MobileNations

Microsoft introduces two new mouses; invents the "Windows touch tab"

Michael Archambault — Thu, 23 May 2013 17:56:31 +0000

Today Microsoft added two new pieces of hardware to its accessories arsenal, the Sculpt Comfort Mouse and Sculpt Mobile Mouse. The two pieces of input hardware are designed for Windows 8 and allow users to navigate the OS with ease.

The Sculpt Comfort mouse features a touch sensitive blue strip with a white Windows logo, known as the Windows touch tab, on the right side. The tab allows users to navigate Windows 8 with the touch or swipe of their thumb. The bright blue tab can also be clicked in, delivering the user to the Start screen just as a regular Windows logo key would do.

Gestures for the Windows touch tab are as follows: swiping up – cycles through all of your open Windows 8 apps, while swiping down – reveals the multitasking list on the left side of your screen.

As many other Microsoft mouses, the Sculpt Comfort mouse features BlueTrack technology, so it can be used on any surface, and Bluetooth connectivity. The device will be available in June for $39.95.

The Comfort mouse’s smaller brother, the Sculpt Mobile Mouse, is Microsoft’s evolution of the Wireless Mobile Mouse 3500 and features an integrated Windows button. There is no Windows touch tab or Bluetooth on this little guy, but it still packs Redmond’s BlueTrack technology. The Sculpt Mobile Mouse will premier sometime this month for $29.99.

Both pieces of hardware are served to complement Microsoft’s Sculpt Comfort Keyboard which was announced summer of last year. The goal of the Sculpt Comfort accessories are to take advantage of Windows 8 navigation while providing “advanced ergonomics” for the user.

Microsoft is no stranger to developing hardware and its latest creations in mice, webcams, and keyboards are challenging competitors like Logitech to work their hardest.

What accessories do you use with your PC – are any of them Microsoft products?

Sources: Windows Experience Blog [1,2]

mouse

Microsoft Mouse

Sculpt Comfort

Sculpt Mobile

General Accessories

Microsoft News

Windows Phone Central 160 - Lumia 925, 928 and HTC woes

Daniel Rubino — Thu, 23 May 2013 17:53:08 +0000

Holy cow, we're back! Yes folks, after some weeks of even more weary travel and scheduling conflicts, Jay Bennett and myself return for another 90 minute podcast on all things Windows Phone. Tune in for our thoughts on the latest apps, games, and what Nokia has been up to. Plus we take your questions!

Stream the audio above or the HD video after the break or use our app, your pick.

Stream with the Official WPCentral App
Download it directly with this link
Watch the HD video above
Subscribe on your Zune
Subscribe via iTunes
Subscribe directly to the Podcast feed with your favorite Podcatcher here
Listen to it here with the flash player above.

Windows Phone Central podcast, episode 160 for 22 May, 2013

Conversation this week

The Lumia Lineup completed by the 925
Memory gap: 512MB devices are looking increasingly limited

The news you care about

Apps worth your attention

Community

Comments from last time
Live questions and comments

Credits

You can find us all on Twitter @wpcentral, @daniel_rubino, @coppertop004,
@RichEdmonds, @JayTBennett, @PaulRAcevedo, @Big_D5, @samsabri, @marcham93

This has been a Mobile Nations podcast, go to Mobilenations.com for more great shows covering everything mobile, or head over to the WPCentral Forums if you'd like to get involved with our community in discussing more about Windows Phone news, devices and apps.

Thanks to the WPCentral Store for sponsoring the podcast. Thanks also to these great artists for the music and to CCMixter.org for offering a great database of Creative Commons music!

podcast

160

Podcast

Gear up your BlackBerry for the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix

Adam Zeis — Thu, 23 May 2013 17:33:53 +0000

The BlackBerry-sponsored Mercedes AMG Petronas team will be hitting the pavement in Monte Carlo for the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday. I've never been a big fan of F1 before, but of course now that BlackBerry is sponsoring a team, how could I avoid it?

Also, the Monaco Grand Prix will be the first time an F1 race is broadcast live on network TV here in the US (NBC).

iMore show 350: All-new!

Rene Ritchie — Thu, 23 May 2013 17:31:47 +0000

Subscribe via iTunes:Audio | Video
Subscribe via RSS: Audio | Video
Download directly: Audio | Video

Show notes

Pending.

Guests

Michael Simmons of Flexibits
Derek Kessler of Mobile Nations

Hosts

Rene Ritchie of iMore
Peter Cohen of iMore

Credits

You can reach all of us on Twitter @iMore, or you can email us at podcast@imore.com or just leave us a comment below.

For all our podcasts -- audio and video -- including the iMore show, ZEN and TECH, Iterate, Debug, Ad hoc, and more, see MobileNations.com/shows

Michael Simmons of Flexibits and Derek Kessler of Mobile Nations join Rene Ritchie and Peter Cohen of iMore to talk Apple taxes, Xbox One, the Mac Pro, apps, accessories, and more!

Windows Phone advertisements pop up at AMC theaters and gives your popcorn bag a makeover

Michael Archambault — Thu, 23 May 2013 17:24:57 +0000

Microsoft’s push for Windows Phone has to lead to advertising popping up in a variety of locations; the latest includes your popcorn bag at AMC Theaters.

The American movie theater chain’s popcorn bag features a blown up view of Windows Phone’s signature start screen with a side caption reading “Meet the only phone with Live Tiles, designed to keep you closer to what matters most.” Movie goers can then scan a QR code to demo Windows Phone on their own device.

The flip side of the bag showcases three Nokia handsets including AT&T’s Lumia 920, Verizon’s Lumia 820 and Verizon’s Lumia 928. There are no HTC or Samsung phones in sight, so we know Microsoft is choosing to show off its top partner’s hardware.

The advertisements for Windows Phone don’t stop at the snack bar; displays in the theater urging movie goers to text in for a discounted fountain drink, show off Microsoft’s mobile platform.

As Windows Phone took third place and pushed down Blackberry a notch in global market share, we can assume Redmond’s colorful platform is starting to take notice.

Currently 92% of smartphone shipments are Android and iOS devices. Microsoft isn’t racing ahead and blowing back its competition, but instead chooses to be a steady racehorse slowly taking over its competitors.

In an interview with Mashable.com, Greg Sullivan, head of Windows Phone marketing, spoke about building up the platform’s momentum with the general public.

"It takes a lot of energy to start it and get it going and you see the progress and it feels like it’s very slow progress. It's the tipping point; you get to critical mass or momentum that's self-sustaining."

The past few days have shown Microsoft stepping up its advertising and we only expect the trend to continue.

How did you first hear about Windows Phone – did you see an advertisement or stumble upon the platform in another fashion?

Sources: Mashables [1,2], Thanks to Erzhik for the tip!

WWDC Keynote confirmed for Monday, June 10 -- bring on iOS 7 and OS X 10.9!

Rene Ritchie — Thu, 23 May 2013 17:02:59 +0000

While everyone's pretty much taken for granted that a Monday, June 10 WWDC 2013 kickoff would be a Monday, June 10, 10am (pacific) WWDC Keynote, it's still nice to see it confirmed. John Paczkowski of AllThingsD:

Apple today said the keynote address for its annual Worldwide Developers Conference will occur on Monday June 10 at Moscone Center in San Francisco.

No word on the headliners, but if Apple holds to pattern, Tim Cook will lead the charge, and bring out Phil Schiller, Craig Federighi, and Eddy Cue for hardware, software, and services, respectively. This year, that could include new Haswell MacBooks, iOS 7 and OS X 10.9, and perhaps even a newer, better iCloud.

The only wild card this year is whether or not Jony Ive takes the stage to show off his newer, flatter, Apple aesthetic?

Source: AllThingsD

Nokia not as amateur as Apple, makes antenna that works on Lumia 925

Rich Edmonds — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:59:39 +0000

Nokia has taken an opportunity to go into some detail about the Lumia 925 and its antenna improvements, utilising the aluminium to wrap around the sides of the Windows Phone. The "ring" of metal acts as part of the phone's radio system, with stripes that separate the antennas (main antenna at the bottom with two more towards the top of the device) from the other sections of metal.

The blog post notes that whether the owner is on GSM, WCDMA or LTE, it will provide consistent performance, as well as adjusting the "balance of power" between the antennas depending on how the Lumia 925 is currently being held. Woah; crazy stuff. The end result is the same radio performance as one would expect from a wholly polycarbonate design, but with an interesting aluminium twist.

It's humorously noted that should a Lumia 925 user hold the phone with two hands covering each and every edge of the device, this will have a negative impact on the signal. But it's stated this is the case with every other mobile phone. So relax, folks. We're not going to see the repeat of what happened with a competitor product only to have Stephen Elop state that we're all holding the darn thing incorrectly.

Source: Nokia Conversations

Evernote updates brings reminders to the iPhone, iPad, and Mac

Joseph Keller — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:49:42 +0000

Evernote for iPhone, iPad, and Mac have all been updated today, adding a feature long requested by many users: reminders. Users can now click or tap the small alarm clock icon to add a reminder to any of their notes, which will pin those notes to the top of their note list in a new Reminders section, which can be manually reordered. Due dates can be added to reminders, and users can choose whether they want to receive notifications from the app itself, via email, or both. Mark the note as done by hitting the checkmark on the left when you are finished. Reminders work with Evernote’s shared notebooks as well.

There were some other, non-reminder related features added to both the Mac and iOS versions of Evernote. Both versions now boast enhanced security with XAuth, and allow users to view any application that has access to their account from Evernote Web. Additionally, Evernote for Mac has a redesigned vertical list that shows more notes, two new text styles, and the ability to edit saved searches.

Both updates are available now.

Free for Mac - Download Now
Free for iPhone & iPad - Download Now

India's Jet Airways follows up Nokia-clad planes with a very nice app for Windows Phone

Seth Brodeur — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:48:22 +0000

If you recall, all the way back at the beginning of last year, India's Jet Airways helped celebrate the release of the Lumia 800 in India by draping many of their planes in Nokia advertisements.

They have since followed up with a fantastic app for Windows Phone 7.X and 8, which came out at the beginning of May. The Jet Airways app covers you from booking, to flight status to rewards.

We may have missed it at the beginning of the month, but here's your chance to play catchup with us!

This full-featured app, which was developed in association with Nokia, is India's first native airline app of its kind for any mobile platform.

"This will be India's first NATIVE app for an airline on any mobile platform which will help travelers to access information and book tickets seamlessly. Nokia and Jet Airways have come together to help make travel planning convenient, simple and smart. Today a smartphone is intrinsic to the way we live and we believe this is a step towards creating pioneering travel apps for the airline industry", said Gerard Rego, Director Developer Experience, Nokia India.

Features include:

Book Flights - Pay securely using your credit card. Also Pin your booked itinerary as a Tile on your phone
JetPrivilege Loyalty Program– Enroll or Access your JetPrivilege Account on the go
Flight Status - Check real-time flights status by searching with your flight number, airport or route
Flight Status Notification – Register for your flight status and get notified on any updates
Get updates on the latest News and Special Offers
Feedback - Share your experience on our services.

You can download it for free here.

Source: AviationPros

Moshi introduces the new Codex case for the Retina MacBook Pro and MacBook Air

Richard Devine — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:29:58 +0000

Popular accessory maker Moshi is back, with a pair of new protective cases for the Retina MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air. The cases are the second generation in Moshi's Codex line of MacBook cases and will be available for both sizes of MacBook Air, and both sizes of Retina MacBook Pro.

The Codex cases are tailored to fit the MacBook, with the interiors insulated with memory foam, and the exteriors taking on a brushed metal appearance while being water resistant. The new versions come with a new new binding for added durability, and a curved design to maintain the lowest profile possible. When opened up, all ports on whichever MacBook you own are full available, so there's no need to remove it from the case to use it.

Something like this would be handy to have while travelling, and the new Codex cases are fully TSA approved so the laptop doesn't need to come out of the case when going through airport security.

The Codex will be available in Steel Black and Brushed Aluminum finishes for the two 13-inch MacBooks, and in Steel Black for the 11-inch Air and 15-inch Retina. Prices start at $70 for the 11-inch, to $75 for the 13-inch and $80 for the largest 15-inch case. No availability information is available at this time, but let us know what you think. Travellers in particular, does something like the new Codex appeal to you to look after your MacBook on your travels?

Puzzle Quest 2 headlines this week's Windows Phone Red Stripe Deals

Paul Acevedo — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:20:36 +0000

For Xbox fans, the best part of the weekly Red Stripe Deals promotion is undoubtedly the Xbox Red Stripe Deal. Each week, one game with juicy Achievements drops its price - often as low as 99 cents. The sale price depends on the starting price though.

Case in point: Puzzle Quest 2 from Namco Bandai usually sells for a crazy $6.99, but this week it costs only $2.99. The puzzle RPG previously went on sale for five bucks way back in March 2012. Three dollars might not be as sweet as 99 cents, but it’s certainly an improvement.

Also on sale this week are Drift Mania Championship 2 (only for Windows Phone 8), the indie racing game and a musical app called Synthpling. We’ve got descriptions, screenshots and Store links after the break.

Puzzle Quest 2 (Windows Phone 7 or 8)

Regular price: $6.99 Sale price: $2.99 Download size: MB Store Link

Puzzle Quest 2 is a puzzle role-playing game. Players explore large dungeons, take on quests, and collect plenty of loot. Whenever a battle occurs, the fighting is done via Bejeweled-like match-3 gameplay. It’s an extremely long game with decent-good art, multiple playable characters, and several clever minigames.

A few problems like poorly-thought out Achievements, lengthy loading times, and annoying lack of Fast App Switching keep Puzzle Quest 2 from greatness. Still, the gameplay is just super addicting. If you like Bejeweled and RPGs, you really can’t do any better. Check out our exhaustively-researched (seriously!) review for more details.

If you'd rather play Puzzle Quest 2 on your big screen, the XBLA version is on sale to Xbox Live Gold members for 600 MS Points ($7.50) through May 27th.

Drift Mania Championship 2 (Windows Phone 8)

Regular price: $1.99 Sale price: 99 cents Download size: 216 MB Store Link

You’ll recognize this title as the first Windows Phone game made with the Unity engine, as well as the first game to support the MOGA controller. The only problem with that controller support: the game hasn’t been patched to work with it yet! Yeah, the version we played at GDC supported it, but the public version seems to be one update behind.

Hopefully Ratrod Studio and MOGA get that sorted out quickly. Ratrod should add some line breaks to the game’s store description while they’re at it.

Anyway, Drift Mania 2 is an arcade-style racing game with fairly good 3D graphics (not as pretty as Asphalt 7 though). Career mode spans 13 circuits and allows players to purchase licensed upgrades and other customizations for their cars. You can engage in multiplayer drift battles both online and with local Wi-Fi too.

Synthpling (Windows Phone 7 or 8)

Regular price: $2.99 Sale price: $1.49 Download size: 23 MB Store Link

Want to make music on your phone for some reason? Synthpling lets you do just that. It comes from Phonolab, the developer of audio recording and editing app Ringcorder.

Synthpling’s synthesizer offers a keyboard in multiple layouts and ranges. The sampler feature allows users to record voice samples, modify them, and map them to the piano keys. If I was musically inclined, I’d totally give this one a swing.

Have any of you guys created your own tunes with Synthpling? If so, share a video with us!

red stripe deals

puzzle quest 2

Drift Mania Championship 2

Huawei gets a Store of its own on Windows Phone, kinda

Daniel Rubino — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:17:27 +0000

Huawei hasn’t exactly taken the Windows Phone ecosystem by storm, not even with their low-end, "let’s compete against Android" Ascend W1. As it turns out, Nokia seems to be beating the Chinese firm to most of the entry level consumers interested in Windows Phone devices.

And then there’s that exclusive apps/Store thing called the Nokia Collection that you may have heard about.

Well, Huawei has evidently thrown the switch on their own “collection” in the Store, which is simply called “Huawei Selected”. They now join the ranks of LG, Samsung, HTC and Nokia in providing custom apps for their consumers.

Problem is the Huawei store has one measly app called Find Me (by Seth Kigen), which is available to anyone with a Windows Phone and for some reason it has only 1 star for its single review. No custom apps, nothing interesting or unique (even LG used to have some killer stuff back in the day).

Maybe we’ll see the Huawei Store populate with some interesting, exclusive titles in the future. But for now, they’re about a marathon away from coming close to Nokia.

Source: Windows Phone Italy, Reddit

Calling the CrackBerry Community: We want to feature YOUR awesome photos in our articles!

Kevin Michaluk — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:12:10 +0000

Have some amazing BlackBerry photos you think would be suitable for CrackBerry posts?

Read the details below and submit them in to cbphotos@mobilenations.com!

One of the things we realized while designing the new CrackBerry is that the site really looks best when we include real people in the "hero" photos that accompany articles. Given the site's clean look and high quality of design, putting real people into the photos gives it an extra touch of life that makes it even more compelling and engaging. This is especially true when you visit the CrackBerry homepage on the main desktop site - you'll notice the site always looks best when the featured stories at the top have people in them. As sexy as phones are, it gets kind of repetitive and boring if all you see up and down the page is device photo after device photo after device photo.

If you've been following the site daily the past couple of months, you've probably noticed there have been quite a few photos of me on the site along with the mysterious blonde (let's call her Storm) in the photo above. There's a good reason for this. While in NYC the past two months, I was also with our Design Director, David Lundblad, who is a pretty damn good photographer in his spare time (and yes, the mysterious blonde is his gf). David likes taking photos, and we took advantage of our time together to do some experimenting and play with different styles of photos on the site for different types of posts. Overall, the experiment has been a great success - we definitely succeeded in adding variety to the photos and making things more interesting.

Angry your dictation button has gone gray and useless? Here's a fix that's only slightly less annoying!

