Phones

What the Proper Cell Phone Etiquette Is Around the World

My brain tickles itself when something brand new gets invented, like a smartphone, and how different habits and customs form in each culture around that new smartphone and a brand new form of etiquette specific to each country is created all over the world. Maybe in some countries they call more than they text. Maybe…

The Ridiculousness of Why We Can’t Use Our Phones on Airplanes

One of the great mysteries of life, along with who framed Roger Rabbit and like, what’s included under the umbrella term of global warming, is why can’t we use our dang phones and other electronics on a freaking airplane. It’s as if some dimwit who was past his prime decades ago decided when cell phones…

LG’s New G2 Is a High-Grade Speedster With One Weird Button

Today, we’re getting our first real look at the G2, LG’s follow-up to its promising but a little self-hampering Optimus G. It’s a powerful little sucker, with a single, back-mounted button that controls, well, everything. https://gizmodo.com/lg-optimus-g-review-a-speedster-that-gets-in-its-own-w-5953365 Inside, the G2 boasts a blazing 2.26GHz, quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor—the first major handset to do so—and 2GB of…

The Moto X Is Probably Getting a Cheaper Little Brother

The long-fabled Moto X has finally arrived, and even with less than top of the line specs, we’re fans. The $200 on-contract price has been a bit of sticking point for folks who were hankering for a real bargain offering. But don’t worry, there’s something on the way. https://gizmodo.com/moto-x-hands-on-forget-specs-this-thing-is-awesome-991536492 In an interview with CNET, Motorola…

An Alleged Galaxy S4 Explosion Completely Destroyed This Apartment

It’s one thing if your phone bursts into flames and cooks up your leg-meat real bad, but that’s nothing compared to losing your whole apartment in an inferno. That’s exactly what a Hong Kong man claims happened to him while he was just plugging away at Love Machine (an app, not a euphemism) on his…

These Dumb Insurance Claims For Lost Cell Phones are Hilarious

We’ve all misplaced our cell phone and spent what seems like hours searching for it—but some people take losing handsets to a whole new level. Chances are, you’ve never lost a phone as impressively as the people that feature in these stories. A UK-based mobile phone insurance company has released a list of its most…

These Leaked Moto X Press Images Sure Look Familiar

Between leaked promo videos andEric Schmidt’s flaunting, we already know a fair bit about Motorola’s upcoming Moto X. Now a couple of press images have leaked out, and they seem to confirm that familiar, unannounced design. The press render here is in black, but other than that slight difference, it looks almost exactly like what…

The Most Important Ingredient in Your Next Phone Battery Could Be Rice

We all know how a bowl of rice can save your phone after an unexpected swim, but that’s not all it can do. Before you know it, rice could be a very important ingredient inside all your devices’ batteries. A very important part of any gadget’s lithium-ion battery is a graphite anode. But with all…

T-Mobile’s New “Jump” Plan Lets You Upgrade Your Phone At Will

People who keep up on the latest smartphones (that’s you) have a problem: You wait and wait until the best new phone comes out, then you drop your money on that new hotness. But what happens? Six months later the newer hotterness is out, but you’ve got another year and a half before your next…

Samsung’s Sci-Fi Visions of Future Phones

Samsung’s put together a sci-fi vision of the mobile phones of the future, showing us fold-out models, bendy tech, weird orange things and wearable sensors that scan our bodies to see if we’re unwell. We’d settle for a battery that could last more than a day. The video, shown off by Samsung strategy chief Young…

This Is What Happens When a Phone Explodes on Your Leg *GRAPHIC*

You have the Internet in your pocket. The ability to communicate with anyone in the world at your fingertips. A big and beautiful glass screen that’s asking to be touched. Too bad all those things can combine into one giant firework bomb in your pants. We’ve all heard about phones exploding and seen the damage…

Here’s a Beer Glass That Can Only Stand Up Using Your Phone

Here’s a silly little invention that is wonderful because it’ll either make you more drunk or more human, preferably both. It’s a beer glass. Huh? Yeah, the base of this beer glass is shaved down so that it needs to be rested on top of your cell phone to stand up straight. If you’re too…

Watching Samsung Torture Galaxy S4s Is Weirdly Satisfying

No matter how careful you try to be, you’re going to do some damage to your phone. Accidents happen, especially when you try to avoid them. So to emulate your tender, loving care, Samsung took its Galaxy S4 through hell and back before it got to shelves. Somebody has to prepare that phone for you,…

Samsung’s New Galaxy S4 Mini Isn’t Really All That Small

If a 4.3-inch phone is considered “mini”, god help us all. Samsung’s just announced that the Galaxy S4 Mini is real, and it’s still bigger than an iPhone 5. In fact, last year it would be considered mid-range, but compared to the 5-inch monsters we have now, 4.3-inches is small, I guess. As you might…

Motorola Is Making a Flagship Android Phone Called the Moto X

Motorola, a company trying to figure out why it still exists, is apparently making a flagship Android phone called the Moto X. Motorola CEO Dennis Woodside confirmed it in his interview at the D11 conference. Could the Moto X be the mysterious Motorola Google lovechild phone we spotted before? https://gizmodo.com/does-this-mystery-motorola-reveal-googles-influence-5990275 Motorola has been very quiet…

This 18-Year-Old’s Invention Could Make Your Future Phone Instacharge

While you are hanging out on the Internet (in your underwear, maybe?) on a Saturday, kids that are smarter than either of us are out there getting ready to change the world. 18-year-old Eesha Khare (left), for instance, not only invented a supercapacitor that could someday be a phone battery that charges in just a…

Nokia Lumia 925 Hands-On: The Windows Phone You’ll Want (Updated)

Nokia’s just unveiled the Lumia 925—and it’s the Windows phone that you’ll want. Gone is the all-plastic traditional Lumia, subsumed by a much more refined feeling metal-polycarbonate mix. This thing looks and feels great. So, what’s it like? Well, if you take the Lumia 920, remove about 20 to 30 per cent of the weight,…

Nokia’s New Lumia 925: A Sleek Metal Frame and Fancy Camera

Nokia’s just taken the wraps off its latest flagship Windows Phone. We’ve heard rumours of a PureView-packing beast, but confirming yesterday’s leak it’s the Lumia 925, an updated, metal-clad version of the Lumia 920, and it sure is a looker. So, not the true PureView-packing EOS, sadly, but just the Lumia 925 — a move…

Following rumors that Samsung is readying a klutz-proof version of the Galaxy S4, just such a phone has appeared on the Bluetooth Special Interest Group’s (SIG) Bluetooth-certification pages. Looks like it’s on its way, then.

Why New Phones Are Just Like New Girlfriends

When you get in a new relationship, things start out amazing. You discover new things together. You expand your horizons. You spend as much time as you can together. You love to hold them. It’s all very exciting! But am I talking about a new relationship with a person… or a phone? CollegeHumor poked fun…