The primary goal of Home, Facebook’s Android app that basically takes over your phone, was to keep people more connected on their mobile devices than they already are. They already had the most popular app, but it wasn’t enough. They wanted total domination. Now, they’re taking a step backwards from that initial goal to solve an issue. For all intents and purposes, Facebook Home has been a failure. The strategy of rolling it out slowly to only a handful of phones backfired when very few of the owners of those phones took note of the app. Besides the abysmal launch strategy, the biggest problem that…

Some are already chiseling RIP on a tombstone for consoles, but in reality mobile devices aren’t yet ready to seriously compete with consoles. Here’s why.   There’s no physical controller for mobile games Sure, touchscreens are fine for catapulting mad birds into incredibly mean pigs, but when you try a first person shooter game on a mobile device, the experience is markedly lackluster in comparison to consoles.   Small screens are limiting Obviously, playing games on your smartphone can never replace the experience of conquering Middle Earth or annihilating zombies on a 52-inch…

The rise of gadgets easily available to the workforce combined with the growing trend towards mobile offices (unless you work at Yahoo, of course) has made the Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) a common practice in business, particularly for small businesses. It saves money. People are more comfortable using devices of their choosing. It’s practical almost all the way around. These perceived benefits, however, are not so beneficial to the IT people in small business. BYOD poses many problems from security to compatibility and forces them to have to troubleshoot a much wider array of problems…

Facebook is redesigning their news feed again and this time it looks like a very positive set of changes. The social network has been notorious over the years for making changes that were initially hated by users universally, but this time they seem to be addressing concerns that users have been voicing for a while. The big problem they may face is with businesses that are struggling to use the platform to get exposure. There will be three primary changes: Bigger pictures, articles, maps, and events will be presented to users in their feeds. This is a good change for most, but those who rely on text…

If the zombies come, you’ll be thankful for using hand-cranked gadgets for two reason. First, you’ll have electrical power wherever you go, even if you’re running from one of those faster zombies. More importantly, it strengthens your hatchet-hurling hand and club swingers to make you more effective at zombie hunting. For those who aren’t as concerned about zombies as they are about having emergency backup power for their various devices, here are a handful of cool ones that can keep you going in case of disaster or simply when traveling in places without convenient outlets.   The Hand…

AppleInsider has uncovered a patent filing that points to a flexible touchscreen watch design. If you don’t think this is the new rumored iWatch, you’re missing some brain cells. As we pointed out the other day, there are plenty of rumors and concept designs behind the device, but this is the first time we’ve seen an Apple stamp associated with one. The images may not be as hip or cool, but they may just be real. According to the source: Apple first filed its application for a “Bi-stable spring with flexible display” with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in August of 2011, describing a wearable…

These days, smartphones are like an extra appendage to most people. We use them for everything, especially searching the internet. Think about how much more convenient things have gotten since the rise of the smartphone. Today, if you need to find the nearest restaurant, you can with the swipe of a screen and a tap of an app. That’s why mobile search is on the rise. Gone are the days of having to wait until you got home to look something up on the internet, now you can do it whenever and wherever you please. So what does the rise of mobile search mean for advertisers? Well, it provides them with a very large…

If there was any doubt that the world is going mobile, 2012 eliminated the last ounce of it. People are buying up mobile devices as often as they change the oil in their cars and it shows in the statistics for Apple and the rest of the mobile world. In this year-in-review from The Mobile Future Coalition, we get to touch on some interesting statistics that show everything from Facebook to NASA are buying into the mobile phenomenon to the point that it can no longer really be called a phenomenon. It’s a part of life. Here’s the video: …

Do you remember the 90’s? When Beverly Hills 90210 wasn’t a remake, sideburns were cool, again, the song, “Ice, Ice, Baby” was a hit on the radio and when everyone invested in owning a cellphone, that’s right, not a mobile device or smartphone, a cell phone. Times have certainly changed and many of us miss those days, but now we can re-visit the 90’s with this very cool iPhone case. …

There has been plenty of buzz lately about the rise in shopping from mobile devices. Smartphones in particular are seeing sharp increases as entries into the eCommerce. Black Friday saw over a billion dollars in online sales. Despite the trend, the use of shopping apps is still low on the list. Gaming, weather apps, and social networking each account for over twice the number of people who use their apps regularly. This doesn’t mean that there aren’t a lot of people shopping on mobile devices. It just means they aren’t using apps to do it. Yet. In this infographic, we take a look at some interesting…