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Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

Gmail just turned 10, and it has evolved a lot over the years. That evolution isn’t going to stop, so what new things can we expect? A few screenshots leaked that show more tabs, a new pin system, and a new snooze feature. Last year, Google introduced tabs, which include Social, Promotions, Forums, and Updates. A future update is likely to include additional tabs such as Travel, Purchases, and Finance. I’m not a big fan of the tabs, so we will have to see how this works out. The pin feature looks pretty good. This allows you to “pin” any emails to remain at the top until you “unpin” them. This is perfect for those that get tons of emails each day. I can’t te…

After months and months of rumors, Amazon finally took the wraps off of their Fire TV set-top box. As one would expect, it’s a Chromecast, Roku, and Apple TV competitor, but priced at $99, will it be compelling enough? Fire TV is based on Android and will include a number of apps. The top of the list is Amazon Instant Video, which will probably never ever be officially available to the Chromecast. It will also offer a slew of other apps, most of them coming soon. These include Pandora, MLB.tv, NBA, YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, HBO GO, and Crackle. The interface seems basic enough. The home screen shows your watchlist, movies, and TV shows along with search. It can also pred…

The Samsung Galaxy S 5 is ready to start jumping in consumers’ hands starting next week. Some of those buyers will no doubt want to learn all they can about how to use their new smartphone, especially some features like the S Health app, the Download Booster, or the Ultra Power Saving Mode, before they get the device so they can hit the ground running. If you happen to be one of those people, you are in luck as the manual for the Galaxy S 5 is available for download from the Samsung web site. Even if you are not planning to buy a Galaxy S 5, the manual may be worth a quick scan just to get an idea of what features Samsung is rolling out and how they operate. Hit the so…

With every major phone, HTC always releases the next version of Sense along with it. This time around, with the HTC One (M8), it’s Sense 6 or “Sixth Sense.” If you’re new to HTC phones, Sense is HTC’s proprietary user interface, or skin they install on top of Android. It has evolved a lot over the years, but they haven’t changed it all that much since Sense 5. That is a good thing because consumers like consistency. HTC did make a few enhancements with Sense 6, and they appear to be for the better. In this video, I walk you through the UI and explain how things work. I won’t get into BlinkFeed or the Camera interface in this video, but I will very soon. For this guide,…

As the Apple v. Samsung trial starts to move along since starting earlier this week, we may be treated to some interesting bits of information about how the two companies viewed each other and how that guided their strategy. As part of his opening statements on behalf of Samsung, attorney John Quinn indicated that, “We will show you internal Apple documents, documents that haven’t been made public before, and showed how Apple was really concerned about competition from Android, and in particular Samsung…This new, edgy marketing strategy…it drove Apple crazy.” The marketing strategy Quinn refers to is the “Next Big Thing” campaign that Samsung launched that pok…

Pretend to be surprised: Amazon just unveiled a new streaming video product during a press conference on Wednesday. Reports of Amazon's Apple TV competitor have been coming hot and heavy over the past few weeks, and now the box is finally official. Dubbed Fire TV, the new device will plug into a television set and allow users to stream video content over the Internet to their screens. Amazon's Prime video will take center stage on the device, but it will also support content from third-party providers including Netflix and Hulu Plus (other apps such as HBO Go and Showtime Anytime will be added in the future). The device will run a customized version of Android, as is the …

Yes, Apple beat Samsung to the punch when it comes to releasing a smartphone with a fingerprint scanner. However, a new piece in Technology Review explains why Samsung's fingerprint scanner has the potential to be more useful than the iPhone 5s's fingerprint scanner right out of the box. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

Microsoft finally realized some time ago that it had to make some serious changes if it hoped to continue thriving in a world that had begun to evolve years earlier toward "mobile first." Windows Phone, Windows 8 and Windows RT were the company's first huge steps toward the future, and Microsoft definitely had the right idea. Consumers and enterprise users weren't sold on the new "Metro" interface that Microsoft forced upon them, however, and PC sales have been plummeting as a result. To make matters worse, Windows Phone's share of global phone shipments remains in the low single digits each quarter. At its annual Build developer conference that kicks off in mere momen…