Rene Ritchie — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:56:35 +0000

Dictation is a fantastic, Siri-like service on iPhone and iPad that, at the tap of a mic button, transforms what you say out loud into text on the screen. But sometimes that mic button ghosts over, grays out, and otherwise becomes un-tabble. That kills the natural-language interface, makes apps less accessible, and can otherwise stop your productivity dead.

It rarely happens with built-in apps like Messages (though it does sometimes), but it's happening quite often with third party apps, especially Twitter clients. It, of course, should never, not ever happen. iOS should do everything it needs to to keep that button live. But it seems, based on my own tests and talking to a few developers, that when memory gets low, iOS turns off Dictation. Sigh.

However, since memory does seem to be the issue, there's an easy if annoying fix:

Kill all apps in the fast app switcher to free up memory.

How to force quit apps in iOS

It's a waste of time but it has its uses and this is one of them. As soon as whatever's sitting in the background -- doing what it shouldn't be doing, eating up all the memory it should't be eating -- is defenestrated from the system, the Dictation button will de-gray and come roaring back to life.

Hopefully Apple fixes this in iOS 7, and the Dictation button just works and keeps on working. Meanwhile, anyone found a better way to fix this?

Galaxy Mega 6.3 headed to Three UK

Alex Dobie — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:54:58 +0000

First UK network to confirm it'll carry Samsung's 6.3-incher

Three UK is the first (and so far only) major UK network to confirm plans to launch the 6.3-inch Samsung Galaxy Mega. The Mega 6.3, which dwarfs even the Galaxy Note 2, packs a 720p display resolution, Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean and the latest TouchWiz UI. On the inside it's running a 1.7GHz dual-core CPU and 1.5GB of RAM. And yes, it's a rather large telephone.

There's no date on the cards yet for the Galaxy Mega's arrival on Three, but reports from independent retailers point to a July launch. In the meantime, Three's published an official teaser video, which you can find over at the source link.

Source: YouTube

Ashton Kutcher - the star of jOBS - is at CTIA and here's the liveblog!

Phil Nickinson — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:38:18 +0000

It's debatable whether we'll ever see the release of the jOBS movie outside its initial screenings, but the show, as they say, must go on. And to that effect, actor Ashton Kutcher -- who played the late Steve Jobs in the movie -- is here at the CTIA conference in Las Vegas. He's also a tech investor and has founded a company for original digital media.

We'll be liveblogging the conversation this morning, starting at 9:30 a.m. PDT -- that's 12:30 p.m. on the East Cost. Join us!

CTIA Day 3 Liveblog: Ashton Kutcher live at 12:30 p.m. EDT

Phil Nickinson — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:35:23 +0000

We're live from the third day of CTIA in Las Vegas. And at this morning's keynote address we're gearing up for a chat with actor Ashton Kutcher, who also happens to be a bit of a technology nerd as well as the latest portrayer of Steve Jobs in a movie that might or might not see the light of day later this year. (Initial screenings didn't go so well, apparently.)

So, strap in and join the liveblog after the break. Kelso's up at 9:30 a.m. PDT, 12:30 p.m. EDT.

Nokia CR-200 wireless charging car stand passes through FCC

Rich Edmonds — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:34:14 +0000

We've experienced Nokia tease and show off its upcoming wireless charging car stand (the CR-200), with the most recent sighting at the Nokia Lumia 925 and Lumia 928 event in London. We also got to check out Nokia's docking app that would launch through NFC as the Lumia Windows Phone is inserted into the stand. Today we're pleased to relay news that this very product has now passed through FCC.

What does this mean for consumers? We'll likely see the accessory make its way to Nokia's online store and supporting retailers soon enough. If you're looking for an official solution for installing you Lumia Windows Phone in your vehicle, there may not be much of a wait left to endure. Here's our quick look at the product back at the event in London (also sporting the app):

What's also interesting to note from the FCC filing is how the car charging stand will also come with cable clips and an extension for extra length (see above FCC image), which will be handy should you have some distance from the port and windscreen. The user manual is also presently available if you're wanting to get on top of your homework before purchasing one.

Check out more shots (including internals) and information over on the FCC website.

Source: FCC; thanks, jmajid, for the heads up!

Have $39 to spare? Then pick up this odd Sylvania 7” netbook with Windows CE

Daniel Rubino — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:22:11 +0000

Ah, Windows CE aka “Compact Embedded”. It was the heart of Windows Mobile and for a long time, powered kiosks and all sorts of service devices (it still does, in fact). For consumers, it was never quite full-blown Windows, but it did have a lot of the core components including Internet Explorer.

So it’s weird to see this “factory recertified” Windows CE 7” tablet hailing from Sylvania going for the “daily steal” for just $39. The device came out in late 2009/2010, so you’re hardly getting relevant technology (even back then this was low-end).

But for $39? (regular is around $100), you hacker types could do some fun things with this little guy. Maybe not Matrix-level stuff, but we’re sure if you’re creative enough you could find a daily usage for it and if not? You paid $39 for a “netbook”.

Also, one word: kids.

Here are the full specs:

Compact design
3 USB ports
Touchpad
SD memory card slot
Headphone jack
Microphone jack
1800 mAh battery
WiFi
128MB RAM
Windows CE 6.0
Ethernet port
7” LCD screen

We may just pick one up because we’re silly like that, but are they any takers who will grab their own? If so, how will you use it? Share your ideas in comments, people!

Remember, this is a daily deal thing, which means you only have 12 hours left!

Source: Daily Steals

Developers can now use Metrotube's player with app-to-app communication in latest update

Rich Edmonds — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:17:00 +0000

The developer of Metrotube, Lazyworm has released an update for its popular Windows Phone YouTube app. So what's new in this latest release? Lazyworm has opened it up for other Windows Phone 8 developers to utilise URI app-to-app communication and automatically launch Metrotube's player from within their own apps.

Should you click a video link in a third-party app, which uses Metrotube for said player functionality, you'll be transferred to Metrotube automatically where the media will be displayed. It's a handy feature to implement to further enhance the user experience. This will take place within our very own Windows Phone Central app (using Metrotube), so you'll be able to see just how cool this is.

As well as opening up this functionality for developers, the 4.0.2.0 update also addresses numerous minor bugs and usability concerns that users have reported. We've got some news for the future too as Lazyworm is currently working on a UI refresh, so be sure to look out for a major overhaul in the future. We'll keep you all updated on progress and when the next update should hit the store.

If you're not familiar with Metrotube, it's one of many unofficial YouTube apps for the Windows Phone platform. Numerous features are sported by the app, including offline playback (preloading) and account management. Once logged in, users can check out playlists, favourites, videos marked for later viewing and more. There are a number of apps available that share similar functionality, including Microsoft's own official attempt.

You can download Metrotube from the Windows Phone Store for $0.99 (listed for both Windows Phone 7 and 8 -free trial available). A beta is also available on Windows 8, if you're interested. Developers, be sure to head on over to the Lazyworm website for more details on how to implement Metrotube support.

metrotube

app-to-app communication

Verizon Galaxy S4 officially available today

Alex Dobie — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:12:23 +0000

$199.99 with a two-year plan, or $649.99 outright

Verizon Wireless customers, your long wait is over -- today you can go out and buy the Samsung Galaxy S4. Though we've been hearing news of pre-order customers getting their devices early, today's the day the S4 is officially available for purchase online and in stores. Verizon is selling the 16GB Galaxy S4 in black and white color options, priced at $199.99 with a two-year plan, or $649.99 outright.

If you're picking up a GS4 on Big Red today, be sure to hit the comments let us know how you get on. We've also got bustling Galaxy S4 forums for all your questions. And if you're still on the fence, you can check out our exhaustive Galaxy S4 review.

More: Galaxy S4 review, Galaxy S4 forums

Source: Verizon Wireless

AT&T getting exclusive 'aurora red' Samsung Galaxy S4

Alex Dobie — Thu, 23 May 2013 14:55:18 +0000

Pre-orders start tomorrow, in-store from June 14

Last night we heard that new colors of the Samsung Galaxy S4 would be arriving this summer, and now we have the first details of when and from whom. AT&T has confirmed that it'll exclusively stock the "aurora red" Galaxy S4 in the U.S., and sends word that the device will be available to pre-order from tomorrow, May 24. Brick-and-mortar AT&T stores will have the device from June 14. The red color will be available for the 16GB model, AT&T says, which costs $199 on contract.

The new red Galaxy S4 makes for a fitting successor to the "garnet red" Galaxy S3 that AT&T debuted last year. If you're tempted to pick up this new, more colorful S4 when it lands, be sure to shout out in the comments.

Source: AT&T

BlackBerry Dev Alpha devices will stay up and running after all

Adam Zeis — Thu, 23 May 2013 14:48:45 +0000

When the BlackBerry Dev Alpha devices were given out, developers were told that at some point the devices would be deactivated and essentially rendered useless (or bricked in geek terms). With plenty of developers eligible to trade in their Dev Alpha for a limited edition BlackBerry Z10 however, this didn't seem like such a big deal.

For anyone that hasn't received a BlackBerry Z10 or just wants to hold onto their Dev Alpha for testing purposes there is good news today. As it turns out, the devices will continue to work past the original deactivation date of June 30th.

Bejeweled Live+ Review: The puzzle king returns to Windows Phone

Paul Acevedo — Thu, 23 May 2013 14:35:16 +0000

You might not know this, but Microsoft and Bejeweled go way back. PopCap created the very first version in Flash in 2001, originally calling it Diamond Mine. When Microsoft hosted the game at its MSN gaming site, the two parties agreed to change the title to Bejeweled, a name that has now become synonymous with the match-3 puzzle genre.

Windows Phone 7 launched with Bejeweled Live, a decent but overpriced ($5!) port of the game with only three game modes. Considering that Bejeweled on iPhone and iPad each include five modes for only one dollar, the original Bejeweled Live has always represented a poor value proposition.

Thankfully, PopCap has finally made good with Bejeweled Live+, essentially a port of the iOS version. A timed Nokia exclusive, it has a two dollar markup on Windows Phone 7 and 8. But three dollars doesn’t sting too badly when we’re talking about the finest pure puzzle game on the platform.

Once more into the mines

By now, just about every gamer should understand Bejeweled’s core gameplay. Match three or more gems of the same color by sliding a single gem horizontally or vertically. More gems then fall into the field, and the process repeats until the game ends. It’s simple and addictive, more so thanks to PopCap’s typically great sound effects.

Matching gems in a skillful way (or by happy accident) can produce some helpful special gems. Four in a row make a Flame Gem that destroys all gems within a small radius when matched. Make a T, L, or Plus to create a Star Gem that clears an entire column or row when matched. Matches of five gems in a row make the all-powerful Hypercube. Swapping the ‘cube with another gem will destroy all gems of that color. Finally, the very rare six gem matches make a Supernova gem that clears a large portion of the screen.

Five ways to play

Bejeweled Live+ includes several modes, some of which originated in Bejeweled 3 for XBLA and PC. That game’s Quest, Ice Storm, and Poker are not found here, nor is Bejeweled Blitz, which sells as a separate game on iOS. Scores achieved in any mode contribute to an overall player level, but that level doesn’t unlock anything (not even an Achievement), making it kind of a worthless feature.

Classic

The original, un-timed game mode (pictured above) in which matches fill up a meter at the bottom of the screen. Once the meter fills, you move on to a new level with a fresh set of gems. The game ends when you can’t make any more matches.

Lightning

A timed mode highly reminiscent of Bejeweled Blitz. You start with 60 seconds to make as many matches as possible, always in pursuit of a higher score. Matching special Time Gems adds more time. Time Gems revert to normal gems after a few seconds, so don’t miss them! Eventually time runs out and the game ends.

Diamond Mine

Another timed mode that I find the most addictive overall. The goal is to dig deep below the ground and find various artifacts buried therein. Matching gems adjacent to the dirt will eliminate that dirt, though some tough spots take two matches to clear.

You start with precious little time, but clearing all of the dirt below a certain line gets you 25 more seconds. On the rare occasions when the entire field is clear of dirt, the game awards a big time bonus. I love Diamond Mine mode, but I wish time wasn’t always so short. Despite the high difficulty, I do find myself coming back again and again…

Zen

The Endless mode of Bejeweled Live becomes Zen mode in Live+. It plays just like Classic, but the there’s always at least one possible match and so the game never ends.

Zen offers some interesting options to enhance the tranquility of the experience. You can change the background music to various nature sounds, select textual mantras to pop up during gameplay, or enable a breathing modulation display. This causes a line to raise and lower on-screen in order to help you regulate your breathing. You do NOT want to get so into your Bejeweling that you forgot to breathe and drop dead, after all!

Butterflies

Want some challenge without a time limit? In this unique mode, colored butterflies spawn at the bottom of the screen. Each match you make causes the butterflies to go up one space. Matching a butterfly eliminates it, but another one will soon spawn. If any butterflies make it to the top of the screen, they get eaten by a spider and the game ends. The game counts how many butterflies you match, but the real goal is just to score as high as possible.

Bejeweled Trance

We can always count on two things from PopCap: their games will look pretty and sound even better. Bejeweled Live+ gets high marks on both fronts, but the sound impresses me most of all. The great sound effects are bolstered by the ethereal voice of Zachary Throne. His commentary could sound goofy on its own, and yet works perfectly in this game’s setting.

Better than all that: the music from composers Peter Hajba and Alexander Brandon. It has this haunting, electronic sound completely unlike any game music I’ve heard. Live+’s tunes come from the longer Bejeweled 3 soundtrack, which you can buy at Bandcamp.

Clunkiness

Live+ is a great port, but the actual menus somehow got worse on the way to Windows Phone. On iPhone or iPad you’d find all of the game modes on the main menu, nice and easy to pick. But here, only here modes are on the main menu, with Zen and Butterflies tucked away under Bonus Games – a needless separation.

The Options menu isn’t found under the main menu’s Help & About, either. Instead, you have to press the up arrow at the bottom of the screen to view your profile. From there, you’ll find Stats and Options. The profile screen refers to the player as “Player” and shows a non-changeable Yellow gem as an avatar. It really should display the player’s Gamertag and Gamerpic or Xbox Live avatar.

Achievements

PopCap always gives the Bejeweled series brutal, hardcore Achievements that are odds with the games’ casual nature. The first Bejeweled Live for instance had an Achievement for matching one million gems, a feat that took an insane 150-200 hours of grinding.

Live+ fares slightly better, as its only grinding Achievements are for destroying a far more reasonable 400 Star Gems and 400 Hypercubes. You can easily knock these out in Diamond Mine mode where they occur more frequently, though it will still take a few hours.

That said, this one still has several Achievements tied to unreasonably high scores and challenges. You’ll have to do insanely well in Lightning and Diamond Mine modes. Butterfly mode has a couple of tough ones too, but they’re more attainable by comparison. A huge part of doing well in these modes comes from luck, so you could spend countless hours in one and play your best but come away with no Achievements for your trouble.

All told, only 20 people have completed Live+’s Achievements.

Overall Impression

Bejeweled Live+ puts the first Bejeweled Live to shame. It has way more content and yet costs two dollars less, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the original game gets de-listed whenever Live+ becomes available to non-Nokia users. Heck, Live+ even trumps the recently released Bejeweled Live for Windows 8 as well since that one lacks Lightning and Zen modes.

Among the Xbox Windows Phone lineup, the only puzzle game that can possibly match Live+ is Puzzle Quest 2. Namco Bandai’s offering takes the same core gameplay and adds a story and RPG elements. On the other hand, it’s much longer than it needs to be and doesn’t even support Fast App Switching. If I could choose only one puzzler for mobile play, it would be Bejeweled Live+.

Bejeweled Live+ - Windows Phone 7 or 8 - $2.99 – 53 MB – Store Link (Nokia exclusive)

Deal of the Day: 37% off the Seidio VITREO Screen Guard for iPhone 5

Brent Zaniewski — Thu, 23 May 2013 14:30:32 +0000

Today Only: Purchase the Seidio VITREO Screen Guard for iPhone 5 and save $14.95!

Made from a high grade glass with a 9H hardness rating, VITREO is shatterproof, allowing it to absorb more impact than your regular screen protector and prevent damage from occurring to your screen. The VITREO's surface feels just like the device's screen without interfering with optical clarity while giving you an extraordinary level of protection.

List Price: ~~$39.95~~ Today Only: $25.00

Learn More and Buy Now

Never miss a deal. Sign up for Daily Deal alerts!

Deal of the Day: Save 44% on the BlackBerry Microfiber Pocket for Z10

ShopCrackBerry — Thu, 23 May 2013 14:24:51 +0000

Today Only: Buy the BlackBerry Microfiber Pocket for Z10 and save $10.99!

The power saving technology of the BlackBerry Microfiber Pocket helps to preserve battery power by automatically dimming the screen. While the exterior protects against bumps and scratches, the soft inner lining helps keep the screen of your smartphone clean. With a slot on the outside of the pocket for easy access to credit cards and ID, the microfiber BlackBerry Pocket is stylish and functional. Available in grey and red.

List Price: $24.99 Today Only: $14.00

Deal also available in the Canada store

Learn More and Buy Now

Never miss a deal. Sign up for Daily Deal alerts!

Deal of the Day: iBOLT Vehicle Charging Dock for Samsung Galaxy S3

ShopAndroid.com — Thu, 23 May 2013 14:03:26 +0000

The May 23 ShopAndroid.com Deal of the Day is the iBOLT Vehicle Charging Dock for Samsung Galaxy S3. Mount your device on your windshield or on the dashboard with this sturdy dock! Enabled with charging capabilities, this dock includes a 9ft USB & aux-out cable for easy speaker integration. It's also compatible with most cases, so you can dock and charge without removing your case each time you travel!

The iBOLT Vehicle Charging Dock is available for just $29.00, 42% off today only. Backed by our 60-day return policy and fast shipping!

