Cell Phones

Fans of Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 operating system have less choice in smartphones than their Android counterparts, so it’s always news when a new device arrives in Canada. Nokia’s Lumia line of smartphones set the standard for the Windows Phone experience and the Lumia 625 is set to raise the bar for value-priced Windows mobile devices. Improving on 2012’s Lumia 620, the 625 gains a faster Snapdragon CPU, bigger display, LTE compatibility and a leap in battery life. There are some compromises compared to the 620 (for example, NFC support has been dropped) but the Lumia 625 provides much of the experience of more expensive smartphones in a budget-friendly device. Expect to see it soon at Best Buy.  

Google’s latest smartphones, the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, deliver a pure version of Android that also includes one of the most effective cameras available.

What is all the fuss about Spritz? If you were using a Spritz-enabled app, you would already have read to the end of this post and could tell us. But given that Spritz-enabled tech isn’t out there yet (it’s coming soon, though), here’s the scoop. Spritz is new speed reading technology that’s based on the theory that much of our time spent reading is wasted as our eyes move side to side. Display a word in one place, flash one word at a time and suddenly reading becomes much more efficient. Not only that, but by displaying just one word at a time, reading is suddenly possible on compact displays, like a smartphone or smartwatch. Being able to quickly (and painlessly) read e-mail, reports or even books on your Gear2 or Gear Neo suddenly makes the idea of wearable technology even more appealing.

In some respects, LG has nothing to lose. Quietly building momentum with the previous two flagship smartphone iterations, the G3 and G4, the G5 has turned the company’s previous efforts on their heads. Having embraced an all-metal body for the phone, the design philosophy swerves dramatically to make it modular, too. Not only is the battery removable, but the idea is to enhance the phone’s features with hardware add-ons.

Last year, HTC had a hit with its HTC One, considered by many to be the best-looking Android smartphone ever released, not to mention a solid performer. Samsung’s Galaxy S4 ended up running away with the Android sales crown in 2013, but HTC is back this year with the One M8, a successor that’s bigger, looks even better and offers solid performance combined with an innovative new dual camera system. I just spent a few days with HTC’s new flagship and this is probably the best Android smartphone I’ve laid my hands on. And it’s coming soon to Best Buy!

It's the 8th day in our 12 Days of Christmas gift idea list, so consider one of the best smartphones of 2018—the Google Pixel 3 and Samsung Galaxy Note 9.

 If you find that cellular reception is a problem in your home or office, then the Eqo Boost from WeBoost may be the solution you’re looking for. Dropped calls, or parking yourself in one spot near a window to get a reliable connection for phone calls can be a frustrating experience, especially when you feel powerless to do anything about it.

It is a terrible feeling to not only lose a smartphone, but to also lose all the data stored on it. Back it up, especially when it's personal and priceless.

Cloud services can be as simple as web-based email, and as developed as an entire ecosystem that relies on everything syncing smoothly with the cloud.

March 5th marked the final day of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. While most of the splashy announcements (like that Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge) took place early in the week, through the rest of the show some definite trends became clear. And given that MWC 2015 is the world’s biggest exhibition of mobile technology, trends there are likely to set the pattern for what we see here in terms of smartphones, tablets, smartwatches and other mobile gear throughout this year.