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The technology of kitchen appliances is certainly not going to take a back seat to smartphones and smartwatches. Smart-refrigerators are on the way. LG Electronics is pushing kitchen technology forward with their InstaView feature on four new refrigerators coming soon to select retailers. Using a sleek glass panel that illuminates with two knocks, you'll be able to take a peek inside without opening the door.  If you see something enticing, the item can be accessed without opening the entire refrigerator. To prevent the loss of cold air, LG has incorporated a barrier between the interior compartment and the rest of the refrigerator. Although the door-in-door feature has been around for a while, LG's InstaView technology adds another level of innovation. Shoppers can start knocking on LG's hi-tech refrigerator doors in September for around $4,500.

The next time you have a dead car battery, instead of grabbing the tangled jumper cables from your trunk, you can grab a device about the size of a TV remote from your glove compartment. The mPower Jump, manufactured by mPower Technologies , has a 600 amp peak-current rating and packs enough power to jump-start most 12-volt batteries in autos, marine equipment, recreational vehicles, ATVs and small tractors. The 13000mAh battery in the unit will take about four hours to charge and will have a “jump start current” of 300A, while weighing in at 1.52 pounds. The cost is around $100 and is now available. This company, which is the consumer products subsidiary of mPhase Technologies, Inc., also is working on their mPower FastCharge device/ The unit will have fast charging backup power capability for cellphones, tablets and cameras. According to the company, the device will fast charge in six minutes through a 12V car cigarette lighter. The 6000mAh battery, with a weight of sligh...

If you have a family member diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, dementia or autism, and who has a history of wandering, the Smartsoles technology might be the one thing to offer some peace of mind. The Bluetooth SmartSoles is a footwear system that consists of an embedded Bluetooth chip. The SmartSoles look like regular insoles and are designed to fit nearly every size shoe, as they can be trimmed to fit. An email or text message is sent to a caregiver when a wearer leaves a pre-set area, such as a room or building. They can be used in a personal home or assisted living facilities. In addition to a tracking portal for desktops, laptops and tablets, a free Smart Locator mobile app will available for Android and Apple devices. The cost is expected to be under $50, with a rechargeable battery that'll last up to five days on a single charge and is rated to last over a year before needing to be replaced. The SmartSoles are manufactured by GTX Corp. , a developer of wearable techno...

It was a big day for Facebook, as Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, unveiled "Facebook Home," a slick interface for the Android operation system that brings messages, photos and recent stories to the home screen of your Android smartphone. Smartphone manufacturer HTC also announced the HTC First, the first device to have the Facebook Home interface incorporated into the Android OS. It'll also come pre-loaded with Instagram, which is another popular photo-sharing service owned by Facebook that utilizes a twist of photo filters for cool effects. The Facebook gurus views the home screen as "the soul of your phone" and offers an alternative with Facebook Home, which does not need to open an app to see all your social media connections. The ingenuity with Home begins with a virtual button at the bottom of your display that shows your face. A simple swipe up and it shows all your regular apps or you can swipe it away to hide them all. Then the beauty of the...

Update: The Samsung Galaxy S IV is coming to AT&T, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile and possibly Verizon Wireless soon. T-Mobile is offering an early-bird "sign up now" option to be notified for updates about the Galaxy S IV. The long-awaited Samsung Galaxy S IV finally took the stage tonight at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. While the BlackBerry 10 platform had the spotlight for a while, The S IV will now bask in the limelight with a long list of innovative features. It did not disappoint us. Right off the bat at the Radio City Music Hall event, Samsung President of Mobile Communications J.K. Shin took the stage and pitched the innovative feature of automatic scrolling and Smart Scroll/Pause using eye tracking, a unique feature among smartphones currently on the market. For example, a video you're watching will pause when you look away. According to Shin, the Galaxy S IV is slim at 0.31 inches, or 7.9mm, and he refers to it as a "life compan...

The new BlackBerry Z10 and BlackBerry Q10 smartphones were officially announced today as the company's first smartphones powered by QNX technology, which has also been used in the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, as well as in the auto and health care industry. The BlackBerry Z10 is the touchscreen device with a textured surface, a slight curve on the back and a 4.2-inch display. It also has a 1.5 gigahertz dual-core processor, 2 gigabytes of RAM and 16 GB of internal storage, with an expandable memory slot and micro HDMI out port. Near Field Communication, or NFC, is included to support the emerging mobile payments technology. The BlackBerry Q10 comes with a physical QWERTY, Bold-style keyboard that has been so popular with BlackBerry fans over the years. It has the same specifications as the Z10, along with a glass-weave cover that is pitched as being stronger than plastic. Both devices will come in white and black and have a removable battery. BlackBerry fans will find many ...

