devices

Wireless Internet is becoming essential for most of us, yet it remains a bit like black magic.

For a lot of people, terms like 3G, 4G, and Wi-Fi are cryptic or just barely understood. How do they differ? When do you use each? And why do we even have to think about wireless connections so much? Brian Cooley explains what the different types of wireless do and how to use them. … Read more

If you think a car is high tech because it has Bluetooth and an iPod connection, you're in for a big surprise.

Yes, a "high-tech car" used to mean an iPod connection, hands-free calling, and GPS navigation. Now, that's almost quaint. Cars are getting connected like every other device in your life: wirelessly to the Internet. Navigation, communication, entertainment, and telematics all get better, but there will be some bumps along the road.

In this episode of Device & Conquer, we'll show you a sampling of how connected cars work and get you ready to … Read more

If Qualcomm Atheros President Craig Barratt had his way, the whole world would work like his house in Silicon Valley.

Barratt lives in the ideal vision of the connected home. He has precise control over things like temperature, energy consumption, the TV, stereo, and security system--all accessed remotely through his laptop. There's no remote control at home; he and his family can switch on the lights, open and close the curtain, and make sure the lawn is watered by using a connected iPod Touch.

Of course, it helps that Barratt actually wrote the software that powers everything in the … Read more

Google may have just dropped a mobile device management bomb on plans by Research In Motion--as well as about 25 other vendors--with an effort to manage multiple diverse devices in the enterprise.

At a powwow at Google's headquarters, Dave Girouard, chief of Google's enterprise efforts, said the company will layer in mobile device management into Google Apps. Google Apps will support Android, iOS, Windows, and other devices via a dashboard.

With the move, it's possible that Google's existing customers will use the search giant to manage devices. And if the features hold up, these customers may … Read more

Adobe Systems' announcement today that it would abandon its work on the mobile version of its Flash Player also applies to consumer devices such as TVs.

Adobe will no longer focus on porting the Flash plug-in into Web browsers on consumer electronics devices and instead encouraged developers to build native apps for those devices, the company confirmed in a statement today to GigaOm.

"Adobe will continue to support existing licensees who are planning on supporting Flash Player for web browsing on digital home devices and are using the Flash Player Porting Kit to do so," Adobe said. "… Read more

When the late Steve Jobs introduced iOS 5 during his last keynote address in June, he touted iCloud as something that "just works" and that users would have nothing to learn. As it turns out, he was right, but only on his first point.

Not only is there a lot to learn about iCloud, but users have little control over it once they start. So before you jump in, it's important to know a few things about it.… Read more

Advanced Micro Devices unveiled a restructuring plan today that will reduce its global workforce by 10 percent, or about 1,400 jobs, by 2012.

The layoffs, which are expected to save the company $200 million, represent the first major action by new CEO Rory Read, who took the helm of the chipmaker in August.

"Reducing our cost structure and focusing our global workforce on key growth opportunities will strengthen AMD's competitiveness and allow us to aggressively pursue a balanced set of strategic activities designed to accelerate future growth," Read said in a statement. "The actions we … Read more

Those of you paying for multiple data plans per mobile device or per family member may get some relief down the road as shared data plans become more prevalent.

The number of mobile devices sold on shared data plans is projected to grow 89 percent per year over the next few years, hitting almost 187 million in 2015, says a new report from Infonetics Research and published by mobile networking company Tekelec.

Some carriers may be slow to enter this new arena because implementing a shared data plan is more challenging than it sounds. Such plans demand a more "… Read more

LONDON--Multitouch revolutionized user interfaces, and if Nokia researchers get their way, a mobile device that's sensitive to how it's being flexed could be the next revolution.

At the Nokia World show here, the Finnish mobile phone maker showed off its "Nokia kinetic device" with a flexible display. Gripped with two hands, it would scroll through music collections or photo albums when twisted. Bowing it inward or outward zoomed photos in and out or paused and played music, while tapping the corners panned through photos.

While it was a real computing device with a real OLED display, … Read more