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New evidence presented in the second Apple vs Samsung patent lawsuit reveals that Samsung realized early on that the iPhone would pose a significant threat to handset makers, identifying Apple as the company to beat in the years to come. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

Working at Apple is a dream job for a lot of techies but it's also clearly not for everyone. Business Insider has done a great job of combing the Internet for every gripe and complaint it could find from current and former Apple employees on websites such as Quora and Glassdoor that describe the very worst aspects of working at the world's most valuable tech company. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

According to data from the Federal Communications Commission, about one-third of households in the United States have no choice when it comes to home broadband service. In other words, if they want reasonably fast home Internet service and they live in an area with access to wireline broadband, there is only one company they can pay. Another 37% of American households have a choice between just two Internet service providers for home broadband, which is defined by the FCC as Internet service with download speeds of just 4Mbps or more. Why is the current state of home Internet service such a mess for consumers? One of the biggest reasons is so obvious that you might not…

A new Moto X flagship handset is due “soon” @evleaks has revealed in a new tweet, with Motorola expected to launch a “Moto X+1” device according to the leaker who has an accurate track record when reporting on unreleased mobile devices. However, actual launch details for the new Android handset are yet to be revealed. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

HTC on Monday announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2014, having recorded the second down quarter of its history as a public company. The smartphone maker posted a first-quarter loss of NT$1.88 billion, or roughly $62 million in USD. Analysts were expecting the company's loss to be narrower at NT$1.59 billion. In the year-ago quarter, HTC managed a small profit of NT$85 million. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

The Samsung Galaxy Style Ace still hasn’t officially been announced, but that didn’t stop the company from showcasing the device in Germany. The device is said to feature a 4-inch WVGA display, 5 megapixel rear camera, VGA front-facing shooter and 4 GB of internal storage. Other hardware details are limited, but it’s supposed to be one of the first affordable smartphones to run on the latest Android 4.4 operating system. The Galaxy Style Ace will be available as both single and dual-SIM variants, and is supposed to be priced at €200-€300, or about $275-$410 US in the European region. We’ll keep you updated as we hear more about the device. Source: Netzwelt Via: G…

Need something a little bit more premium feeling than the HTC One (M8) and its aluminum construction? Enter TAG Heuer’s Merediist Infinite smartphone. The company that manufactures primarily watches and other high-end accessories is the smartphone and it features a solar panel to charge the device. To start charging, the device needs natural light; however, artificial light will work to a lesser degree. To do this, TAG Heuer is putting one of Wysips’ solar panels in-between the glass and LCD components of the display. Only 1911 units will be produced to sell and the price tag will show just how premium TAG Heuer is making the Merediist Infinite. The device will be made…

Samsung’s newest wearables are now up for pre-order through Amazon. The Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo smartwatches along with the Gear Fit smartband can all be pre-ordered today. The Gear 2 costs $299 while the Gear 2 Neo and Gear Fit both carry a $199 price tag. Hit one of the source links below to pre-order yours. Source: Amazon [Gear 2] [Gear 2 Neo] [Gear Fit] Come comment on this article: Amazon has Samsung’s Gear 2, Gear 2 Neo, and Gear Fit available for pre-order Visit TalkAndroid for Android news, Android guides, and much more! News via TalkAndroid

In 2013, Motorola focused on wood being the material worth emphasizing with the Moto X. With its Moto Maker platform to produce custom devices, Motorola needed something to differentiate the Moto X. However, upon launching, the wood backs did not exactly maintain the buzz from when the Moto X was revealed in August. The hype cooled off because wood backs came long after the device’s release. Now, in 2014, it seems that Motorola will be shifting its focus to another material. That material? Leather. On Twitter, @evleaks tweeted “2013:wood::2014:leather.” Of course, this is a very vague tweet on the surface. But what other company used wood in 2013? None, just Motorola. …

Seems like an odd question, which can only be a sign that someone gave it a try. Twitter user @iCrackUriDevice decided to do some drop tests of the new Samsung Galaxy S 5. The goal of these and other drop tests involving Samsung devices is often to assess how well the plastic used for the Galaxy S 5 holds up compared to “better” materials like the metal used for the iPhone or an HTC smartphone. Samsung has stated they use plastic not only to control costs, but because the increased flexibility improves survivability. In addition to drop tests, @iCrackUriDevice decided to see how the Galaxy S 5 would hold up to pressure under the wheels of a Tesla Model S. In the video,…