If you're lucky, you may be one of the 120 select customers from 64 Fortune 500 companies to beta test the BlackBerry 10 smartphone, which is set to make a worldwide debut on the 30th of January. The new BlackBerry Hub experience is waiting for your reactions. The by-invitation-only program starts today and includes participants from financial, government, insurance healthcare, manufacturing and media. It is design to give early adopters a real-life experience on the new BlackBerry 10 platform from Research in Motion, who introduced the BlackBerry in 1999. “Beginning today, RIM will be visiting some of our enterprise and government ‘early adopters’ and getting them started with the BlackBerry 10 platform,” said Robin Bienfait, Chief Information Officer, Research In Motion. “At RIM, we’ve seen the power of our new enterprise mobility management solution first-hand, and we are thrilled to share BlackBerry 10 directly with these leading organizations.” The testers will be able to us...

I have been feeling a little like Dick Tracy lately, as I walked around with a Sony SmartWatch on my arm. There is a certain cool factor about this device, which was on loan from Verizon Wireless. The SmartWatch functions as an extension of your Andriod smartphone or tablet and will allow you to read text messages and view social network updates, as well as check the time and date. The latter should be a "duh" moment; of course it'll give you the time and date. I was up and running in no time, which allowed me to leave the Android smartphone in my pocket for most tasks. The SmartWatch makes a Bluetooth connection to Android devices. After downloading a SmartWatch Liveware manager app from the Google play store, you're off and running with Facebook and Twitter updates, the weather, text messages and other features that have smart watch apps available. After digging around in the Android app store, I discovered SmartWatch apps for eBay, Web Cams, games, and get t...

The feature phone is not dead. Nokia is bringing new life to these guys from "back in the day" with their announcement of the Nokia 206 today. So long live the alphanumeric keyboard. This classic design has a 2.4-inch display and comes in single and dual-SIM versions. The camera is nothing to brag about at 1.3 megapixels and it also has video capture. But the camera is optimized for sharing pictures - let's say on Facebook - at around 700KB. The downsizing is done automatically. But here is something to brag about. Nokia is claiming 20 hours of talk time in battery life for the single-SIM version, with a 47-day standby mode. That's over month without recharging. The dual-SIM model has a lower 25-day standby time. As for memory, there is 10 megabytes of user memory, along with a slot that accept a 32-gigabyte SD card. Nokia did manage to incorporate some nifty technology into the feature phone platform. Their "Slam" technology allows the sharing of...

The BlackBerry 10 interface will include a new feature that will divide the screen into a "Personal" and "Work" display of apps and data. The BlackBerry 10 launch is scheduled for Jan. 30, where Research in Motion, the smartphone's maker, will unveil the first two BlackBerry 10 Smartphones that will run on the new platform. This is what a lot of BlackBerry fans have been patiently waiting for, as the iPhone, Android devices and now Windows Phone 8 devices, chip away at the loyalty of RIM’s customers. The two devices expected to be announced have been rumored to be a touchscreen and a QWERTY keyboard model. The latter will soothe the fears of a lot of diehard BlackBerry fans, since the famous BlackBerry keyboards have been one of the reason for the device's popularity over the years. According to RIM, the BlackBerry 10 will “create a truly unique mobile computing experience that constantly adapts to your needs” using an approach called BlackBerry Flow ...

Finally, I can say that I was able to access the Internet at the grandparents house, a low-tech enclave best known as a weekend getaway, along with a dose of tranquility. As relaxing as it is, there is no available Wi-Fi signal within range of the comfortable couches in the family room. So the lack of being connected to the world was bothering us until I discovered the Franklin Wireless USB Modem from C Spire Wireless. Let’s bump it up a bit and make that a “4G LTE Smart” modem available on what C Spire calls the first “personalizing wireless services” experience. This device is about the size of a pack of gum and comes with a round USB charger, which plugs into any electrical outlet. The wireless modem plugs into the charger. The entire setup is as simple as a doughnut. In less than a minute, at least two of the three indicator lights will indicate a Wi-Fi signal with a red glow and, in my case, a 4G signal as a blue glow. Any 3G signal will show as a green glow. Surrounded by a ...

As we wait on the BlackBerry 10 platform to arrive sometime early in 2013, Research In Motion says the developers are hard at work creating apps for the new upcoming devices. Developers have been issued 5,000 BlackBerry Dev Alpha test devices to put their apps through the paces on various BlackBerry 10 projects. We can expect apps from Cisco, Foursquare, Sencha, Gameloft, HalfBrick Studios, Madfinger Games, Funkol and others when the magic time comes. The developers are hoping to create BlackBerry 10 apps that will entice customers to take a closer look at the new platform. “The Weather Network is excited to develop for BlackBerry 10," said Gita Ashar, Director of Mobile and Emerging Technologies for Weather Network. "The innovations in the operating system will provide our existing loyal consumers and new consumers an application that is as stunning as it is informative, helping users to plan for anything.” The developers will work with BlackBerry WebWorks and will use ...

The new Windows 8 devices announced by Samsung includes a smartphone, a tablet and two versions of notebook. Samsung has announced several Windows 8 ATIV devices at a conference in Berlin, Germany. They include two notebooks, a tablet and a smartphone that will be a part of Samsung's new brand for its Windows-based devices. The smartphone, called the ATIV S , will run the Windows Phone 8 operating system with a 1.5 gigahertz dual-core processor. It'll have a 4.8-inch display and an eight-megapixel real camera, along with a 1.9 MP front camera. The 2300mAh battery is quite impressive in size, which put the ATIV S in the same arena as the Motorola Droid Razr Maxx, which has a 3300mAh battery. The ATIV Tab tablet will run Windows RT, which will use ARM-based processors. It'll have a 10.1-inch display and will come with a five-megapixel rear camera and a 1.9 MP front camera. According to Samsung, the ATIV Tab will boot up instantly and will come with Office Home and ...

