Sorry, Republic Wireless users: You can’t yet receive short-code text messages like this one. Southwest Airlines Republic Wireless has attracted a lot of attention in recent months by offering one of the most attractive smartphone deals ever: a $299 Motorola Moto X and no-contract service for as little as $5 monthly. I’ve been using the …

No one likes to think about it, but scary and potentially life-threatening situations happen all the time: assaults, robberies, stranger danger, medical emergencies, and so on. You can call for help, of course, but only if you have the time (and capability) to get your phone out of your pocket or purse, unlock it, tap the phone app, dial 911, …

Jamo is a Wii-style dance game that uses your iPhone as the controller. Of course, as everyone famously knows, it’s all too easy for a handheld controller to get a little, er, out of hand. That’s why developer Vimo Labs has put together this special offer, exclusively for CNET readers: You can get a free iPhone 5 wrist-strap case when …

Much as I like my new Moto X smartphone from Republic Wireless (read all about my latest experiences), it does have one rather irksome limitation: just 16GB of onboard storage. Thankfully, the Moto is among the Android phones that support USB On-The-Go (OTG), meaning I can plug in an external-storage device like the Meenova or PKparis K’2. (I’m currently testing …

Few posts I’ve written have generated as much interest as the one about the Republic Wireless Moto X, and I’m not surprised: For $299 you get one of the most celebrated phones of 2013, with no-contract service plans starting at an impossible $5 per month. The key question on everyone’s mind: How is it? Does Republic’s version of the Moto …

Looking for dirt-cheap phone service for your smartphone? If it’s an unlocked GSM phone that began life on AT&T or T-Mobile, you might want to check out UppWireless. For as little as $15 per month, you can stock your smartphone with a no-contract SIM card that leverages Wi-Fi and 3G/4G connectivity for calls, text, and data. But is it really …

There’s a Netflix for everything these days. Oyster is “Netflix for e-books.” Next Issue is “Netflix for magazines.” GameFly is “Netflix for videogames.” There’s even a Netflix for high-end wristwatches. It may come as little surprise, then, that there’s an audiobook service that likewise emulates the Netflix all-you-can eat model: Tales2Go lets you stream unlimited selections for a flat monthly …

For all their smarts, smartphones can be complicated animals. Or at least frustrating ones, especially if you run into some of the problems that tend to crop up among new smartphone owners. (Note that I’m referring to both new smartphone-owners and new-smartphone owners. Hyphenation matters, people!) Thankfully, most of these issues are easily resolved — or if not resolved, easily …

If you’re the parent of a young reader, you know that kids can chew through books faster than a dog chews through tennis shoes. (I’m speaking figuratively, of course — unless your kids are teething.) That’s awesome, though indulging this wonderful love of reading can get expensive. Too bad there’s no “Netflix for e-books,” no way to pay a small …

How do you like your documentaries? Heavy on narration, interviews, and pan-and-zoom photos? Then you’re probably a fan of Ken Burns. The filmmaker has lent his signature visual storytelling style to a wide range of subjects, bringing to life everything from baseball and the Civil War to the Dust Bowl and Prohibition. Now, he’s dipping a toe into the app …