My friend Paul and I were talking about how tech geeks have done a 180 on the number of devices they want to carry. Ten years ago, it was all about finding one device that does everything. The digerati were tired of carrying a mobile phone, a PDA, a gaming system, etc. Fast forward to 2012 and that’s a very mainstream attitude to have. Millions of people are satisfied with their smartphone or tablet as their “one” device. Meanwhile, the geek chic have gone in the other direction…

Here’s a super-interesting presentation (embedded below) by the late Steve Jobs from the 1983 International Design Conference in Aspen. One of the most fascinating clips is around the 25 minute mark. The late Apple CEO talks about his vision for computing, saying that he believes Apple products of the future will be small, book-sized computers that are easy to use and connected to other computers. Keep in mind that this was in 1983 — way before the iPad and the Internet became the major forces that they are today. Here’s … more

Rumor has it that Google will be serving up multiple Nexus phones (Nexi?) in November. The latest rumor is that HTC will be offering a “phablet” Nexus with a five-inch screen, appropriately called the Nexus 5. According to a GSM Arena tipster, the Nexus 5 will have a 1080p five-inch screen, Android 4.1.2, a quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset, a 12-megapixel camera, a 2,500 mAh battery, LTE connectivity, and 64GB of storage.

As some of you know, I’m a big fan of HTC. Not many Android phone manufacturers use top-notch … more

Yesterday was Google Android’s fourth birthday. In a short amount of time, Google has become the global market leader in smartphone operating systems. Whether you’re a fan or not, that’s pretty damn impressive. The feat is all the more impressive when you consider its start in America. The first Android product in the U.S. was an underwhelming piece of hardware (the G1) on the country’s fourth-largest network (T-Mobile). It wasn’t until the next year that Android really took off, thanks to a combination of more mature software (Android 2.0) and aggressive marketing from the nation’s biggest carrier (Verizon). Android came to America in October 2008, but it didn’t really…

Wal-Mart recently decided that it will no longer sell Amazon Kindle products. Target made the same decision earlier this year. I always thought it was remarkably stupid for either company to sell Kindle products, particularly the Kindle Fire. Prior to the launch of the original Kindle Fire in 2011, I wrote (for another web site) that it was a “gateway drug” and “Trojan horse” product. While Target and Wal-Mart benefit in the short term from Kindle Fire sales, Amazon wins in the long haul by selling digital and physical products to those consumers. I was astounded by the shortsighted thinking of the brick-and-mortar stores and impressed that Amazon duped these…

LIFX is a recent Kickstarter project that has been getting a done of buzz and funding. As of this writing, the project has blown past its $100,000 goal with $1,107,996 in pledges. LIFX is an LED lightbulb that can be controlled with Android and iOS devices. Users can control the brightness and the color of the light with their phones and tablets. This is an energy-efficient product with an extremely high level of nerd appeal. Check out the video below for info on LIFX.… more

When is a Nexus phone not a Nexus phone? When it’s handled by Verizon. The company’s bungling of Google’s hero phone continues! At the end of August, I expressed my disgust, as a Verizon customer, with the company’s pathetic delays with the Jelly Bean update. As someone that writes about mobile tech, it’s clear that Google made a poor choice by choosing Verizon as the exclusive American launch partner for this phone. Historically, Nexus phones receive the latest Android updates immediately. The GSM version of the Galaxy Nexus has … more

I’ve been playing around with iOS 6 on my iPad 2012 for the last couple of hours and I’m pretty happy with the upgrade. On the iPad, there’s nothing revolutionary, but there are several additions that make the OS better. Some of these additions are long overdue and others are (seemingly) simple features that make the iOS experience that much more elegant. People that want things like widgets and other niceties found on Android will find iOS 6 disappointing, but that’s another issue entirely. Right now I’d like to go … more

A number of you have pre-ordered or plan to buy an iPhone 5. A number of you already own iOS devices of some sort. How do you insure your iPhones and iPads? Many people rave about AppleCare+. It’s convenient to get your phone or tablet services at an Apple Store through AppleCare+ and, in my experience, the service is fast. Others prefer using insurance through a third-party company like SquareTrade, which in some cases offers more flexible terms and can be more convenient for people that don’t live … more