Author: Roy Alugbue

Have you been itching for a unique online gaming center/marketplace that’s similar to say, Microsoft’s Xbox Live? Well it appears that Google may very well be on its way to developing something special in the works. Our friends at Android Police stumbled upon what a unique “Games” folder in the MyGlass app which contains all the essential ingredients for a gaming-based service: full multi-player capabilities, achievements, real-time chats, leaderboards, invitations and lobbies— yeah pretty much the whole nine yards there. Of course this significant leak may just be something for the Android heads to tinker and experiment with… but then again, this could be the start of something really special. Nevertheless, we’ll be keeping our eyes and ears fully open when we hit Google I/O in May.

source: Android Police

Come comment on this article: Google Play Service may be working on a full-fledged gaming network behind the scenes

Widely known as an up-and-coming tablet maker, ARCHOS is officially dabbling in the smartphone game by introducing a quartet of new handsets that will be headed for Europe in the near-future. The devices— the Carbon 35, Titanium 4, Titanium 52 and Platinum 48— all range from modest budget-level devices to premium flagships. Additionally, each device will feature an IPS display, dual-SIM capabilities and at least Ice Cream Sandwich on board (the Platinum 48 will arrive with Jelly Bean).

Expect each device to arrive sometime soon with an affordable price tag off-contract.

source: Phone Arena 

Come comment on this article: ARCHOS launches 4 new devices for European markets

Falcon Pro has just gotten an extensive update which brings even more features and awesomeness to all of you obsessed  Twitter types out there. The update brings the software version to 1.8 and brings new goodies such as:

• *Starred Users* Inline Articles preview with offline access (enabled for all Starred Users that you follow)
• *Starred Users* Individual notifications (disabled by default)
• *Starred Users* Offline access
• New translations including French, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian, Polish & Norwegian— with more to come

Of course users of the app can also expect even more buttery smooth operation and a sweet, intuitive UI to help navigate the show. Hit the Play Store link below to grab the latest update today.

Play Store Download Link

Come comment on this article: Falcon Pro gets major update and brings plenty of new goodies along for the ride

Sure us average folk won’t be enjoying a pair of Google Glasses anytime soon, but it appears that certain individuals may get their chance to grab their sweaty mitts on one— that is, if you’re ballin’. A casual seller on online marketplace eBay claims to have in his possession a prized developer model that is now up for sale. As of now, there are a mere 38 bids— but the auction price is currently placed at a whopping $95,000. Sheesh.

Google probably won’t let this particular auction go too far considering the developer versions of the device were not intended for sale. But hey— here’s hoping the lucky winner will end up getting the glasses and being able to be just a little bit cooler than all of his or her friends for the time being.

source: eBay

Come comment on this article: eBay listing currently shows a the developer edition of Google Glass up for sale, for the person who has lots of money to spend that is

The Zopo C2 smartphone is officially official and on its way to the Chinese markets folks. The device comes jam-packed with features like a MediaTek MT6589 quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM,a 5-inch 1080p display, a 2,000mAh battery and a nifty 13MP camera (with an astounding 5MP camera on the front). While there is certainly a sense of “here we go again”, the Zopo does feature something that most other smartphones don’t— the Aliyun OS running the show. Yep, that’s right— the C2 features the same OS featured on another smartphone that was abruptly cancelled at the last minute thanks to the heavy hand of Google.

No word on when the device will hit store shelves just yet, but it appears the C2 will run customers ¥1,399 (about $230 USD).

source: Engadget

Come comment on this article: Zopo C2 smartphone gets official, brings Aliyun OS for a low, low price

HP’s reinvention of its mobile unit brand is nearly complete thanks to the now imminent release of its newest tablet, the Slate 7. Previously introduced at MWC earlier this year, the device is designed to go toe-to-toe with other 7-inch tablets in the market and will be targeted directly at consumers looking to get the most bang out of their money. As a refresher, the device will feature a 1.6GHz dual-core chip built-in, a 7-inch display with 1,024 x 600 resolution, Beats Audio and Jelly Bean running the show. Sure the device features items we may have already seen before, but HP is hoping to sway potential buyers, thanks to its attractive £129 price in the UK ($169 USD in other markets).

The device will ship to buyers on May 1st in the UK, though there’s no word yet on when other markets can expect to see the device just yet.

source: HP

Come comment on this article: HP Slate 7 tablet confirmed for arrival in the UK on May 1st

It appears that the world will have to wait a wee bit longer for Samsung’s innovative flexible display to hit devices. ETnews reports that because of the flexible display’s vulnerability to moisture and oxygen, Samsung’s display unit is reviewing the encapsulation technologies to help protect the flexible display unit and more importantly, the guts of a device found underneath the display. In other words— Samsung hasn’t quite figured out how to have a flexible display that wouldn’t allow moisture and air to seep in any given device, so it is working on alternative methods which would essentially seal the flexible display of a device, regardless of how a device is bent or angled.