Microsoft on Wednesday took the wraps off Windows Phone 8.1, the latest version of its mobile operating system that it hopes will help spark more demand for its mobile products. Among other things Microsoft announced that Indian vendor Micromax would be making low-cost Windows Phones, which should help Windows Phone gain some traction in emerging markets versus Android. Among other things, Windows Phone 8.1 ads a pull-down Action Center that gives Windows Phone users quick access to key settings and mobile apps. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

Microsoft officially unveiled Cortana at the Build Developer Conference on Wednesday, its own take on a personal assistant for mobile devices. We've known about Cortana for quite some time, as repeated leaks have slowly revealed the specifics of the new feature, but Microsoft is finally ready to share everything we need to know. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

Google already cut the costs of cases for their Nexus 5 and Nexus 7 back in January, but for those who missed out, the cases are now being offered at 25% off. Unfortunately some of the cases aren’t available for sale at this time, but Google is adding the HP Chromebook 11 to the list of devices with cases for sale. Nexus 5 owners will also be able to buy the black LG QuickCover for $37.49. Otherwise they can buy the bumper case for $26.24 in one of 4 colors. For those who own a Nexus 7, a case can be picked up for $37.49, or you can buy the sleeve for $22.49. Source: Google Play Come comment on this article: Google giving away cases for Nexus 5, Nexus 7 and HP …

Details about the new version of the Nexus 10 have been a little cloudy of late, and there have been a number of rumors about who would make the new device. The Nexus 10 has been listed as out of stock since the new Nexus 5 was released, and not much has been detailed about the Nexus 10 since then. Today, however, the device was listed as “coming soon” on Google Play. This really doesn’t give away too much about the device, and we still don’t know who the manufacturer of the device is, but we should find out more information soon! Source: Google Play Come comment on this article: Nexus 10 listed as “coming soon” on Google Play Visit TalkAndroid for Android …

Humble Bundle has announced the release of a new bundle of games, Humble Bundle: PC and Android 9. Like all Humble Bundles, buyers can select the price they want to pay and what the cut will be between charity and developers. For this bundle, four of the titles are included in the bundle no matter what. These include Broken Sword 2: The Smoking Mirror, Bridge Constructor, Type:Rider, and Ravensword: Shadowlands. If you pay more than the current average price, you also get Kingdom Rush and Knights of Pen & Paper +1 Edition as well as access to additional titles that Humble Bundle inevitably adds to these packages. The current bundle is scheduled to end around April …

As we noted yesterday, Samsung and Apple locked horns once again in court today. Samsung’s opening arguments were presented today and no time was wasted. Rather than talking about Apple’s issue with the company, Samsung very clearly stated that Apple has an issue with Android. John Quinn, one of Samsung’s attorneys, used a Nexus device to explain his client had absolutely nothing to do with the software features included. Quinn said “The accused features on this phone were developed independently by some of the most sophisticated and creative minds in the industry, the software engineers at Google.” And despite what you may be thinking, Samsung is merely saying that Go…

Ever wonder exactly what you have rated or +1′d in the Play Store? Now you can check what you and everyone else has had to say about applications in the Play Store with ‘My Play activity.’ In the image above, you can see how it resembles an activity feed. The page will also be accessible through Google+. My Play activity and additional features will be rolled out to more users over time. Hit the source link to get an idea of what to expect. Source: My Play Activity (example) Come comment on this article: Play Store shares ‘My Play activity’ as an activity feed for everyone Visit TalkAndroid for Android news, Android guides, and much more! News via T…

Facebook's acquisition of Oculus VR set the Internet ablaze last week, but months before this surprising news, Microsoft reportedly purchased the rights to its own head-mounted device. According to TechCrunch, Microsoft paid between $100-150 million for intellectual property assets of the Osterhout Design Group (ODG), a firm that has spent years developing augmented reality devices for the military and other organizations. Although Microsoft has not issued a statement of its own, ODG founder Ralph Osterhout spoke with TechCrunch, confirming the deal. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

