How Vermont Used Drones After a Train Derailment
When an Amtrak train went off its tracks in the forests outside of Northfield, Vermont, Oct. 5, state authorities needed pictures of the site to determine how best to respond and to document the damage for later investigations. So they decided to call in the drones, operated by the Spatial Analysis…
Want to Use Your Phone Number On Multiple Devices? AT&T Finally Has a Plan
It seems kind of silly that you can only use your phone number on a single device. An upcoming AT&T feature called NumberSync will let you use one set of digits for your smartphones, tablets, and smartwatches. AT&T hasn’t provided a specific timeline for rolling out the service to customers. The…
Verizon to unveil next Droid smartphones on October 27
"Everything you expect from a phone will change," the carrier teases in an invitation to its media event. Verizon Wireless' Droid smartphone franchise will soon get its moment in the spotlight. The New Jersey-based carrier sent out invitations to a media event in Manhattan on October 27, teasing…
Microsoft’s Band 2: Specs, pricing, SDK and more
Microsoft's Band 2 fitness device -- part of the company's Windows 10 devices family -- is available for preorder in the U.S. for $250. Microsoft's second-generation fitness band, the Band 2, was one of several new devices the company introduced last week. In the days since Microsoft showed off its…
Windows 10 bandwagon: Acer jumps aboard with two new PCs
Acer has unveiled two of the first new Windows 10 PCs expected to arrive from Microsoft's hardware partners this month. After the Windows 10 New York City hardware showcase last week, Acer has unveiled two PCs that take advantage of new features in Microsoft's latest operating system. At a press…
Apple Pay coming to Starbucks, KFC and Chili’s
Slowly, but surely, Apple Pay is adding more supported merchants. At Re/Code's annual Code/Mobile conference on Thursday, Jennifer Bailey, the vice president of Apple Pay, announced the company's mobile payment system on the iPhone and Apple Watch will roll out to select Starbucks stores as a pilot…
Cat Phones announces Cat S40 rugged Android smartphone for the US market
Our smartphones are often the computer we use the most and when you are out in the mud, snow, or water you still need a device to perform. The Cat S40 is designed to go into these environments with you. As a professional engineer and ship designer, I often find myself out on shipchecks crawling…
Microsoft Surface Pro 4 announced: Specs, price and release date
Microsoft's Surface Pro 4, with a Skylake 6th generation core processor, is coming October 26, starting at $899. Microsoft took the wraps off its Surface Pro 3 successor -- the Surface Pro 4 -- at its Windows 10 devices launch in New York on October 6. Most of us were expecting a new business-tuned…
LG reveals first cellular-enabled Android Wear smartwatch, the LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition
LG set the bar high with the first round Android Wear device and is now following it up with the first cellular-enabled model that also includes GPS. I'm currently evaluating a couple of awesome round Android Wear smartwatches, the Huawei Watch and new Moto 360, but the other excellent round…
Samsung Gear S2 review: Samsung successfully goes circular
Samsung announced its new Gear S2 smartwatch just ahead of IFA 2015, and we've now had a chance to go hands-on with the customizable, circular smartwatch. Featuring a rotating bezel and circular user interface based on Samsung's Tizen operating system, the Gear S2 is striking to look at and…