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Samsung is wrestling with the same headwinds as Apple: slowing global smartphone volume growth and falling prices. Bloomberg reports that Samsung's unaudited results show a first-quarter drop in operating profit to 8.4 trillion won, or roughly $8 billion. That figure is down from 8.78 trillion won in the same quarter last year. This is the first time since 2011 that Samsung has delivered back-to-back profit declines in two consecutive quarters. The company is facing pretty stiff criticism over the launch of the Galaxy S5 in its home market of South Korea — the new model is regarded as too derivative and boring by many local observers. Samsung seems to be aware that S5 is …

Last month, EA delayed releasing the Xbox 360 version of the hit game Titanfall until April 8th for the United States and April 11th for Europe. Now that its actual Xbox 360 launch is just about here, screenshots and video of Titanfall have begun leaking all over the web. MP1ST has a particularly large collection with over an hour of video footage. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

If no one wants to own a Facebook-centric phone, why should we think a Twitter-centric phone would fare any better? Nonetheless, it seems that Twitter might be trying to come up with a Facebook Home-type product of its own because it's just acquired Cover, a replacement Android lock screen that was designed to help Android users manage the plethora of apps that clog up their device's home screen. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

The NVIDIA Shield, which is the company’s Android-based gaming console with an analog controller and an attached 5-inch screen, received the April software update today that takes the gaming console from Android 4.4 KitKat to Android 4.4.2. The April update comes with new features such as Remote GameStream and Notebook support beta, an updated TegraZone, a keyboard and mouse support in console mode, Multi-PC pairing and many more features which you can find out at the end of this article. The Remote GameStream is the same as the normal GameStream, however, instead of streaming PC games via your WiFi network, you can instead stream them via the internet to your Shi…

Samsung officially announced the new Chromebook 2 back in March and is to expected to launch in April. Starting today, customers can now pre-order the new Chromebook 2 from Amazon, which will ship sometime in April. Two variants of the laptop are up for sale, one is the 11.6-inch model for $320 and another is the 13-inch model for $400. They will have a faux leather lid just like the Galaxy Note 3. The 13-inch model comes with a full HD display with 1920×1080 resolution and both the models will have Samsung’s Exynos 5 Octa processor with 4GB of RAM and will be able to run for up to 8.5 hours on a single battery charge. Source: Amazon (11.6-inch, 13-inch Chromebook 2…

The HTC One (M8) allows you do some neat stuff with images utilizing the Duo Camera, but another cool feature is slow motion video. Recording slow motion video isn’t anything new, but HTC takes it one step further with the ability to adjust the speed for certain parts of your video. For example, you could record your child scoring a goal and just when they make the final kick, you can put that in slow motion, but leave everything else at full speed. What’s cool is that this can be done after the fact, but the video must be filmed in slow motion. You will be able to set what part of the video you want at full speed and what part to be at 1/2 speed or even 1/4 speed. You…

As one of the largest broadcasting services on the Internet, it is not a surprise that Livestream would want to launch an app for Google Glass. Well, they’ve done just that! Users of Google Glass can now stream what they’re seeing straight to Livestream. Users can easily start an event, simply by using the “Livestream” voice command, which will launch the app. After that you simply tap the device, and you’re live. Right now, the only way to pair your device with a Livestream account is by scanning a QR code found on the Livestream event pages, but soon users will be able to do that from an app on their smartphone. Source: Livestream Via: Engadget Come comment …

Remember that contextually aware lock screen from a few months ago, Cover? The app hasn’t made any waves lately, but that didn’t stop Twitter from scooping up the app and its developers. Twitter is generally pretty platform agnostic, so it’s interesting that they were willing to acquire a startup that only applies to the Android side of the fence. Of course, there’s always that chance that Twitter only bought Cover for some interesting technology or the developers, especially since Cover plans to stay available in the Play Store for the foreseeable future. No word on exactly what we can expect to see from this purchase, and unfortunately, we don’t have terms o…

