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Yes, you read that right. LG has a product at MWC 2014 going by the name LG homeBoy. The device is an entertainment system for the LG G Pad 8.3. The rather large device will let you hook up your tablet and all sound from apps, including music, will be played through the speakers. Reports indicate they don’t sound half bad. Besides serving as a large external speaker for the LG G Pad 8.3, the device can be connected to a television to mirror content. Unlike a device like the Chromecast that forces all sound through the television, the homeBoy will continue to play sound through its own speakers. Audiophiles may be interested to know that Mark Levinson was involved in de…

Hop on board, the UnCarrier is about to take off. T-Mobile CEO John Legere has done a great job talking up the merits of his company in recent months, and it seems to be working. The re-branded mobile carrier was on a steep decline when Legere hopped on board, and he’s done an excellent job of turning the train around, as the company announced today that it added roughly 4.4 million customers in 2013. With its UnCarrier, Jump and Simple Choice programs, it has made things a whole lot easier for customers, and the numbers prove it. Although the company lost $20 million in Q4, it added 1.6 million customers— the money should come back in the long term, though. E…

It seems that Google is lobbying officials in at least 3 different states to put a halt on the proposed restrictions to drivers wearing headsets such as Google Glass. A total of eight states are considering placing restrictions on wearing such headsets, and officials are concerned that some people may pay more attention to the tiny screen than the road. Wearable technology may represent the next big trend in technology, and Google has deployed a number of lobbyists to help persuade a number of officials in Illinois, Delaware and Missouri that the restricting the technology is not a necessary step. Some officials in other states may have also been contacted by Google. …

WinZip is known as the company that launched the file compression utility in the early 90′s, and they are still getting over 30 million downloads per year. That company is now moving to the cloud, and have announced ZipShare, a file management system that works with many of the major online file hosting platforms. ZipShare will not be another hosting platform – instead they are looking to launch as a platform that is more relevant to today’s world. WinZip launched version 17 in October 2012, and added support for cloud services in that version. ZipShare will allow for quick sharing of files, much like how you would use other cloud hosting platforms. The files are …

Google is ready to fight anti-Google Glass legislation initiatives in many states, Reuters reports, as the search giant has apparently hired lobbyist to try to prevent laws that would ban drivers to use the wearable device while behind the wheel. The publication says that Google is lobbying officials in at least three U.S. states, with eight U.S. states already considering regulation of Google Glass. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

If you're curious about the March update for the Xbox One, Microsoft has just uploaded a video to the Xbox Wire showing off all of the additions that will be included in the impending update. According to Richard Irving of the Xbox One engineering team, the most requested feature from users was having party chat turned on by default. The user interface of the party menu will see a complete overhaul with the update, making a clear distinction between those in your party who are playing the same game you are and those who are participating in other activities. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

When Motorola took the stage at Mobile World Congress this week, the company didn't have much to offer in the way of new devices. Other than introducing a new smartwatch, the soon-to-be-Lenovo-owned phone maker refrained from any major reveals, but a Twitter Q&A session on Tuesday afternoon hinted at the next smartphone from Motorola. One participant in the Q&A asked Motorola when we'd see the next version of Moto X, to which Motorola responded with a vague answer of "late summer." It's not much but it's still the first we've heard of a follow-up to the Motorola hero phone of 2013 in quite some time. Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

After announcing LTE roaming agreements for various international markets on Monday, AT&T on Tuesday revealed that it will soon offer free international text messaging to its customers, including support for video messaging, in a move that should help it counter mobile apps that offer almost free chatting features. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

42 state Attorneys General on Monday sent a letter to ranking members of Congress showing support for patent reform against patent trolls. The Attorneys General letter uses the term “troll” no less than six times in the letter to describe companies or individuals that would attack companies with “dubious claims of patent infringement and using the threat of expensive litigation to extort money,” thus harming the economy and stifling innovation in the process. The letter proposes several amendments that would make it easier for Attorneys General to fight against patent trolling, in light of recent patent-based trolls attacks that have targeted thousands of businesses and n…

