smartphone

19 Stories

The Top Smartphone Seller Has Been Dethroned

Apple overtakes Samsung for the first time in 12 years as Android market splinters

(Newser) - Just as Samsung gets ready on Wednesday to release its newest iteration of Galaxy smartphones comes the news that those phones are no longer the best-selling phones in the world—for the first time in 12 years. As the Guardian reports, the longtime Android king has been usurped in terms...

Help Is On the Way for Your Overheated iPhone 15

Apple releases patch to remedy Pro models running 'warmer than expected'

(Newser) - Complaints about Apple's new iPhone 15 Pro models running too hot have been heeded. The company released a patch on Wednesday, noting that the included updates and bug fixes included in iOS 17.0.3 should take care of the overheating issue. "We have identified a few conditions...

Get Ready for Lots of Noise Wednesday Afternoon

FEMA, FCC are conducting emergency alert test

(Newser) - Starting midday on Wednesday, your cellphone will likely start making a lot of noise—and it won't be alone. FEMA, in conjunction with the FCC, will be conducting a nationwide test of both its Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency Alerts, with an emergency alert sent to radios and...

Zoo Cracks Down on Gorilla's Screen Time

It seems they really like visitors' cellphones

(Newser) - If you've ever had a kid, spouse, or decidedly boring date you couldn't drag away from their phone, the Toronto Zoo can commiserate. The Toronto Star reports that visitors have for some reason felt the urge to show Nassir the gorilla videos on their cellphones. "Nassir is...

Barbie Star Cera: No Smartphone for Me, Thanks

Actor's flip phone kept him from taking part in film's group chat

(Newser) - If you happen to spot someone these days who's still carrying around a flip phone, they're likely either an AARP member or trying to be retro. Michael Cera is neither, and proof that, per CNN , "sometimes stars aren't just like us." The 35-year-old Arrested Development...

Government Official Orders Dam Drained to Find Lost Phone
Official Fined for Draining
Reservoir to Find Phone
in case you missed it

Official Fined for Draining Reservoir to Find Phone

State irrigation department in India orders Rajesh Vishwas to pay for wasted water

(Newser) - An official in India who drained a reservoir to search for his lost phone has to pay for the water as well as a new phone. Food inspector Rajesh Vishwas, who retrieved his $1,200 Samsung device but found it was unusable, has been fined the equivalent of around $640...

After 'Fervent' Bidding, 2007 iPhone Sells for $39K

15-year-old 8GB device in unopened box is said to be in 'exceptional' condition

(Newser) - The starting bid for a 15-year-old iPhone on the LCG Auctions site was listed as $2,500, but the now-ancient (in tech years) device ended up going for a whole lot more. Gizmodo reports that the unopened 2007 iPhone, a first-gen 8GB model from the year Apple debuted its smartphone,...

After Late-Night Fatal Crash, an iPhone Calls for Help

Police haven't determined what caused accident in Lincoln, Nebraska

(Newser) - A passenger's cellphone automatically alerted responders after a car hit a tree early Sunday in a Nebraska crash that killed all six of the vehicle's young occupants, authorities said. Five men in the Honda Accord died at the scene of the crash around 2:15am in Lincoln, about...

Apple Won't Like New EU Rule on Charging Cords

USB-C cable will be required for devices, from phones to headphones to GPS units, from 2024

(Newser) - Forget rummaging through the junk drawer. Soon, Europeans will need to reach for just one cable to charge their smartphones and other devices, the AP reports. European Union officials said they inked a provisional agreement Tuesday that will require a uniform charging cord in the 27-nation bloc. The new rules,...

Clinging to an Old BlackBerry? Today Is Its 'End of Life'
RIP to an Iconic
Mobile Device 

RIP to an Iconic Mobile Device

BlackBerry is discontinuing service after Tuesday on all of its devices not running on Android software

(Newser) - If you're still clinging to your older BlackBerry not for nostalgia's sake but for actual functionality, you're out of luck after today. In what multiple outlets are calling the "end of an era," the Canadian company known for its once-ubiquitous mobile devices with thumb-friendly QWERTY...

Can You Stay Away From Tech for a Day? $2.4K Awaits

Reviews.org's 'detox' challenge offers the chance to ditch your phone, TV, other devices for cash prize

(Newser) - Could you go a whole day without checking your smartphone, posting on Instagram, and watching TV? There could be $2,400 in it for you if you think you're up for the task. CNN reports on the 2021 Digital Detox Challenge being held by Reviews.org , which offers a...

Samsung's New Phone Costs $2K
Samsung's New
Phone Costs $2K

Samsung's New Phone Costs $2K

Folding phone is 'definitely a luxury device'

(Newser) - Samsung has again unveiled a folding phone with a price tag of almost $2,000—and it says the $1,999 Galaxy Z Fold 2 won't suffer from the issues that plagued the original Galaxy Fold last year. Samsung says the phone, its third folding phone and one that...

FBI Cracks Phone of Shooter on Base, Finds al-Qaeda Link

Saudi shooter at Pensacola naval base killed 3 Americans

(Newser) - Last year, a Saudi military officer training at a US naval base in Florida shot and killed three American sailors and wounded eight others. Now, federal authorities have finally broken into one or both of his iPhones and discovered a link to al-Qaeda, reports the New York Times . The gunman,...

A Cheaper iPhone May Be Headed Our Way

Renowned analyst predicts iPhone SE 2 will cost $399, arrive sometime in first quarter of 2020

(Newser) - As Mashable puts it, Ming-Chi Kuo "tends to be right a lot of the time," meaning people are paying attention to his latest reveal on a possible new iPhone. MacRumors reports the analyst is adding to his previous disclosure that he thinks Apple is planning on releasing a...

New Folding Phones Are Already Breaking

Reviewer says Galaxy Fold was 'unusable' after 2 days

(Newser) - Some of Samsung's new, almost $2,000 folding phones appear to be breaking after just a couple of days. Journalists who received the phones to review before the public launch say the Galaxy Fold screen started flickering and turning black before completely fizzling out, the AP reports. Two journalists...

Sleep May Not Be a Major Casualty of Kids' Screen Time

Researchers say using electronic devices may not have significant impact on kids' shut-eye

(Newser) - If you're worried about your kids not getting enough shut-eye because of the time they spend on their smartphones and computers, playing Xbox, or watching Netflix, new research may ease that parental guilt—somewhat. The BBC reports on a new study out of Oxford University that found any ties...

Apple May Alter Phone Lineup Like Never Before

It's rumored to be killing iPhone X before first birthday

(Newser) - Apple's most expensive iPhone ever might also be its shortest lived. A report from Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities—dubbed "the king of Apple analysts" by Mashable —predicts Apple will end production of the iPhone X after shipping 18 million devices in the first quarter of 2018,...

A Midflight Discovery by Wife, Then ... Chaos

Angry woman got flight diverted after finding out about husband's alleged affair

(Newser) - Pro tip: If you're going to investigate your husband's phone on the suspicion he may be cheating on you, maybe don't do it while thousands of feet in the air. A woman—who, authorities say, had had a few drinks—on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha,...

Man Electrocuted While on Cell Phone

The 27-year-old victim was listening to music while his phone charged

(Newser) - A man in India was electrocuted while listening to music on his charging cell phone, the Hindustan Times reports. Police in the central state of Madhya Pradesh identified the victim as Sunil Yuvne. They said the 27-year-old suffered shocks on Saturday morning likely from an earphone attached to his mobile...

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