mobile devices

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Devices, Bad for Teens? Now They Might Help

Patterns of smartphone use could indicate changes in mental health

(Newser) - Rising suicide rates and depression in US teens and young adults have prompted researchers to ask a provocative question: Could the same devices that some people blame for contributing to tech-age angst also be used to detect it? The idea has sparked a race to develop apps that warn of...

As of Today, You Can't Do This Anymore on Honolulu Streets

No more looking at phones, electronic devices while crossing; fine will go up to $99

(Newser) - Visiting Honolulu? Better get out of the habit of texting while walking, or at least while walking across a street. In a new law that took effect Wednesday, the Hawaiian city has banned looking at your phone (or any mobile electronic device) while crossing a street or highway. Anyone who...

This Jacket Will Wirelessly Charge Your Phone

It can be yours for $169, plus add-ons

(Newser) - Not yet terrified that you'll suddenly burst into flame? Put on one of Hiral Sanghavi's jackets. The man behind Kickstarter's BauBax travel jacket —which last year became the fourth most-funded project on Kickstarter, raising $9.2 million —hopes to raise $100,000 with his new...

Addicted to Your Phone? Blame Your Personality
Addicted to Your Phone? Blame Your Personality
NEW STUDY

Addicted to Your Phone? Blame Your Personality

You might be impulsive and impatient: study

(Newser) - There's no denying that humans are mad for their cellphones, but some are clearly more attached than others—and scientists now have a clearer understanding of why. Generally speaking, people who constantly check their phones have a problem controlling impulses, period, and they're not so great at delayed...

Chick-fil-A Giving Away Food If You Can Detach From Your Phone

Leave phones in the 'Cell Phone Coop,' get free ice cream

(Newser) - A Chick-fil-A operator in Georgia wants to stop families from being distracted by their phones while sharing a meal together. So he came up with the "Cell Phone Coop," a box in which family members place their (silenced) phones while they're eating in a Chick-fil-A restaurant, and...

Survey: 75% of Kids Under 4 Have Own Mobile Device

There is 'almost universal exposure' among kids, researchers say

(Newser) - A recent study found handing your toddler an iPad is a bad idea ; a new study shows 97% of kids under age 4 have used a mobile device anyway and 75% have a tablet, smartphone, or iPod of their own. The small-scale study—based on the responses of 350 low-income...

Facebook Brings Workers' Internet to a Crawl One Day a Week

'2G Tuesdays' allow workers to experience slow speeds of emerging markets

(Newser) - Understanding breeds empathy. At least, that's the Facebook philosophy when it comes to Internet speed in developing nations, which is why once a week the company now encourages employees to dump their super-fast speeds at work and opt for a 2G experience, NBC News reports. The initiative is called...

Iraq Vet's Son Creates App to Stop Night Terrors

'My team and I won't sleep until the veterans can'

(Newser) - Tyler Skluzacek was in sixth grade when his father, Sgt. 1st Class Patrick Skluzacek, was deployed to Iraq for a year. When he came back, he struggled with night terrors—and now Tyler, a senior at Minnesota's Macalester College, is helping in a big way, KARE 11 reports. As...

Why You Shouldn't Hand an iPad to Your Toddler
Why You Shouldn't Hand an iPad to Your Toddler
NEW STUDY

Why You Shouldn't Hand an iPad to Your Toddler

Study finds that for children too young, mobile devices can harm

(Newser) - Tempted to hand your fussy toddler an iPad? You may want to think again: Research out of Boston University finds that, for children younger than 30 months, using smartphones and tablets for anything other than educational purposes can be "detrimental to ... social-emotional development," the Washington Post reports. At...

City Creates Sidewalk Lane for Texting While Walking

But Chinese city says move is meant to be ironic

(Newser) - Taking a cue from an American experiment, the Chinese city of Chongqing has created a smartphone sidewalk lane, offering a path for those too engrossed in messaging and tweeting to watch where they're going. But it's apparently intended to be ironic—to remind people that it's dangerous...