If you watched Samsung’s Unpacked event yesterday, you might have noticed there was no mention of what processor the Galaxy S 5 will feature. Well last night, we posted an infographic highlighting the specs of all Galaxy S devices, and one thing that we did notice was that for the processor of the GS5, there were two listings. A 2.5GHz quad-core and a 2.1GHz octa-core. Now the fact that there will be two versions isn’t surprising since that is exactly what happened last year. As to the octa-core, we can confirm that it is indeed an Exynos, but we don’t know which model yet. As to the quad-core, Samsung revealed that it will be the recently announced Qualcomm Snapdragon…

Remember that story about how Google was supposedly on Samsung’s you know what to get rid of the bloatware on their devices? Well either it was too late to change the Galaxy S 5, or the report was completely unfounded, because the usable space on the Galaxy S 5 is going to make a few people angry. GottaBeMobile did a quick check on one of the demo units and found it to have only 8.65GB out of a possible 16GB that is usable. I don’t have to do the math do I? That is roughly 50% according to my calculations, and is a little below last year’s Galaxy S 4. This isn’t surprising, but I am also wondering why the rumor that Samsung was going ditch the 16GB version didn’t hold?…

Google announced Project Tango last week leaving us salivating for a closer look. Today is your lucky day because The Verge was able to get their hands on one of the devices along with an interview with Remi El-Ouazzane, CEO of Movidius, which is the company that developed the technology for Tango. Although Google said they have been working on Project Tango for the past year, Movidius has been working on this technology for the past seven years. The Project Tango smartphone features cameras and sensors that are able to map your surroundings in 3D. In fact, El-Ouazzane says that the technology is very similar to NASA’a Exploration Rover when it mapped the surface of Ma…

When spy shots of the MTC M8 surfaced, one item that really stood out was the existence of two cameras on the back of the device. The companies that helped develop the new two camera system, Qualcomm and Corephotonics, were on hand to demonstrate the new system and talk about what it will mean for the new HTC smartphone. According to Corephotonics, the new system will provide better zoom capabilities for users, it will produce superior images, and enable adjustable depth of field effects even after an image is captured. During the demonstration, Corephotonics showed how the new Computational Photography Zoom would work to improve zoom capabilities. The system enables t…

When Nokia announced their new Android-based smartphones yesterday at MWC 2014, they revealed that they had in fact forked Android for their devices. Immediately the company started fielding questions about how users could get existing apps onto their new devices if they decided to go the Nokia route. While sideloading apks is a possibility, Nokia is hoping developers will submit their apps to Nokia’s proprietary app store. To help move that process along, they are encouraging developers to submit their apps for inclusion and they are indicating that 75% of apps should be compatible with no modifications. Nokia is making their SDK and porting tools available, which the…

http://androidforum.us/data/MetaMirrorCache/6dfbe5f454f724c7eeefb485878367d9.jpeg Apple's lineup has been a hotbed of vulnerabilities lately. Just last week Apple was forced to release an update for the sole purpose of correcting an issue with SSL connection verification, and now the team of security experts at FireEye has found another exploit. According to the report, the team at FireEye was able "to bypass Apple's app review process effectively and exploit non-jailbroken iOS 7 successfully." Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

Samsung's new Galaxy S5 might not have been the exciting new flagship phone we were hoping for, but there's no question that it's one of the best smartphones that has ever been made. It bests its predecessor in almost every way and it brings a number of useful new features to the table. Our favorite thus far is likely the new battery saving mode that allows the Galaxy S5 to last for 24 hours on a 10% charge, and another high-profile addition is the new heart rate monitor on the back of the device. As it turns out, however, it looks like Samsung didn't need a dedicated sensor to monitor heart rates — iPhone owners envious of the new feature can add it to their current hand…

There’s almost no privacy when going online, investigative reporter Julia Angwin discovered when looking into what Google and other companies knew about their users. The reporter has published a book – Dragnet Nation: A Quest for Privacy, Security and Freedom in a World of Relentless Surveillance – in which she explains what she did in an attempt to guard her privacy while online, including creating a fake identity for that very purpose, NPR writes. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

