mobility

The Nokia Asha 501 is part of Nokia's budget range of phones, aimed at emerging markets like India and Latin America. It'll land in the UK in Q3 this year, with wider European availability from June. Nokia has said that it won't be shipping to North America any time soon -- if ever.

It has a low-resolution capacitive touch screen and uses only 2G data networks, but it has a fun, vibrant, plastic design and a supercheap price tag of $99.

Design If you've spent time with any of Nokia's recent phones, the 501 will … Read more

The head of Google Wallet -- the Web giant's mobile payments initiative -- has left the company, Google confirmed Wednesday.

"We can confirm that Osama Bedier has decided to leave Google this year to pursue other opportunities," Google spokesman Nate Tyler said in a statement. "He's achieved a lot during his time here and we wish him all the best in his next endeavor. Payments are a big part of what people do every day, and we're committed to making them easier for everyone."

Bedier joined Google in 2011, leaving eBay's PayPal … Read more

The Kyocera Kona doesn't look like much, but for mobile users seeking a no-muss, no-fuss handset that can perform the basics, this is a phone worth considering.

The device is Cricket Wireless' latest offering, and is currently available for $29.99 with Cricket's contract-free service. True, it lacks a lot of comforts you'll find in even midtier feature phones, like a camera flash or video capabilities. And while its extra features are rather paltry (a 2-megapixel camera and 2G data connectivity, for example), for people who want a bare-bones handset that's easy to use, it'll … Read more

In this week's episode of Hooked Up, Kevin Frazier hangs out with Grammy Award winner and multi-Platinum recording artist Nelly. He talks about all the tech he can't live without, and how he co-founded Vatterott College in St. Louis and the Extreme Institute to teach students skills for making music.

Nelly also talks about his MacBook Pro, Canon EOS 7D that he uses for shooting videos, and the Monster Diamond Tears headphones that surprised him with their sound.

I'll break down the best dSLR cameras for shooting video with Kevin that broadcast professionals are using today. And … Read more

In the midst of a turnaround effort, T-Mobile reported late Tuesday that its first-quarter revenue declined 7 percent on service revenue losses while adding new customers.

The wireless carrier recorded total revenues of $4.68 billion for the first quarter, compared with $5.03 billion for the year-ago quarter. Service revenue decreased 9.9 percent to $4 billion but were offset by increased equipment revenue. Its adjusted earnings, excluding interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization, totaled $1.2 billion, a 12.4 percent increase over the fourth quarter of 2012 but a 7.5 percent decline over the year-ago period.

The … Read more

The long-rumored Nokia Lumia 928 Windows Phone-based handset is real, and it's heading to Verizon.

Engadget on Tuesday posted an image of an ad for the Lumia 928 in the latest issue of Vanity Fair magazine. The ad shows a device being held in a person's hand as he or she captures a photo or video of a family at the beach. Verizon's logo, along with the Nokia logo, sit just above the screen.

The ad copy isn't completely legible in the Engadget photo, but clearly is promoting Nokia's PureView camera technology, the camera's … Read more

Who wouldn't want to create an image of themselves smoking a joint, wearing wrap-around shades, and holding a wad of cash? The new Snoopify app aims to let users do just that.

West coast rapper Snoop Dogg rolled out his new mobile app on Monday, giving users the option of adding photos into the app and then dressing them up gangster style or Rasta-inspired. Free and available on both Android and iOS, the app seems to be making its money with the new trend of the moment -- stickers. While a handful of stickers in the app are free, … Read more

I had two transformative yet very minor optical experiences last week, both kicking off in the space of 2 hours: I got contact lenses, and I began experimenting with Google Glass.

The two are interlinked, because I couldn't use Google's bleeding-edge wearable tech with my comfy Ray-Ban eyeglasses.

If I was going to use Glass, I'd need contacts.… Read more

If you've been wondering when Sony's latest flagship Android handset would hit American shores, speculate no longer. The global and unlocked device is now for sale at Sony's U.S. Web site for $629.99.

Keep in mind that the Xperia Z is not to be confused with the Xperia ZL. While both smartphones boast huge 5-inch full HD screens, have fabulous cameras, run Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, along with a 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon processor, plus 2GB of RAM, the Xperia Z sports premium design and materials.

Unlike the ZL's plastic chassis, the Xperia … Read more