Because of the delay, the world should expect to see the arrival of the first smartphones featuring flexible displays by the end of 2013. Hopefully Sammy will work out all those kinks by then or it’ll see its competition beat it to the punch.

source: SamMobile

Come comment on this article: Various reports indicating that Samsung’s flexible display will be delayed

If you happen to regularly use Google’s awesome search functionality on your mobile device, then you will be quite happy to hear this latest bit of news from the Mountain View giant. First off the bat, it has announced that it has added the ability to allow users to more efficiently find top box office movies by bypassing the Rotten Tomatoes homepage and instead allowing users to access a new quick link for “In Theaters” underneath the main Rotten Tomatoes link after you search on your mobile device. This means that users will be able to save an extra step or two and do things even more efficiently than ever before.

Additionally, it has brought the Quick view option to select webpages on mobile devices as well. For example, after doing a search of a particular topic like say poker hands that brings up some results, you would then see the ability to click the blue Quick view badge and see a quick view of the Wikipedia page listing out the poker hands immediately. As of this time, the Quick view function is only available for the English version of the Wikipedia page, though Google is working to bring the function for other sites as well.

You can find more deets when you check out the source link.

source: Inside Search UK

Come comment on this article: Google Search on mobile devices gets updated to bring even more functionality, continues to make life a little easier for all in the process

As we inch closer and closer to the imminent release of the HTC One smartphone on T-Mo’s network, we finally have a concrete date of when to expect the device to hit store shelves. The wireless carrier has confirmed via Twitter that it will begin selling the flagship device in stores and online from April 24th, which falls in line with what we previously expected anyways. T-Mo doesn’t overtly mention anything about how much the device will cost in its tweet, but it already told us it will offer the device for a smooth $99 on-contract, which can be cancelled at anytime so long as the device is fully paid for.

So now that everything is confirmed and good to go– let’s all hope there’s not too much pandemonium will ensue since well you know, T-Mo will be offering a few goodies and all.

source: T-Mobile Twitter

Come comment on this article: T-Mobile confirms HTC One’s April 24th release date

We already know that Samsung has finally come to the realization that well, plastic isn’t all that attractive on its flagship devices, but it appears that Samsung is intent on making some major changes even faster than we previously thought. Serial leaker evleaks got its hands the first shots of a mystery device which sports an all-metal unibody design, complete with unusually boxy corners. Oh and it doesn’t stop there either—- there is a distinct slot for an all-too-familiar accessory with Samsung Galaxy Note-based products. So it’s possible that we are looking at a test version of a new Galaxy Note (Galaxy Note III?) on the way? Or it could be some Sammy engineers just fiddling around over in the labs for fun. Whatever it is Samsung— we’re on to you and watching very closely…

source: evleaks

Come comment on this article: New leak suggests Samsung could have big changes on the horizon for upcoming mobile phones

It’s no surprise that tablet growth is apparent worldwide, but a new studies have surfaced giving us an even better indication of tablet popularity. According to Pew Research, one in four Americans own some sort of tablet— while the IDC highlights the worldwide tablet market grew more than 78% year-on-year in 2012. Not surprisingly, Samsung and Amazon tablets lead the way with their own tablets being in the top-five among all tablet manufacturers, followed by other manufacturers such as ASUS and Motorola. Even more astounding is among the top tablets worldwide, 4 of the top 5 tablets and 6 out of the top 10 are smaller tablets, further reaffirming the notion that people certainly love their smaller tablets.

Considering the IDC predicts that 190 million tablets will be shipped in 2013, we probably won’t see a slowdown in tablet growth anytime soon.

source: Animoca Data

Come comment on this article: Tablets continue to grow at an enormous pace, with Samsung and Amazon tablets leading the way

It’s been a while since we’d heard about any games based off NVIDIA’s upcoming Project Shield portable gaming console. NVIDIA certainly realized that and took some time to present a teaser video of a special port of Arma Tactics. The teaser video pretty much showcases everything we’ve come to expect from a Project Shield-based game: awesome graphics, fluid visuals, smooth effects, dynamic shadows and intuitive controls. Yeah… it’s mouthwatering— we know.

It’s looking like the port of Arma Tactics will not only hit Project Shield devices, but Tegra 4 and Tegra 3-based devices as well— so make sure to keep your eyes out in the Play Store for the imminent release in the near-future. In the meantime, check out the trailer video below for yourself.

Click here to view the embedded video.

source: Droid Gamers

Come comment on this article: NVIDIA releases teaser video showcasing Arma Tactics on Project Shield

We know that folks in the top tier of Verizon offices are paying close attention to revamping the whole idea of wireless contracts, but it appears that the first preliminary steps in changing the notion is beginning sooner than we could have ever imagined. A leaked document has surfaced highlighting some Verizon training materials overtly offering a “payment plan for full retail cost” specifically for “want the latest cutting edge device or are just not satisfied with a working device”. There is speculation as to what this means exactly… especially for the minority of you out there with those coveted Unlimited data packages still, but you can bet this is a potentially exciting scenario for most, if not all Verizon customers out there.

We’ll be sure to keep our eyes and ears open for any further developments regarding this developing story.

source: Droid Life

Come comment on this article: New training materials implying Verizon will implement a new device payment plan?