Deal also available in the Canada store

Never miss a deal. Sign up for Daily Deal alerts

Going cross platform could skyrocket the number of BBM Money users

Chris Umiastowski — Thu, 23 May 2013 14:03:06 +0000

While reading through BlackBerry-related news yesterday, I saw a post that our friend Ronen published on BerryReview pertaining to BBM Money.

Here’s whats new: In the first 90 days since launching BBM Money in Indonesia, the service has in excess of 60,000 users registered. It’s not exactly a huge number, but apparently the target is to grow this user base to 200,000 by the end of the current year. Sounds like they are well on their way to achieving this goal.

Keep in mind BBM Money can only be used by BlackBerry customers today. And it can only be used to send money between BBM users, or to top up your mobile account. It only exists in Indonesia today, where most BlackBerry hardware is running the legacy BBOS, and the devices don’t have features such as near field communications (NFC) to permit “tap to pay” type functionality.

Nokia updates App Highlights for Windows Phone, changes a few things

Rich Edmonds — Thu, 23 May 2013 13:21:50 +0000

Nokia has released an update for App Highlights, which has now been bumped to version 2.2.5.24. It's a rather minor update that changes a handful of things within the app itself, including the alteration of the highlight layout from landscape to portrait. For those who are unaware, App Highlights is a solution from Nokia for consumers who are seeking more content from the store that they may have not yet come across.

We didn't notice anything else that appeared to be new in this release. More collections were added in a previous update, but the change log still remains present today. You can download App Highlights from the Nokia Collection on the Windows Phone Store.

Mailbox for iPad available now!

Richard Devine — Thu, 23 May 2013 13:17:51 +0000

We knew it was coming, but now Mailbox for iPad is here! Released today into the App Store, Mailbox for iPad provides the same great email experience as the iPhone version but optimized for the larger screen. The iPad version comes by way of an update to the main app.

We've only been playing around with it for a short time, but first impressions are good. All the same great mail management features translate nicely to the larger screen, and swiping feels even more natural on the iPad. The added screen real estate gives you a 2-pane view, so you can scroll through your inbox while reading a message.

Also included in the update is a bunch of bug fixes, without saying which bugs they're fixing. It is also still Gmail only for the time being folks. The download is live in the App Store now, so go get it! Then come back and tell us how you like it.

Free - Download Now

Confirmed: Facebook holding off HTC First UK launch

Alex Dobie — Thu, 23 May 2013 13:07:32 +0000

'Facebook phone' skipping British release, EE spokesperson confirms

It looks like the HTC First might never see the light of day in the UK, as a spokesperson for carrier partner EE has confirmed to Android Central that Facebook is holding off plans to bring the handset to British shores. "Facebook has decided to focus on adding new customisation features to Facebook Home over the coming months," the spokesperson said, "While they are working to make a better Facebook Home experience, they have recommended holding off launching the HTC First in the UK, and so we will shortly be contacting those who registered their interest with us to let them know of this decision."

Despite the decision to hold off the HTC First launch, the EE spokesperson said "we remain committed to bringing our customers the latest mobile experiences, and we will continue to build on our strong relationship with Facebook so as to offer customers new opportunities in the future."

The HTC First went on sale in the U.S. on AT&T last month, but had its price dropped from $99 to 99 cents on contract amid widespread rumors of poor sales. If the First has performed as badly as is being reported, this might explain the decision to curtail any wider launch plans.

An HTC spokesperson declined to comment on the report.

How good is the camera on the HTC One?

Kevin O'Quinn — Thu, 23 May 2013 12:56:19 +0000

We've seen the comparisons between the HTC One and the Galaxy S4, and we've read the reviews for both, also. Surely, that's all that we need to know, right? Questions still remain, like how the camera of the One stacks up in real world use. That's exactly the question that Android Central Forums member Bobbman asked:

Hello all. ... Strongly considering the HTC One. Camera quality is really important to me. I have heard some mixed opinions about the camera. Was hopping you could help me based on the following criteria:

How do photos look on large computer screen. Do not care about cropping or zooming in. Just want them to look good on large screen.

The low light photos are they really good on a consistent basis? I looked at the photo thread and it seems a bit hit or miss.

Does the video capture record sound well? Also have seen mixed opinions about this.

Do photos print well on to a standard 4x6 print? Again not worried about cropping.

Thanks for any input!!!

It's a lengthy conversation already, but the past couple of days have focused on how to get the best pictures out of the One. Some of these tips will apply to just about any device, though. Head past the break for some highlights.

Disney Expedition, finding an activity or restroom is just a tap away

George Ponder — Thu, 23 May 2013 12:34:07 +0000

With summer fast approaching, vacations are being planned and if you're headed to Walt Disney World, you may want to check out Disney Expedition for your Windows Phone 8 or 7.x device.

Disney Expedition is a well laid out companion app for the Disney theme parks that can help you manage your time and help you from getting lost.

Disney Expedition main pages includes information on the Disney parks, hotels, and and activities at Walt Disney World. The park listings includes the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon. In selecting one of the parks you can find attractions, activities, Disney characters associated with the park, shows, shops, dining, and guest services for each.

The hotel listings (too many to list individually) pulls up individual activities, shows, shops, dining and guest services associated with each hotel.

The Activities Page lists attractions, activities, shows, shops, dining and guest services for the Disney Boardwalk, Downtown Disney and ESPN Wide World of Sports.

The guest service listing for each category covers not only guest relations centers but also ATMs, locker rentals, restrooms, smoking areas, first aid stations, picture spots and stroller rentals.When you drill down to the mountains of activities that Walt Disney World offers you can see schedules, wait times, who the activity is perfect for (kids, teens, adults, etc.), and map out the location with Bing Maps.

Disney Expedition will let you set alarm reminders so you won't be late and sort attractions by height/age requirements, types of rides, distance from your current location, and name.

Another neat (and handy) feature with Disney Expedition is that at the bottom of each park, hotel and activity index screen is a restroom button. This will pull up a map of the closet restroom to your current location.

Disney Expedition offers a mound of information to help you get around and survive Walt Disney World. Utilizing your location services helps you from getting lost and I like the reminders that can be set to help you from being late.

Disney Expedition is a free, ad supported app for your Windows Phone 8 or 7.x device that you can see here in the Windows Phone Store.

New Apple Store in Adelaide, Australia looking fantastic ahead of the grand opening!

Richard Devine — Thu, 23 May 2013 12:21:59 +0000

Excitement is building in Adelaide, Australia ahead of this Saturday's opening of their first Apple Store, and judging by these photos the store is looking fantastic! iMore forums member mglivesey kindly sent us some photographs of the completed store as he eagerly awaits the big day.

The interior is as we've come to know and love from an Apple Store; rows of tables adorned with the products, very clean, minimal styling. And, as mglivesey points out, that is a guard that's been hired to keep watch, and he had to snap the photos quickly while he wasn't looking!

The first 1000 people through the doors after the 10am opening are set to get the now traditional commemorative t-shirts. So, to all our Australian friends, will you be joining mglivesey at the grand opening of the Adelaide Apple Store this Saturday? Shout out in the comments, and enjoy the rest of the photos while you're waiting! And if you grab any shots of the grand opening, be sure to share them with us too!

Thanks mglivesey for the photos!

Mireo navigation and it's free trial updated for BlackBerry Q10 support

James Richardson — Thu, 23 May 2013 11:18:46 +0000

A while back we told you about the Mireo voice guided satellite application and the fact that it comes with a free seven day trial. The developer dropped me an email to let us know that BlackBerry Q10 owners can now take advantage of the app and with it's free trial there is no reason not too.

Report: 'Around 5 million' HTC One phones sold

Alex Dobie — Thu, 23 May 2013 11:01:32 +0000

Number given to the Wall Street Journal by unnamed HTC executive

HTC has sold approximately five million of its latest flagship smartphone, the HTC One, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. The paper quotes an unnamed HTC executive saying the company had sold "around five million" HTC One devices since the launch around a month and a half ago.

"Orders are pretty good so far and are still more than what we can supply. This is partly due to the shortage of components. When the issue is resolved next month, we will have a better idea if it's doing really well or not," the executive is quoted as saying, referring to supply issues with camera components for the phone.

If accurate, the 5 million figure shows strong sales for the device the face of fierce competition from the likes of Apple and Samsung. By contrast, rival Samsung says it recently passed the 10 million units shipped mark for its new Galaxy S4, which went on sale around the world during the last week of April, so it's still comfortably ahead of its Taiwanese rival.

HTC will be relying on sales of the One to remedy its current financial woes, and shifting five million units is certainly a significant step in the right direction. What's more, the news might also quell worries over the stream of high-profile figures who've recently left the company.

Source: WSJ Online

Amazon Appstore now 'in nearly 200 countries'

Alex Dobie — Thu, 23 May 2013 10:37:57 +0000

Web-based Appstore now available in the UK

Amazon has announced that its Appstore for Android -- the Google Play rival operated by the online retail giant -- is now available in almost 200 countries following its expansion of the service. In a press release today, Amazon also revealed that the Kindle Fire is spreading its reach across the globe, with the total countries in which it's available set to reach 170 on June 13. To celebrate, Amazon says it'll bring back the popular Fruit Ninja as a free app of the day, along with Cut the Rope: Experimentals and classic puzzler Tetris -- these will be available from May 23.

Finally the web-based Amazon Appstore is now available to users in the UK. Brits can point their browsers to www.amazon.co.uk/appstore to look through the selection of available paid and free apps.

More details in the presser after the break.

Time to have some fun with your BlackBerry 10 buddies with Tilty

James Richardson — Thu, 23 May 2013 10:29:11 +0000

This one is a fun little game for when you and your buddies with BlackBerry 10 smartphones get together. Tilty is currently available on both the BlackBerry Z10 and Q10 so no restrictions which is good to see.

Microsoft recruits Siri to take on the iPad in their latest Windows 8 commercial

Richard Devine — Thu, 23 May 2013 10:27:48 +0000

Microsoft has launched their new Windows 8 commercial, and appears to have recruited Siri to help them take on the iPad. OK, so Siri would never do such a thing, but they're licensing the same voice, and it achieves the same effect. The 30-second clip takes aim at what the iPad can't do, that a Windows 8 tablet can. The whole thing is a parody of an Apple ad, right down to the chopsticks played on Garageband at the end.

During the clip, 'Siri' is heard to say each of the things that the iPad can't do, like Live Tiles and 'snapped' side-by-side applications. All true, but not necessarily the sort of thing that's going to turn someone away from buying the iPad. Then we get to the killer "I guess Powerpoint isn't one of those things" line. Yeah. But of course, Microsoft isn't missing out on a whole giant heap of revenue in not releasing a version of Office for the iPad now, is it?

What Microsoft didn't specifically mention in the commercial is that the tablet they were using -- the ASUS Vivotab Smart -- runs the full version of Windows 8. And, that means at some point, someone is going to find themselves operating in the traditional Windows desktop environment, which isn't exactly tablet friendly. Or perhaps they'll wonder why they have two different looking versions of Internet Explorer on the same device.

So, what do you guys think of this latest effort from the folks at Redmond? It's not at all subtle, but is there anything in there that would compel you to drop your iPad for a Windows 8 tablet? Office? Price? Live Tiles? Anything? Drop us your thoughts!

via WPCentral

Google Now wins grand prize for 'best everyday utility' at 2013 UX awards

Alex Dobie — Thu, 23 May 2013 10:17:48 +0000

'Huge honor' for the Google Now team, says Matias Duarte

Google Now -- Google's card-based predictive search tool -- has been awarded the grand prize for "best everyday utility" at the 2013 User Experience Awards. To claim the prize, Google Now saw off competition from a wide variety of different projects, including Belkin's WeMo home automation system and healthcare startup ZocDoc.

Announcing the win on Google+, Android design lead Matias Duarte called the award a "huge honor" for the entire Google Now team. Google Now is one of the most important smartphone features of the past year, and it's a well-deserved win for Duarte and his team.

The UX award will sit alongside Popular Science's 2012 "Innovation of the Year" award in the Google Now trophy room.

Source: User Experience Awards; via: Matias Duarte

Voice search coming to Google Chrome Omnibox on iOS

Richard Devine — Thu, 23 May 2013 09:49:04 +0000

An update is due to hit for Google Chrome on iOS in the coming days, and with it we'll see their new voice search capabilities added to the Omnibox. Having just rolled out a similar feature to Google Chrome for Mac -- albeit using the Google home page instead -- it seems the iOS version is next on the list.

When you touch the Omnibox in the updated version, a microphone appears for you to speak your queries directly to Google. In some instances you will receive a spoken response, just as on the desktop version. As well as all this voice searching business, Google is also improving the speed at which webpages will reload by better using the cache when the network speed is slower.

Speaking queries to your iPhone and iPad all sounds mightily familiar, but would you use this in place of Siri at all? It is only for web searches after all, but if you're a heavy Chrome user is this something you'll be putting to use? Look for the update to land in the App Store in the coming days.

Source: Google Chrome Blog

Twitter for Mac updated again, now supports Notification Center

Richard Devine — Thu, 23 May 2013 09:29:25 +0000

Twitter for Mac has received its second update in a matter of weeks, and this time we're treated to Notification Center support. It's been a long time in coming, especially considering the number of competing apps that already have the same support, but it's better late than never. This comes just a few weeks after the app was updated to support the Retina Display MacBook Pro.

In addition to the Notification Center support, Twitter has thrown in a bunch of fixes, the most notable of which is the fix for Growl notifications not working for users in Lion and Mountain Lion. Grab a copy right now from the Mac App Store, and be sure to tell us if this latest update finally makes you happier with the official Twitter client, or if you're still happier using something else?

Free - Download Now

HTC Desire 600 announced: Quad-core, dual-SIM, BoomSound in a mid-range handset

Alex Dobie — Thu, 23 May 2013 09:25:23 +0000

Headed to Russia, Ukraine, Middle East and Asia from June

Just 24 hours after the name was initially leaked, HTC has officially announced the Desire 600, a new mid-range handset aimed at Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The HTC Desire 600 sports many of the headline features of HTC's current flagship, the HTC One. You've got Jelly Bean (we presume Android 4.1, not 4.2) and Sense 5.0, a pair of beastly "BoomSound" speakers, the BlinkFeed home screen experience and Beats Audio. The new Sense 5 Gallery app has made it across, it seems, as has video highlights. Zoes, however, are not mentioned on the spec sheet.

The handset is powered by a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 CPU with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage, expandable via microSD. Around the back there's an 8-megapixel BSI camera with f/2.0 lens. That screen on the front is a 4.5-inch qHD panel, a significant step down from the One's 1080p SuperLCD3, but not a horribly low resolution. The Desire 600 dual also comes with dual SIM capabilities, and runs on 900/2100MHz HSPA networks with data speeds up to 7.2Mbps.

The HTC Desire 600 is due out in early June, starting in Russia, Ukraine and MEA (Middle East and Africa) -- no word of any plans for a wider European release just yet. We've got the full press release below, along with a few more photos.

Google Play Magazines app updated with new UI

Alex Dobie — Thu, 23 May 2013 09:07:01 +0000

New 'Holo light' UI brings Magazines in line with latest Play Music and Play Store apps

Google has updated the Play Magazines app for Android to verison 2.0, bringing a new, lighter user interface. The new version of the app draws inspiration from the recent updates to Google Play Music and the Play Store, both of which have received UI updates in the past month or so. Everything's generally a lot lighter and brighter, and there's a new slide-out sidebar allowing you to switch between Read Now, Library and Shopping views. The official changelog also lists bug fixes in this new version of Play Magazines.

If you're already using Play Magazines, hit "My Apps" in the Play Store app to update. Alternatively we've got a Google Play web link up above.

Clear for iPhone now lets you email lists, recipients can open with Clear app

Leanna Lofte — Thu, 23 May 2013 06:02:19 +0000

Clear, the beautiful, gesture-ridden list-keeper for iPhone, has been updated with the ability to share lists via email. Instead of just a text based email, Clear also includes an attachment that allows recipients to open the list with the Clear app. To share a list, simply shake your iPhone to bring up the email option.

Realmac Software also teases of a couple new secret themes and the promise of an iPad version of Clear in the future.

What do you think of the new update? The ability to share a list that can be opened with Clear is very cool. I'm also very excited about the idea of an iPad version. Are there any other features you'd love to see added to Clear?

$1.99 - Download now

BlackBerry 10.2 bringing standard unicode Emoji support, return of Level 1 notifications and more!

Bla1ze — Thu, 23 May 2013 05:54:57 +0000

While a lot of folks are still waiting to get their hands on BlackBerry 10.1, BlackBerry 10.2 is already in the works. That's never really been a secret, it's just a plain fact at this point. Creating a little bit of excitement through his BBM Channel, BlackBerry Product Manager, Michael Clewley, shared some of the smaller details about what exactly BlackBerry 10.2 will be bringing along with it in short list of changes:

How about a Porsche Design BlackBerry Q10?

Bla1ze — Thu, 23 May 2013 05:27:30 +0000

The Porsche Design P'9981 was a pretty interesting device but it's now a little bit outdated even with it having arrived in gold. Arguably, it was outdated at the time of release but that didn't matter to a lot of folks. Personally, I wanted one but I couldn't justify the cost for what essentially broke down to a dressed up BlackBerry Bold 9900. A Porsche Design BlackBerry Q10 though, that's something I could possibly go for.

Sadly, the likelihood of that device being a reality is unknown at this point, but we can at least imagine what one would look like thanks to CrackBerry forums member, DYLANHABKIRK. He rendered up the above image just to see what it may look like if it was to ever be created and I have to say it looks pretty badass. Again, not a real device but what do you guys think of it? Put it into production?

Samsung officially moves 10 Million Galaxy S4s, expect new colors this summer

Jerry Hildenbrand — Thu, 23 May 2013 05:06:48 +0000

Galaxy S4 Samsung's fastest selling smart phone, beating previous Galaxy models handily

As predicted last week, Samsung has pushed over 10,000,000 Galaxy S4 units out the door since the phone first became available on April 26. This solidly beats the previous record of 10 Million Galaxy S3s, which took 50 days and puts the S4 squarely at the top of the list for the years highest sellers, at least for now.