Ever since HBO first began production on Game of Thrones, fans of the series have been acutely aware of George R. R. Martin's deliberate writing pace. Despite a 15-year head start, Martin has only recently released book 5 of his 7 book series, setting up the distinct possibility of the show surpassing its source material before Martin has time to finish book 7. In an interview with NewsOK, Game of Thrones show writer Bryan Cogman discussed that impending predicament. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

A July 2008 internal Samsung presentation submitted into evidence during the second Apple vs Samsung U.S. trial revealed that the South Korean company realized the iPhone would be a big threat to feature phone makers just a few days after the iPhone 3G was released. Now, a second piece of evidence consisting of a couple of slides from three years later shows that “beating Apple” was the “#1 priority” for Samsung in 2011, and everything else had to be in the "context of beating Apple.” But the iPhone also had a positive effect on Samsung: Apple's smartphone helped Samsung get the carrier freedom it lacked in previous years, or at least some carrier independence. Continu…

Amazing but true: A talking hamster probably isn't going to convince you to switch wireless carriers. AdAge has done a review of Sprint's newest "Framily" plan ad campaign and has come away baffled as to why anyone not on copious amounts of hallucinogens thought they were a good idea. For the uninitiated, the ads feature a "Framily" called the "Frobinsons" who all save money every month by using Sprint's "Framily" plans. The father figure (or is that frather frigure?) in the ads is, inexplicably, a talking hamster who has somehow sired several human children with a human wife. No, we don't want to think about the logistics behind this apparent biological miracle/horror ei…

In addition to the recently announced Galaxy Tab 4 family of mid-ranged tablets, Samsung will also introduce a new line of flagship tablets currently known as the SM-T800 models that have already been spotted at the FCC. Various rumors so far have suggested that the tablets could pack 10.5-inch AMOLED displays, and SamMobile now claims it has obtained the other specs for the device. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

Microsoft announced on Monday via the Xbox Wire that the ability to upload game clips directly to YouTube will be coming to the Xbox One this week. This is the second major upgrade since the console's launch for gamers who want to share their recordings with others, the first being the addition of HD streaming and archiving on the Twitch app last month. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

Google is reportedly working on a major Android update that will bring further functionality to the mobile platform, Android Police says. Referred to internally as project "Hera," this Android OS version will let the user manage tasks across devices, whether they’re Android apps, Chrome apps, web-based apps or web elements of apps. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

Qualcomm on Monday announced that its flagship 64-bit mobile processors will arrive next year, when they should equip various smartphones and tablets from Qualcomm partners — especially high-end models. The company introduced two new processors that will be part of the Snapdragon 800 family, including the Snapdragon 810 and 808, which will become the company’s "highest performing platform to date," and will be optimized "for exceptionally low power consumption that does not sacrifice performance." Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

Android fans lusting after HTC's gorgeous new One (M8) hardware but looking for a more traditional Android experience without coughing up $700 up front now have cause for celebration. Thanks to some hard-working hackers over on the XDA Developers forum, HTC One (M8) owners can now convert their handsets into the nearly stock Google Play edition simply be following a guide and installing a tweaked Android build. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

A piece of evidence submitted by Samsung in the second lawsuit it’s facing Apple in the U.S. reveals Apple's plans for 2011, according to an email Steve Jobs sent on October 24, 2010. The plans were laid out in preparation for the highly secret top 100 Apple internal meeting where the former CEO and the most trusted 100 execs and Apple employees would definite the strategy for the upcoming year. In it, a bullet point shows that Apple was considering introducing a low-cost iPhone as far back as 2010, although the company has never launched a device like the one described in the email. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

Texting while driving is something that everyone knows is a bad idea but that many people end up doing anyway simply because the temptation to respond to an incoming message is too great. The U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has put out a new ad about an ill-fated car full of young people who get completely obliterated by an oncoming truck because the driver was looking at her cellphone instead of watching the road. The Department of Transportation says that it's put out the ad to raise awareness about the "thousands of people" who "die every year in crashes related to distracted driving." The full video follows below. …

