Way back in October 2012, I told you about the ReadyCase, an Indiegogo project for an iPhone case with seven handy built-in tools. Because I was in the market for a new case for my 4S, I decided to fund it, even though it meant waiting until production began in February. I ended up waiting …

OK, Apple, cards on the table. I’ve been an iPhone user since the beginning. I’ve owned every model through the 4S, upgrading on an almost annual basis even though it meant paying extra. (Ah, the joys of the AT&T contract and its early-upgrade penalties.) Why no iPhone 5? That little bit of extra screen-estate and slightly improved camera weren’t enough …

Will Apple announce an iPhone 5S next month? And, if so, will that model come with a biometric fingerprint sensor? A new set of leaked photos add fuel to the rumor fire. Speculation over this feature began last year when Apple acquired fingerprint-recognition chipmaker AuthenTec, then ramped up again last month when an eagle-eyed beta tester discovered biometric scanner code …

Yelp is one of the handiest smartphone apps ever. During a recent trip to northern California, I used it to find restaurants in Santa Rosa — places I would have missed without it, and places I ended up absolutely loving. (Until next time, Flavor Bistro.) But the app has long suffered from one irksome limitation: Although you can write a …

We’ve all been there: you get distracted during a commercial break, then miss the game-winning homer because you didn’t make it back to the TV in time. For those of us with DVRs, this isn’t a huge deal (yay, Pause button!), but for watchers of live TV, timing those breaks can be tricky. One extra detour and you stand to …

The Roku app now lets you stream videos from your phone in addition to music and photos. Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET About a year ago, Roku stole a little Apple TV thunder by adding “Play on Roku” capabilities to its iOS app, making it possible for users to stream music and photos from their mobile devices to their TVs via …

Apple’s stock Weather app is so lame. I mean, all it does is report the local temperature and forecast. Bo-ring! That’s why third-party app developers continue to find new and interesting ways to sling weather data. There’s Dark Sky, which specializes in next-hour forecasts; Climate Clock, which combines weather data with an actual clock; and The Weather Channel, which offers …

Transit App In a spurt of perfect timing, I discovered Transit App almost immediately upon arrival in Chicago, where I was totally unfamiliar with the city’s awesome public transportation system (make that systems, plural). In short order I was riding the CTA and Metra buses and trains all over the place with the ease and efficiency of a Chicago native. …

Modern smartphones have pretty decent cameras, but their Achilles’ heels continue to be low-light environments. Their tiny built-in LEDs tend to wash out subjects and add horrific red-eye. Kickstarter project iBlazr adds a synchronized four-LED flash to Android phones and iPhones, meaning your nighttime selfies, heavily backlit group shots, and other close-up photos should look a lot better. And if …

I love gift cards. There’s just something awesome about walking into, say, Starbucks, and feeling like I’m getting my decaf skinny mocha Frappucino for free. Same goes for shopping on iTunes. You just gotta love buying an album, e-book, movie, or the like without spending “real money.” If I get nothing but gift cards for all my remaining birthdays, Father’s …