During hurricane season, consumers and businesses and are encouraged to have an emergency plan prepared and assemble an emergency kit. (Photo courtesy of C Spire Wireless) Hurricane Isaac, which has now been downgraded to a tropical storm, made landfall along the Louisiana Gulf Coast and wireless carriers were ready to ensure your mobile devices would work as conditions worsen or if wireless networks were threatened. This year's hurricane season started on June 1 and emergency mobile plans are in place for AT&T, C Spire Wireless, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless and others. AT&T stands ready to keep their networks working with the "first nationwide" preparedness certification in hand from the Department of Homeland Security. This certification enhances their Network Disaster Recovery program, which includes a $600 million investment and 320 technology-equipped trailers that are ready to deploy to areas damaged by hurricanes or other disasters. ...

The quality of your wireless service is probably not top of mind as you go about everyday tasks of making calls, texting, reading emails and Web surfing. But the wireless companies certainly have it on their minds and Verizon Wireless just got a nod from J.D Power and Associates as providing the best network quality in Mississippi for calls, messaging and data usage. It was a regional pat on the back for the highest wireless quality in five regions, which included the Southeast Region, with the Gulf Coast states of Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and Florida. According to J.D. Power, the survey included all the U.S. wireless providers, along with 27,000 wireless subscribers, who were asked about their experiences with voice, text messaging and data usage. Krista Bourne, president of Houston/Gulf Coast Region, Verizon, shared these thoughts on customers and their wireless devices. "Today's smartphones and tablets require a powerful network in order to make the mos...

I usually carry my regular smartphone in my right pocket and whatever phone I'm reviewing for this column in my left pocket. Then it's a matter of how often I reach in my left pocket for the review phone to read email, run an app, check social networks, surf the Web, take a photo or shoot video. I've been carrying the HTC One V from C Spire Wireless for a couple of weeks and I've been reaching in my left pocket quite often. I like this phone for a lot of reasons. The HTC One V is one of the latest Android devices running OS 4.0, also know as Ice Cream Sandwich, with the HTC Sense interface running in the background. This combination gives a smooth experience with easy to navigate features. One of first things I think anyone would like about the One V is the Beats Audio feature that HTC has deployed in several of their smartphones after announcing a "strategic partnership" with Beats Electronics in August 2011. You might be familiar with Beats Audio fro...

If the announcement that the Samsung Galaxy S III is coming to five U.S. carriers this month is any indication of the future demand, maybe we all should check out cell phone contracts on AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless and U.S. Cellular. An upgrade might be in order if Samsung's latest mobile phone meets the anticipation of savvy consumers. Samsung has been known for hitting home runs in the mobile market and carries the title of the No. 1 mobile phone provider in the U.S and worldwide, according to Strategy Analytics. The new Galaxy S III has been kicking around in Europe after making its debut in London on May 3. According to one of Samsung's head honchos, this device will be "the next big thing" for U.S. customers on this side of the Atlantic Ocean. The Galaxy S III, which is optimized for 4G and AT&T's HSPA+ networks, is running Android 4.0, also known as Ice Cream Sandwich. It also sports a 8-megapixel rear camera, along with a 1.9 mega...

The first thing you'll usually look for is a Wi-Fi signal when you're out and about with all your digital devices. In most cases a data plan will take care of your Internet connection for your smartphone and maybe your tablet, but a strong Wi-Fi is generally preferred because it's faster and cheaper. I've found a good "on-the-go" Wi-Fi signal with the Franklin Wireless mobile hotspot that is available from C Spire Wireless . The first thing you'll notice about the Franklin mobile hotspot is the small size. I was expecting something about the size of the box, but was surprised to see a device less than one-fourth the size of the package it arrived in. It'll remind you of a small mobile phone and it's a handy size for carrying around. The light weight at 2.46 ounces is also a plus when transporting it in the carrying case that's included in the box. Overall, the Franklin mobile hotspot device is small, but it has quality feel to it. ...

As the International CTIA Wireless show was winding down, I left New Orleans with a feeling that I experienced the future of technology. It was happening all over the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center and let me tell you, that is one big place. I didn't take long to run into bumper-to-bumper traffic as I tried to make my way home and I had plenty of time to think about all the cool gadgets and software applications as I snaked along the interstate past the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. This was an international show and the guys from Japan, China, Germany, South America and other locations certainly had good technology to show off. I think their 20-hour-plus flights were worth the time and effort to share their innovative ideas with us. I didn't know much about them before, but I am now a fan of international tech companies like NTT Docomo and Huawei . I have an avatar coming via email, which was created by a couple of sharp guys with Docomo, whose 3D modeling applica...