Amazon recently announced a new device that will make grocery shopping with AmazonFresh extremely easy. Amazon’s new Dash is a thin long device that works much like a remote control. The device has a microphone and a barcode scanner to which you can speak into the microphone the name of a product or even scan the barcode of a particular product to have it added to your Amazon Fresh account. Amazon is offering the device as a trial-basis and to get one, you’ll have to be a customer of Amazon Prime Fresh which is only available to customers in San Francisco and Los Angeles. The Prime Fresh subscription costs $300 year and is only available in a few cities. Amazon’s…

Despite a bumpy start in the wearables market with the original Samsung Galaxy Gear, the company still has lots of resources to try for a better round with their new Gear 2 and Gear Fit. Although we have learned this past week that Samsung was effective in annoying Apple with their “Next Big Thing” ads, for wearable tech there is little competition to deal and certainly no one as big a target as Apple was in the smartphone market. That means Samsung has to be creative in choosing the marketing path to take with their new devices. Their latest ad for their Gear devices suggests they are shooting for an emotional connection. The latest ad, title Another Me, highlights th…

Sony’s Xperia Z1 which was announced late last year has been available for sale for quite some time now however you had to sign a contract to get your hands on it. Sony has now released the unlocked Xperia Z1 with support for US LTE on T-Mobile and AT&T’s networks as well as on Canadian LTE network. This means that you can now get a SIM free Xperia Z1 without having to sign a contract. Everything put aside, the unlocked Xperia Z1 would cost you a whopping $620. Considering that it was released last year in September, the price is quite high. Source: Sony Come comment on this article: Sony releases the unlock variant of the Xperia Z1 Visit TalkAndroid fo…

Huawei’s next flagship, the Ascend P7, will be unveiled next month on May 7 at a press conference held in Paris. The device has been leaked quite a few times now and recently, a new series photos of the upcoming Ascend P7 surfaced online. The new leak comes from a French website which showcases an alleged prototype of the Ascend P7. From the photos leaked, it seems that the device looks pretty much similar to its predecessor. As for the specs, the device is rumored to sport a 5-inch full HD display, a 13MP rear facing camera with an 8MP front facing camera, and a 1.6GHz quad-core processor. By now, you might be wondering why the leaked photo below of the phone’s scr…

We now know what Motorola’s next device will be named. Thanks to @evleaks on Twitter, we are looking at a device named the “Moto X + 1″ and it is “coming soon.” He attached the image above, which will likely be used on promotional materials. In all likelihood, the Moto X + 1 is the successor to last year’s critically acclaimed Moto X. There is also a chance that this is the 6.3-inch device Motorola is reportedly working on. Regardless, the hype for Motorola’s next device has just been raised to another level. The Moto X carried a humongous amount of hype and this device may do the same. Motorola Moto X + 1: coming soon pic.twitter.com/7c8Gy16rdl — @evleaks (@e…

This week’s biggest news wasn’t about a phone or tablet, it was about the TV. Specifically, Amazon’s brand new Fire TV set-top box. Will it be compelling enough to sway fans from the Chromecast, Roku or Apple TV? We are also hearing that Google is readying their next generation set-top box, dubbed Android TV. Can both Android TV and the Chromecast coexist? The Samsung Galaxy S 5 will finally launch globally this week. Will it live up to the hype or will the HTC One (M8) keep it in check? It’s time to get caught up and get ready for what is sure to be another exciting week in the world of Android. Guides Everything you need to know about Sense 6 on the HTC One (M8) …

Google TV is long gone, but Android TV may be resurrecting Google’s plans to own your living room. The Verge has obtained documents that spill the beans on what Google plans to do with Android TV. It is nothing like Google TV since Android TV is merely an interface to sit over a display and not an actual platform. So Android TV will be more like Apple TV, Roku, and even the new Amazon Fire TV. Android, of course, can be found at the core. As we speak, Google is informing developers that the interface should be very simple for a set-top box. Cards, like the ones used with Google Now, are a massive component of the interface. Cards will scroll by, filled with movies,…

