cellphones

Imprisoned War Reporter Tweets Status From Captor’s Cellphone

Japanese reporter Kosuke Tsuneoka disappeared on April 1st of this year in Afghanistan, leaving no clues as to his whereabouts. Then, five months later, he tweeted that he was imprisoned but alive—by filching his captor’s cellphone. Tsuneoka was able to send the messages, above, when the grunt guarding his cell decided to show off—and as…

Tech News Brian Barrett

Samsung Fascinate Lightning Review: When Greedy Carriers Ruin Decent Phones

Samsung’s Galaxy S phones, like the Fascinate on Verizon, represent everything that’s good—and bad—about Android. https://gizmodo.com/samsung-galaxy-s-known-as-vibrant-captivate-and-fascin-5574325 A single phone, a platform really, spread across every major carrier is something of a feat. The Galaxy S manifests itself as the Captivate on AT&T, Vibrant on T-Mobile, Epic 4G on Sprint and finally here, the Fascinate on…

Reviews Matt Buchanan

Verizon Folks Can Enter Galaxy S Tomorrow With Samsung Fascinate

Samsung’s Galaxy S line of phones—all essentially the same, marched out across a gamut of carriers—is set to hit Verizon. The 1Ghz, Android 2.1-powered Samsung Fascinate will cost $200 on-contract after (after a dreaded $100 mail-in rebate), and you can pick one up tomorrow online, or in stores on September 9th. Like all the other…

Gadgets Brian Barrett

I Can’t Wait To Tap My Fingers On the HTC Vision/Vanguard’s Chiclet Keypad

Splayed in a vice with only a ruler for comfort, HTC’s upcoming Vision/Vanguard has received its 15 minutes of FCC fame, in unusually high-res photo quality. https://gizmodo.com/september-29th-penciled-in-for-htc-vision-vanguard-rele-5623444 We’ve seen so many leaked spec and photos for this handset, and with so many potential model names circulating it’s tough to call it just one, but this…

Tech News Kat Hannaford

Unlimited and 25MB Data Plans Available at Verizon Wireless Now

This is great news for pre-paid Verizon Wireless customers, with the carrier introducing unlimited and 25MB data options for their SIMs. Available from today in-store (or online on September 28th), the plans will only work with (most of their) 3G smartphones—which makes sense, really. The unlimited plan comes in at $30 per month, and for…

Tech News Kat Hannaford

Google Responds to Steve Jobs’ Thinly Veiled Insults

During today’s Apple event, Steve Jobs bragged about how many iOS devices are upgraded each day and remarked that he thinks “some of [Apple’s] friends are counting upgrades in their numbers.” Google caught this thinly-veiled accusation and retorted: https://gizmodo.com/all-the-cool-new-stuff-from-apple-5627368 The Android activation numbers do not include upgrades and are, in fact, only a portion of…

Tech News Rosa Golijan

The FCC Is Probably Bowing Down to Verizon and Google on Wireless Net Neutrality

The FCC says it’s now thinking about making proposed net neutrality rules different (read: nonexistent) for wireless devices. It’s an aboutface from what the FCC chairman originally talked up, and exactly what Verizon and Google wanted. Ah well. [NYT] https://gizmodo.com/why-the-fccs-got-at-t-and-verizon-scared-shitless-5377347

Tech News Matt Buchanan

Windows Phone 7 Is Done

Microsoft’s releasing Windows Phone 7 to manufacturing today—in other words, it’s done. Final. Complete. Microsoft managed to add a few new bits before shrink-wrapping it, too. What RTM means is hardware makers and carriers can start finalizing their own plans for Windows Phone 7—tweaking drivers, preparing carrier-specific services for integration, that kind of thing. Gettings…

Tech News Matt Buchanan

An Outdoorsy Phone Running Android: Motorola Defy

Billing this as a rough-‘n-tumble phone, Motorola’s Defy doesn’t particularly wow on the specs-front, but could be a good Android alternative to those rugged phones Samsung keeps churning out. The screen is just a 3.7-inch WVGA job, the camera a none-too-shabby 5MP effort, and the DLNA support is most certainly welcome. It’s that adversity in…

Tech News Kat Hannaford

Droid 2 Gets Reworked As Milestone 2 in Europe

As Motorola is wont to do, the Droid 2 has been renamed for Europe as the Milestone 2. So much for that Droid Pro rumor. https://gizmodo.com/european-droid-aka-milestone-commercial-makes-ours-lo-5423896 Just like with the Droid 2, the Milestone 2 also has a slick of MOTOBLUR over Android 2.2, a 1GHz processor, 5MP camera with 720p video recording, and Bluetooth/Wi-Fi/DLNA.…

Tech News Kat Hannaford

Q: Is ViewSonic’s 7-Inch ViewPad a Phone or Android Tablet? A: Both!

