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For a while we've said that Motorola's Moto G is one of the best smartphone bargains in the world and now it looks like consumers in several different countries agree. The latest report from Kantar Worldpanel shows that the Moto G has been a big seller in the United Kingdom, where it's helped Motorola's share from the market go from practically nothing to 6% this past quarter. The Moto G's success has also helped propel Android to having a market share of roughly 69% in the five biggest European markets of the U.K., France, Germany Italy and Spain. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

If you're a fan of downloading apps on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch handheld in several big mobile device markets around the world, buying the latest and greatest iOS apps is about to get a little bit more expensive. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

Microsoft finally released Office for iPad last week to both great acclaim and lucrative sales. However, this success story has raised some questions about what this means for Microsoft's young hardware division and most specifically its Surface tablet. Forbes contributor Gene Marks makes the case that the Surface "died" the minute Microsoft decided to bring Office to the iPad, although he sees that as a positive sign for the company's future. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

A tweet this weekend generated quite a lot of attention, as a Dropbox user was surprised to discover “DMCA takedowns in personal folders, TechCrunch reports. However, Dropbox isn’t actively searching through the files shared by its customers in order to remove copyrighted content. What the company actually does is employ an automated system that prevents users from sharing known copyright-protected files with others. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

Gamers are frugal. If you've kept up with mobile gaming at all over the past several years, you're already well aware of the rise of freemium games — they're free up front, but require a small monetary investment, usually in the form of in-app purchases, for a reasonable rate of progression. The freemium market came to a head with the release of Candy Crush Saga about a year and a half ago, converting millions of non-gamers to obsessed puzzle fiends. In light of the shifting market, WildTangent has teamed up with research and analytics firm IHS Technology to examine the new trend of bucking one-time fees. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

For some people, Google Glass is not a well-designed device, with one designer recently saying about the smart wearable device that it makes people look like "idiots" and he wouldn’t be caught dead wearing it. Even Google is sort-of agreeing with critics saying that Glass needs more work, as the tech giant has partnered up with Ray-Ban for making Glass look sexier in the future. However, the current Glass design that’s available to Explorers looks very good, especially when compared with some of the initial prototypes. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

Last week, HTC uploaded a few Sense 6 apps into the Play Store. But unlike Motorola, they might have plans to offer some of them to other Android users in the future. That probably won’t be for several months, but thanks to XDA Senior Member Ashutos1997, you can try a few of them now. The Play Store apps are only visible to the HTC One (M8) and a few other HTC devices, but he downloaded them and made them available for you to install as third-party APKs. This includes the HTC Service Pack, BlinkFeed, SenseTV, Zoe, the Gallery, and the Music app. For now, only the Service Pack, Zoe and SenseTV works. You will need to also install the libs and framework files for Zoe. He…

While currently filling a niche market, smartphones with flexible displays haven’t really taken off. Even so, companies like LG and Samsung are still working on devices with this tech. However, the companies seem to be taking different directions in what they want to accomplish with their devices. LG appears to be working on improving the performance of its AMOLED screens. It will do so by increasing the resolution while also shrinking the panel to 5.5 inches. Other areas up for improvement include solving an issue with “ghosting” images as the display heats up. Samsung looks to heading towards aesthetics in mind. The Korean giant will be building displays of diff…

OnePlus has been moving along in a methodical way toward the release of the CyanogenMod powered OnePlus One smartphone on April 23, 2014. The marketing team has been slowly releasing bits of information, but thus far the focus has been on hardware. That changed today when a tipster shared a couple images from the operating system. The first issue noted is that the screens are for “CyanogenMod 11S” as opposed to a plain “11″ that is used in reference to the original CyanogenMod system. It appears this is an indication that some special customizations have been made to CyanogenMod 11 for use on the new OnePlus One. One of the screens shows a version of the lock screen sh…

Ever since HTC started to slide from the top of the Android mountain, the company has been trying to pin its future success on different versions of the HTC One with little to show for the effort. However, two companies are showing how a solid product that appeals to customers can have an impact on the market for smartphones according to Kanta Worldpanel ComTech’s latest sales figures for the three months ending February 2014. According to their analysis, the Motorola Moto G has boosted the manufacturer from owning virtually none of the market to topping 6% of sales in the U.K. in just six months. Dominic Sunnebo notes that the success of the Moto G “highlights the speed …

Google has now added the Crackle app to its list of Chromecast supported app which means you no longer have to watch Crackle movies and shows on just your smartphone or tablet if you own a Chromecast device. Now, you can stream all Crackle movies and TV shows right to your TV via Chromecast. The Crackle app, a Sony-owned free video on demand service, just received an update today with support for Google’s Chromecast. The app allows you to view a number of TV shows and movies for free and includes “new movies and series created by Crackle such as Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, Chosen, Extraction, Cleaners and more.” The app currently works in US, Can…

Battery life has always been a huge limiting factor for mobile devices. Batteries are obviously among the most critical components in smartphones and tablets, but battery technology simply hasn't progressed as quickly as tech has in other areas. The result is a new generation of sleek and slim smartphones with batteries that struggle to make it through a full day on a charge as big, beautiful displays and insanely powerful processors command an increasing amount of power. If the battery life on your current smartphone just isn't cutting it, a series of tests suggest that Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S5 flagship phone could be just what the doctor ordered. Continue reading…

Orchard is a resource that iPhone owners can use not only to appraise their existing iPhones, but also to sell them when the time comes to upgrade, MobileSyrup reports. The used iPhone market is a $14 billion a year business, according to Orchard’s Bruno Wong, with the company aiming to better help interested buyers and sellers involved in used iPhone commerce get rid of or purchase devices. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

