Starting today, you can show your Facebook friends how much you love them, by giving them an Amazon gift card, and you can show them how well you can rally your friends by getting more people to contribute to the gift. The basic idea is that you can select a gift amount for a friend’s more »

Now that it’s summer, I’m seeing the inevitable seasonal articles about should you or should you not unplug while on vacation. And yes, I’m well aware of the irony that I am writing one of them. However, many of the articles take an all or nothing approach. They advise that you should completely unplug and more »

I used PayPal for a long time without bothering to download the app, but then I started getting payments via PayPal, got a PayPal debit card and decided if I was going to use my account more, I needed a better way to monitor it on-the-go. So I installed the app on my phone, and more »

One of the surprises, at least to me, to come out of Apple’s WWDC event on Monday was that Bing would be the default search engine for Siri. Beyond the obvious question of “Why is Apple defaulting to a Microsoft product?” this potentially has a large impact on mobile search. Over the last year, Bing more »

When I unlocked my iPad this morning and noticed several apps ready for update, I had a pleasant surprise. Feedly was updated, and the version notes said “powered by Feedly cloud.” Oh, and a “Let’s all wish a happy retirement to Google Reader.” Feedly is obviously transitioning slowly, starting with the iOS apps, which are more »

There’s been lots in the news recently about this issue. The latest article I’ve seen was from All Things D about Google wanting permission to reveal how many FISA requests its received. I think this is a good time for us to be thinking about our information, how its collected and what can be done more »

Have you ever been riding with a passenger, and both of you needed to charge your phones at the same time? Kind of a pain, right? Tylt sent me a Y-Charge 2.1 to test out, and I’ve got to say, it answers the problem. The device is compact, and Tylt says it’s good in temperatures more »

So it’s an interesting day today in phone news. All Things D reported on how the FCC is going to clarify the use of cell phone carrier data while the Wall Street Journal reported on how the government is in the process of obtaining a complete set of phone records from Verizon customers. While not more »

Just before I left for vacation, the folks at Tylt sent me a couple of charging gadgets to try out. The timing was good, and I used them both during the trip. I’ll start with the PowerPlant. It’s a solid device, and I felt comfortable taking it with me. All folded up, it’s easy to more »

If you’re an iPad owner, and you’ve been wanting to try Mailbox on your tablet, you’re in luck. The app has been optimized for the iPad. While I basically like it, it’s not quite as amazing as I’d hoped. I reviewed the Mailbox app last month, and I still like it as much as I more »

Been thinking about a new iPhone, but waiting for a deal? No need to wait. Starting Sunday, Best Buy will be selling the all models of the iPhone at $50 off. The sale price is only for activations with Verizon, Sprint and AT&T with a new two-year contract. All Things D is reporting that the more »

If you’re a user of Pandora and like to stay on top of all the new music, you should be pretty excited now. Pandora is launching a new station that will allow US users to preview an album a week before release date. The new station is called “Pandora Premieres,” and it will feature albums more »