Personal Tech

Apparently being owned by Google doesn't mean Motorola will get its devices upgraded to Android 4.0 ("Ice Cream Sandwich") any more quickly.

Samsung's own advertising poses the question of whether the new Galaxy Note is a phone or tablet. And punlike portmanteaus like "phablet" aside, the question is surprisingly pertinent. I've long regarded the 5-inch class display as a potential alternative to the larger 7-inch and 10-inch tablets that have been soaking up all of the attention of tablet makers, but Dell's Streak 5--a previous attempt at a 5-inch phone/mini-tablet--failed to wow. The Galaxy Note, on the other hand, impresses in many ways, though its usability is clearly hampered by the lack of a truly tablet-optimized operating system, and by its indifferent display.

Having your corneas removed and replaced with artificial lenses to fix cataracts or other eye problems is no picnic, but it does give some patients a cool new ability: vision that scales far higher up the electromagnetic spectrum than normal humans.

Bram Cohen, inventor of BitTorrent, wants to replace television with P2P video streaming over BitTorrent.

Growing cellular data bandwidth demands driven by the runaway growth of smart devices and bandwidth-hungry applications is forcing many mobile carriers to look for alternate data solutions to relieve their strained networks. With Wi-Fi available on most mobile devices, Wi-Fi offload is being embraced by a number of carriers around the world as a practical part-time solution because it is cost-effective, relatively easy to adopt and free of licences/regulatory requirements.

Microsoft's disclosure that it will 'include' four Office apps with Windows on ARM has analysts parsing the news like spies who once tried to figure out what went on inside the Kremlin.

Customers weren't thrilled when unlimited iPhone data plans ended, but none complained too much. Verizon got more expensive, but transparently. AT&T went with manipulation and cloaked accusations of data hoggery to push customers to tiered plans, or toward Verizon.

Samsung's sequel to the Galaxy Tab will make its public debut next month and you may be wondering what separates it from all the other Android tablets on the market.

RIM went from must-have 'crackberry' to now being pushed into the grave by some analysts.

New Research In Motion CEO Thorsten Heins has a small window of opportunity to resuscitate the long-stumbling smartphone maker.

Which Windows tablet makes sense -- the upcoming ARM-based devices that might include Office apps for free or x86-based Windows 8 tablets? Matt Hamblen walks you through some of the pros and cons.

It seems like the recent release of Kinect for Windows has caused a resurgence in Kinect hacks over the last few days. The official Microsoft SDK makes it easier than ever to come up with interesting new uses for the depth-sensing camera system, and now there's a Kinect hack you can play with from the comfort of your own home without even buying a Kinect.