We'll probably never know exactly how many HTC One (M8) units HTC sold during its first week on the market, but a new report suggests that the smartphone maker's new flagship phone has been selling faster than HTC can build it in at least one key region. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

Most iPhone 6 concepts propose wild design choices and hardware rather than more believable ones, and such is the case with a new concept from designer Sahanan Yogarasa, who an iPhone 6 smartphone that not only is ultra-thin, but also houses a slide out secondary display that’s even thinner. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

Social media obsessives rejoice! If you can't stand leaving your Facebook chat unchecked for even a moment, this jailbreak app will bring the ubiquitous "chat heads" to any screen on your iOS 7 device. According to iClarified, Adam Bell's Message Box breaks your chat free from Facebook's apps, allowing you to respond to messages from anywhere on your phone or tablet. You'll need to have Paper installed for Message Box to work, but this jailbreak tweak will give you the ability to delete the Facebook Messenger app once and for all. No more annoying push notifications -- chats are now always just one click away. Message Box is free to download on Cydia. Via BRG - Boy…

After promising Chromecast support earlier this month, VUDU has delivered. VUDU, the service that allows you to rent or buy movies and stream them, can now be used with Chromecast. So instead of just streaming content on your smartphone or tablet, the update will let you cast it to the big screen. VUDU is also an UltraViolet provider; therefore, compatible digital copies of DVDs and Blu-Ray discs in your library can be casted to a television as well. Hit the break for download links. Play Store Download Link Come comment on this article: VUDU gets Chromecast support with latest update Visit TalkAndroid for Android news, Android guides, and much more! …

It seems like it will never end. Patent wars between Samsung and Apple are set to continue, with the second trial between the two companies beginning tomorrow. The end of the first trial saw Apple winning $928.8 million from Samsung, which is $450 million less than the original amount. Both companies are appealing that decision. This next trial will likely have more on the line because the devices involved will also include newer models. According to Apple, the Galaxy S III and Galaxy Tab 2 also violate five patents each. These patents include “slide-to-unlock” and universal search. Apple did not get what they wanted after the first trial, even with the $928.8 mil…

While the HTC One M8 launched in a few countries last week, its still not available worldwide just yet. One place it is available however, and high in demand, is HTC’s home country of Taiwan. Focus Taiwan reports that One M8 orders “have been doubling every day” in Taiwan since its launch date of March 25, and according to the handset’s local distributor, demand is currently “higher than supply” right now. U.S. carriers don’t seem to be having the same problem with stock, perhaps due to its limited sellers. The One M8 is only being sold online, with the exception of Verizon offering it at their actual store locations. On April 11, all carrier stores will have the phone…

Music Boss allows you to control the playback of the various media apps on your Android device directly from your Pebble or Pebble Steel smartwatch. That said, you can add you favorite media/audio apps to Music Boss and then control a media app via your smartwatch such as play/pause, adjust volume, go to next track and much more. In addition, you can also launch and switch the media apps on your Android device via your Pebble smartwatch without having to touch your Android device. But that’s not all, the app recently received an update that brings a host of new features. Now you can easily control the volume and playback of your Chromecast media right from your Pebble.…

Add this to the not so shocking category of news that we cover, but it appears that HTC is actually boosting its all new HTC One’s benchmarks. Citing a “high performance mode” the company admits that yes, it does indeed boost these scores. Like other companies, Samsung for example, HTC engineers have “optimized” the software to run in certain scenarios. The folks at c|net received an email in response to this discovery, and an HTC rep had this to say: “Thanks for your email about the HTC One (M8). Benchmarking tests look to determine maximum performance of the CPU and GPU and, similar to the engine in a high-performance sports car, our engineers optimize in cert…

After the first purported press renders of the 7-inch Galaxy Tab 4 tablet have been posted online by @evleaks, the same leaker is back with similar images for the bigger 10-inch model. The design appears to be somewhat similar to Samsung’s Pro tablets that were unveiled at CES 2014 and launched in several markets since then. However, the Galaxy Tab 4 models will most likely pack mid-range hardware compared with what the Pro line has to offer. Meanwhile, @evleaks has not revealed any specs or launch plans for these tablets. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

After various reports and reviews revealed that HTC’s new One (M8) smartphone may be cheating in some benchmarks – the phone boots performance when certain benchmarks are detected – the company has confirmed to CNET that it indeed handles benchmark apps differently than regular apps, although it said it doesn’t see this as cheating. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

American Idol host Ryan Seacrest clearly underestimated the awesome power that is BlackBerry. Reuters reports that U.S. District Judge William Orrick granted a preliminary injunction against Seacrest's Typo that will bar the company from selling its $99 iPhone keyboard attachment that BlackBerry alleges infringes on its patents. Orrick said that BlackBerry's legal team had established a clear "likelihood" that Typo infringed upon BlackBerry's patents while Typo's legal team didn't knock down any of the key patents in suit. BGR reviewed the Typo earlier this year and found that “it’s a well thought out, well designed, well made product by two people who can’t live without …

After various Android 4.4.3 sightings suggested that Google may soon release a new KitKat version to address certain issues and bugs, an unofficial change log for the upcoming Android build has been leaked, revealing that the next Android update will not bring any major fixes, and instead focus only on improvements. Android Police has learned from a source familiar with the situation that “Android 4.4.3 is, unsurprisingly, going to be a pure bug-fixer,” with Google saving new features and user interface changes for a “more major release.” Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report