Apple revealed its updated line of iPods today, which includes reworked versions of all but the iPod Classic model. The iPod Touch now features many of the same elements of the iPhone 4, including the Retina display, FaceTime, 720p video recording, and the powerful A4 processor. The Nano, meanwhile, took a bigger leap forward by adding a 1.5-inch multi-touch display to a redesigned body that’s even smaller than the last generation. The Shuffle took a different approach than the Touch or Nano by reverting back to a design similar to the square second generation, which featured buttons. Apple must have received some complaints about the last-generation Shuffle, which was stripped of buttons and forced users to use the headphone remote to control the device.
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A virtual private network (VPN) encrypts your internet traffic and routes it through a server run by the VPN provider. Websites see the VPN server’s IP address instead of yours, and you can get around geo-blocks, censorship, and ISP throttling. The best VPN services are paid, but there are still a handful of free options that do the job well.
Most free VPNs come with a hidden cost, because running servers isn’t cheap and a company that doesn’t charge you has to make its money somewhere else. Many do so by logging your browsing activity and selling it to advertisers, while others flood you with ads and track you across apps.
There's nothing quite like curling up with a good book on a cold evening. As much as I love the feel of a physical book, books take up a lot of space, and carrying more than one on a trip quickly becomes a chore. That's where e-readers come in, and the Amazon Kindle remains one of the best options.
Amazon just refreshed its Kindle lineup with thinner, lighter designs, a new flush-front display, and colors that wrap from front to back. Add the Kindle Scribe and the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft to the mix, and you have more choices than ever before.
A good Android app should earn its place on your phone. It might make an everyday task easier, handle something the built-in software can't, or let you change an experience that never quite worked for you.
These 20 apps cover everything from quick notes and password management to automation and local file sharing. Some are free, others charge for advanced features, and a few take some effort to figure out. The point isn't to install them all. It's to find the ones that make your phone work better for you.