Qualcomm continues to lead the way in mobile processors with the announcement of the Snapdragon 808 and Snapdragon 810. Designed for premium mobile devices, these new processors are 64-bit. Both are designed in 20nm technology with Qualcomm’s 4th Generation Cat 6 LTE Advanced multimode modem providing speeds up to 300 Mbps. The big difference between the 808 and the 810 is that the 810 supports 4K Ultra HD displays, while the 808 supports WQXGA (2560 x 1600) displays. The 810 sports 64-bit quad core ARM Cortex-A57 CPUs and Cortex-A53 CPUs. You will also find an Adreno 430 GPU. The 808 combines two ARM Cortex-A57 cores along with a quad Cortex-A53 CPU. It also gets the…

From time to time, Google will change the course of Android that both adds functionality and changes the way we use our most favorite mobile OS. Honeycomb brought us Android on the tablet. Ice Cream Sandwich changed up the UI and brought us guidelines that made Android a more unified experience, Jelly Bean brought us Project Butter with it’s buttery smoothness, and KitKat added Svelte, the ability for Android to run on a wide variety of devices, to the mix. According to a rumor that Android Police discovered, the next iteration of Android, whether it’s 4.5 or 5.0, will be bringing the experience of Android, Chrome, and Search together on a more unified front for the …

We are only a few days from the global launch of the Samsung Galaxy S 5, so it’s time to start pondering what their next flagship, the Galaxy Note 4, will include. Samsung has announced each previous Note (phone) model in the fall, so we really don’t expect anything different. Although, they did move up the Galaxy S 5 a bit this year, so they could do the same with the Note 4. The first set of rumors on the device are just starting to circulate. As to the design, the early consensus seems to think we will get the faux letter back or the 3D pattern found on the Galaxy S 5. Generally, Samsung keeps the same design for the S series phone, but last year was the first year …

The Masters kicks off today and whether you are a hardcore or casual fan, you will want to head over to the Google Play Store to grab the official Masters Golf Tournament app. It was just updated so it’s ready to go for what will be an exciting week, even if Tiger isn’t playing. It gets a complete redesign along with an enhanced players section, enhanced tee times, enhanced live blogging updates, as well as the full tournament schedule. Just like last year, you also get eight live streams of video content. Hit the break for screenshots and download links. Play Store Download Link Come comment on this article: Official Masters Golf Tournament …

Once believed to be part of the Galaxy Tab4 series, the SM-T800 will stand on it’s own as one of Samsung’s first AMOLED tablets since the Galaxy Tab 7.7. We already had an idea of the specs from a GFXBench of the SM-T805, but Sam Mobile is confirming specs for another variant, the SM-T800. The SM-T800 is a Wi-Fi-only version, while the SM-T805 could be an international version since it sports an Exynos octa-core. Although it’s also believed to sport LTE, which makes no sense since those models usually have the Qualcomm chipset. The SM-T800 is confirmed to sport a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, likely to be the 801, and 2GB of RAM. Differing from the GFXBench of th…

If rumors and reports from Apple analysts are to be believed, Apple has been on the verge of launching an own-brand television for several years now. Of course, the company has yet to release anything or even hint that it might be working on an HDTV product. That didn't stop analysts at IBK Securities from fanning the flames once again with a new claim on Sunday that Apple is currently testing a 65-inch OLED panel for possible inclusion in an "iTV." Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

The nifty highlight feature on the new HTC One (M8) takes your photos and videos and automatically combines them into a great little highlight reel with effects and music. Of course, the downside is that the M8's camera doesn't take very good photos to begin with. What if you want the ability to create similar short highlight reels without having to ditch the awesome camera on your iPhone? Say hello to PhotoMotion. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report