On behalf of Samsung, I would like to thank the millions of customers around the world who have chosen the Samsung Galaxy S4. At Samsung we'll continue to pursue innovation inspired by and for the people.

-- JK Shin, CEO and president of the IT and mobile communications division at Samsung Electronics

In addition to the announcement of 10 million units getting sold, Samsung has also said that we should expect more color variations of the S4 during the course of this summer. The new colors are listed as Blue Arctic and Red Aurora (pictured above), followed by Purple Mirage and Brown Autumn. The S4 will also be moving to 45 more countries over the course of the year, bringing the total countries selling the S4 to 155.

Source: Samsung

Otterbox buys LifeProof, two great cases that now case great together

Rene Ritchie — Thu, 23 May 2013 04:09:07 +0000

iPhone and iPad accessory maker Otterbox has announced that they're buying iPhone and iPad accessory maker LifeProof. "OtterProof" -- as I'm sure someone will be calling them since "LifeBox" is probably taken? -- CEO Brian Thomas had this to say:

The joining of OtterBox and LifeProof is a way to combine two great brands and provide customers with even more great products, services and choices for smartphone accessories. Both companies are successful because we foster an environment where everyone takes pride in being part of a culture that knows how to identify opportunities and grow them quickly. Our goal in this acquisition is to create more value for our customers than we ever could have generated while operating individually.

I love both companies' products, and we our accessory division sells both companies' products in the iMore store so here's hoping they become greater than the sum of their parts and put out even more spectacular products post-merger.

Anyone else looking forward to a sleeker, slimmer, even more rugged OtterProof Defender? Or are you already lamenting the deal?

Source: Otterbox

Leaked OS 10.1.0.1916 for the BlackBerry Z10

Bla1ze — Thu, 23 May 2013 03:36:19 +0000

If you're among those who enjoy loading a leaked OS onto your device, it's once again time to grab your BlackBerry Z10, USB cable and settle in for a night of testing. Another OS leak for the BlackBerry Z10 (STL100-2, STL100-3) has turned up in the CrackBerry forums. This time around, you'll be putting OS 10.1.0.1916 to the test if you dare to load it. I've not had much time with the file myself but it I did load it up on my spare Z10 and all seems to of have gone well thus far.

Right then, as always - use caution when installing a leaked OS like this and remember if you break your phone it's not our fault. Also, a good idea to make a backup because you're essentially performing a factory restore on your device. If you don't want to lose data, a backup is needed. You'll need a Windows PC to install these files and If it goes downhill, remember you can always wipe and restore your device. If you're curious, the file itself was signed as of May 16th so there's no doubt later versions out there already but for now, this is what we have. You know, in case you want to wait for a later version.

Alan Wake goes on sale for $4.99 in the Xbox 360 Marketplace

Michael Archambault — Thu, 23 May 2013 03:03:42 +0000

If you haven't had a chance to play the award winning psychological horror game, Alan Wake, from Remedy Entertainment and Microsoft Game Studios - do it now. The terrifying title is currently available for download from the Xbox LIVE marketplace for less than five dollars.

The game features Alan Wake, a best-selling thriller author, who has been suffering from writers block and unable to continue his latest novel. In an attempt to rekindle his mind, he and his wife, Alice, travel to the mountains for a short vacation in a desolate cabin (you already know this sounds like a bad idea). As Alan returns from a night walk in the woods (seriously, dude?), he arrives to find his wife being pulled down into the lake by an unknown force; he runs after her into the lake, only to black out - this is where the horrific adventure begins.

Check out the game trailer above and let us know what you think of the game if you already own it! If the title isn't already in your library you can purchase the game for Xbox 360 by clicking here.

Enjoy your nightmares...

Source: Consumer Camp

Welcome to the world of Windows Phone

Rich Edmonds — Thu, 23 May 2013 01:34:51 +0000

Are you new to Windows Phone, or just the realm of mobile when it comes to Microsoft? If so, then welcome aboard! You’re at the right place as Windows Phone Central is the number one online resource for all things Windows Phone. We’ll be diving into why you should choose Windows Phone, what makes the platform great for not only personal, but work life too and how you can get involved in the community. So grab a cup of tea and let’s dive in.

As this is a guide through the basics of the platform, we’re going to assume that everyone reading this will either be new to Windows Phone or smartphones in general. If you're already up on your knowledge, these guides may not be for you. Let’s start with some history about the platform itself.

Microsoft’s new mobile platform

If you’re not up on your smartphone knowledge, Windows Mobile was the old platform that Microsoft developed prior to 2010. Released in October of that same year, Windows Phone 7 (read our review) was the company’s attempt to throw up something new to compete against the rising Android and well-established iOS. Starting fresh, Microsoft had a huge mountain to climb in order to get Windows Phone into a comfortable position.

The company has a secret weapon though – the operating system itself.

Live Tiles, a strong focus on typography, just to name a few features of Windows Phone that make it unique compared to competing mobile platforms. The idea (and main selling point) is Microsoft has created a platform for the individual, instead of catering for all consumers. The intuitive user interface offers a new experience that’s not presently available on the market with any competitor.

The beauty of Windows Phone is also the support. With a huge software company behind the platform, Windows Phone has received numerous updates and has been tied into Microsoft's “three screens” vision – integrating Windows Phone with Windows 8 and Xbox for numerous benefits. Microsoft has years of experience when it comes to operating system development and deployment, which surely gives the company an upper-hand in the competitive mobile industry.

Moving on up to 7.8 + 8

As noted above, Windows Phone has progressed through multiple updates, some minor while a few have added features and functionality to further enhance the user experience. Windows Phone 7.5 was released in early 2011. It was then revealed that Microsoft would be refreshing Windows Phone with a second generation, replacing the CE architecture with the Windows NT Kernel. Cue Windows Phone 8, which was launched in October 2012, two years after Windows Phone 7 hit the market.

First generation hardware is not eligible for the major software upgrade (think of it as unable to move from Windows XP to Windows 7 or 8 on a desktop PC due to hardware limitations), and so Microsoft also released Windows Phone 7.8 – an update for existing consumers with older hardware to enjoy a few added benefits, but not receiving all the bonuses Windows Phone 8 provides. It proved to be a rather confusing concept to begin with, but it’s fairly simple to get the head around:

Windows Phone 7.8 – caters for the first generation of the mobile platform, providing a breath of fresh air for older hardware.
Windows Phone 8 – the latest version of Microsoft’s mobile operating system, installed on all new hardware.

We’ve looked at the features sported by Windows Phone 7.8 and it’s a worthy upgrade for those who own legacy hardware. So this is where we are today. Windows Phone 8 is the version you’ll more-than-likely be purchasing when popping into a store or taking out a new contract with a chosen mobile operator. But why should you choose Windows Phone?

So why choose Windows Phone?

It’s a question one has to ask when making a decision, whether it’s a new family vehicle or a new smartphone. So why should you choose a Windows Phone? There’s a number of reasons that make it a perfect choice for consumers and those who focus on business:

Easy to use – it really is simple to get started. There’s no cluttered interface and no learning curve since all system apps (and majority of third-party content) utilise the intuitive layout.
Live Tiles – these flipping, jumping and sizeable squares (and rectangles) provide glance-able information and details from within a pinned app to the user, removing the requirement to fire up the app.
No sluggish performance – unlike competing platforms, there are strict hardware guidelines set by Microsoft to ensure no Windows Phone performs below par (even more affordable hardware).
Service integration – there’s connectivity with Microsoft accounts, Exchange and Outlook.com, as well as SmartGlass, social networks and more.
Xbox Live – that’s right, folks. Enjoy playing on your Xbox, collecting those achievements and battling online? You can now do all of that while mobile.
Keep in touch – Skype is a part of Microsoft and this shows on Windows Phone. Further integration is planned for the future, but it’s always great to communicate with friends and family.

Now, we understand that’s a lot to take in, and much of what is promoted by competitors, but you’ve truly not experienced Windows Phone until you hold one and try it out. There’s a high level of customisation and personalisation on Windows Phone too. Don’t enjoy Xbox Live? Don’t enable it. Never send emails from the phone? Don’t set up an account. It’s simple and easy to customise the experience to suit individual needs.

There’s a lot more to Windows Phone, which we’ll be covering the in the tutorials and resources that follow this introduction. If you’re eager to learn more then read on, old chap.

A world of entertainment

If you’re truly new to the smartphone world, you’ve been missing out on rich content right at your fingertips. The Windows Phone store (like other app and game catalogues) sports thousands of downloads, both free and commercial. There are thousands of apps available, published by developers from all over the world for consumers to enjoy.

There are the usual 50,000 Twitter apps that compete against one another, but the vast majority of content is both useful and of high quality. Microsoft and OEM partners have managed to build strong foundations for advances to be made, particularly in the big-brand category. Enjoy running from monkeys? Temple Run is available. Love engaging with others on websites and communities? Download and join in the threads with the exclusive Disqus app. There’s a lot to choose from.

We’ll dive into the Windows Phone store in more detail so be sure to check out the following resource. But apps aren’t all that’s available in terms of media and content. Say hello to Xbox Music. It’s Microsoft’s new music service, replacing Zune and provides consumers access to millions of tracks for both streaming and download for offline playback. Costing just $9.99 a month, it’s an inexpensive way to build and manage a music collection while on the move.

It’s your choice – give it a go!

There’s always that thought of doubt that prevents consumers from trying out a Windows Phone. While we’ve seen a bump in market share for the platform in a number of markets, there are still many questions on the minds of potential owners that then ensure the adoption of a competing platform. Is Windows Phone for everyone? Absolutely not. But no technology is. We can scream and shout from the rooftops at just how awesome Windows Phone is, but that’ll do you no good until you hold one in your hand.

Hint: you’re definitely going to love it. Be sure to check out our other "101" articles that follow this introduction. Should you jump ship and / or purchase a new Windows Phone, the tutorials are a perfect place to begin. Also, if you’re migrating from iPhone or Android, we’ve got you covered.

Microsoft takes on Apple in its latest Windows 8 ad

Michael Archambault — Thu, 23 May 2013 01:27:09 +0000

Microsoft has been busy pushing out commercials that show their latest operating system can do more than just play games. The latest ad from Redmond doesn’t just put on a suit and tie to strut its work capabilities, it makes fun of Apple’s iPad in the process.

The commercial opens with a side by side of ASUS’s VivoTab and the world famous fruit tablet. Microsoft’s minimalist approach is very reminiscent of Apple’s commercials and makes it clear that this is a parody right down to the musical chopstick routine.

Our favorite virtual assistant, Siri, narrates the entire show, commenting on everything that she can’t do that Windows 8 tablets can. Live tiles, side by side applications, and PowerPoint slides are all touched upon.

Microsoft also doesn't forget to mention that an ASUS VivoTab 64 GB at $449 is much cheaper than Apple's iPad 64 GB at $699.

What do you think about Microsoft’s Windows 8 commercials going head to head with Apple’s iPad?

Source: WindowsVideos, Thanks, Dustin, for the tip!

Union offering select game titles for only $0.99 - Air Attack, Fractal, Roboto and more!

Bla1ze — Thu, 23 May 2013 01:03:42 +0000

The news coming out of Union lately has been huge and it looks like they're celebrating a bit. Right now, if you head into BlackBerry World you'll find select titles on sale for the BlackBerry Z10. In total, five games from their vast catalog have been updated to support BlackBerry 10 and no doubt, there is more on the way. Here's a list of what's on sale and available for the BlackBerry Z10:

Twitter app Peregrine updated to version 2.5, brings stellar streaming function

Sam Sabri — Thu, 23 May 2013 00:51:14 +0000

Windows Phone doesn’t lack when it comes to options for a Twitter app. You’re bound to find the right app for you between the official app and the numerous third-party ones. Peregrine is one of those third party Twitter apps that needs deserves a bit more attention, especially after the latest update. Let’s check it out.

Peregrine is made by Morten Nielsen, the same developer that made that lockscreen app we highlighted last week that shows your location – Map Wallpaper. Like most Twitter apps, Peregrine has its selection of fans that love the minimalist, no non-nonsense approach to Twitter. It’s latest update, version 2.5, adds some features that you’ll find on competing apps, but the way it works with Peregrine has made me a fan.

After loading your timeline, tweets keep instantly streaming as long as your app is open. Keep your phone plugged in and on the timeline and it'll prevent the lockscreen giving you constantly updated tweets all day. No more manual refresh!
Orientation Lock now available in settings
Bug fixes

Some other apps, like Rowi, have the ability to stream your Twitter feed. But a big complaint from a lot of you in the community is that those apps don’t keep your current position. Peregrine solves that little annoyance. Your last read position is held even as your Twitter feed is streaming. Put your phone on a wireless charging stand (like the Tylt Vu) and keep a little tab on Twitter through the day. The app is free and I highly recommend you guys give it a download to see what I’m talking about.

Another feature new feature in the latest update is one that nearly everyone app and the Windows Phone OS itself could benefit from – orientation lock. In the settings of Peregrine you can turn on orientation lock to keep the app in either a landscape or portrait orientation. Really handy for when you’re lounging on the couch or bed and checking up on Twitter.

Those are the two big new addictions in the latest version of Peregrine, but the app also has some other compelling features. It’s really fast, always remembers where you left of, Instapaper support, and you can use voice control to read your tweets. If you’re on Windows Phone 8 you’ll get specific features like double wide tiles and lockscreen support.

I switch between Twitter apps on Windows Phone a lot so I can get a feel for what’s out there, but right now I’m liking Peregrine a lot. And I’m not alone, out of 500+ reviews in the Windows Phone Store the app is averaging 4 out of 5 stars.

Tell us what you think of the app below. Ask some questions and provide feedback/ideas for the developer. He’ll check it and answer you guys and gals.

Peregrine is available for both Windows Phone 7.x and 8. The app is free and ad-supported. You can remove those advertisements for $0.99 through an in-app-purchase in the settings. Grab it here in the Store, use the QR code below, or swipe to the right in our Windows Phone Central app.

HTC offering $25 Google Play credit to compensate for One shipping delays

Jerry Hildenbrand — Thu, 23 May 2013 00:14:00 +0000

HTC ShopAmerica offering a cool $25 Google Play credit to folks who experienced delays

Folks who ordered an HTC One direct from HTC earlier this year will want to check their inbox, as there could be $25 worth of Google Play credit there waiting. Component shortages and supply issues caused a slight delay for shipping the first round of HTC One phones, and while all that seems to have been corrected, HTC still wants to compensate folks for the delay.

If your order falls under the umbrella (it seems like orders placed the first day or two are getting reviewed) you'll get a code worth $25 credit to spend in Google Play. No muss, no fuss. Thanks, HTC!

Via: Android Central forums

Register now for the Ottawa International Game Conference and save 50%

Chris Parsons — Wed, 22 May 2013 23:08:18 +0000

The Ottawa International Game Conference kicks off in just about a week. If you're not familiar, the three-day conference takes place May 29th-31st and features new innovations and trends in the Canadian gaming industry and will host speakers all across the board including, Anders Jeppsson, Global Head of Gaming at BlackBerry. Mobile Nations own gaming geek Simon Sage will be on site to take in all the news from the conference including speakers, developers, panels and more.

Register for the Canadian Ottawa International Game Conference and save 50%

Rich Edmonds — Wed, 22 May 2013 22:53:58 +0000

The Ottawa International Game Conference kicks off in a week's time. The conference, which lasts for three days, will take place on May 29th - 31st and features new innovations and trends in the gaming industry in Canada. Numerous speakers all across the board will be present to relay knowledge and expertise.

Here are some OIGC highlights:

45 Speakers, Keynote Presenters and Panelists
5 Tracks (developer, artist, entrepreneur, marketer, indie, students or just an idea person)
A Full pre-conference day of Workshops and learning sessions from the bests of the bests (Microsoft, BlackBerry and Game Design 101 with Dr. Ernest Adams)
Exhibitors and recruiters will be attending and giving away tons of SWAG
A Demo Zone, where your games will get amazing exposure (Submissions still accepted)
A Game Art expo from some of the most talented artists around Ottawa (Submissions still accepted)
Access to resumes and CV's submitted by attendees upon registration.
An opportunity to support youth in the different app jams
Great parties and networking opportunities
If you'll be in the area and are interested in attending, we've got a sweet deal for you. As a special promo for Mobile Nations readers, you can save 50% on the full registration price by using the code mobilenations.

There's only a few days left so be sure to get in quick. Are you heading down? We'll have our guys from CrackBerry at the event, so stay tuned for more information.

Source: OIGC, via: CrackBerry

ottawa international game conference

Twitter does the two-step (authentication) dance

Peter Cohen — Wed, 22 May 2013 22:50:35 +0000

Twitter announced Wednesday that it is offering a form of two-step authentication for security-conscious users who want to make sure that their accounts are protected from unauthorized use. The new feature is described in a post made by Jim O'Leary of Twitter's product security team on the official Twitter blog.

Twitter's two-step authentication process adds a verification code validation that's sent to a mobile phone number by SMS each time you sign in to Twitter. Enter the six-digit code and you're on your way.

This news comes on the heels of high-profile Twitter account hackings of newspapers, news television programs and news services. Victims have included the Financial Times, 60 Minutes, and perhaps most infamously, the Associated Press. The hacked AP account produced a phony tweet saying the White House had been bombed, which set off a brief stock market drop, caused by a reaction from automated stock trading systems that track news keywords.

Many of the recent high-profile Twitter hijackings have been credited to the "Syrian Electronic Army," an anonymous group of hackers loyal to the regime of Syrian president Bashar al Assad.