It’s certainly long overdue, but Motorola has finally started the initial rollout of the coveted Jelly Bean update to the DROID Bionic smartphone. The update will bring the software build to 98.72.22.XT875 and the Android software to version 4.1.2. Owners of the device will be treated to the usual JB goodies like Project Butter, Google Now and a smoother UI. Additionally, Motorola/Verizon have tossed in Visual Voicemail and an enhanced mobile hotspot capability.

While the initial rollout is official, Verizon will start pushing out the update in phases from Monday, so owners will need to be patient for just a wee bit.

source: Verizon Wireless

Come comment on this article: Verizon DROID Bionic smartphone finally gets official with Jelly Bean, tastes sweet buttery glory in the process

Death is certainly something that comes suddenly and without notice for us humans, making the management of items such as profiles and different accounts a nightmare to manage for loved ones. Fortunately, Google has thought about the tedious process that the masses will have to deal with, so it is trying to make things easier for us by implementing the Inactive Account Manager. Basically what it does is by accessing your Google Account settings, users can instruct Google on what to do with Gmail messages and data from other Google services if your account becomes inactive for any reason. Think of it like this— if you’re dead, then your account probably won’t be accessed after a certain number of months, so data from the different services can be deleted automatically or accessed by a secondary contact. Sweet.

Let’s just hope that some of you out there don’t have too many incriminating items that can be revealed once you hit the afterlife.

source: Google Public Policy Blog

Come comment on this article: Google launches its Inactive Account Manager, aims to make your digital afterlife as peaceful as possible

Well what do we have here? It’s looking like Huawei has yet another flagship device in the works that looks like it’s going to possibly redefine the brand as we know it. A mysterious EDGE smartphone has been leaked that features a 4.9-inch 1,920 x 1,080 display, a quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, a 2,600mAh battery and a 13MP camera. Sure that sounds ho-hum compared to the competition but Huawei has managed to squeeze all those sexy specs into a 6.3mm profile and a sleek aluminum body.

Rumor has it that Huawei expects to release this Android 4.2-powered device sometime in the second half of 2013, but we’ll be sure to provide more deets as we get them.

source: Nowhereelse
via: Phone Arena

Come comment on this article: Huawei EDGE flagship smartphone gets outed, flaunts its slim 6.3mm body in the process

Real Racing 3, one of the premier racing titles by EA has just gotten a major update. If you thought the original number of events and cars were a lot to handle originally, the new update bring even more delicious goodies by tossing in an additional 100 new events, as well as more cars as well. Oh and more importantly— gamers will have the ability to save their game’s progress on one device and continue it on another device, thanks to the ability to save a game’s progress to the cloud.

Unfortunately, the latest update hasn’t hit the Play Store just yet, but you can expect to see the new version on your device soon… very soon.

Play Store Download Link

Come comment on this article: Real Racing 3 gets updated to bring more events, more cars and cloud save functionality

Microsoft sure is doing its best to stay quiet regarding its launch plans for its Office for Android, but it finally appears that we have an idea of when to expect the productivity suite and tools to hit our Android devices. The gang at ZDNET obtained a leaked roadmap for the mobile port of Microsoft’s Office product, also affectionately known as “Gemini”. The major thing to note right off the bat is that “Gemini” is not only being stalled for a launch later this year, but it’s looking like it will be ready around the fall of next year. As Microsoft’s Win32, Surface RT and Mac versions takes precedent, it will likely have the Android’s app version being developed on the back-end and won’t be ready for the masses until October 2014.

The long wait is definitely a bummer for sure. Here’s hoping that Android port will be worth the wait.

source: ZDNET

Come comment on this article: Leaked roadmap indicates Microsoft Office won’t hit Android devices until Fall 2014

Sure HTC may be dealing with unprecedented shipping delays for its One smartphone, but that hasn’t stopped it from releasing the coveted source code for the anticipated device, as well as the DROID DNA smartphone to the general public. This means that all of you fiddlers and hooligans that like to “tweak” the device will finally have one of the major tools necessary to make the phone just a wee bit better. DROID DNA owners will no doubt be happy about this news, but here’s hoping that all One fans will be patient for just a little longer because hey— the wait will certainly be worth it.

source: HTC (Twitter)

Come comment on this article: HTC releases the DROID DNA and One source codes

We already know that Samsung’s Galaxy S 4 smartphone comes jam-packed with a ton of awesome new features, but what Samsung is out to show there is truly more to the device than anyone could have ever imagined. The world’s largest manufacturer believes that “true innovation involves giving more meaning and comfort to the lives of users through new technologies“. The effect is that the Galaxy S 4 features a combined nine sensors and tons of recognition technologies which aim to learn a user’s behavior, which pretty much aims to make one’s life as easy as possible because hey— we can all be thankful for the Galaxy S 4 having the ability to turn the screen off on its own in order to prevent unnecessary touch interaction while the user is on the phone, right?

You can check out all the interesting sensors and jazzy stuff at the link below.

source: Samsung Tomorrow

Come comment on this article: Samsung further toots its Galaxy S 4′s innovative features by telling the masses we still don’t know how truly awesome the features are