smartphones

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Texting Puts 60 Pounds of Weight on Your Neck

Researchers warn of possible need for future surgery

(Newser) - Your Facebook-checking, constant-texting lifestyle may be taking a toll on your neck. Looking down at your phone can put a strain on your neck equivalent to the weight of 60 pounds, a study finds. To put that in perspective, 60 pounds is the weight of an 8-year-old or four bowling...

iPhone 6 Users' New Gripe: It's Pulling Out Their Hair

Is it the new #BendGate?

(Newser) - If users weren't already tearing their hair out over bending iPhones , now the device will do it for them. Apparently some iPhone 6 and 6 Plus owners are frustrated by phones that are pulling out their hair, Business Insider reports. The issue seems to be the tiny space between...

Prove You're STD-Free? There's an App for That

Healthvana lets you quickly share sexual history with partners via smartphone

(Newser) - You're dating, things are going great—and then comes that awkward moment when your partner casually inquires, "So, hey, um … got any STDs?" Well, next time that happens, you can verbally relay your sexual history or you can whip out your smartphone and call up Healthvana, a...

Software Update Prevents iPhones From Making Calls

Apple quickly pulls iOS 8.01 amid complaints

(Newser) - Apple had to quickly yank an update to its mobile software today after the upgrade caused more problems than it was supposed to fix, reports the Verge . The company released iOS 8.01 this afternoon, hoping to get rid of widely reported bugs with iOS 8. But about an hour...

Apple: iPhone 6, 6 Plus Sales Break Record

Company claims 10 million units sold over 3 days

(Newser) - Apple says it sold more than 10 million iPhone 6 and 6 Plus models, a record for a new model, in the three days after the phones went on sale. A year ago, Apple Inc. said it had sold 9 million of the then-new iPhone 5C and 5S models. The...

New iPhones 'Not Groundbreaking, Just Excellent'

But not without their flaws: critics

(Newser) - Tech experts are applauding the new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, noting the bigger screens and improved features. But the critics aren't without their reservations about the new devices, which, they say, aren't exactly revolutionary:
  • "It's clear that Apple spent the last year tweaking and improving
...

City Creates Sidewalk Lane for Texting While Walking

But Chinese city says move is meant to be ironic

(Newser) - Taking a cue from an American experiment, the Chinese city of Chongqing has created a smartphone sidewalk lane, offering a path for those too engrossed in messaging and tweeting to watch where they're going. But it's apparently intended to be ironic—to remind people that it's dangerous...

iPhone 6 Pics, Videos Leak From China

New smartphone said to include Touch ID and 4.7" screen

(Newser) - Photos and videos purporting to show the new iPhone 6 are flowing out of China and look pretty darn real. Geek.com has a video translated from Chinese of a new iPhone that's described as lighter than the 5s, with a slightly curved 4.7" screen, speedy processor, protruding...

Mystery 'Interceptors' Capture Our Calls: Experts

And they don't appear to be NSA installations

(Newser) - Security experts have been spotting so-called "fake cellphone towers" of unknown origin that could be spying on us. The "interceptors," as they're called, trick our phones into thinking they're regular cell towers; then, according to VentureBeat , they can listen to our calls or pave the...

OnePlus Urges Women to Enter 'Degrading' Contest

Smartphone company cans 'Ladies First' contest amid outcry

(Newser) - Promoting a new smartphone? Launching an online who's-the-hottest-babe contest may not play well with all consumers, as OnePlus discovered today. The company—which is selling its phones by invitation only due to production issues—started a "Ladies First" campaign that invited women to draw the OnePlus logo on...

Parents, Look at Your Kid, Not Your Smartphone

Pediatrician pleads for parents to put down their phones

(Newser) - A pediatrician's plea in the Washington Post for parents to put down their smartphones and make actual human contact with their kids might be worth it for the opening anecdote alone. Jane Scott explains that a dad brought his 2-year-old boy into her office, each absorbed in his own...

Airports to Crack Down on Phones Amid Terror Fears

Bombs could be surgically implanted: Daily Mail

(Newser) - As the US bolsters security at airports at home and abroad, officials have been concerned about " creative ," hard-to-spot bombs. Now, they'll be cracking down on phones and shoes in an effort to detect any such weapons on flights bound for the US, Reuters reports. iPhones and Samsung...

Amazon Unveils 3D Smartphone

Cheapest model will be $200 for 2-year contract

(Newser) - Amazon today unveiled its long-rumored , much-anticipated smartphone, which it's calling simply "Fire Phone." The phone's most attention-grabbing features include a unique 3D display and something called "Firefly," which allows the phone to identify objects, songs, and TV shows. Here are the details, as reported...

China Phone-Maker Files 'Groufie' Trademark

Huawei uses term for panoramic pic with friends

(Newser) - Picture the celebrity group selfie that went viral during the Oscars and you've got a variation on the next big thing—or at least what a Chinese phone maker hopes is the next big thing. Smartphone maker Huawei has filed to trademark the term "groufie," meaning a...

Apple Wins Partial Victory Over Samsung on Patents

Company is awarded just a fraction of the $2.2B it sought

(Newser) - Technically, Apple convinced a jury that Samsung infringed on some of its patents when building smartphones. But the numbers from the San Jose courtroom yesterday provide a sense of how limited in scope the victory was: Apple sought $2.2 billion but won $120 million, reports recode.net . On top...

Next Frontier in Smartphones: the Rear

A phone's backside can provide a whole second screen

(Newser) - Your smartphone's 1080p screen may no longer turn heads if a new tech trend takes hold—to maximize the backside of smartphones, TechCrunch reports. Innovations are occurring mostly on the industry's margins, where quirky products are cropping up and nudging powerhouses like Samsung and Apple into using all...

Disasters: There Needs to Be an App for That

The world needs top-notch science apps: Daniel Miller

(Newser) - Enough with the online shopping and Angry Birds: We need apps just as handy to serve a more noble purpose. Daniel Miller warned of the Washington state mudslide ahead of time, but the information he provided wasn't readily accessible to those who would be affected, he writes in the...

iPhone 6 Due in September, in 2 Sizes
 iPhone 6 Due 
 in September, 
 in 2 Sizes 
report says

iPhone 6 Due in September, in 2 Sizes

Get ready for 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch screens: report

(Newser) - The iPhone 6 is coming in September, and it'll be available in two screen sizes—both bigger than the current four inches. At least, that's what a report from Nikkei Asian Review is suggesting, via Business Insider . The story is based on insider accounts regarding the production of...

Stop Constantly Upgrading, Hang on to Your Smartphone

We're at 'innovation plateau,' and latest isn't that much better: Farhad Manjoo

(Newser) - With the cost of our smartphones often built into carriers' contracts, it's easy to forget how valuable the gadgets are. And these days, new generations of iPhones and Samsungs aren't necessarily vast improvements over their predecessors. So why not make our phones last longer—if not for ourselves,...

Court: Calif. Drivers Can Use Phones to Check Maps

Law doesn't apply to smartphone apps

(Newser) - Using a smartphone to look a map while driving is allowed under the California law that bans motorists from talking or texting on a handheld phone, an appeals court has decided. The court sided with Steven Spriggs, who was fined $165 after a highway patrol officer spotted him looking at...

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