MOBILE DEVICES

In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line. If you're an Android tablet owner, you're likely very familiar with the drill: after you unlock the device, you're presented with a static home screen full of apps and widgets, which may or may not be relevant to your current need. The creators of Chameleon, a home screen replacement for Android 3.2 / 4.0 tablets, would like to change all that with a dynamic ...

Internet radio purveyors from Spotify to Rdio keep upping the ante with more playlist features and design overhauls, and the competition for your ears' attention is only getting fiercer. One of the newest players is Thefuture.fm (formerly known as Dubset), which launched last month with a focus on DJ-curated mixtapes. Today the service outed its iPhone app, which includes a "smart search" feature for finding mixes by song or artist and lets users sync their web accounts with saved playlists for listening on the go. ...

Wondering how the launch of Samsung's Galaxy S III is going? According to the Korea Economic Daily, an unnamed Samsung executive revealed that the followup to its previous fastest selling phone has already racked up nine million pre-orders around the world. That would put it nearly halfway to the 20 million Galaxy S II's Samsung reported shipped back in February, and all without even officially moving a unit in the US yet. It's not that we're jealous of the rest of the world's abilities to lay their cash down for some quad-core Exynos ...

Have you ever wanted to preheat your oven while on the way home from work, or start your sprinklers while vacationing, only to remember you don't have the spare loot lying around for a network of smart appliances? A recent startup (that somehow eluded Kickstarter) called Electric Imp is about to make your wireless control / monitoring fantasies a reality with its soon-to-be-released, $25 web interface. It works much like an Eye-Fi card, and communicates with cloud services as well as other connected devices like your Android or iPhone via WiFi. The company is working ...

There's been quite a bit of brouhaha over at xda-developers lately about changes HTC's made to the way multitasking behaves on the One X compared to stock Ice Cream Sandwich. We're not just talking about obvious UI tweaks here -- Sense 4's horizontal, card-like arrangement vs. Android 4.0's default vertical list -- but actual differences in memory and task management. While we're not running into any problems with our One X review unit, some users have noticed that background app are getting terminated too aggressively, so we reached out to HTC for comment ...

Just in case the world forgot which phone was first with 2GB of RAM, LG has pushed out another press release for its Optimus LTE2 which ships this week in Korea, just as promised. The detailed specs reveal this version ships with a 4.7-inch True HD IPS LCD, and while many of its specs (8MP camera, 1.5GHz dual-core CPU) are identical to its predecessor, it weighs in at an extra 10g, likely owing to the larger 2,150mAh battery. As mentioned previously it also has support for wireless charging and, naturally, the Optimus UI 3.0 detailed earlier. There's still no word on when we'll see ...

Ah, Japan. That far east country what begot Mario most always gets to profit from the industry's more delightful excesses. This time, however, the spoils have less to do with gaming flash and more to do with smartphone specs. In a document recently released by NTT DoCoMo, the carrier's upcoming dual-core Galaxy S III variant is listed as doubling up on the available RAM, bypassing the standard 1GB announced at its official unveiling. It's not the first time we've seen an OEM shoot for the silicone stars, considering LG's headline-stealing Optimus LTE2 and monstrous LS970, so the swap ...

American Android users started getting carrier billing in Google Play early this month through T-Mobile (and later AT&T), and now Sprint can join the party. Any app, book, music or video purchase can be tacked on to the monthly bill for your EVO 4G LTE instead of going through Google. The move leaves Verizon as the only major US carrier without a carrier billing option, so you'll have to sit tight if you own the original US Galaxy Nexus and hate the thought of a separate download bill. We've also heard nothing about regional carriers being on the roadmap, but we'll keep you posted ...

Not willing to give up your old dumbphone, but still need something to feed your Android addiction? You're in luck: Samsung's serving up two devices today rocking Google's dessert themed OS, the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 and the Galaxy Player 4.2. Sammy's latest slate rings in at $400, buying 16GB of internal memory (expandable to 32GB via microSD), a 1GHz dual-core processor and a serving of Ice Cream Sandwich. The Galaxy Player 4.2, on the other hand, can be found munching Gingerbread for a mere $200. If you're looking for a new Galaxy that makes phone calls ...