A device which zaps your tongue with electricity sounds more like some cruel and unusual torture method than it does something folks might do for enjoyment. But you’d be wrong — at least when it comes to the electric tongue zapper created by researchers at Meiji University in Japan. They’ve been working on technology they call “unlimited electric gum,” able to electrically simulate flavor sensations when a person chews a stick of specially created “gum.”

Repair is one of the secret keys to a better life. Repairs keep our gadgets in use longer (saving our pocketbooks) and divert e-waste from landfills or toxic recycling processes (saving our planet). Repair is an engine of community prosperity: when you get your phone screen fixed at your corner repair shop, your money goes to a locally owned small business (my daughter and the phone screen guy's daughter go to the same school and he always tut-tuts over the state of my chipped and dented phone at parent-teacher nights).

Google’s Pixel Buds may not be the smash success that Apple’s AirPods have become in the wireless earbuds space, but there’s no denying that their ability to do real-time translations in conversation with another person is both ridiculously cool and useful. In a move that appears to have come without much public acknowledgement, Google is making those same real-time Google Translate powers available to all Google Assistant-optimized headphones.

Oppo keeps expanding its portfolio with new phone. The cheap-to-midrange field is getting extremely crowded after the arrival of Oppo F9, later relaunched as Oppo A7x in China, the appearance of th…

Unmentioned during Google’s big hardware event this month was the introduction of a new member of the Pixel Buds family of earphones, the Pixel USB-C earbuds. Bundled in the box with the new Pixel 3 devices or available as a $30 purchase, they’re unglamorous and uncomplicated. Just plug them into the nearest USB-C port and play. Basic.

It’s not quite AirPower, but Belkin’s latest charging dock gives you a convenient way of charging up to three Apple devices simultaneously. The Boostup Wireless Charging Dock has a pair of elevated wireless charging pads to power your iPhone and Apple Watch, and a USB Type-A port for charging a third device, like an AirPods case.

Today, Google will begin rolling out a software update for Wear OS smartwatches. I’ve been using this new version for about a week, and although it’s nowhere near as advanced or as fast as what you’ll get on an Apple Watch, it’s a big improvement over what we had before.

Palm is best known as a pioneer in the worlds of personal digital assistants and smartphones. Even though the company has been dead for years, the brand still boasts a cult following among techies who stared at screens before staring at screens was a thing. So it's surprising that Palm's resurrection comes in the form of a device designed to take you away from one of those screens -- to stare at an even tinier one.

While there isn’t much we don’t know about the Google Pixel 3 and Google Pixel 3 XL, those two devices aren’t the only things Google will launch at its hardware event on October 9. Today, we get our first real look at one of those items, the so-called “Pixelstand.”

The new S4 chip in the Apple Watch Series 4 is an absolute beast when it comes to processing power. Apple didn’t brag too much about the S4 during its September keynote other than saying the chip is two times faster than last year’s model. There aren’t any benchmark scores for it. However, a developer recently put the S4 through some serious tests — and the results are insanely impressive

It isn’t always practical or possible to replace a component of your home with smart tech, so plenty of companies are trying to find ways to add smart features to your life by augmenting what you already have. The latest is focused on your key: it’s called Locky, and instead of adding a smart lock to your home, it adds smart features to your regular metal key. The gadget is basically a housing for your key. Using Bluetooth and some sensors, it’s able to tell when you use it to lock and unlock a door or forget the key entirely and walk away.

The TV remote as we know it came about for one simple reason – one man’s desire to mute the ads he felt were ruining his TV watching.

For those who eagerly watched the 2017 iPhone X release event last September 12, there is somewhat of an elephant in the room that Apple has so far refused to address: the AirPower wireless charging mat that it unveiled at the event with a promise of a 2018 release date.

As we head towards the release of the iPhone XS, the first speed tests are teasing what we can expect when it comes to LTE speeds across the major carriers. According to results from SpeedSmart.net, iPhone XS and XS Max will boast quite the improvement from last year's iPhone X. Of the three major carriers — AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile — AT&T looks to be the fastest with average download speeds of 72.24Mbps. That figure compares to average recorded iPhone X speeds of 27.67Mbps.

By now you're probably aware of Roku. It's a company that creates streaming video players -- you know, little devices that play Netflix and YouTube on your TV -- as well as an operating system for Smart TVs. We like Roku streamers and TVs a lot here at CNET. Most are cheap and good. Now the company has two new streaming players -- the sub-$50 Roku Premiere and Roku Premiere Plus. And if history is any indication, we'll like them even more. That's because they seem just good as existing players, and they're cheaper than ever.

