February, 2016

• 23 February

  Fitbit still tops in wearables, but market share slips

  

  Fitbit finished 2015 as the winner in wearables, despite a loss in market share. Shipments of Fitbit’s popular activity trackers surged to 21 million in 2015, up from 11 million in 2014, market researcher IDC said in a report Tuesday. Citing such factors as worldwide expansion, corporate wellness programs and a diverse product lineup, IDC …

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• 23 February

  Sony imagines a screenless future and cute robot friends

  

  Sony wants to put a stop to antisocial screen time. The Japanese electronics company showed off two concept projects at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Monday that are designed to bring families together around interactive touchscreens, but minus the actual screens. Sony unveiled a single Xperia smartphone at the world’s biggest mobile trade show this year, but hinted that …

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• 23 February

  Galaxy S7 vs. LG G5: My preorder dilemma

  

  Now playing: Watch this: Samsung and LG introduce their new, killer phones 2:52 I want the best phone I can buy. Don’t you? And right now, I’m having a hard time deciding between the LG G5 and Samsung Galaxy S7, the two latest, greatest Android phones just announced at the Mobile World Congress show in Barcelona. I don’t have any …

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• 23 February

  Shopping for a Fiat? Step into a virtual one in your home

  

  Car dealerships can be a stressful. Sure, it’s a chance for you to get an up-close-and-personal look at your next potential ride, but then there are the salesmen to contend with. Maybe you just want to check out the vehicle in peace. Augmented reality, which superimposes digital images on top of the real world, aims to cut out the dealership …

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• 23 February

  Yes, Sony makes phones. And they’re coming back to the US

  

  Don’t call it a comeback. Sony phones never really made much of an impression in the first place. The Sony brand is a household name when it comes to televisions and the PlayStation video game console, yet few people in the US know the Japanese conglomerate also makes phones. Sony wants to change that, and has vowed to return to …

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• 23 February

  Smartphone market’s glory days are ending

  

  The smartphone industry’s days of double-digit growth are likely behind it. Smartphone ownership has reached peak levels in key markets worldwide, Carolina Milanesi, chief of research at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, said in a report Tuesday. In North America, 65 percent of consumers own a smartphone. In Europe, that number jumps to 74 percent. In China, the figure rests at 72 …

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• 23 February

  Wireless HD video is here, so why do we still use HDMI cables?

  

  Wires are boring. I mean it’s not like anyone could write half a dozen different articles on HDMI. The future is wireless. The problem is, wireless HD is a fickle mistress. Competing standards, technological limits and cost all make it far less popular than the ubiquitous HDMI cable for conveying video and audio between devices in your home. But if …

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• 23 February

  Oppo claims new battery tech charges a phone from flat to full in 15 minutes

  

  With no new phones to show off at Mobile World Congress this year, Oppo focused on two new technologies that could make using its upcoming phones much easier. The first, called SuperVOOC, is a fast battery charging technology that gets your phone from 0 to 100 percent charge in a mere 15 minutes, Oppo claims. The second, called SmartSensor, builds …

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• 23 February

  How VR helps you hear what it sounds like in somebody else’s head

  

  What does the world sound like from inside your head? Or to a kid on the mean streets of New York? Or the cop confronting him? Those are the kinds of questions being asked by virtual-reality creators keen to use sound to take you places both familiar and untraveled. At this year’s Sundance Film Festival, where film fans and filmmakers …

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• 23 February

  Amazon stops selling all hoverboards

  

  Any daredevils still interested in buying a hoverboard will find it harder to get one now. On Tuesday, Amazon.com pulled all its hoverboards from its website, leaving only accessories such as decals and wheels still available. An advertisement for the Razor Hovertrax hoverboard leads to a nearly empty page on the website. Amazon’s decision comes days after the US Consumer …

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