Getting in shape can be a daunting process. Even if you’ve invested in a sports wearable, it can be tough to get your head round the numbers it’s tracking and see if you’re making progress. TomTom is updating its apps and devices with a new measure of fitness that gives you a more easily understandable …

What if there was an instant camera for GIFs? That’s what developer Abhishek Singh wondered and set out to discover for himself. The result is a Polaroid-like instant camera that captures a few moments and ejects a cartridge containing a moving image.  He calls the camera “InstaGif NextStep,” and says he was inspired by the Polaroid OneStep. And if you …

Essential, a tiny 100-person smartphone company from the man behind Android, just screwed up in a particularly embarassing way.  Last night, it accidentally shared personally identifying information — including driver’s licenses — of some customers with others, seemingly as part of an attempt to verify some would-be phone buyers’ identities ahead of shipment.  At first, some customers (at the XDA-developers …

Now playing: Watch this: Android Oreo is official, PlayStation teases something… 1:14 Now that Android Oreo is starting to reach devices outside of the Android Beta program, here are some of the best features you’ll find after installing the update.  From better notification handling to to a tool that helps you free up storage, Android Oreo is full of some …

Samsung’s long appealed to the fashionistas with its smartwatches. It now wants to go after the jocks too. When Samsung first jumped into wearables three years, it took pains to emphasize the look of its Gear smartwatch. It partnered with a fashion designer to make special accessories to go with the watch, and it sought to show its wearables were …

Samsung’s crammed tons of features into its newest smartwatches, but one thing is missing: its Bixby voice assistant. Samsung introduced its new Gear Sport smartwatch and Gear Fit 2 Pro, which are waterproof enough for swimming in the ocean, at the IFA electronics trade show in Berlin on Wednesday. Both have GPS and can automatically detect and track what fitness …

Samsung may have just hosted a major event in New York, but there’s no way it was going to sit out the biggest tech show in Europe. That’s IFA, held each year in Berlin. And Samsung did have plenty of news (even if it all was pretty minor compared with its new flagship Note 8 smartphone).  Samsung’s now best known …

Recently I found an old NeatReceipts document scanner tucked away in a closet. This was an expensive item, so I had to stop and wonder why I wasn’t using it. Oh, right: I use my phone. Is that a scanner in your pocket? This is not a new idea; “scanner” apps have been around almost as long as smartphones, but …

If you’re an audiophile and vinyl fan, this news should spin you right round like a record, baby. Panasonic has dropped the needle on a new version of the legendary Technics SP10. Launched in 1970, the SP10 was the first direct drive turntable. Following its iconic sequels the Mk 2, released in 1975, and the sought-after Mk 3, released in …

This is an update of a post I first wrote in 2014, then updated in 2015. Let me clarify right up front that I’m specifically referring to third-party anti-virus software, not the protections built into Windows. And as you’ll read below, there are security tools I do embrace — just not what you’d expect. For years I’ve been the on-call …

Now playing: Watch this: Android Oreo has arrived 1:20 Looks like Google Pixel and Pixel XL owners on Verizon Wireless are getting a special treat.  Google made the latest version of its mobile operating system, Android Oreo, officially official last week. And the carrier is already starting to push the update to Pixel devices on the network.  Verizon didn’t announce …

What’s the hashtag for being hacked? Instagram, the 700 million-user-strong photo sharing service owned by Facebook, informed some users Wednesday that hackers gained access to phone numbers and emails of high-profile accounts. The attack came through Instagram’s API, or its software that allows other sites and apps to connect with it.  The company said the bug was fixed within a …

Now playing: Watch this: How to install Android Oreo right now… if you can 1:52 With the rollout of Android Oreo now underway, it’s a good time to discuss how you’ll go about installing the update once your carrier releases it for your device. As with all things Android, there are plenty of caveats as to which devices will get …

Now playing: Watch this: 6 most-wanted iPhone 8 features 2:07 The iPhone’s home button has been rumored to be on the design chopping block for a while, but it now seems it might go beyond just removing it. Apple’s next iPhones $1,000 for iPhone 8? Here’s why you shouldn’t freak out What the Galaxy Note 8 means for the iPhone …

Now playing: Watch this: Downgrade from iOS 11 public beta to iOS 10 1:20 Of the iOS public betas I’ve used the past number of years, the iOS 11 public beta feels particularly buggy. Animations are choppy. Graphic elements are often broken. Apps frequently crash.  In one frightening episode, my entire photo library disappeared after I took a video (thankfully, …