Ten years ago today on April Fool’s Day 2004, Google launched Gmail, the game-changing email service that was anything but a joke. When Google launched Gmail, it revolutionized the way people use email. It launched with 1GB of free storage and encouraged people to archive e-mails instead of deleting them. This was a major improvement over the 2MB limit on Hotmail, which frequently forced people to decide which emails to delete when they hit their limit. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

Imagine how much easier life might have been for Breaking Bad's Walter White if he could have laundered his meth money through Bitcoin instead of setting up a carwash as a cover business? Wired reports that attorney Joshua Dratel, who is representing the alleged founder of online drug den Silk Road, is arguing that his client couldn't be guilty of money laundering because all of his alleged transgressions were done with Bitcoin, which the Internal Revenue Service recently said was not a currency. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

Researchers from the National University of Singapore have found a way to quickly detect GHB (Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid,) also known as a “date rape drug” alongside Rohypnol (roofies), Time reveals. Once mixed with a beverage that contains GHB, the newly discovered liquid changes into a fluorescent orange color in less than 30 seconds. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

When BlackBerry released BBM for Android and iOS last year, it gave the company a much-needed hit that helped spark hope that the one-time smartphone titan could get a fresh injection of revenue from its popular messaging service. On Tuesday, BlackBerry released a new update for BBM that delivers one of the many ways the company plans to make money from the service: Stickers. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

Each year, Samsung introduces a new line of Galaxy Tabs, and 2014 is no exception. They just introduced the Galaxy Tab4 line with little fanfare, probably because they aren’t the most exciting tabs in the world. Just like the Tab3 series, they will offer three sizes: 7-inches (pictured above), 8-inches, and 10.1-inches and are clearly positioned in the mid-range tier. The specs are primarily the same on all of them except for the storage options and battery sizes. All will sport 1280 x 720 LCD displays, a 1.2GHz quad-core processor, 1.5GB of RAM, microSD for up to an additional 64GB of storage, 3MP rear camera, and 1.3MP front-facing camera. The 10.1 and 8.0 version wi…

We are big fans of SwiftKey, but I often wondered what it would be like if they could somehow bring their “Flow” feature to the desktop. Well today SwiftKey announced “Flow Hard”, which does just that. Now I can slide my finger from key to key on my desktop computer or laptop. Plus you get SwiftKey’s awesome AI predictions and autocorrecting. You can even type multiple words by using “Flow Through Space”, which allows you to drag your finger over the space bar to quickly type SwiftyKey’s predicted words. With “Flow Hard”, I will easily save at least 2 hours a day. Check out the video after the break. Click here to view the embedded video. Come comment…

Lenovo has announced four new tablets that will be released during the second quarter of 2014. Employing a strategy similar to Samsung, Lenovo’s tablets will come in a variety of sizes ranging from 7-inch devices up to 10-inch devices. Although all of them will come equipped with quad-core processors, Lenovo is trying to make each version slightly different in an attempt to appeal to different consumer demographics. Lenovo VP and head of the mobile business unit, Shao Tao, says the new “tablet family is designed to meet the demands of today’s young, active users who are always on the go, and have lifestyle requirements that are as diverse as their own personalities.” The …

Huawei has opened an online shop for U.S. customers based on one product, the Huawei Ascend Mate2 4G. At present, Huawei is only offering potential buyers the opportunity to sign up for their e-mail list to receive updates. Huawei touts the device’s download speeds of up to 150 Mbps on compatible networks. Which ones those may be is unknown since Huawei has not announced any carrier partners and may not ever get to that point due to the U.S. government’s suspicion that the company is actually a front for Chinese spies. The Huawei Ascend Mate2 4G will come equipped with a 3900 mAh battery that Huawei claims will provide 60 hours of standard use and at least 9 hours of w…