Gadgets

By Darrell Etherington Apple’s first wearable is right around the corner, and the Apple Watch will likely debut along a very healthy selection of third-party apps. It might be hard to envision just how those apps will work, however, especially for potential buyers who don’t have the luxury of being able to wander over to…

By Darrell Etherington This week’s Droidcast is all about Mobile World Congress, where HTC unveiled some surprises in addition to the HTC One M9, and Samsung changed up its design strategy with a new take on the Galaxy that replaces boring old plastic with exciting metal and glass. Will the premium look make up for…

By James Rivington Introduction Update: Video upload site Vimeo has added Chromecast support via its iOS app. Original Chromecast review written in August 2013. Streaming media around your home isn’t a new idea, but the rise of internet-based on-demand services like Netflix, Sling TV and Amazon Prime Instant Video means that it’s becoming more and…

By James Rivington Introduction Update: Video upload site Vimeo has added Chromecast support via its iOS app. Original Chromecast review written in August 2013. Streaming media around your home isn’t a new idea, but the rise of internet-based on-demand services like Netflix, Sling TV and Amazon Prime Instant Video means that it’s becoming more and…

By Darrell Etherington Pebble’s extra bump from the Pebble Time Steel announcement has put it over the edge, helping it break the record for most-funded project of all time on Kickstarter. The Pebble Time campaign beats out the Coolest Cooler, a camper cooler with various tech-friendly additional features. It’s currently sitting at just under $13.5…

By Natasha Lomas Rumors that Google feels threatened by the fast-paced rise of Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi, which has built its own UI atop Android and in China also offers its own app store (rather than pre-loading Google Play), were presumably front of mind for Xiaomi VP and former Google employee Hugo Barra today. Read…

By Darrell Etherington Crowdsourced driving navigation app Waze is getting a boost from parent company Google at this year’s Mobile World Congress – the free app is now included in the section of apps that make up Google Mobile Services, or the pre-installation software bundle Google offers to smartphone and device OEMs building Android gadgets.…

By Darrell Etherington Pebble announced Pebble Time last week, the next-generation version of its Pebble smartwatch, and today it’s revealing another new product: Pebble Time Steel. This is the stainless steel version of the Pebble Time, boasting the same interface and software, but in a machined metal case that comes in silver, gold and black…

By Natasha Lomas Finland’s Jolla, the plucky startup that’s built its own mobile OS, called Sailfish, atop the Mer open source project, is showing off its forthcoming, crowdsourced tablet here at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. It’s the follow up to Jolla’s first device, the eponymous Jolla smartphone, which was released at the end of…

By James Peckham LG unveiled four new mid-range phones for its 2015 selection a couple of weeks before MWC, promising the handsets would be on show there. The company made good on its promises and we’ve managed to get a hands-on look with the Magna, Leon, Spirit and the Joy. LG’s Joy has the lowest…

By James Peckham LG unveiled four new mid-range phones for its 2015 selection a couple of weeks before MWC, promising the handsets would be on show there. The company made good on its promises and we’ve managed to get a hands-on look with the Magna, Leon, Spirit and the Joy. LG’s Joy has the lowest…

By John Biggs Montblanc, a Swiss luxury company, recently announced a little add-on to its mechanical watch line – the e-Strap, a small OLED system that displays notifications on the bottom of your watch band. I snorted at the concept back in January but now we get to nod sagely at the implementation. To be…

By Patrick Goss Getting a decently priced smartphone right is a thorny problem. All too often manufacturers aim for Apple-inspired design and a premium feel despite cheaper components and materials, but fall well short. On paper, we had high hopes for the ZTE Blade S6 but, unfortunately, it is no exception, despite laudable specs for…

By Patrick Goss Getting a decently priced smartphone right is a thorny problem. All too often manufacturers aim for Apple-inspired design and a premium feel despite cheaper components and materials, but fall well short. On paper, I had high hopes for the ZTE Blade S6 but, unfortunately, it is no exception, despite laudable specs for…

By Matt Hanson The LG Leon is part of the new spread of mid-range smartphones that the Korean company has announced, and I got to try it out at MWC 2015. Not only is the LG Leon a mid-range handset, but it sits firmly in the middle of the new collection of handsets, so you…