LG announces waterproof Optimus GJ in Taiwan

Sean Brunett — Wed, 22 May 2013 22:45:31 +0000

LG announced a new waterproof phone today, the Optimus GJ. They certainly weren't very subtle either, as they had girls presenting the phone in bikinis. It differs from past waterproof devices because this one is high-end. The specs are as follows:

4.7-inch IPA HD display
Bluetooth 4.0
13MP rear-camera
1.5GHz quad-core processor
2GB RAM
16GB internal memory
MicroSD slot
2,280 mAh battery

LG is getting more ambitious with their waterproof devices and are hitting the Taiwanese market first. It will cost $17,990 Taiwanese dollars, which is approximately $600 USD. No word yet on when or if the Optimus GJ will go to other markets.

Source: unwiredview

Hell hath no fury like a BlackBerry/Netflix user scorned

Bla1ze — Wed, 22 May 2013 22:30:00 +0000

A movement started earlier today in the CrackBerry forums... pissed off BlackBerry 10 owners are canceling their Netflix services over their lack of support for BlackBerry 10. Will it help? We're not sure. But it sure feels good.

Just in case you haven't noticed, BlackBerry users can be very passionate individuals. Especially those who hang out in the CrackBerry forums. Along with that passion, they're also very vocal, and when word came down that Netflix CEO Reed Hastings had never even used a BlackBerry 10 device but had zero interest in making Netflix for BlackBerry 10, the CrackBerry forums sort of blew up, and rightfully so.

Obtuse thinking deserves to be commented on. One thread in particular that has gained plenty of traction has a pretty simple concept. If Netflix won't support BlackBerry, as a BlackBerry user it's also your choice to not support Netflix. Cancel all your accounts. We've actually seen this concept surface several times in the forums already these past few months, but given the timing of Hasting's comments and the lack of mention of Netflix coming to BB10 at BlackBerry Live last week, this thread is gaining traction quick.

Android Central 136: CTIA, Jennifer Lopez and Ashton Kutcher

Phil Nickinson — Wed, 22 May 2013 22:17:37 +0000

Podcast MP3 URL:

http://traffic.libsyn.com/androidcentral/acpc136.mp3

Hi, everybody. This is where we normally would have show notes. This week, we leave you this witty paragraph instead. :)

Microsoft updates YouTube for Windows Phone, complies with some of Google's requests

Rich Edmonds — Wed, 22 May 2013 21:52:45 +0000

Microsoft has given in to Google's requests by updating its YouTube app for Windows Phone, but only to a degree. The company will be complying with some (but not all) of Google's terms of service. The two giants have been locked in a fist fight for some time regarding the official YouTube app for Windows Phone. It doesn't look like it'll be over anytime soon either.

So what's this all about? Microsoft has been wanting Google to get a half-decent YouTube app developed for its platform for some time now (years even). But the company has decided to quit waiting and provide its customers (as well as those who utilise Google services) a way to enjoy videos published by subscribed accounts. There is only one issue with Microsoft's attempts: it didn't play well with Google.

The search giant sent Microsoft a cease-and-desist letter regarding the app, noting violations of the YouTube terms of service. This included no advertisements being displayed and enabling users to download videos for offline playback. It was put forward that Microsoft should either pull or block the app from consumers by May 22nd.

Microsoft has today decided to meet Google half way. The company has rolled out an update for the YouTube app, which will remove the video download functionality. Here's what a Microsoft spokesman said to ZDNet in response to questions raised about what the plan was:

"Microsoft updated the Windows Phone YouTube app to address the restricted video and offline video access concerns voiced by Google last week. We have been in contact with Google and continue to believe that our two companies can work together to hone an app that benefits our mutual customers, partners and content providers. We’re earning new customers every day, with IDC reporting recently that Windows Phone posted the largest year-over-year gain among leading operating systems. We look forward to working with Google to maintain a great YouTube experience for the growing number of people who rely on both of our respective products."

Microsoft has consistently played the card that Google refuses to provide access to necessary APIs that would allow the company to develop a worthy YouTube app, which would also serve advertisements and keep the Android beast happy. Currently, the Windows Phone team has crafted the app using an API which doesn't provide ad support. It's a vicious circle.

Google not only doesn't want Microsoft to build an app for its platform, but also Apple and BlackBerry. Google is the party who builds and maintains native apps for the respective platforms, but has skipped Windows Phone, ignoring requests from both consumers and Microsoft. Google has made it clear in the past that it doesn't wish to support Windows 8 or Windows Phone with many of its services and products.

So where do we go from here? It's difficult to say, but whatever the outcome is, Microsoft will surely use the situation for its Scroogled campaign against Google. In the eyes of the consumer, it's in the best interests of both companies to work together and get a solution made available for Windows Phone. Happy customers for Microsoft and partners enjoying revenue income alongside Google.

If you haven't already done so, you can download the official YouTube app from the Windows Phone Store. via: ZDNet; Thanks, AAA, for the tip!

Who can you trust with your memories? iPhone photo storage options compared!

Leanna Lofte — Wed, 22 May 2013 21:47:10 +0000

Comparing the best online photo storage options from Flickr, Google+, 500px, Dropbox, Amazon, Instagram, Facebook, and more!

We've talked on numerous occasions about how great of camera you have included with your iPhone and have taken a look at some great photography apps to accompany it, but once you take all those photos and edit them to perfection, where are you going to store them? You can store them locally on various devices and hard drives, but what about in the cloud? Other than Photo Stream, what are other cloud storage options for all those memories you're accumulating?

Facebook, Instagram, Twitpic, and other non-options

Before we jump into the various great options out there, let's first discuss the fact that posting to Facebook, Instagram, Twipic, and any other little photo sharing service is not good enough. It may be easy to think "oh, I posted that to Facebook, so if anything happens, I know I can always retrieve my photo from there." Well, yes, as long as you don't cancel your account or do something that gets you banned, your photos are there, but even though Facebook has a "high resolution" option, it's not actually full resolution. The max size Facebook will save your photos is 2048px along the longest side. A photo taken with an iPhone 4S or iPhone 5 is larger than this.

The quality of your images saved on services such as Instagram, Twitpic, and other "little" sharing services is even worse. You should not consider these as good options for storing photos.

So if Facebook and Instagram aren't good choices, then what are? Between Flickr, 500px, Dropbox, Google+, and Amazon Cloud Drive, you're sure to find a great option to meet your needs.

Flickr

Flickr just updated with an enticing new overhaul that includes 1TB of free storage. Yes, 1 terabyte. For free. Flickr also features a gorgeous new interface and an established community of users. In addition to just storing your photos, you can also publicly share them and join groups and discussions. If you're serious about photography or simply just looking for a place to save your images, Flickr is an excellent option and completely free (with upgrade options).

Flickr
Flickr for iPhone - Download now

500px

500px is a unique choice in that, in addition to being a place to store photos, you also have the option to sell your photos in the 500px market. It's also a social network where you can follow specific users and like and comment on their work. 500px does have more of a "professional" vibe that markets towards quality photography, so if you identify yourself as a photographer, 500px will likely be a great fit.

A free account allows 20 uploads per week, and accounts with unlimited uploading begin at $25/year.

500px
500px for iPhone and iPad - Download now

Google+

Although Google+ is primarily a social network, it also offers a solid option for photo storage. With the Google+ app, you can even choose to automatically upload your photos from your iPhone to Google+ so that you don't even have to remember to do it yourself. However, when uploading from your iPhone, Google+ will store them at "Standard size" which is a max of 2048 pixels on the longest side. If you want to store full size images, you must upload from your desktop.

Full size uploads count against your Google Drive storage quota which starts at 15 GB with a free account. Paid accounts begin at $2.49/mo for 25 GB, but may be changing in the coming weeks.

Google+
Google Drive
Google+ for iPhone and iPad - Download now

Dropbox

If you're not into the social integration associated with Flickr, 500px, and Google+, Dropbox is another excellent choice for storing your photos. It's not a social network, but strictly a storage service; however, if you do wish to share your photos, you can share a link to your folders and Dropbox will nicely display them for you. You can also set up the iPhone and iPad app to automatically upload your photos when you launch the Dropbox app.

A free Dropbox account includes 2 GB (with the ability to reach 18 GB), and "Pro" accounts start at $9.99/mo for 100 GB.

Dropbox
Dropbox for iPhone and iPad - Download now

Amazon Cloud Drive

Amazon Cloud Drive is a storage service that's similar to Dropbox, and with the Amazon Cloud Drive Photos companion app for iPhone, you can easily upload and view your saved photos.

A free Amazon Cloud Drive account includes 5 GB of storage with paid plans starting at $10/year for 20 GB.

Amazon Cloud Drive
Amazon Cloud Drive Photos for iPhone - Download now

Your favorite way to store photos?

These are just a few of the different options available for storing your precious photographs, and if we missed any good ones, we want to know. Do you use a different service that you believe to be superior to these? Or do you not trust your memories in the hands of a 3rd party and back up onto external hard drives, instead? We want to know your system!

Personally, I'm going to start using Flickr to store everything that's important to me and 500px for photos I'm particularly proud of and value as art.

What about you?

MLB Home Run Derby review: Struck out by in-app purchases

Richard Devine — Wed, 22 May 2013 21:36:10 +0000

Ahead of the All Star game in New York in July, MLB has released a new game into the App Store; MLB Home Run Derby. I love Baseball, despite being British, so as soon as I saw this in the App Store I had to take a look. It's a free download, and bases itself solely around one of the fun-to-watch extras of the All Star weekend, the Home Run Derby. So, a perfect casual game for the Baseball fan? Let's find out.

I'll start with the best part. The graphics are really good. My first thought was that it looks very similar to the gameday view in the main MLB At Bat application. There's only one stadium to play in, Citi Field the host for the All Star game, and it looks fantastic.

With this being the Home Run Derby, you only have to worry about one thing -- hitting it out of the park. There are two different control methods, a drag and release to aim and swing, or aim with your left hand and tap to swing with your right.

Home Run Derby has two different game modes, arcade and The Derby. Arcade mode is playable as many times as you like, and is done against a one minute time limit. You have a series of targets around the ground to aim for to increase your score, and the further you hit the ball the more points you get. Simple. Points means prizes, in the form of coins that are useable in the game to buy certain things with.

The Derby follows the run of the real thing, so 10 outs and you're done. There's no time limit, you just keep going until you're all out of chances. To win, you have to progress through two rounds to get to the final.

That's the good stuff. It's a fun little game to play, and if you hit a bigger home run that 457ft, then you've topped my best so far. The bad stuff is the in-app purchases. Sadly, the overriding feeling is that the game is designed around the purchases, and not the other way around.

The first example; you get three 'tickets' to play the Home Run Derby. Once these are gone, it's a matter of hours before the next ticket arrives. You can make this quicker, and get more tickets, by paying. The in-game currency can be won, but you have to do well in the Home Run Derby several times before you have enough to really buy anything. The green notes aren't won in the arcade mode.

Another example; You start out with one batter. More batters means more tickets to The Derby, and that means paying for them. Again, you either have to play and do well a lot over some time, or stump up the cash. You can improve your batters performance by way of a purchase, but you have to also purchase an additional slot to add this performance boost too. So, a double purchase.

Whether it's your real money or your in-game currency, there is far too much emphasis on having to buy things to progress and ultimately get more out of the game. I'm happy enough slugging away in arcade mode personally, but it's sad that a fun little game feels so held back by the freemium model.

More worrying too is that the App Store listing says "download free for a limited time only." If you think you might want this, I strongly recommend grabbing it right now while it's free. As a paid download I think I'd have a hard time recommending this. If the in-app purchases are overhauled, then it could be a different story.

The Good

Excellent graphics
Simple, easy to pick up controls
Authentic players, stadium and rules

The Bad

Too much emphasis on in-app purchases tarnishes the experience
Glitches from time to time where menus stay visible over gameplay
Apparent limited time offer on free download considering the level of in-app purchases

The Bottom Line

MLB Home Run Derby is a freemium game done wrong. Instead of building a game where in-app purchases boost progress, too often it feels like not paying up hurts. Three goes at the main Derby mode just isn't enough when it takes so long for another ticket to appear to play again. Thankfully, the Arcade mode isn't so constrained and is plenty of fun on its own to play. I like it though, really I do. I just don't like the way the in-app purchases have been implemented.

Free - Download Now

Stay on top of the latest deals and loyalty programs with FidMe for Windows 8

Rich Edmonds — Wed, 22 May 2013 21:04:25 +0000

FidMe is a popular Windows Phone app that enables consumers to login and utilise their FidMe accounts while on the move. From cards to deals and coupons, the service is a great tool for those who enjoy taking advantage of the best deals and loyalty programs. The team behind the Windows Phone app has now released an identical app for Microsoft's latest desktop operating system, Windows 8.

Anyone with a Windows 8 device will be able to download and enjoy FidMe, which sports an impressive feature list. Much like the Windows Phone counterpart, we're looking at support for more than 4,000 loyalty programs in 100 markets, with the ability for users to reportedly discover stamp cards for tens of thousands of small businesses. It's fairly extensive and new accounts can be created within the app, so fear not if you've never used the service before.

Owners of the Windows app will also be able to consult FidMe point balance and view the account history. This is combined with synchronising connected cards, coupons and offers directly to the device (whether it be Windows 8 or Windows Phone). When using the app, the latest news and top deals are available and Facebook and Twitter intergration is available for those social types.

The best part about the service is there are no advertisements presented to users. The apps automatically synchronise with the cloud, thanks to the connected FidMe accounts. The Windows 8 app is available in English, French and Spanish. There are numerous services available that cover Microsoft's platforms, including the likes of Groupon, but it's always down to personal preference and we're sure many will enjoy FidMe.

To wrap up, the interface is aesthetically pleasing, with the app taking full advantage of GPS location services and offers an interactive map. You can download FidMe from the Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 Stores (both are free).

Control your Tesla Model S via your Z10 or Q10 with the Model S for BlackBerry app!

Kevin Michaluk — Wed, 22 May 2013 20:59:15 +0000

Have a BlackBerry 10 phone? Own a Tesla Model S? If so, then Model S for BlackBerry 10 is the app you need. Heck, even if you don't own the car you can still download the app and pretend you did thanks to Demo mode!

While BlackBerry had their pimped up Bentley on stage at BlackBerry Live showing off its amazing BlackBerry 10 integration, the hottest BB10-friendly car at the Orlando event was actually sitting in the parking lot behind the venue plugged into a charging station.

Of course, we're talking about the super fast, super sexy and environmentally friendly Tesla Model S, which thanks to the Model S for BlackBerry app gives owners a ton of control over their Model S right from their Z10 or Q10.

Casetop KickStarter project shows one vision of mobile computing

Bla1ze — Wed, 22 May 2013 20:59:09 +0000

For years now there has been talk of BlackBerry building a smartphone dock that would essentially turn your device into a netbook of sorts. In fact, BlackBerry already has a patent for it all ready to go should BlackBerry CEO, Thorsten Heins, decide to make use of it. Those rumors aren't going away, they're only getting stronger as talks of mobile computing come up more and more often. Already taking the idea of using your smartphone as your computer and running with it is John Andrus, Founder of Livi Design, who has launched a Kickstarter project for his vision of mobile computing, dubbed Casetop.

The Casetop offers a laptop-style dock which you can plug your smartphone into, whether it's powered by Android, iOS, or BlackBerry. From there, your device provides all the processing power, graphics power and will even work as a trackpad for the Casetop. In return for the computing power, the Casetop brings a full-sized keyboard, 11.1-inch 720p or 1080p display, powered USB port for charging devices, HDMI input, MHL video, audio output, and stereo speakers.

BlackBerry Q10 outselling the Samsung Galaxy S4 in the UK

Adam Zeis — Wed, 22 May 2013 20:56:33 +0000

While the BlackBerry Q10 has still not landed on US soil (not too much longer, promise) sales have been exceeding expectations already. While a recent report by ITG Research claimed that Q10 sales were under that of the BlackBerry Z10, it appears that it is quite the opposite.

According to Seeking Alpha, the Q10 is actually selling better than the Z10 despite being just one month in since the initial release. When contacting stores across Canada about the report, it was clear that the Q10 is selling extremely well across the board. As one store commented, "That is not correct, it [Q10] is doing considerably better."

Twitter launches two-factor authentication

Jerry Hildenbrand — Wed, 22 May 2013 19:49:26 +0000

Keep your tweets your own and your Twitter account safe with two-step verification

After a slew of high-profile account hacks, Twitter has finally launched a two-step verification system to keep your account from falling into the wrong hands. Once enrolled, each time you sign in to Twitter.com you will be asked to enter a six digit verification number sent by SMS to your phone. If you don't have your number, you can't log in.

Existing accounts on other devices should still work, and when your Twitter account to other devices or applications, you'll visit your applications page to generate a temporary password to validate who you are. Users can set up the new account verification system starting today from their Twitter settings, and you'll need a verified phone number and email address.

Two-step authentication is a good move (probably one Twitter should have adopted a while ago) and one that we heartily recommend. It may be inconvenient setting things up the first time, but losing your online identity to hackers is far worse. To learn more, and get started, visit the source link below.

Source: Twitter

Twitter flips the switch on two-factor authentication

Adam Zeis — Wed, 22 May 2013 19:44:17 +0000

It's no secret that some top Twitter accounts haven't had the best of luck lately as big names like AP and even Burger King have been hit in the last few months. Today, Twitter upped their security however by finally adding in two-factor authentication for users.

For those that don't know, two-factor authentication is a security feature that requires users to enter a special code when logging in to a site. Typically the code is sent via SMS to a users phone and they then enter it as part of their login.

