John R. Quain

The city of Charlotte, North Carolina believes that e-scooters can have a positive impact on the world, so it's partnered with a shipping logistics company to figure out the best way for cities all over the globe to welcome micromobility startups onto their streets and sidewalks.

Personal finance apps are a dime a dozen. We’ve tested a few of the most powerful free options available, to help you figure out which one is best for you.

We all know 5G wireless networks are part of a smart city plan, but how will they benefit? When it comes to cars, it could help with congestion. For citizens, it could keep them safe and alive. We spoke with Qualcomm and Verizon during the 2019 CES on how they’re leading the effort.

Daimler Trucks brought its all-electric eCascadia semi-truck to the 2019 CES, and invited us to take the wheel. What does it feel like to drive one? Simply electrifying, of course. Here’s what truckers can look forward to in the future.

From Disney World to the Mall of America, public venues are turning out to be microcosms for smart city projects. Cities and towns looking to up their infrastructure game can extrapolate from the experience of major sports stadiums, for example, as demonstrations of what happens when you offer free Wi-Fi to 70,000 people. And metropolitan areas can learn from shopping hubs that have installed Bluetooth to pinpoint consumers.

You’ll find plenty of surf, sunshine, and fish tacos in San Diego, but the city is increasingly being recognized as the smartest city in America. It all started with lights.

Chamberlain's MyQ Garage turns your phone into a remote control for your garage door, a simple feature you’ll quickly come to appreciate.

The $199 Schlage Camelot Residential Electronic Door Lever looks like an ordinary programmable keypad lock but has a neat twist: Using an Android or iOS app, you can see the status of the door and lock or unlock it remotely.

Functional and far smarter than your old smoke detector, the Nest Protect is back -- minus the gesture recognition. But more work is still need to make the smart home truly brilliant.

These may not be sexy gadgets, but Lowe’s Iris system might be the smartest path to a smart home.

Honeywell’s Lyric mimics the Nest with smart thermostat features like automatically turning off the heat when you’re away and showing the weather forecast, but can it outdo the original?

Emerson joins the growing ranks of Nest competitors with the Sensi, a no-nonsense remote-controlled thermostat that offers basic functionality and remote control at a very attractive price.

In smart cities and on college campuses, several self-driving shuttle projects are in works. But these public transports of the future, and the companies that make them, are facing challenges, such as vandalism and regulatory approval. See how they and the communities that support them are working through the hurdles.

Automatic over-the-air updates have been happening for years on laptops, phones, even TVs. They remain rare in the automotive industry, partly because companies are afraid of opening the door to hackers. And yet, over-the-air compatibility can make driving safer and more convenient for a number of reasons.

Across the United States, small startups and big businesses alike are clamoring to swarm city streets with fleets of autonomous delivery robots. The only problem? Our urban areas aren't necessarily well-equipped to accommodate them

Banking apps have come a long way in the past few years. Now, in addition to simple things like checking your account balance, many banking apps allow you to deposit checks, send money to friends, and even apply for mortgages. Here's a quick taste of what you can do with today's mobile banking software.

Corporate security breaches are becoming so common that people now accept them as part of a digital future. But for smart cities, system hacks could prove far dangerous for citizens, potentially causing havoc to municipality services. Here’s what companies and cities are doing to secure their systems.

At the annual Smart Mobility Summit, companies and municipalities came together to share new technologies for building smarter cities. They also share insight on the successes and challenges. Here are the highlights from the 2018 meeting.

Rarely can one say of a consumer electronics product, especially one as pedestrian and notoriously convoluted as a programmable thermostat, that its installation procedure is a thing of beauty. But that is exactly what Nest has accomplished.

TomTom has the edge in terms of map accuracy and traffic information repeatedly besting Waze and other services. But many drivers will turn to free smartphones alternatives anyway.

The inexpensive Wink Hub hides anywhere in your home and shows great promise – but lack of compatibility holds it back.

After traveling with the Escort Passport Max2 on many long road trips, one feels naked going without it.

Most navigation programs fail to account for the special needs of highway caravans. That’s where Garmin's $330 RV 660LMT comes in, which is designed to address the particular needs of RV owners. Unfortunately, the RV 660LMT delivered mixed results in our road trips.

E-scooters, ride-sharing, and subscription services are upending the way transportation works. With so many different ways to get around, do you really need to buy a car anymore? In this article, we break down all the pros and cons to help you make the right decision

The city of Columbus, Ohio, won $40 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation to pursue smart city initiatives, beating 77 other U.S. cities. We spoke with its mayor, Andrew Ginther, to discuss progress and what’s ahead, and why Columbus is the best place to test new technologies.

For better or worse, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum are here to stay -- so you should probably know the basics about them. Here's everything you need to know about crypto -- from how to buy and sell virtual currency, to whether or not it's a smart investment for you.

What will parking look like in smart cities of the future? Will we even need parking spaces? With the rise of autonomous cars, it’s anticipated that fewer people will own cars in the future, forcing planners to reimagine concepts for parking — or getting rid of parking lots and structures altogether.

Like many governments, Singapore’s puts citizens through plenty of red tape. But as part of its smart-city initiatives, the government is using tech to help guide residents through “moments of life,” such as enrolling kids in schools, obtaining a driver’s license, or even dealing with bereavement.

In a smart city of drones and self-driving cars, the address systems of yore aren’t good enough. What3Words is a company that devised a smarter version that uses just three words, yet is far more precise. And it’s already in use now.

Citing personal data and privacy concerns, consumer advocates in Toronto are raising alarm about Alphabet’s plans to transform a derelict neighborhood into a smart city. Here’s what you need to know about the Sidewalk Toronto project.

Kirk Steudle, the former director of the Michigan Department of Transportation, knows a thing or two about building smart cities. Speaking with Digital Trends before his retirement, Steudle shares with us what cities need to do if they want to get smarter.

E-bike and e-scooter usage has increased in popularity with commuters and tourists, but they have also become troublesome for city planners, not to mention dangerous. Providing these two-wheeled alternative transports while keeping users safe, is what smart cities are grappling with.