Startup Sidecar wants to be the engine of change for smartphones. The company, formerly known as SocialEyes, today launched its Sidecar mobile app, which has not one but two key features. First, the company says, it lets users share live video (or photos, contact information, and locations) while they talk. Second, it provides free VoIP …

Hillcrest Labs isn’t a household name, but if you have a Roku 2 streaming player (and really, you should) the company has entered your home. Based in Rockville, Md., Hillcrest developed the motion-sensing technology used in Roku’s remote. So when you’re flipping through menus or playing Angry Birds, Hillcrest is behind how it all works. Its first product in the …

The Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 is available now from the admirable men and women of the Three network, bringing with it a 3.8-inch screen, a dual-core processor and a 5-megapixel camera for free on contracts from £22 per month. For that 22 quid, you’ll get the phone for free, along with 500 minutes, 5,000 texts and 250MB of data. That’s …

If you can’t wait to get a U.S. carrier version of Samsung’s Galaxy S III, Amazon is offering the unlocked version early. Samsung Electronics’ latest flagship smartphone is available for preorder now, and will ship June 1. There is, of course, a catch. Since the unlocked Galaxy S III isn’t optimized for U.S. carriers, there are limitations to what networks …

Rumor Has It host Emily Dreyfuss shows off an iPhone 4S with a mirrored rear-panel. Sharon Vaknin/CNET There’s not much you can do in the way of customizing your iPhone’s hardware. Unless you bedazzle it with Swarovski crystals, apply a GelaSkin, or give it a funky case, your iPhone will continue to stand undistinguished among its cookie-cutter siblings. iFixit, a …

Google’s finally sealed the deal on its bid to buy Motorola Mobility, meaning that the search giant now officially owns the smart phone-spawning company. Google boss Larry Page broke the news on Google’s blog, confirming that the $12.5bn (£7.9bn) buyout is finished at last. Page’s first action has been to install “long-time Googler” Dennis Woodside as Motorola Mobility’s new chief, …

Every winter, we’re faced with the same dilemma: how to use a touchscreen device while wearing gloves. Can the capacitive touchscreen-friendly Agloves solve this problem?

Now playing: Watch this: Phone News: Galaxy S3 ROM leaks 2:41 In this week’s Phone News, Samsung’s software is leaking, and Motorola says it won’t update phones to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich unless the update improves the phone. Plus there’s loads more mobile news — so grab a delicious soft drink and hit play on the video above. The …

Apple The daunting task of restructuring Greece’s debt fell to Bob Apfel and his company, Bondholder Communications Group, according to Fortune. To help complete a complicated series of transactions in which the country’s Finance Ministry agreed to settle for far less than the $270 billion owed, Apfel and his team used a network of iPads. The task involved capturing approval …

The Samsung Galaxy S3 is the fastest selling pre-order blower of the year, according to Carphone Warehouse, which has been crunching some numbers on Samsung’s follow-up to the hyper-popular Galaxy S2. Proving what we already suspected — that the Galaxy S3 is going to be a hugely successful mobile — Carphone says it’s taken thousands of pre-orders for the 4.8-inch …

Your iPhone or iPad may be on the cusp on getting FaceTime calling over a 3G connection, an iOS warning pop-up suggests. The warning message, originally snapped by Romanian site iDevice, apparently pops up when you try to turn off 3G while on a FaceTime call. The missive reads, “Disabling 3G will end FaceTime. Are you sure you want to …

Regional wireless provider U.S. Cellular has become the first carrier to offer its customers a list of curated apps from the Amazon Appstore. Announced today, these Android users will find a new menu greeting them when they launch the Amazon application. Tapping the menu will result in a list of titles that have been handpicked by the carrier to provide …

This is what goes into Apple’s $29 wall-charging unit. Ken Shirriff No, it’s not the first thing people gravitate toward when tearing open their brand-new iPhone or iPad. Heck, it’s probably not even the second or third thing (the USB cable and the Apple sticker are more popular I’m sure). But, hidden deep within that pretty box is a cube …

If you’re not sure if you want to buy an application, you can now try it out before you drop your cash. Amazon announced yesterday that Android device owners will now be able to test drive applications, in its Appstore before they buy. The new Test Drive feature is currently available in beta, and only supports apps that use the …

Whether you live in rainy Seattle or are expecting thunderstorms in Albany, N.Y., it’s always a good idea to carry solid weather apps on your iPhone for quick forecasts. The Weather Channel released version 5.0 of its app late last week with an upgraded interface and a few more features that will be useful to amateur meteorologists everywhere, but it …