These work for anyone else who want a top-notch laptop for school, home, or work.

Apple has bought Akonia Holographics, a Colorado-based startup dedicated to the manufacturing of displays for augmented reality glasses. In addition to other recent purchases, this is an extremely strong indicator that the Cupertino company is actively working on AR glasses. According to Akonia’s web site, its more than 200 patents result in a technology that can create “thin, transparent smart glass lenses that display vibrant, full-color, wide field-of-view images.” Just the kind of qualities that would be touted by Phil Schiller at a special AR glasses event.

Until the Super Soaker came along in 1990, water guns hadn’t changed much in over a century. But the Super Soaker was 28 years ago, and a group of German engineers and designers think it’s finally time for water guns to evolve again. They’ve created the self-filling Spyra One that fires quick bursts of water instead of a steady stream, which promises to improve accuracy and distance.

The $999.99 dual-screen device will ship in October.

Instead, Google will focus on improving Wear OS and working with smartwatch makers, including Fossil, Casio and others showing off new Wear OS watches this week at IFA. Speculation about a Pixel Watch, which would be Google’s version of the ideal Wear OS smartwatch, has run rampant in recent months, with many wondering if the Wear OS upgrade announcement at IFA this week was a signal that the company is gearing up for a smartwatch reveal at its October hardware event.

SliceCharge is a super-thin Qi charging pad that can charge up to three devices at once including two iPhones and an Apple Watch. AppleInsider tested it out for a week leading up to the expected launch of Apple's AirPower.

Apple just announced a new Watch called Apple Watch Series 4. The new Apple Watch comes with a larger, edge-to-edge screen, giving it the biggest facelift since its launch in 2014. The screen is 30 percent larger than the previous version, while the device itself has become thinner.

When goTenna put out their Mesh device earlier this year, I thought the off-grid communication gadgets would be great for an emergency kit or back-country hike. But it turns out that both I and goTenna underestimated how hungry people were for a resilient, user-powered mesh network: thousands of dedicated nodes now populate cities across the country, and volunteers are using them to get Puerto Rico back online after a devastating hurricane season.

After more than three years, Magic Leap has unveiled what it describes as a "creator edition" of its augmented reality system.

The iPhone battery ripoff shows Apple for what it really is: a company determined to make bucks at your expense.

AirPods are the best truly wireless earbuds available because they nail the essentials like ease of use, reliability, and battery life. There are alternatives that definitely sound better from Bose, B&O Play, and other. But they often cost more and all of them experience occasional audio dropouts. AirPods don’t. I’d argue they’re maybe the best first-gen product Apple has ever made.

The Lucnt SRL1 is a smart bike light that claims to work just like a car brake light, making your bike ride safer for all involved. When it comes to determining how easy to use a product really is, it’s always good to consider whether or not good ol’ mom and dad could figure it out. After all, an excellent design should transcend generations, right? Promising to pass the test is the Lucnt SRL1, a smart bike light that works just like a car brake light, making your bike ride safer for all involved.

Samsung is moving us away from the giant black rectangle.

Federal law says you can repair your own things, and manufacturers cannot force you to use their own repair services.

Alongside the various Android phones I've tested, I've been using the iPhone X for about two months now. One of the most noteworthy changes to the iPhone X over previous models is the removal of the Touch ID fingerprint sensor, now replaced with a high-tech face unlock function Apple calls Face ID. Some Android phones have similar features; the OnePlus 5T, Huawei P20 Pro, and the Galaxy S9 all feature facial recognition in some form, but all maintain the fingerprint sensor, too. Why?

When the prestigious Swiss watchmaker Jaquet Droz began building its Signing Machine in 2014, perhaps it was thinking it might be perfect for famous folks fed up with having to repeatedly pen their autograph for adoring fans. But a lot has happened in the last four years, with the once sought-after autograph having given way to the celebrity selfie, where the fan sidles up beside their hero and sticks a smartphone in front of their faces for a quick snap.

Linux app support for Chrome OS may sound like a big heaping bowl of irrelevant geek stew, but don't be fooled: This move is enormously significant.

But can they succeed despite their essential dorkiness?

The Game Boy Camera isn't exactly the first thing that comes to mind when you think "high end." The unusual peripheral, released in 1998, could be inserted into the Nintendo handheld's cartridge slot to give you a lo-fi digital camera capable of capturing a 128x112 black and white image. Now, a full 20 years later, someone's managed to make the thing work with a massive Canon zoom lens.