Digital Devices

Is the term smartphone outdated and clunky? With WiFi calling, FaceTime, Google Hangouts, Skype, and other alternative conversational technologies available, what does it even mean to have a "phone call" these days?...

You should have a password set up to protect the information on your cell phone - that’s Digital Smarts 101. Until now, though, phone manufacturers like Apple and Google could unlock that code if given a court order. Now Apple has announced that the new operating system for iPhones, iOS 8, will not give the company access to passcode-protected phones, making it technologically impossible to comply with governmental requests. Google/Android is following suit, upsetting the FBI and other law enforcement agencies...

The ability to "unlock" your cellphone— that is, the ability to run your phone on a different carrier network — without running foul of copyright laws is about to become legal...

Parenting in the era of the smartphone poses a wide spread series of debates. Arguing that having a smartphone can actually help you spend more time with your children, an article in The New York Times Bits blog entitled You Don’t Have to Feel Very Guilty About Using Your Smartphone While Parenting looks at a week in which a parent was able to balance working and being there for a preschooler off from a week of school...