smartphones

Bump for iOS and Android makes it easy to move photos from handsets to PCs with a new Web-based tool that transfers smartphone photos to your desktop with just one tap of your spacebar. The new tool doesn't rely on a shared network or Bluetooth to transfer files. Instead, Bump uses geolocation capabilities on your phone and your PC browser to send photos to the cloud and then download them to your desktop. This is similar to how Bump's smartphone app transfers contacts and photos between mobile devices.

Shopping for a new smartphone can be overwhelming.

Android and iPhone smartphones together made up 82% of all such devices shipped to retailers in the first quarter of 2012, IDC said Thursday.

If you're having trouble downloading apps from the Windows Phone Marketplace, you just might be a pre-Mango Windows Phone 7 user. Microsoft is now enforcing a rule that only users of Windows Phone 7.5, codenamed Mango, can use the Marketplace in any meaningful way. Without the Mango update you can still browse the Marketplace, but you will start getting error messages if you attempt to download, buy, update, or review an app.

Good news, Verizon customers: You can keep your $30 per month unlimited data plan after all, but it'll cost you in another way. Longtime Verizon fans got a shock Thursday when a Verizon executive reportedly said customers must give up their unlimited data plans for a tiered data option when switching to 4G LTE phones. But that's not entirely accurate, Verizon spokesperson Brenda Raney confirms to PCWorld.

Google is reportedly moving to more direct sales of its Android smartphones and tablets in a move to wrest control away from wireless carriers that install their own services on Android gear or block Google apps like Google Wallet.

During Microsoft's recent Smoked by Windows Phone challenge, Microsoft-based devices were almost always faster at completing everyday tasks compared to Android and iPhone handsets. But even the fastest Windows Phone can't run away from the fact that nobody's buying Microsoft-powered handsets.

A portable USB fuel cell promises to charge your smartphone for up to two weeks without going near a wall socket. Lilliputian Systems says its portable fuel cell will provide juice for your smartphone a dozen times before running out -- and then you just need to buy a replacement cartridge.

Research In Motion on Wednesday released the BlackBerry Curve 9320 smartphone proving that despite the promise of BlackBerry 10, the company hasn't lost its ability to offer handsets that are well behind the times. The latest Curve looks like every keyboard-centric Curve that came before it (just a little bit sleeker) and offers specs that don't even come close to what you can get from an iPhone, Android device, or even a $50 Windows Phone. If you're in the market for a new BlackBerry smartphone this is not the handset you want and here's why.

Huawei brought its MediaPad 10 tablet to CTIA 2012. The tablet was first introduced at Mobile World Congress in February, as was the Ascend line of smartphones.

Having trouble focusing on your work? You're not alone: The advent of smartphones, tablets, and Twitter has made staying connected to the flow of information seem seductively simple. All you have to do is leave your email inbox open in one tab, have Facebook or Twitter open in another, and set your phone to beep whenever you have an appointment to ensure that you stay productive without missing a single meeting or status update.

While battery capacities in smartphones has increased, 4G LTE networks are taking their toll on battery life for Web browsing and video streaming, according to Metrico Wireless.