Verizon's big CTIA event: JLo does phones

Phil Nickinson — Wed, 22 May 2013 19:43:46 +0000

And maybe, just maybe, will bring a carrier store experience that doesn't make you want to flee

Jennifer Lopez. Singer, actress, judge on American Idol -- and, now, smartphone retailer. Verizon today at its big event at CTIA in Las Vegas announced that JLo will be heading up Viva Movil, which promises to revolutionize the wireless shopping experience for Latino consumers. This isn't a Verizon venture, per se, as the deal is between Ms. Lopez, Brightstar (which handles distribution and services) and Moorehead Communications, Verizon's premium retailer.

The shopping experience promises to be the differentiator here. Physical stores will be located, at first, in New York, Los Angeles and Miami, with Manhattan up first with a shop in a high-traffic area. (We'd bet Times Square, but nothing official was announced.) The stores are said to have a more friendly shopping experience than what you might be used to -- and perhaps the smartest question in the Q&A session came from Laptop's Mark Spoonauer, who asked if Verizon's own carrier stores might get the same sort of makeover one day. Verizon said it'll think about it. (We're not holding our breath for that one.)

LoJack launches phone recovery service, Galaxy S4 first supported device

Andrew Martonik — Wed, 22 May 2013 19:33:00 +0000

Embedded system increases the chances that devices will be recovered after theft

Absolute Software, the makers of the LoJack theft recovery service, announced today that through a partnership with Samsung it will be offering its services to all Galaxy S4 handsets. The service, which was previously targeted at desktop and laptop computers, is making the move into the mobile space with one of the most popular devices out today. Unlike other services that can pretty easily be removed when a phone is factory reset, the LoJack system is embedded at the firmware level and will survive any tampering or attempts to remove it by a criminal.

Beyond just making sure that the phone is traced, locked and remotely wiped, you'll get the expertise of LoJack's years of experience in tracking stolen property. When we spoke to LoJack representatives here at CTIA they said they've recovered laptops in as little as 40 minutes, and as long as four and a half years after they were stolen. That just shows the determination of the people behind this service.

While it is embedded in every Galaxy S4 device, it won't be available to be activated until "early this summer". LoJack isn't releasing specific pricing at this point, but has indicated that the service will start at $29.99 with multiple subscription options ranging from 1 to 4 years at a time.

Apple named world's most valuable brand for third year running

Joseph Keller — Wed, 22 May 2013 19:32:14 +0000

Apple continues its streak as the most valuable brand in the world, outperforming Google, IBM, McDonald’s, and Coca-Cola, with Google surpassing IBM to become the second most valuable brand. The BrandZ report, which names the 100 most valuable companies in the world across several categories, says that Apple’s brand value increased 1% as the entire technology sector remained declined slightly from last year, lacking a surge of growth from both Apple and Facebook.

Without the surge in Apple and Facebook brand value that helped drive category growth, Technology declined 1 percent in the BrandZ™ 2013 ranking, after five years averaging 8 percent annual category growth.

Other notable placements include Microsoft, which fell from number 5 to number 7, and Yahoo, three years absent from the list, returned at 92. Samsung, Apple’s chief mobile hardware rival, which jumped from 55 to 30, experiencing a surge in growth. Apple remains at the top, however, well ahead of the rest of the list, in both technology and overall. Their growth may have slowed over the last year, but if the exciting new products on their way later this year make a splash, there’s little doubt that Apple will remain on top for a long time to come.

Source: Millward Brown

Bought a Verizon Lumia 928? Check your email for the $25 Microsoft Store voucher

Daniel Rubino — Wed, 22 May 2013 19:28:19 +0000

You may or may not know that if you buy a Nokia Lumia 928 from Verizon, you qualify for a $25 Windows Phone Store credit. That’s a big chunk of money actually for picking up some $0.99 apps and even a few EA games.

The question you may have is how do you get it?

As it turns out, Verizon, who is not shy about emailing or calling you, will pass along an email with the voucher link.

How to redeem, once you get your email (it can take a few days)

Simply click the Store link
Enter in your info, including IMEI number from the phone
Register

Microsoft will then send you code, which you then enter into your phone’s Wallet. Every time you want to make an app purchase, you can use that as a payment method.

Like we said, $25 is quite a bit to spend on the Store, especially with all of the free apps and games out there. It’s a good deal for new Windows Phone users and even veterans who could use a few more purchases.

UPDATE: You can also use this direct link, so long as you have your phone in-hand for the IMEI number http://aka.ms/appcredit

Did you get your code? Enjoying your Lumia 928? Let us know in comments!

Michael Gartenberg reportedly joins Apple marketing

Rene Ritchie — Wed, 22 May 2013 19:27:36 +0000

Highly respected tech industry analyst Michael Gartenberg has reportedly left his previous employer, Gartner, for a position on Apple's marketing team. Forbes' Connie Guglielmo writes:

Gartenberg didn’t immediately reply to a voicemail message left at his office at Apple asking him to talk about his new role for the Cupertino, California-based company. He is working on the marketing team under Apple’s global marketing chief Phil Schiller, according to sources.

Gartenberg is terrific. He and Apple are lucky to have each other. Here's hoping Gartenberg's fresh set of eyes, and tremendous industry savvy, help Apple do an even better job than they're already doing, given the increasing competition.

Congratulations, both.

Source: Forbes

Time for some putting action with Golf for BlackBerry 10

James Richardson — Wed, 22 May 2013 19:22:22 +0000

The game is called Golf but it's more of the putting style to be honest - it's awesome though! You have a selection of 2D courses where you need to try and putt the ball in as little amount of shots as possible. Directing the ball is achieved using an on-screen arrow attached to the ball. Then you need to decide how hard to make the putt. Over on the right of the display is your power bar that will dictate this.

Microsoft and the NFL get together to bring you the ultimate football experience

Michael Archambault — Wed, 22 May 2013 18:23:22 +0000

Microsoft has been wrapped up in sports deals for the last few days and yesterday’s partnership with the National Football League, was yet another welcome addition. The NFL and Microsoft plan to upgrade interactive TV viewing for football fans through the company’s latest entertainment console, Xbox One. The $400 million deal was announced Tuesday and will be set into effect as early as Q1 2014.

Brian Rolapp, chief operating officer of NFL Media, stated that "the challenge is how to bring technology to make it [football] a better experience…"

Football fans will be able to Skype video chat with others, view game statistics, access highlights in real time, and easily manage their fantasy league all on their TV. If you prefer to keep your big screen reserved for the game, you can grab your tablet or smartphone and use Microsoft’s SmartGlass technology to follow along.

Xbox One places an extreme focus on TV integration, and Microsoft wants to absorb the large majority of viewers that are sports fans. According to Don Mattrick, president of the IEB Division at Microsoft, “NFL on Xbox will provide the most complete way to enjoy live football by bringing the first fully integrated fantasy football experience to the TV.”

The deal between the two giants will last five years, meaning that as technology of the Xbox One improves, we can expect to see added experiences in the future. In addition, due to the short five year agreement, the NFL can decided whether Microsoft’s idea is best or if it might be more beneficial to partner with the networks themselves.

It doesn’t take a savant to predict that the world of sports will be seeing a technology assisted future as we move forward. The goal, get fans closer to the action while allowing them to interact with others online.

Are you a huge sports fan – what do you think about the idea of “Sports 2.0” with Xbox One?

Source: NFL

nfl

Nation Football League

Google Drive updated with card interface, OCR and document scanning and better sheets editing

Jerry Hildenbrand — Wed, 22 May 2013 18:03:43 +0000

Today's update brings a new look and some powerful tools to Google Drive

Google Drive has a big update in Google Play today, with two very cool features being added. The interface of the application has been redesigned, and now we see Google's new cards design at play, looking very much like a mashup of Google Now and Google+.

In addition, users can scan paper items like receipts or bills, and transfer them into pdf files to get stored in Drive, With the new OCR technology, you'll even be able to search through their contents. This should make things a bit easier to use Google Drive for things like expense reports, and the new sheets (spreadsheets) editing tools will make it easier to build that report.

There are also a few other small changes, like being able to download local copies to your Android device and use Google Cloud Print with any compatible printer. To get this one, just click the Google Play link above.

Via: Google

Ting to support Windows Phone, offering Samsung and HTC hardware this summer

Rich Edmonds — Wed, 22 May 2013 17:52:18 +0000

Ting has reaffirmed its stance on Windows Phone availability. The mobile operator has previously teased that there are plans in place to support Microsoft's platform, but we've yet to see anything materialise. A new article has been published on the Ting blog that details the company looking to pick up multiple Windows Phones this coming summer.

The blog post clearly states the network will offer smartphones from HTC and Samsung. Nokia unfortunatley wasn't mentioned. The only option for consumers for the time being is to sign up for email alerts. We'll keep our eyes open for further details to emerge. Good news if you're with Ting. Bad news if you are already and want Nokia hardware.

Source: Ting; thanks, pfe1223, for the tip!

Chrome for Android updated, brings full screen browsing

Jerry Hildenbrand — Wed, 22 May 2013 17:41:45 +0000

Full screen browsing and simpler searching highlight the changes in Chrome 27 for Android

Chrome for Android has been updated to version 27 (27.0.1453.90 to be exact), bringing one of the most requested features along for the ride -- full screen browsing. In addition, other changes like simpler searching and tab history made it into Chrome 27.

The Chrome team is excited to announce the promotion of Chrome 27 to the Stable channel. Chrome for Android 27.0.1453.90 contains a number of improvments including:

Fullscreen on phones - Scroll down the page and the toolbar will disappear.

Simpler searching - Searching from the omnibox will keep your search query visible in the omnibox, making it easier to edit, and show more on your search result page.

Client-side certificate support - You can now access sites that require you to use a certificate and Chrome will allow you to select an installed certificate

Tab history on tablets - Long press the browser back button to view your tab history

And a ton of stability and performance fixes

The update is recommended, and you can get the latest version from the Google Play link above.

Via: Google Chrome

Mike Lazaridis has high hopes for BBM on iOS and Android

Simon Sage — Wed, 22 May 2013 17:37:13 +0000

In a recent interview, ex-co-CEO of BlackBerry Mike Lazaridis commented on BlackBerry Messenger going cross-platform. As you might expect, he figures BBM stands a good chance at succeeding on iOS and Android.

Live from Verizon's CTIA event - maybe they'll tell us today when the Q10 is getting released and Z10 updated?!

Kevin Michaluk — Wed, 22 May 2013 17:32:40 +0000

** UPDATE: Ok, so that's over. Uhhh... no Q10 announcement. no Z10 update announcement. It was just about J Lo (as in Jennifer Lopez) launching her new Viva movil. **

CTIA -- the Wireless Association -- has their big show taking place in Las Vegas this week. With BlackBerry Live taking place last week in Orlando, everybody from the CrackBerry team decided to skip CTIA this year. We figured the odds of any BlackBerry news coming out of it were slim to none.

That said, Phil, Andrew and Anndrew from the Android Central team are at the show covering on behalf of Mobile Nations. And they'll be firing up the live blogs at 2:10pm ET / 11:10pm PT to bring you the news coming out of the Verizon event taking place.

I have no idea what Verizon will be talking about on stage today, but I know a ton of CrackBerry readers are Verizon customers. And I know a lot of you Verizon customers are waiting anxiously for the BlackBerry Q10 release date to be announced. It should have been May. Now we're told it's June. Maybe today we'll find out the exact day you can run into a store and buy a Q10. I also know a LOT of Verizon Z10 owners who are waiting for a BlackBerry 10.1 update too. Maybe they'll mention that today?!

Don't shoot me if they don't announce anything. But it can't hurt to tune in and watch, right? Be sure to catch the live blog and participate above!

And CrackBerry... be nice to Phil et al, ok? They're good guys, even if they don't rock the BBs.

TripIt for iPhone and iPad review: Track flights, flyer miles, car rentals, and more in one place

Allyson Kazmucha — Wed, 22 May 2013 17:26:24 +0000

If you're planning on taking a vacation anytime soon or in the near future, you're probably already aware that there are typically lots of documents and information involved. Everything from boarding passes to rental car reservations to hotel reservations to anything else you may be planning. Keeping all of it straight can be a headache.

That's where TripIt comes in to help you stay organized and keep everything all in one place.

TripIt is basically an all in one travel planner directly on your iPhone and iPad. Not only do you have the ability to enter your flight information, but TripIt will actually auto-fill info upon arrival to your airline. Outside of just tracking flights, you can also track reservations for things such as car rentals and hotel reservations. Therefore, you eliminate some clutter from your life and gain the ability of entering all your information into one place for easy reference anytime you need it.

Creating a trip in TripIt is dead simple. Just enter some basic details like where you're going and when you're returning and you're already started. From there you can enter as much or as little information as you want. Outside of organizing actual travel details, you can also enter meeting information and receive notifications when events are coming up with TripIt Pro. This makes TripIt not only good for vacations, but for business trips as well.

TripIt offers a premium subscriptions called TripIt Pro as an in-app purchase for $49 a year in order to track other things such as frequent flyer miles on your credit cards. You can then view when your miles expire and how many you have at any given time. TripIt Pro is an add-on and not require but definitely a must have for anyone who travels semi-frequently to frequently.

The good

Easy to use interface that makes entering information quick and painless
Push notifications for upcoming flights, events, reservations, and more with TripIt Pro
Pro option allows you to track even more things such as frequent flier miles
Inner Circle feature allows anyone you'd like to have automatic access to your travel plans (requires Pro membership)

The bad

No complaints

The bottom line

If you travel frequently or find yourself overwhelmed with keeping track of flight information and reservations for vacations, TripIt is a must have. For those who travel constantly, TripIt makes mapping out your trips painless and is well worth the $49 a year price tag to track virtually everything you'd need as well as receive notifications on the go.

Before planning your next vacation, definitely give TripIt a look when it comes time for keeping track of all those bookings and reservations.

$0.99 (ad based version available for free) - Download Now

Live from CTIA 2013... it's the Verizon liveblog!

Phil Nickinson — Wed, 22 May 2013 17:17:47 +0000

We're coming to you live this morning from the beautiful Sands Expo Convention Center in Las Vegas, where Verizon is going to talk to us about ... something. Given the context of the CTIA venue, it's entirely possible we'll just be getting an update on Verizon's network capabilities -- and possibly an update on when to expect Voice Over LTE. Or, perhaps we'll actually get some new hardware.

Only one way to find out -- it's liveblog time!

The show kicks off just after 2 p.m. EDT, and 11 a.m. PDT. (OK, technically things get going at 10 after, but we're nothing if not early.)

Join us after the break as we bring it to you, live.

Nokia publishes teaser video for new Superman movie

Rich Edmonds — Wed, 22 May 2013 17:11:05 +0000

Nokia continues to tease the new Superman movie, with the official Man of Steel app and appropriately themed accessories on offer or on the way. The manufacturer has now published a video on its YouTube account, named "YOU ARE NOT ALONE" and sporting strange footage taken from the official movie trailer.

It's clearly a teaser for the new movie (if the copyright information in the description wasn't that much of a hint), but with the content available thus far, we're sure everyone's continuing to get excited for Man of Steel. The team has cleverly used a Lumia 925 frame. You can check out the Man of Steel app over on the Windows Phone Store.

Source: YouTube; thanks, Halamadrid007, for the tip!

Register now for the Ottawa International Game Conference and save 50%

Adam Zeis — Wed, 22 May 2013 17:08:02 +0000

The countdown is on until the Ottawa International Game Conference kicks off in just about a week. The three-day conference takes place May 29th-31st and features new innovations and trends in the Canadian gaming industry and will host speakers all across the board including our favorite gamer of all, Anders Jeppsson, Global Head of Gaming at BlackBerry.

Our own gaming geek Simon Sage will be on site to take it all the news from the conference including speakers, developers, panels and more.

Is the Xbox One the Apple TV we've been waiting for?

Peter Cohen — Wed, 22 May 2013 16:43:20 +0000

Microsoft's Xbox One, unveiled Tuesday at a special event in Redmond, looks to blur the line between gaming and other forms of entertainment like watching TV. Watching Microsoft demonstrate the capabilities of the new system gave me a sense of déjà vu, because a lot of what Microsoft showed are features that pundits and bloggers would love to see from the heretofore mythical Apple television.

I won't recap for you all the features and technologies available in the new system - for that I'll defer to our friends at Windows Phone Central. But the overarching message Microsoft offered was that the Xbox One is the centerpiece of the new home entertainment system. More than a game console, Xbox One serves as the nexus for television viewing, music and other forms of entertainment, and Microsoft is even striking out into original content development with shows created for Xbox Live. Perhaps predictably, they're developing a live action series around Halo.

Microsoft execs veered into Minority Report territory by controlling the Xbox One using hand gestures and voice control. (The Xbox 360 with Kinect can do that now, but on a more limited basis.) Microsoft promises that the Kinect, to be included with Xbox One, is now high resolution enough to recognize your face and measure your heartbeat. Okay, now that I write that out, it sounds a bit creepy. But that's the direction we're moving.

The center of home entertainment?

Some people scratched their heads at the name. Xbox One? But we were already at 360! But it makes sense when you listen to Microsoft's pitch as the Xbox One as the center of home entertainment.

Even the design of the Xbox One speaks to Microsoft's desire to broaden its appeal in the living room beyond mere gaming. The new box looks like a home entertainment appliance. Its squared off, simple lines and black and white trim guarantee the Xbox One will blend in well with a stereo receiver and flat screen TV, rather than drawing attention to itself like a traditional game console.

Microsoft articulated a pretty comprehensive media strategy - original and third party game development, original entertainment content using Xbox Live as the broadcast medium, and integration with the rest of your home entertainment center to simplify the experience.

And if you sift through most of the words written about Apple and its still-imaginary television, you'll find that many of those writers are hoping that Apple's working on the same track. I've read wild-eyed prognostications suggesting that Apple's foray into television would yield us devices that we'd talk with and gesture at; that Apple would be the savior to straighten out the mess of remotes and TV, DVR and cable box interfaces we're currently faced with.