I try to refrain from writing articles telling companies what they "need" to do largely because it's a fairly silly and pointless exercise for someone who has no inside knowledge of a company's inner workings to lecture it on the direction it should take. That said, as a mobile consumer who plays around with a lot of different devices, I do think I'm qualified to advise Microsoft that it actually does need to come up with a reason for Windows Phone to exist other than just being another smartphone platform. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

The wait is finally over. Samsung's Galaxy S5 has been unveiled. We posted our in-depth hands-on preview of the Galaxy S5 and interestingly, the phone was not what we expected following months of rumors that pointed to a quad HD display and other new features like an eye scanner. It's still a solid effort from Samsung that improves upon the foundation laid by its predecessors though, and it avoids the continued build up of "feature spam" that had plagued Samsung's Galaxy S4. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

While much of the focus at MWC 2014 is on smartphone and tablet manufacturers and where they are heading with their devices, other companies are present to help show how they want to power those new devices. Intel was on hand today to announce two new Atom processors, the Merrifield and the Moorefield. The 64-bit Atom Z3480, formerly known by the codename Merrifield, is a dual-core chip running at 2.13GHz. Using Intel’s 22nm Silvermont architecture, the processor includes an Intel XMM 7160 LTE chip and a PowerVR Series 6 graphics core. Intel says Z3480 equipped devices should start shipping during the second quarter. Later in the year the Moorefield code-name chip w…

With today’s official release of the Samsung Galaxy S 5, you may be curious to know how it stacks up against previous versions of Samsung’s flagship Galaxy devices. To help give fans an easier look at how the line has developed over the years, Samsung put together an infographic showing some key specs. You can check it out after the break. Don’t forget to check back for more coverage of MWC 2014 source: Samsung Come comment on this article: Samsung releases infographic to show how Samsung Galaxy S 5 stacks up against predecessors Visit TalkAndroid for Android news, Android guides, and much more! News via TalkAndroid

In case you couldn’t watch it live, Samsung has posted their press conference about the Galaxy S 5 on YouTube for anyone to watch or rewatch. It’s about an hour and a half long, and definitely not as quirky as last year, but if you’re interested, you can find the video below. You can find the rest of our MWC 2014 coverage here, too. If you watched it earlier, what’d you think about the S 5? Exciting successor or another mediocre follow-up? Click here to view the embedded video. Come comment on this article: Watch Samsung’s entire MWC 2014 Galaxy S 5 press conference Visit TalkAndroid for Android news, Android guides, and much more! …

Last year when Samsung announced the Galaxy S 4, HTC took the opportunity to take some potshots at Samsung. Samsung’s announcement of the Galaxy S 5 today at MWC 2014 gave HTC another opportunity to dig at Samsung via Twitter. The results were mixed with one tweet implying Samsung buyers would regret their decision when March 25th rolls around. That attempt fell short of the mark since Samsung’s Galaxy S 5 won’t be going on sale until April, so there will be nothing to feel remorse over. HTC returned with another tweet later to try to clear up the March 25th date in the first tweet. In the second tweet, they indicate you can “See it. Hear it. Feel it.” on March 25th. A…

And so it begins. Twitter’s @evleaks has tweeted that Motorola is working on something while other companies are getting the spotlight Mobile World Congress. What is it? Something called the Quark X. While we have no idea what exactly this is — phone, tablet, or maybe even a wearable — odds are it is the successor to Motorola’s Moto X. And when can we expect to see this device? My guess would be June; however, Google is holding their I/O conference and Apple is rumored to be holding an event that month as well. If Motorola wants to be the center of attention, waiting until August may be the best bet. What’s Motorola doing during MWC? Working on the Quark X. — @ev…

Mozilla has teamed up with Chinese manufacturer Spreadtrum to try to create a $25 smartphone that runs Firefox OS. They aim to make a phone that will feature the Cortex A5-based SC6821 chipset, which was developed by Spreadtrum and supports WCDMA and EDGE networks. Noticeably absent is support for 4G LTE and the device's screen will also be a few generations behind today’s high-end smartphones, with only 3.5-inch HVGA displays. Of course, these compromises are necessary if you’re trying to make a $25 smartphone, and Mozilla isn’t aiming for wealthy customers. Instead, it is hoping a cheap smartphone will sell well in developing countries and help spread access to the Web.…