Smartphones & Accessories

Most smartphones and tablets meet their untimely end by falling in bodies of water, being left out in the elements or when used in freezing or extremely wet conditions. Thankfully, there are various options out there that can help protect precious mobile devices.

If you have a Google Chromecast already, then you likely know what it’s capable of. If you don’t, then you may interested to find out. The small, affordable device is known for being able to stream YouTube, Netflix, Spotify, NHL GameCenter and much more directly from a smartphone or tablet, and is capable of doing some other cool things with the right settings.

Now that Google has released its latest version of Android, 6.0 Marshmallow, the rollout will come in stages as each smartphone and tablet manufacturer optimizes its respective software overlays to work with it. For the moment, only the Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X and HTC One A9 run Marshmallow, but in time, a much wider range of devices will, and there are a number of new features that go with it.

Nexus smartphones have usually required accepting a compromise or two. A clean, untouched version of Android, and among the first to get the latest updates. Good design with solid all-around performance, at the expense of great battery life and an impressive camera. The Nexus 6P represents an end to the enduring concessions that characterized these phones in the past, and stakes a claim to being one of the best Android phones of 2015.

Smartphones can have a fairly short shelf life, given how quickly new models come out to replace them. Even after moving on to a new handset, it doesn’t necessarily have to be the end of the old one if it’s still functional. Outside of selling or pawning it off on someone else, there are some great ways to give an older phone a second life.

The Toronto Blue Jays may be winning and poised to make things interesting this fall, but sports always kick into high gear with the other major pro leagues getting underway while the leaves fall. Watching the big games or catching up on highlights has never been easier with the unfettered access currently made possible by streaming services and apps delivering the content to mobile devices and streaming TV boxes.

Google unveiled its latest smartphones—the Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X—and while they don’t deviate too much from their predecessors on the outside, they are considerably different on the inside. With new cameras, faster processors and bigger batteries, plus the latest version of Android, both phones look to be interesting options for anyone shopping for a new smartphone this fall.

Samsung likes curves enough to put them on almost any screen they can find. Curved TVs are one thing, but this year, the company has really pushed the idea of curved displays on smartphones. The Galaxy S6 Edge, when it launched in the spring, was the first smartphone to have a dual-curved edge display. Now, the Galaxy S6 Edge+ offers a bigger screen with a lot of the same functionality.

Logitech has designed the ultimate protection-first series of iPad cases and shells. Here’s what you need to know about the Shell, Case and Keyboard cases.

There’s a new update for your phone, or a new app or game you want to try, but you can’t download it because you’ve run out of storage space. Situations like this are becoming more routine, and in cases where internal storage isn’t expandable, some maintenance is necessary to make room. If storage, or lack thereof, has been an issue for you, there are options for creating some breathing space for your data.