Compared with where we're at today, it's easy to understand the appeal of a single system that unifies our home entertainment experience. It's a problem that's been really difficult to tackle and done with only limited degrees of success. Logitech's Harmony remote was one such attempt, but it remains squarely a niche product. Wealthy homeowners can invest more money than a mid-range sedan in an automated home entertainment system, but that's a solution that's squarely aimed at one percenters.

A changing landscape

It's been eight years since the last Xbox system came out, and the landscapes of both home entertainment and gaming have changed dramatically - when the Xbox 360 debuted, the iPhone was still two years away from being introduced. Game consoles garned huge interactive entertainment dollars.

Console games remain a multibillion dollar industry, but mobile technology and "casual gaming" have made a huge dent in a business that was once considered recession-proof and contraction-proof. What's more, consumers' use of game consoles has changed. In my house, for example, my kids are as likely to watch a Netflix movie streamed on their game console as they are to play a game. And the games they do play are increasingly downloaded from Xbox Live or the PlayStation Store, not bought at a retailer and inserted as a disc.

The Xbox One will remain, at its core, a game console, but it makes sense that Microsoft wants to expand the Xbox One's role as an all-around entertainment center. One that has value to members of the household that simply aren't interested in gaming.

Room for everyone

Maybe Apple is working on some of the same problems Microsoft hopes to tackle with the Xbox One, maybe it isn't. Of one thing I'm certain: the chance is negligible that Apple will rework the Apple TV as a gaming platform, either through installable apps or lower-latency connections to iOS devices: AirPlay is fine for spectating games, but absolutely useless if you want to play game on your iOS device but use the TV as your only display. And if you think it's as easy as just making iOS apps available for the Apple TV, you're not thinking through the actual interface - multitouch doesn't work

Obviously today's Apple TV is not the answer that pundits are looking for. All I know for sure is that until Apple actually has a product to announce, it's all rumor. And that pundits and bloggers have gotten enormous mileage out of a single comment that Tim Cook made in an interview last year when he called television an area of "intense interest" for Apple.

For now, though, Microsoft is positioning the Xbox One as the centerpiece of the home entertainment system. And at least as it's envisioned today, the Apple TV is little more than a sideshow. That's not necessarily a bad thing. Home entertainment is big business, and there's plenty of room for different companies with different ideas. Apple's done quite nicely for itself up to now without dominating the entire living room.

Live from Verizon's CTIA event!

Phil Nickinson — Wed, 22 May 2013 16:39:37 +0000

Only one way to find out -- it's liveblog time!

The show kicks off at 2 p.m. EDT, and 11 a.m. PDT. (OK, technically things get going at 10 after, but we're nothing if not early.)

Join us after the break as we bring it to you, live.

How to share a course with iTunes U for iPhone and iPad

Allyson Kazmucha — Wed, 22 May 2013 16:33:34 +0000

If you use iTunes U in order to subscribe to or download courses, you're probably already familiar with how it works and how to browse for items that interest you. There may come a time when you run across a course that you think may interest someone else.

iTunes U makes courses easy to share it with anyone.

Launch the iTunes U app from the Home screen of your iPhone or iPad.
Tap on the Catalog button in the upper right hand corner in order to view the store.
Now find the course that you'd like to share with someone and tap into it in order to view the summary screen.
From here, tap the Share button in the upper right hand corner. You can now choose to share that course with someone via email, SMS, Twitter, Facebook, or simply copy the link in order to share it another way.

All-new iMore show debuts today at 12:30pm PT/3:30pm ET. Be here!

Rene Ritchie — Wed, 22 May 2013 16:32:42 +0000

The all-new iMore show, the one I told you about yesterday, with the new day, time, format, and features, kicks off today at 12:30pm PT/3:30pm ET. I'll be co-hosting the show with our own Peter Cohen, and joining us will be Derek Kessler of Mobile Nations, and special guest Michael Simmons of Flexibits.

Want to be part of the show? Grab your iPhone or iPad, record a short (30 second) audio or video question or comment, and send it to imoreshow@mobilenations.com. Like, now!

We go hands on with Cut the Rope for BlackBerry 10

James Richardson — Wed, 22 May 2013 16:30:49 +0000

We announced a short while ago that the popular game 'Cut the Rope' had been updated to support BlackBerry 10 so if you are in two minds whether to part with your cash here's a little taster for you.

Nokia updates Ringtone Maker Beta, extends ringtone length to 60 seconds

Rich Edmonds — Wed, 22 May 2013 16:01:38 +0000

Nokia has once again updated its beta version of the Ringtone Maker app for Windows Phone. The company only recently published an update to the beta that included support for more file formats, but today we're looking at longer ringtones. The team has bumped the ringtone length from just 30 seconds to 60, which will allow consumers to create longer clips from their favourite songs.

As well as the extension, version 1.2.6.11 also includes numerous bug fixes. You can download Ringtone Maker Beta from the Windows Phone Store, but be sure to head on over to Nokia Beta Labs for more details and to register for the trial (listed for Windows Phone 8 only).

Cricket to launch Samsung Galaxy S4 on June 7

Alex Dobie — Wed, 22 May 2013 15:58:43 +0000

$54.99 down payment or $599.99 outright

Arriving fashionably late to the Galaxy S4 party is Cricket, with today's news that it'll carry Samsung's latest smartphone from June 7. The prepaid carrier is offering the Galaxy S4 for $599.99 up-front or on a payment plan with a $54.99 down payment. Naturally, you'll need to pair the device with one of Cricket's service plans, which start at $45 per month. Not a bad deal for one of the top Android phones of the moment, if you're in a Cricket coverage area.

More details in the presser after the break.

Source: PR Newswire

Apple Germany now accepting PayPal, gives you more ways to give them money

Richard Devine — Wed, 22 May 2013 15:54:11 +0000

Apple it seems has added a new way to give them money in Germany by adding PayPal as a method of payment at the online store. First reported by Macerkopf.de, PayPal now sits alongside the regular credit card payments for purchases from the German store.

So far it doesn't seem to have spread any further than this. 9to5Mac reports that they've yet to see it in any locations they've checked, and we've also confirmed that the payment method does not appear yet in the UK or France. The Apple payment help page for the German store also confirms that customers will not be required to add PayPal as a preferred payment method to their Apple ID, instead completing the checkout process via the PayPal website.

So, it could be the start of a wider roll out, or it might just be for German folks. We'll wait and see, but in the meantime if you're seeing the new payment method in your country, be sure to drop us a line in the comments and tell us where you are.

Source: Macerkopf.de, 9to5Mac

No time to read? Check out SoundGecko version 2.0, which is now live in the Windows Phone Store

Daniel Rubino — Wed, 22 May 2013 15:41:15 +0000

We’ve covered SoundGecko before, the media project that Long Zheng is a part of and veteran Windows Phone users will familiar with. The app and service allows users to “flag” articles to be converted into audio format, perfect for those of you who want to “read” while driving or who’s eyes are just too tired. What’s more, the service in its basic form is free (though there is a paid option with more features) and it launched with a fancy Windows Phone app.

Now we’re excited to announce that version 2.0 is live in the Store. So what’s new? The app now features “stations” for easier content discovery. Basically, you can now follow specific topics of your choosing or even specific brands and websites (or a combo).

In addition, Windows Phone users now get the ability to pin stations directly to their Start screen, new Live Tiles that show the latest images from their article feed and Toast notifications for new articles that have been added to their feed. In our opinion, it’s a gorgeous “Metro” app, well designed and it fills a unique, niche area for media consumers.

Users can of course still use the free Chrome plugin, which will allow them to sync articles on the web from the PCs to their phone’s for audio transcription—perfect for their morning commute. Interestingly, version 2.0 of SoundGecko recently launched on iOS with outstanding results, including users doubling their listening time from the previous version.

You can pick up SoundGecko v2.0 for Windows Phone 7.x and 8 here in the Store. You can also watch the above video to get an idea of how it all works together.

Head to the site www.soundgecko.com for more info and let us know in comments what you think of version 2.0!

HTC set to continue 'Desire' line of entry-level handsets

Alex Dobie — Wed, 22 May 2013 15:36:26 +0000

HTC 'Desire 200' gets certified in Taiwan, 'Desire 600' spotted in benchmarks

HTC looks set to restore the "Desire" brand for upcoming entry-level phones, according to details spotted across the web. The first comes from Taiwan's NCC certification body, which recently saw new entries for a "Desire 200" handset alongside the model number "102e" -- a number previously tied to the rumored entry-level "G2" device. That phone was said to pack a 3.5-inch HVGA screen and 512MB of RAM.

Meanwhile, references to a "Desire 600" have cropped up in the GFXBench benchmarking utility. Apparently a dual-SIM phone, the Desire 600 in question appeared to be running Android 4.1.2 on a 1.2GHz Qualcomm processor with an qHD display.

The Desire line has gone from signifying the best of HTC's line-up to a budget range associated with mid-to-low-end hardware. Last year saw the launch of the Desire X and Desire C in these two categories. Since no official announcement has been made, we'd take this info with a pinch of salt. For its part, HTC seems mostly focused on the high end of the smartphone spectrum, with its HTC One handset.

Source: VR-Zone(Chinese), GFXBench, via: UnwiredView

Next week we'll tell you all about #TM13, today a chance to win a trip for two to NYC for the launch party!

Daniel Rubino — Wed, 22 May 2013 15:01:53 +0000

For the past month or so, we've been teasing you about our new online event, code-named #TM13. That ends next week, when we officially announce the event, and tell you all about it. In the meantime, here's one last tease...and a chance to win a trip to NYC for a grand party, Great Gatsby style.

The tease

If you liked our old Smartphone Round Robins -- where there editors of Android Central, CrackBerry, iMore, and Windows Phone Central stopped being platform champions for a month, switched devices, and shared our thoughts -- you're going to love #TM13. It takes that conversation to the next level.

The party

While TM13 is an online event, we're going to celebrate the kick off with a real-life party. We'll provide the full details and open up RSVPs next week, but it'll be held the evening of June 6th and it'll be held in New York City.

If you're in NYC, you'll really want to be there. It's going to be a night to remember -- the first time we've ever held a cross-site Mobile Nations meet-up with all of our site editors in attendance!

The contest

If you're not in NYC, we're going to give you the chance to win a free trip for two so you can still be there.

To enter, all you need to do is head on over to mobilenations.com/tm13 and signup for #TM13 updates (and if you previously signed up, no need to enter again as you are already entered in the contest!). If you're already logged into any of our Mobile Nations sites, it's a one step process, quick and painless.

Once TM13 is revealed next week, we'll be announcing the winner of the trip the next day so we can get it booked ASAP.

TM13

WPCentral News

Next week we'll tell you all about #TM13, today we'll give you a chance to win a trip for two to NYC for the launch party!

Rene Ritchie — Wed, 22 May 2013 15:00:46 +0000

Enter to win a free trip for two to the TM13 launch party in NYC - visit MobileNations.com/tm13 and sign up for email updates! It's just that easy!

The tease

The party

The contest

If you're not in NYC, we're going to give you the chance to win a free trip for two so you can still be there!

To enter, all you need to do is head on over to mobilenations.com/tm13 and signup for #TM13 updates. If you've already signed up, you're already entered, what could be easier?

Once TM13 is revealed next week, we'll be announcing the winner of the trip the next day so we can get it booked ASAP!

That's it for now! I've said too much already! I'll just leave you with this -- hurry up and enter!

TM13 revealed next week; enter today to win a trip to NYC for the launch party!

Kevin Michaluk — Wed, 22 May 2013 15:00:21 +0000

Win a FREE trip to NYC for our June 6th #TM13 Launch Party.

To enter, simply visit MobileNations.com/tm13 and sign up for email updates! It's as easy as that!

So here's the deal -- For the past month we've been teasing #TM13 on the blogs and across the social sphere. That all changes early next week when we officially reveal what the TM stands for and tell you all about our upcoming and awesome Mobile Nations event.

Some of you have been pretty astute this past month, piecing together the clues we have dropped along the way. TM13 is an online event, which will be hosted across our Mobile Nations sites, including Android Central, CrackBerry, iMore and Windows Phone Central. The inspiration for the event comes via our Smartphone Round Robins of the past, where the editors of each site took off their platform champion hats to try out the competition and engage in higher level discussion. TM13 builds upon this past success. A lot. Trust me, you're going to want to join us for the ride!

In NYC on June 6th? Save this TM13 party date!

While TM13 is an online event, we're going to celebrate the kick off with an in-real-life party. We'll provide the full details and open up RSVPs next week, but we can tell you now the party will be held the evening of June 6th in New York City. If you can attend, save the date. For real. This is an event you will not want to miss. This will be the first time we've ever held a cross-site Mobile Nations meet-up with all of our site editors in attendance.

We're almost finally done teasing #tm13 - here's another teaser with a little more meat

Phil Nickinson — Wed, 22 May 2013 15:00:01 +0000

The good news is that the wait is nearly over. The blasted #tm13 teasers shall soon cease (hey, we cut way back a few weeks ago) and we'll finally take the wraps off this thing.

That said, we've got one last teaser for you. We'll be announcing the whole shebang next week, unless someone decides to leak it first, breaksclusive-style. And we'll be kicking the whole thing off the first week of June, with a small gathering of friends in New York City -- and you're invited. Plus, we're giving away a free trip to the party. We'll have full details at the Mobile Nations #tm13 site, so peep it for more. (And if you've already signed up for the e-mail alerts, you're already entered.)

And strap in, because we're changing the conversation.

Now Available: T-Mobile starts to directly sell the Nokia Lumia 521 for just $149.99

Daniel Rubino — Wed, 22 May 2013 14:49:01 +0000

The wait is over: you can now order up a brand new Nokia Lumia 521 direct from T-Mobile. The cost of the device is of course exceptionally low, coming in at just $29 down payment and just $5 a month for your two-year…errr…non-contract with T-Mobile. Feeling lavish? Then you can just buy the phone outright for a mere $150, which last we checked is damn low for a brand new smartphone in 2013.

The Lumia 521 from Nokia is a custom variant of the Lumia 520, comes in white and sports a dual-core 1GHz CPU, 4” LCD display, 512MB of RAM and a 5MP rear shooter. While you give up things like NFC, wireless charging, a front-facing camera and the ability to play a handful of games, you do get a solid smartphone running Windows Phone 8 and Nokia’s excellent navigation software and app selection.

Nokia told us that devices like the Lumia 505 (South America) and the Lumia 520 are selling exceptionally well and we’ve seen the Lumia 521 sell out on HSN and Walmart in their exclusive pre-sale deal,, which evidently ends today. Will the trend continue? We think so.

And yes, our Lumia 521 is due today or tomorrow, so if you want a quick video tour of the device, stay tuned. In the meantime, who’s picking one up?

Source: T-Mobile; Thanks, corepc, for the tip!

How to quickly lock your BlackBerry 10 phone when using a device password

Adam Zeis — Wed, 22 May 2013 14:39:44 +0000

If you use a password on your BlackBerry Z10 or BlackBerry Q10 (as you should) you may have noticed that there doesn't appear to be a way to quickly lock the device. Of course you can set the timeout to just a minute and your phone will lock on its own, but what if you want to lock it immediately?

On older BlackBerry devices, if you had a password enabled, a Password Lock icon would appear on your homescreen. Selecting it quickly locked your device no matter how long you had your lock timeout set for.

I was a bit bummed when I noticed that there was no such icon on BlackBerry 10. The option is still there however - just in a different place.

Vodafone UK delaying 4G LTE launch until September, likely waiting for iPhone and Lumia 925

Rich Edmonds — Wed, 22 May 2013 14:25:27 +0000

UK mobile operator Vodafone is set to wait until this coming September until the company looks to launch its 4G LTE upgrade, according to The Guardian. The newspaper states Vodafone will miss the original target window of summer to launch 4G services and compete with EE. It's believed the delay will be in place for a compatible iPhone, but we could also be witnessing support for Nokia's new flagship.

Vodafone will be utilising 800MHz and 2600MHz, which isn't currently supported by the iPhone 5 in Europe (the device works with 1800MHz frequencies used by rival EE). Some Windows Phones support multiple LTE bands, so we could also be seeing a delay for the Nokia Lumia 925 (which will be made available later this year). Vodafone chief executive Vittorio Colao had the following to say on the roll-out:

"We are convinced our own 4G will be better performing. We want to be able to launch it when it's really ready. End of the summer means when there is going to be a good commercial window for launching it."

It wouldn't be a far-fetched idea for Vodafone to want to sport both the iPhone and Lumia 925 when pushing its 4G network upgrades. This also provides the company more time to get everything in place and mobile phone plans finalised to really drive 4G into the UK market. It appears as though mobile networks in the UK aren't in a hurry to tackle EE's 4G dominance and are instead opting to launch LTE when ready.

For the time being, should you reside in the UK and wish to take advantage of LTE speeds, you'll be required to check EE out. We'll continue to recommend consumers to wait until other major operators join EE in the 4G realm, which should drive down pricing and by that point we should see better coverage for consumers.

Source: Guardian

Deal of the Day: 40% off the Incipio Lexington Hard Shell Folio Case for iPad mini

Brent Zaniewski — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:32:24 +0000

Today Only: Purchase the Incipio Lexington Hard Shell Folio Case for iPad mini and save $13.99!

The Incipio Lexington Hard Shell Folio Case protects your iPad mini with a vegan leather exterior combined with a rigid plextonium frame that can unfolded to offer multiple viewing angles for easy and comfortable typing. The interior features a microsuede lining to ensure that the screen of your iPad mini stays free from scratches while inside the case. Available in 4 different color combinations.

List Price: ~~$34.99~~ Today Only: $21.00

Learn More and Buy Now

Never miss a deal. Sign up for Daily Deal alerts!