Twitter Co-Founder Unveils Q&A App

Jelly all about 'helping each other': Biz Stone

(Newser) - Twitter co-founder Biz Stone has released a new app, and he's hoping it will "make the world a more empathetic place," he tells TechCrunch . Available for free on iOS and Android, Jelly allows users to ask questions accompanied by photos; responses come from users' Facebook and Twitter...

Apple Maps: Less of a Disaster Than You Think

Has taken 23 million users from Google, despite problems

(Newser) - Remember when Apple launched its own maps app on the iPhone and iPad, a program so error-ridden the CEO apologized , the project leader was fired , it became the butt of jokes for months, and everyone celebrated when Google finally relaunched its much-loved maps app? Turns out, it hasn't been...

Stop the Hate: Windows Phone Keeps Getting Better
Stop the Hate: Windows Phone Keeps Getting Better
opinion

Stop the Hate: Windows Phone Keeps Getting Better

Ashlee Vance explains why he doesn't have an iPhone or Android

(Newser) - Ashlee Vance is a rarity in Silicon Valley: Rather than toting an iPhone or Android device, he has ... a Windows phone, which means he gets "ridicule and pity" wherever he goes, he writes in BusinessWeek . Windows phones aren't hip. Some of the coolest apps (hello, Instagram) are missing...

Why Louis CK Is Wrong About Smartphones
 Why Louis CK Is Wrong 
 About Smartphones 
OPINION

Why Louis CK Is Wrong About Smartphones

They can be bad, but they can also be good: Daniel Engber

(Newser) - Chances are you saw—quite possibly while perusing Facebook on your smartphone—a bunch of your friends sharing a clip of Louis CK talking about how terrible smartphones are . But the comedian's rant is missing an important point, writes Daniel Engber on Slate . Sure, we all agree "that...

Louis CK Explains Evils of Smartphones

Nobody can sit quietly alone anymore, he tells Conan

(Newser) - Apple says demand has been "incredible" for today's rollout of the new iPhones , reports AllThingsD . One person you won't find in line? Louis CK. On Conan last night, the comedian explained all that's wrong with smartphones, especially when it comes to kids, reports Salon . Sample line:...

Next for iPhone, iPad: Bigger Screens?

Firm tests nearly 13-inch iPad, suppliers reveal

(Newser) - Apple's latest product experimentation may offer a window into the future of the iPhone and iPad. The company has ordered prototype phone and tablet screens that are a little bigger than what we're used to, its suppliers tell the Wall Street Journal . The iPhone 5 has a four-inch...

FAA Warms to Gate-to-Gate Gadgets

Ban likely to remain on cell phone calls

(Newser) - For the first time since the 1960s, the FAA's rules on electronic devices could change in a big way. An FAA advisory panel says it's time to start allowing certain gadgets to be used during taxiing, takeoff, and landing, the Wall Street Journal reports. Rules developed decades ago...

Samsung: 5G Downloads Movies in 1 Second

But we may not see it until 2020

(Newser) - Samsung has wireless technology in the works that will let users download an entire movie in a second, it says. In tests, the South Korean company's 5G service worked over a distance of more than a mile, AFP reports via Business Insider . Data traveled at more than a gigabyte...

ESPN Could Help Pay Your Mobile Bill

Content providers consider subsidizing data costs

(Newser) - Sick of worrying about staying within your data limits? ESPN is considering helping you out. The channel has discussed the possibility of subsidizing users' data plans with at least one top wireless carrier, the Wall Street Journal reports. For users, the result could be that ESPN usage wouldn't factor...

Petition Gets Obama to Back Unlocking Cell Phones

FCC backs legal unlocking, too

(Newser) - It now takes 100,000 signatures to get an official White House response to a We the People petition—and angry cell phone users got more than 114,000 after it became illegal to unlock your cell phone on Jan. 26. That's the day the Librarian of Congress ruled...

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