That didn’t take long. Koushik Dutta, the man behind AllCast, has gotten his application to play nice with the new Amazon Fire TV set-top box. Dutta was able to get AllCast to mirror content from his smartphone to the set-top box in just two hours. He says the APIs found in Fire TV are actually much better to use than the ones found in Chromecast. While the APIs are not easier to use, they are much more flexible with Fire TV. Dutta also feels it functions better than Apple TV. Hit the break for a demonstration video. Click here to view the embedded video. Source: +Koushik Dutta (Google+) Come comment on this article: Developer takes just two hours to make Al…

Fire up your Chromecast if you subscribe to either Rhapsody or Napster! Both services, which now has Napster under Rhapsody’s umbrella, have updated their respective applications to support Google’s Chromecast. After heading to the Play Store and updating either app, a Cast icon will be found at the top. Press this as you would with any other Cast-capable app and you should be able to start jamming to your favorite tunes right away. Hit the break for download links. Play Store Download Link (Rhapsody) Play Store Download Link (Napster) Come comment on this article: Rhapsody and Napster both get updated to bring Chromecast support Visit TalkAn…

If you haven’t heard of Flixster, its an immensely popular movie-related app that is incorporated with movie review site Rotten Tomatoes. Today’s update brings Chromecast support. You can now stream trailers or your UltraViolet movie collection through Flixster to your TV. In addition, this update adds support for HTC devices to download movies, SD card support, and a few bug fixes. The entire changelog for the update: Chromecast support for US users Movie download support for HTC phone users SD card download support for KitKat devices Fixed movie playback issue for UK users on HTC and Sony devices Source: Play Store Come comment on this article: Latest F…

As the vampire descended upon me, ripping my frail human body to shreds, all I could think was, "Why didn't I reload sooner?" Nosgoth kind of came out of nowhere. This free-to-play multplayer shooter is set in the Legacy of Kain universe, a property that once meant a lot to gamers, but has been dormant for over ten years. The hows and whys of this game's existence are fascinating in their own right, but after playing through several matches over the weekend and getting a grasp of the game's structure, I stopped worrying about it. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

comScore released their latest market share numbers for February 2014 for the U.S. smartphone market. Android continued to maintain a dominant position as the leading platform for smartphones with 52.1% of the market, a small increase of 0.2% compared to November 2013. Apple’s iOS also improved, by half of Android’s growth, moving from 41.2% to 41.3% of the market. The big winner in terms of percent growth was Microsoft’s platform which jumped from 3.1% to 3.4% of the market. Combined with a major slide by Blackberry, dropping 0.6% to only 2.9% of the market, Microsoft has taken over the third spot behind Android and iOS. As far as manufacturers go, although Samsung …

As Amazon finally moves into the market of devices meant to help consumers get digital content displayed on their TVs with the release of their Fire TV device, one of the big factors that may influence their success will be apps, including games. We’ve already seen Google’s strategy with Chromecast play out as they slowly dribbled out the ability for services and apps to make use of the device. Amazon appears to have done more work to ensure content is ready with the shipment of the devices, but there is still room for more apps to join the party. One example is Gameloft, which has already started optimizing their titles for use on Fire TV. Initially, Gameloft has made…

With hectic schedules, it can be hard to keep track of everything in your news feed. That’s why we created the TalkAndroid Daily Dose. This is where we recap the day’s hottest stories so you can get yourself up to speed in quick fashion. Happy reading!! Guides Sense 6 Camera and Gallery walkthrough on the HTC One (M8) How to apply Duo Camera effects on the HTC One (M8) Carriers Sprint sweetens the Framily Plan with offer to cover ETFs Pre-order the Galaxy S 5 at Verizon Wireless now and get another phone for free Chromecast AutoCast Android app allows you to multitask with your Chromecast Contests Sony holding contest with a trip to New Yor…

All the way back in October of 2013, we heard that YouTube was working on a subscription music service. At that time, it was believed that it was just a few months away from launching. But just two months after that report, it was delayed due to some disappointment with the overall product. That pushed the launch to early 2014. It is now April and there has been no chatter from YouTube on whether or not this service exists. Now it looks like YouTube has pushed its subscription music “debut to the second quarter or beyond,” according to Billboard. The reason for its delay is quite simple. YouTube is still unhappy with the product in its current state and wants to avoid …