slow, both in terms of data and processing speeds, and it doesn't justify its nearly $200 price tag.

In addition, Cricket offers better Ice Cream Sandwich handsets, in terms of performance and specs, around the same price range. (Oddly enough, even its predecessor, the ZTE Engage has more powerful specs than this phone … Read more

On Monday Twitter announced the release of Vine for Android. The short-video service, originally only available to iOS users has amassed over 13 million users since its launch.

One of the features touted in the announcement and release notes for the Android version of the app was the ability to zoom when recording a video.

With that in mind -- as most Android users testing Vine out presumably did -- I launched Vine, created a new video, and attempted to zoom with the familiar pinch-to-zoom method; it didn't work. I tried double-tapping; it didn't work. At this point … Read more

We've always thought smartphones needed to be more cuddly. When we all got our very first models, we were majorly disappointed that we couldn't give them a big ol' hug and have them whisper sweet-nothings in our ears.

It's OK, though. A team of graduate students led by Yuta Sugiura at the Keio University Graduate School of Media Design in Japan have our backs. The students have created a series of stuffed toys that you can put your phone inside. Give it a squeeze, and your phone will respond by talking or flashing lights. … Read more

Starting June 5, BlackBerry's keyboard-equipped BlackBerry Q10 smartphone becomes available for preorder through AT&T.

The carrier announced in a tweet that it would sell the Q10 for $199.99 with a new, two-year service agreement.

June 5th pre-order the #BlackBerryQ10 for $199.99 w/2-yr agreement soc.att.com/1b1u550 #KeepMovingUp pic.twitter.com/CRIpfDJZd1

Keyboard enthusiasts will love the Q10's terrific physical keyboard, and BlackBerry holdouts will similarly appreciate the upgrades stacked into Blackberry 10 OS.

If you're thinking of preordering the device, stop by for all … Read more

Electronics manufacturer Sony ended a relatively quiet period today by announcing a new Xperia M smartphone. Judging from its dual-core processor and 5MP camera, clearly the Xperia M is a midrange Android handset and not in the same class as the company's Xperia Z flagship device. … Read more

We just covered the service FedEx offers customers to track and manage incoming packages, but not all shipments are done solely through FedEx. UPS also offers a free service, similar to that of FedEx Delivery Manager, called UPS My Choice.

With UPS My Choice you'll receive alerts of incoming packages, hold for will call or authorize a shipment release for free. The paid services include requesting a hold at a UPS location, rescheduling a delivery, and delivering to another address. All of which will set you back $5 per use. Or if you receive a lot of packages, you … Read more

One of the most nerve-wracking things about ordering a product from an online retailer is waiting for the tracking number to appear in your inbox. Sometimes the e-mail ends up in your spam folder or, even worse, it's never sent by the vendor.

Thanks to a free service from FedEx called FedEx Delivery Manager, you can keep track of incoming packages and get alerted the moment the shipping label is created. That's right, you no longer need to wait for a tracking number to be sent to you before you start monitoring it. Going even further, you can … Read more