There’s a new crowdfunding champion in town. The Ubuntu Edge, a smartphone from Canonical that’s designed to take on Apple’s iPhone 5 and the Samsung Galaxy S4, hit a record for crowdfunding, reaching $10.4 million on Friday. The investment, which has been made up by thousands of Indiegogo users, has beaten out the former crowdfunding …

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 …

Fight! Google and Microsoft are locked in a war of words after the Big G banned the YouTube app for Windows Phone a second time. Google has blocked the new version of the app, for purported violations of its rules, after barring a previous version. But Microsoft has blasted Google’s “excuses”. “Google’s reasons for blocking our app are manufactured so …

Don’t expect to be blown away by Moto Maker, the fresh online tool for creating unique Moto X phones with built-to-order designs. While its personal customization skills are a very cool differentiator and definitely help the handset stand out in a sea of smartphones, Moto Maker’s tweaking options are somewhat limited. To be clear, I did get access to a …

iOS beta 6, the last test version of iOS 7, is here. In the run-up to the next iPhone and iPad, the sixth and final  beta version of Apple’s new software heralds the final release — and with it, the next iPhone. iOS 7 is still in the Beta testing phase, which means developers can try it out but it’s …

Nokia could take the wraps off a new Windows RT tablet in late September. Citing “sources familiar with Nokia’s plans,” The Verge said on Friday that Nokia will reveal the tablet at a launch event in New York tentatively slated for September 26. A recent story from blog site Windows Phone Central said that Nokia will hold a two-day event …

Samsung take note — Alcatel is cooking up its own 6-inch monster-phone, and it could be dirt cheap, to boot. Details concerning the snappily-named One Touch Scribe Pro surfaced on Twitter, via serial leakster Eldar Murtazin. As well as a picture of the phone itself, we also have a list of specifications. For instance, you can expect a quad-core processor …

Motorola has cooked up a device that lets you dispense with PINs to unlock your smartphone. Known as Skip, the thumb-sized gadget can clip on to your pocket, belt, shirt sleeve, or other area. Using near-field communications, Skip pairs with your smartphone. After the pairing, just tap Skip with your phone to unlock the screen. Three Skip dots are also …

A new Kindle Fire HD tablet may be on the way, at least according to new benchmarks found online. Specs from GFXBench specifically point to an Amazon tablet with a 2,560×1,600 pixel display. A further peek reveals a Qualcomm Adreno 330 graphics processor, which almost certainly means the device will be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 800 chip. The specs line …

Fire! The HTC One X is the latest phone to catch fire while charging. The One X in question belongs to a chap in Taiwan, who spotted the phone combusting and melting the case while it was on charge. Fortunately the owner was unhurt. The cause of the incident is unknown at this stage. This is the latest in a …