With a few weeks to go until the release of Samsung’s latest high-end smartphone, the Galaxy S9+, its camera just earned the top spot on DxOMark (a site that tracks and rates camera sensors, lenses and smartphone cameras). The S9+ received a score of 99 — the highest for any handset to date — with a review indicating the camera has no “obvious weaknesses.” The score is one better than the Pixel 2’s camera and two better than the iPhone X camera. The biggest addition to the S9+ camera is a dual-aperture for low light shots and a zoom lens.

Continue reading Review Praises Camera Functionality of Samsung Galaxy S9+

Pinterest is highlighting the “Search” and “Lens” features on its mobile apps, emphasizing its move into this arena. Lens, which was introduced to U.S. users this year, is a reverse image search tool that allows users to take a photograph of something and then use smart search to return pins with similar images and related design ideas. Lens is now available to users of the iOS application; Pinterest says it will soon launch the Android version. Google is also upgrading its visual search engine to compete in this space. Continue reading Pinterest and Google Compete to Offer the Top Visual Search

Twitter’s live video streamer Periscope updated its iOS app this week to include a new mute feature that prevents users from being interrupted by new broadcast notifications. Version 1.1.3 also brings a refreshed global feed for discovering streams around the world, the ability to access your broadcast stats from previous streams (not just at the conclusion of a broadcast), the option of language preferences in profile settings, and Handoff support that allows users to initiate viewing on one device and pick up the same stream on another device. Continue reading Periscope Releases Several New Features in iOS App Update

BitTorrent’s new file-syncing technology, BitTorrent Sync, can synchronize files between computers and mobile devices without copying data to a cloud server. The company is hoping that, in light of the National Security Agency’s controversial harvesting of information stored in data centers, people will be attracted to the new technology. The only way the NSA could gather this data would be by going directly to the source where the information is stored. Continue reading BitTorrent Sync Transfers Data Without Help From the Cloud

Ericsson released a new mobility report yesterday that suggests video traffic is growing on mobile networks by 60 percent annually and overall data traffic is predicted to grow 12-fold by the end of 2018. The report notes that global smartphone subscriptions reached 1.2 billion in 2012, a number expected to approach 4.5 billion by 2018. Additionally, Ericsson anticipates 60 percent of the world’s population will be covered by LTE in 2018. Continue reading Ericsson Mobility Report: LTE and Mobile Video Drive Growth

Swedish-based video-on-demand firm Voddler has launched LiveShelf, which the company describes as the world’s first legal film storage and sharing service. It is currently available to users in Scandinavia and Spain, with expansion into Europe and Russia expected shortly. The product combines digital locker technology with file sharing, allowing users to invite friends to stream their legally acquired films via the Internet. Continue reading Voddler Launches Legal Movie Storage and Sharing Service

New trends in the tech gadget space are returning to a consumer more engaged with his or her surroundings. Whereas smartphones and computers require that people’s attention go toward a screen, pulling attention away from the real world, new innovations may lead to the consumer becoming once again more engaged with the physical world. Many of these new ideas involve wearable devices. Continue reading Wearable Tech Gadgets Put Users Back in the Physical World