iPhone

A single iPhone may not provide enough light to shoot a dark scene. But a handful of them remotely controlled might just do the trick. At least, that's the idea behind a patent filed by Apple.

Published today by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, a patent application dubbed simply "Illumination system" describes a method whereby multiple iPhones or other mobile devices team up to act as camera flashes. The primary device could be a camera or a smartphone. The secondary devices could be smartphones, tablets, or other gadgets with their own built-in flash or a … Read more

Did you see the multidevice game demo during the Google I/O keynote? If you missed it, running Chrome on several devices, Google was able to show a game taking advantage of every screen on the desk. By drawing a race track across all of the devices, various colored cars were able to race around the track, from screen to screen, device to device.

Thankfully, Google isn't keeping the game, called Racer, to itself. You can use Chrome on your Android or iOS device to play the game with friends and family members right now.

Before you begin playing … Read more

QR codes haven't exactly set the world on fire, yet most people know what they are, and most phones can scan them, either out of the box or with a third-party app.

The Findables Case takes that idea to heart by emblazoning a unique QR code on each hard-plastic shell, the idea being to use that code to share information about yourself or help recover your lost phone.

In other words, your case can now take the place of your business card, while at the same time offering good Samaritans a means of contacting you (that doesn't involve poring through your address book).

When someone scans the code, they'll see one of three profiles (chosen by you via a companion app or the Findables Web site): Business, Social, or Lost.… Read more

T-Mobile on Monday boosted the upfront cost of the iPhone by $50 to $149.99 for the 16GB version, which T-Mobile Financial Chief Braxton Carter said Wednesday was the company's plan the entire time. However, T-Mobile didn't say at launch that the lower price was temporary. And the increase -- which brings the total cost for the phone to $629.99 after two years of $20 a month payments -- comes only a month after the iPhone became available at T-Mobile.

"When we look at the overall landscape, there's no … Read more

A lawsuit has been brought against Apple for allegedly selling iPhone 4 smartphones with faulty power buttons. The suit, which seeks class-action status, claims that Apple knew about the issue and failed to fix the problem.

Debra Hilton filed the lawsuit in San Jose, Calif., alleging that she and "thousands of iPhone 4 users" were sold the device with on-off buttons that stopped working shortly after the 1-year warranty was up. The problem purportedly had to do with a defective flex cable that controlled the power button.

"The Apple iPhone 4 is plagued by a latent defect … Read more

Although a federal judge has requested that Samsung and Apple pare down the number of infringements in their lawsuit in California, the iPhone maker actually wants to pile on.

According to FOSS Patents' Florian Mueller, Apple on Monday requested that U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh allow it to add the Samsung Galaxy S4 to the list of Samsung products that Apple believes violates patents it owns. Apple currently has 22 products that it claims violate its patents. The Galaxy S4 would be added to that list.

According to Mueller, Apple analyzed the S4 and "has concluded that … Read more

The free version of QuickVoice Recorder for iPhone does very little that the built-in voice recorder for your phone doesn't already do. You can quickly and easily record your voice with the tap of a button, navigate the list of recordings you've taken, and share them with people via e-mail as a recording or a ringtone. Is this enough to replace the built-in tool that comes with the iPhone? Let's take a look.

Quick Voice Recorder has a very limited audience in its free iteration because it really just retreads the same basic functions of a built-in … Read more

Pentagon employees may soon start using Apple mobile devices, like iPhones and iPads, on the U.S. Defense Department's secure network.

The department expects to clear the devices for use on its network early next week, Bloomberg reported Friday.

It's a space that's normally dominated by BlackBerry, but with other smartphone brands gaining popularity, the federal government is considering other options. Those options include Samsung, which officials cleared last week.

Approval means employees using government-issued iOS 6 devices can access military networks after the department builds a mobile-device management system to secure the phones and … Read more

For some audiophiles, Counting Crows and The Wallflowers will forever be associated with the mid-1990s--along with Netscape Navigator, Hotmail, and of course, Windows 95. But don't call their joint summer outing a nostalgia trip. Velvet-tongued Counting Crows vocalist Adam Duritz, hot off the heels of The Outlaw Roadshow (alongside a slew of new indie bands), prefers to view his comparatively intimate Wallflowers double bill as a much-needed respite.

Other than sharing a decade, the comradely combos have shared previous tours, a track (Duritz sang on The Wallflowers' "6th Avenue Heartache"), and even a producer (T-Bone Burnett, back … Read more