The Voodoo is Weak for Vudu Movie Box

Mark W. Smith: 'Cumbersome' smartphones can't beat old-fashioned writing

(NEWSER) - Smartphones and tablets have left everything from alarm clocks to GPS systems pretty much "obsolete"—but iPhones and BlackBerrys still haven't topped writing by hand, writes Mark Smith in the Detroit Free Press . He's no technophobe—in fact, he's a tech columnist. But when he sat down to make a "list of the best apps to help you stay on task," one simple truth kept staring him in the face: "There's still nothing better than paper." More»

There was more to electronics show than TVs

(NEWSER) - This year's Consumer Electronics Show had the predictable high-tech TVs and other conventional items—but the 3,100 exhibitors also showed off some rather bizarre devices. A few highlights:

• Solowheel. An electric unicycle with no seat and footboards that allow riders to stand and lean in the direction they want to go. The 26-pound, $1,800 machine goes 10mph on its battery-powered motor, and has a 15- to 20-mile range.

...and phones, and tablets, starting next year

(NEWSER) - Touchscreens are so 2011. Starting as soon as next year, we'll be able to manipulate our phones with a wave of the hand. And that's just the beginning: Touch-free technology could soon take over our TVs, our tablets, and other devices, the BBC reports. One company behind the shift is Israel's XTR3D, which recently scored an $8 million investment; the firm expects the first touchless smartphone to hit the market in 2012. More»

'Dark Knight' and 'Transformers' aren't far behind

(NEWSER) - The 2009 3D blockbuster Avatar ranks No. 1 on the list of most pirated movies, reports MovieFone via TorrentFreak . Despite director James Cameron's prediction that 3D would discourage illegal copies, pirates still downloaded Avatar 21 million times. (It's still the highest-grossing movie of all time.) Runners-up for most pirated include the Dark Knight and Transformers, each with 19 million downloads, followed by Inception (18 million) and the Hangover (17 million). Full list here . More»

Why? Because many of us need a phone and a tablet

(NEWSER) - For every person, a mobile device … or two. In the United States, wireless devices now outnumber people, according to a new survey by trade group CTIA. That’s possible because so many people own more than one such device, for example a smartphone and a tablet. There are now 327.6 million mobile devices in the country and its territories (a 9% increase during the first six months of the year), compared to 315 million people. More from the Washington Post : More»