If you thought the Dell Streak was too large to be used as a phone at 5-inches, get a load of ViewSonic’s ViewPad 7, a 7-inch Android tablet that also doubles up as a phone. https://gizmodo.com/dell-streak-priced-299-with-contract-549-without-5597791 Running Android 2.2 (Froyo), we first heard about this model last week when the company announced it was also…

Tech News Kat Hannaford

Today, Sprint’s Epic 4G Goes On Sale

Amazon is actually listing the Epic 4G for $50 less than the Sprint website, but if you want to grab it via more official means, mosey on over to Sprint’s site now. We found it was the best 4G phone yet in our review, but do let us know what your impressions are if you…

Tech News Kat Hannaford

Hardware Makers, You’re Losing Up To Half Your Potential Customers By Shipping Old Firmware

We often fall in love with new smartphones only to be shattered when we discover that they’ll ship with old firmware. A lot of shoppers feel the same—and it might be costing hardware makers half their potential customers. Last week we discussed the phenomenon of new devices shipping with outdated firmware—a pattern particularly evident with…

Tech News Rosa Golijan

Microsoft’s $1 Billion Smart Phone Bet? That’s Chump Change

Microsoft is rapidly developing Windows Phone 7, a smart phone platform to compete with iPhone, Android and BlackBerry. It’s due this fall, though we don’t yet know the dates, prices and carriers. We do know one thing, the launch will be massive. Like billion-dollar massive. To be sure, Microsoft isn’t starting from a comfortable position…

Tech News Wilson Rothman - MSNBC

SMS Replier Not Only Automatically Replies to Texts, It Knows When You’re Driving

Aha! It looks like State Farm’s app isn’t the only app that helps keep you from texting while driving—there’s SMS Replier too. And this app will know when you’re driving. https://gizmodo.com/imagine-an-android-app-that-automatically-responds-to-t-5623867 So not only can you set customized replies, you can also choose how long you’re doing the activity, so the phone will only reply…

Tech News Jason Chen

Mysterious New HTC Device “Makes the Droid 2 Look Like a Kids Toy”

The folks at BGR have gotten their hands on a rather nice-looking and great-sounding HTC device which they believe is headed to Verizon soon. Here’s what they discovered about the mystery device: Our source describes the phone as being an EVO in a larger and more polished Nexus One body; brushed aluminum, very upper end…

Tech News Rosa Golijan

September 29th Penciled In For HTC Vision/Vanguard Release Date?

With any luck T-Mobile customers still clutching an antiquated G1 won’t have to wait too long between the announcement and release of the HTC Vision/Vanguard/G2, with leaked T-Mobile documents showing a September 29th release date. https://gizmodo.com/new-htc-phone-htc-vision-to-be-unveiled-september-15-5611978 That’s only 14 days after the launch event, where HTC is expected to unveil whatever phone is behind the…

Tech News Kat Hannaford

Microsoft Is Dumping “Billions” Of Dollars Into Windows Phone 7

Microsoft seems to be investing quite a bit of cash into the Windows Phone 7 project. In fact, based on what TechCrunch is hearing, they’re sinking billions of dollars into the first year for marketing and development. https://gizmodo.com/windows-phone-7-series-everything-is-different-now-5471805 That number is particularly huge when compared to the $100 million which Jonathan Goldberg, a telecommunications analyst…

Tech News Rosa Golijan

How to Stop the Government From Tracking Your Location (Illegally!)

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals just decided that it was legal for the police to put a GPS tracking device on your car, sitting in your driveway, on your property. Here’s how to protect yourself. https://gizmodo.com/our-worst-nightmares-about-the-government-tracking-us-j-5622800 Matt’s post about the decision explains in depth about the ruling. To quickly summarize, the supreme court had…

io9 Jason Chen

Is This HTC Merge a 10MP Android Phone or Tablet?

If it weren’t for the rumor that this HTC Merge has a 10MP camera, you could almost be mistaken that it’s a tablet with that name. Of course, maybe the 10MP rumor is a disguise… A few weeks ago Phandroid turned up mention of the Merge in Verizon’s inventory, not suggesting much other than the…

Tech News Kat Hannaford

Imprisoned War Reporter Tweets Status From Captor’s Cellphone

Samsung Fascinate Lightning Review: When Greedy Carriers Ruin Decent Phones

Verizon Folks Can Enter Galaxy S Tomorrow With Samsung Fascinate

I Can’t Wait To Tap My Fingers On the HTC Vision/Vanguard’s Chiclet Keypad

Unlimited and 25MB Data Plans Available at Verizon Wireless Now

Google Responds to Steve Jobs’ Thinly Veiled Insults

The FCC Is Probably Bowing Down to Verizon and Google on Wireless Net Neutrality

Windows Phone 7 Is Done

An Outdoorsy Phone Running Android: Motorola Defy

Droid 2 Gets Reworked As Milestone 2 in Europe

Q: Is ViewSonic’s 7-Inch ViewPad a Phone or Android Tablet? A: Both!

Today, Sprint’s Epic 4G Goes On Sale

Hardware Makers, You’re Losing Up To Half Your Potential Customers By Shipping Old Firmware

Microsoft’s $1 Billion Smart Phone Bet? That’s Chump Change

SMS Replier Not Only Automatically Replies to Texts, It Knows When You’re Driving

Mysterious New HTC Device “Makes the Droid 2 Look Like a Kids Toy”

September 29th Penciled In For HTC Vision/Vanguard Release Date?

Microsoft Is Dumping “Billions” Of Dollars Into Windows Phone 7

How to Stop the Government From Tracking Your Location (Illegally!)

Is This HTC Merge a 10MP Android Phone or Tablet?

Getting Stuck Inside a Glitching Robotaxi Is a Whole New Thing to Be Scared of

Artemis 2 Live Updates: Humanity’s Epic Return to the Moon 🔴

NASA’s Artemis 2 Mission Blasts Off

Disney’s Robot Olaf Dying Is the Funniest Thing to Happen in 2026

Kia’s EV3 Is Headed to the US This Year With Up to 320 Miles of Range

This Is the Way to Lego’s April Releases

Group Pushing Age Verification Requirements for AI Turns Out to Be Sneakily Backed by OpenAI

Amazon Facilities in Bahrain Hit Again as Iran Follows Through on Threat, Report Says

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

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Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

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