Google ranked second most valuable brand, behind Apple

Alex Dobie — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:28:22 +0000

Company surpasses IBM to take number two spot on BrandZ list

Google has been ranked as the world second-most valuable brand, on the 2013 BrandZ list of top global brands. The list, published by research agency Millward Brown Optimor, puts Google's brand value at $113.669 billion, well behind Apple's $185.071 billion. This year Google creeps ahead of IBM, last year's number two, which now sits in third place with brand value estimated at $112.536 billion.

Google and Apple are placed above big names like McDonalds (4), Coca-Cola (5), Microsoft (7) and Visa (9). Other big Android names on the list include Samsung at number 30, having jumped a whopping 25 places, and Verizon, which dropped three spots to number 12. China Mobile maintained its number 10 spot, with estimated brand value of $55.368 billion.

Google's jump from third to second shows steady growth, but Apple clearly remains the company to beat, retaining the title of most valuable brand by a significant margin. Samsung's meteoric rise of to thirtieth is also noteworthy, and likely has a lot to do with the success of its Android-based Galaxy smartphones over the past year.

Check the source link down below for the full list of top 100 brands.

Source: Marketing Week; via: PhoneArena

Deal of the Day: Save 36% on the Incipio Feather Hard Case for BlackBerry Z10

ShopCrackBerry — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:24:07 +0000

Today Only: Buy the Incipio Feather Hard Case for BlackBerry Z10 and save $8.99!

Measuring less than 1mm thin, Incipio's Feather Case is ideal for the Z10 user seeking inconspicuous, first-class protection. The case is made of an ultra-light, ultra-strong polymer for light as a feather, form-fitting durable protection without the added bulk. It also features a soft touch matte finish and is so thin that it allows the Z10 to be used with many of the docks on the market.

List Price: $24.99 Today Only: $16.00

Deal also available in the Canada store

Learn More and Buy Now

Never miss a deal. Sign up for Daily Deal alerts!

The Apple Store goes down, comes back up loaded for Fathers Day

Richard Devine — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:17:41 +0000

During the night, when a lot of you were sleeping, the Apple Store went down. Sadly, there's no new goodies to report, but when it came back up it's loaded and ready to go for Apple's Fathers Day promo. With Fathers Day coming up, what better way to show your appreciation than with something from Apple.

We're not just talking iPads and iPods, Apple has dedicated a whole section of the storefront to all those add-ons and accessories that Dad might enjoy using with his Apple devices. Be that a Nike Fuelband, a Bluetooth remote control Porsche, or even a GoPro Hero 3, there's bound to be something in there that would make your old Dad smile.

So, to all the Dads out there; what would your dream Fathers Day gift from the Apple Store be? Once you've shared with us, time to get dropping those hints to your kids!

Source: Apple Store

Turbo Racing League for Windows Phone 8, nothing slow about these snails

George Ponder — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:11:31 +0000

Turbo Racing League is a Windows Phone 8 companion game for the DreamWorks Studio movie, "Turbo". The story line behind the movie is about a garden snail who dreams of being a world class racer. Turbo Racing League has you playing the role of the snail, competing across nine different race tracks.

Turbo Racing League has fantastic graphics and animations, game play that doesn't grow stale, and enough upgrades to keep things competitive. As an added bonus, Verizon is sponsoring a $1,000,000 Shell-Out Contest. You have weekly contests to race and the ten fastest racers will earn cash prizes from a pool of $500,000. First place winners from each week will win trip to Los Angeles to compete for $500,00 in cash prizes during a grand finale event.

You can find all the fine print on the Shell-Out Contest here and head on past the break to read more on Turbo Racing League.

The main menu for Turbo Racing League has options to access the settings, head over to the developer's website, view the online leaderboard and play the game. Settings cover steering options, refresh the shopping cart (?), view the credits, email the developer, and mute sound/music.

When you first launch Turbo Racing League, you'll have to create a racing snail. You get to choose body style and choose a screen name for the online leaderboards. There are four classes of racers that are progressively unlocked as you win races.

You will also have the choice of four racing controls. You can use the tilt sensors, use touch controls (left/right sides of the screens steer in that direction), a on-screen joystick or on-screen buttons. The tilt or touch controls seem to work the best. I like the touch controls a little better but you just have to be careful and not let your right finger stray far enough to hit the Windows Phone back button.

One you have your snail ready to go, Turbo Racing League will run you through a series of qualifying races that serves as a tutorial. From there, you race the circuit trying to win all your races and complete daily goals.

Racing is started by swiping up at your snail, who is initially launched from a sling shot. Along the race course you'll find power boosts that hurl your snail along the course. Tomatoes are scattered about the course to collect and use in the upgrade shops. You'll also be awarded tomatoes based on your overall performance for each race.

The race tracks are wonderfully drawn up with jumps that send you along monorail shortcuts, hairpin curves and other surprises.

In between races you can upgrade your snail by customizing their shell through paint, neon lights, spoilers, and shell style. You can also upgrade the snails abilities and change the body color as well. Upgrades and customizations will cost you tomatoes. If you don't collect enough during the races, you can tap on the tomato symbol next to your tomato count to buy tomatoes via in-app purchases. Costs range from $1.49 for 5,000 tomatoes to $79.99 for 800,000 tomatoes.

All in all Turbo Racing League is a fun racing game for your Windows Phone 8 device. A couple of nits though (nothing that destroys the game) include the lack of labels on any of the menu buttons, no means to reset the game (outside reinstalling) and the game is a little bit of a power hog (likely due to the graphics). Also, the lockscreen timer wasn't over-ridden while your in the middle of a race. If you're not careful when using the tilt controls, your screen will go black in the middle of a race. Luckily the game pauses and you can quickly resume things but it's a momentum killer.

Turbo Racing League has great graphics, fun game play and is a super choice if you're looking for a Windows Phone 8 racing game. The $1,000,000 Shell-Out contest isn't a bad touch either.

Turbo Racing League is a free app for your Windows Phone 8 device that you can pick up here in the Windows Phone Store.

Windows Phone 8 Games

snails

Deal of the Day: LLOYD Flex Case for Samsung Galaxy S3

ShopAndroid.com — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:08:51 +0000

The May 22 ShopAndroid.com Deal of the Day is the LLOYD Flex Case for Samsung Galaxy S3. Made from shock absorbent and scratch resistant TPU, the LLOYD Flex Case provides great protection for the Galaxy S3 from day to day use and accidental drops. The back of each case features our very own Lloyd mascot and is available in black, clear, smoke and green.

The LLOYD Flex Case is available for just $8.00, 60% off today only. Backed by our 60-day return policy and fast shipping!

Never miss a deal. Sign up for Daily Deal alerts

Vodafone UK delays LTE launch, incompatibility with the iPhone 5 a factor

Richard Devine — Wed, 22 May 2013 12:57:49 +0000

Anyone in the UK on Vodafone hoping for some LTE soon will be disappointed, as their CEO has confirmed the carrier won't be switching on 4G until around September. This is in part due to the current iPhone 5 being incompatible with their proposed LTE network. Speaking to The Guardian, CEO Vittorio Colao said:

"We are convinced our own 4G will be better performing. We want to be able to launch it when it's really ready. End of the summer means when there is going to be a good commercial window for launching it."

Currently, the iPhone 5 will only operate LTE on the 1800MHz bands in the UK, while Vodafone acquired 800MHz and 2600MHz in the recent spectrum auctions. Had Vodafone launched soon as they were initially expected to, they would have launched without an LTE iPhone. Not a great marketing play. Stepping back to September plays right into the "good commercial window for launching it," as we're naturally expecting a new iPhone in the latter stages of the year.

Source: The Guardian

Vodafone UK delays 4G LTE roll-out to September

Alex Dobie — Wed, 22 May 2013 12:56:47 +0000

Carrier will likely wait for compatible iPhone

Vodafone UK will wait until September to launch its 4G LTE services, according to reports. British national newspaper The Guardian reports that Voda will miss the originally-targeted summer launch window for its LTE network, which runs on 800MHz and 2600MHz airwaves purchased as part of the recent 4G spectrum auction.

The Guardian quotes Vodafone chief executive Vittorio Colao as saying "We want to be able to launch it when it's really ready. End of the summer means when there is going to be a good commercial window for launching it." That likely means the operator is waiting for refreshed iPhone hardware from Apple. The current iPhone 5 model sold in Europe supports LTE on 1800MHz, the frequencies used by rival EE, but not the 800MHz and 2600MHz that Vodafone will be using. (Most 4G Android phones sold in the UK support all three bands.)

As for rival networks, O2 is said to be targeting summer "at the earliest" for its 4G switch-on. Three UK has built its "Ultrafast" brand around DC-HSDPA and its upcoming LTE offering, but says it's in "no rush" to launch the latter, which it's currently targeting for switch-on in Q4.

Source: The Guardian

Porsche Design announce the Gold BlackBerry P'9981

James Richardson — Wed, 22 May 2013 12:44:22 +0000

BlackBerry 10 may be all over the news most of the time these days but Porsche Design have brought yet another edition of the P'9981 to the table and this one is going to be expensive. We've already had the silver and black versions but this new gold version will be limited to just 25 handsets worldwide which will be available in certain Porsche Design stores in July.

Voice search activated in latest Google Chrome update for Mac

Richard Devine — Wed, 22 May 2013 11:46:27 +0000

Shown off last week during the Google I/O keynote for the first time, the latest stable channel update to Google Chrome for Mac brings with it the voice search functionality. The full contextual search doesn't yet seem active, but basic click, ask a question, get a response voice search is up and running and ready for your searches.

The update comes by way of Chrome v.27.0.1453.93 to give it its full title, and grabbing it is real easy. Hit the settings menu inside the browser, and head down to "About Google Chrome." Once you're in there, Chrome should check for the latest version, install it and prompt you to restart the browser to complete. If you're not running Chrome and want to give it a try, head on over to the Google Chrome portal and download the latest version.

When you're back up, head on over to the Google homepage and you'll see a little microphone sitting in the main search box now. Once you've clicked on it for the first time, look for a permission request to appear at the top of the screen asking to use your microphone. Accept, and away you go. During our early testing two things became apparent. Firstly, the voice recognition is very accurate. Secondly, it seems a little buggy, and kept throwing up a "No internet connection" dialog, when there clearly was an internet connection. Getting it to kick back into gear sometimes takes several restarts of the browser.

So, it's here, and maybe a little gimmicky, and buggy, but it's still pretty neat to play around with. That's our early experience with it, so how about you? Are you seeing the same bugs as we are, or different ones? Does it leave you pining for Siri to come to the desktop? Let us know!

via Android Central

HTC loses several high-profile executives [Updated]

Alex Dobie — Wed, 22 May 2013 10:45:08 +0000

Departures include VP of Global Communications, Chief Product Officer, Asia CEO

Update 2: HTC has confirmed the departure of Lennard Hoornik, and says CFO Chialin Chang will take over in the interim. Engadget is also reporting that Head of Global Digital Service Elizabeth Griffin will be leaving HTC later this week. Meanwhile, The Verge's Chris Ziegler tweets that he's "catching wind of a bunch more departures."

Update: CNET reports that HTC Asia CEO Lennard Hoornik has become the latest HTC exec to part ways with the company, following two months of leave.

Original story: HTC's Chief Product Officer Kouji Kodera has left the company, The Verge is reporting. Kodera's exit is the latest in a string of top-level departures at the struggling smartphone maker, including VP of Global Communications Jason Gordon, who announced his exit late last week.

In recent months product strategy manager Eric Lin has also called it quits, and The Verge reports that global retail marketing manager Rebecca Rowland and director of digital marketing John Starkweather have also left. Writing on Twitter this Monday, a vocal Lin advised friends still working at HTC to "leave now," adding, "you'll be so much happier, I swear." Across the Atlantic, HTC EMEA President Florian Seiche recently departed for Nokia.

Sources for The Verge suggest that the U.S.-based marketing departures could be the result of new CMO Benjamin Ho moving key decision-making away from the company's Seattle office and back to the Taipei headquarters. The site also quotes a source singling out the ill-fated HTC First for criticism, describing it as "a disaster." The "Facebook phone" recently had its price cut from $99 to 99 cents on-contract amid disputed reports that carrier partner AT&T may have decided to drop the handset.

On the other hand, sales of the flagship HTC One appear to be picking up. Production capacity is set to double this month to keep pace with "strong demand," according to recent comments from HTC North Asia president Jack Tong. However the One will continue to face fierce competition from Korean giant Samsung, whose Galaxy S4 is expected to hit its 10 millionth unit shipped this week. And HTC's financials remain precarious following early component supply issues with the HTC One.

Only time will tell how HTC will be able to meet the challenges it's facing, however we can be sure this series of high-profile departures is unlikely to help matters.

via The Verge

Were you tempted by Word Soup? There is now a free version for BlackBerry 10

James Richardson — Wed, 22 May 2013 10:15:42 +0000

You may remember some time ago that we brought you a video/review of Word Soup for BlackBerry 10 smartphones. The good news is that the developer has been in touch to let us know that there is now a free version of the app available in BlackBerry World. This free version is ad-supported and has no in-app purchases but if you fancy giving the game a go this is without doubt the best way to do it.

Here's one for you Liverpool Football Club fans - LFC Connect for BlackBerry 10

James Richardson — Wed, 22 May 2013 09:36:11 +0000

LFC Connect (Liverpool Football Club) will pretty much be mainly of interest to UK football fans but considering the BlackBerry subscriber base we have here in Great Britain I thought this one was well worth sharing.

Rogers, Bell and TELUS BlackBerry Q10's updated to OS 10.1.0.1720

Bla1ze — Wed, 22 May 2013 03:46:04 +0000

Although the OS has been floating around in various forms for the past couple of weeks now, it looks to have finally gone official across the board in Canada for the BlackBerry Q10. Confirmed to be arriving on Rogers, Bell and TELUS devices folks who check for updates should see that software version 10.1.0.273 is available. Oddly enough, if you check your device you may find that it's already on this 'software version' but that doesn't mean you should dismiss the update.

In fact, you should download it because even though the software version is the same, the OS inside is not. Unless you've installed a leak or ran a customized autoloader, most BlackBerry Q10's in Canada should be running OS 10.1.0.1483 but with this download, even though the software version will remain unchanged, you'll end up being on OS 10.1.0.1720.

We realize a good lot of you might have already had this show up but if not, now is a good time to check for updates. The update received on my Q10 came in at 127MB, sound off in the comments if you weren't seeing it before but have now had it appear.

Discuss the changes in the CrackBerry Forums

Introducing CrackBerry's new Editors' Choice App Gallery!

Kevin Michaluk — Tue, 21 May 2013 21:58:55 +0000

Curated by CrackBerry with love, just for you.

Visit crackberry.com/apps in your web browser to get to CrackBerry's Editors' Choice App Gallery. And look for it soon in our CB10 app!

In our ongoing mission to help users get the most out of their BlackBerry ownership experience, today I'm super excited to introduce the *beta* of our new Editors' Choice App Gallery for BlackBerry 10 apps.

With BlackBerry World filling up with BB10 apps, we wanted to develop a way to cut through the noise and save users time in discovering the absolute must-have apps for their BlackBerry 10 phone. Hence, the Editors' Choice App Gallery was born.

BBM has a real shot at consolidating the global mobile messaging market

Chris Umiastowski — Tue, 21 May 2013 20:12:05 +0000

So BlackBerry Messenger is finally going cross platform, eh? For quite some time now most of you at CrackBerry Nation have believed this should happen. In fact during 2010 (when the stock was still around $60), CrackBerry ran a poll asking you all if the company should take BBM cross platform.

Guess what? A whopping 71% of you said yes, it should go cross platform. Our own fearless leader, Kevin, is clearly on record saying BBM should be opened up. Here’s what he wrote in November 2010:

”So should RIM do it? Personally, I think they should. I get the reasons why they wouldn't. RIM makes money from selling smartphones, and right now BlackBerry Messenger is one of those hooks that keeps people on BlackBerry and actually attracts some people to BlackBerry (I've heard stories from carrier reps where individuals walk into the store and ask for the phone that does BBM). But I don't think this reasoning holds up long-term. As soon as a cross-platform BBM-style client emerges in the smartphone space and attains critical mass (ie. Kik or another), even if not as fully-featured as BlackBerry Messenger the hook of BBM starts to diminish.“

Monday Brief: The Nokia Lumia 928, a Galaxy S4 vs HTC One camera shootout, BlackBerry Live, and more!

Ashley Esqueda — Mon, 13 May 2013 14:21:42 +0000

Jon Rubinstein returns: Former Palm CEO joins Qualcomm's board

The Great webOS Nation Giveaway: Who won a Verizon Pre3?

Derek Kessler — Sun, 12 May 2013 23:53:29 +0000

Maybe it took us a while to get this one judged. But we got it done! There were a lot of really really great entries for our 60 seconds for a Verizon HP Pre3 contest, which made judging who deserved to win one of these rare brand-new webOS smartphones more difficult than we'd anticipated. After sleeping on it for a while, it's time to announce the winners! You can check out the winning video entries after the break…

Phoenix ACL for TouchPad passes $35,000 Kickstarter goal with 10 days to spare

Derek Kessler — Sun, 12 May 2013 20:23:38 +0000

If you've been waiting to get Android apps running on your webOS-powered HP TouchPad (without having to actually install Android, that is), then you might just be one step closer to your desired future. Two weeks ago, webOS upstarts Phoenix International Communications partnered with OpenMobile to launch a Kickstarter campaign to finance the completion and release of the Android Compatibility Layer for TouchPad. The ACL's purpose is straightforward: to enable the running of Android apps on the TouchPad. The Kickstarter goal was $35,000 - not ambitious by Kickstarter standards.

Two weeks later, that $35,000 funding goal has been met and surpassed, with more than 575 contributors offering an average of $62.39 towards the project. 74 have pledged what amounts to a donation - less than $30 (though some pledge levels do promise swag like a Phoenix-branded LED keychain flashlight), while the rest pledged at least the $30 needed to secure a copy of the ACL on release. Sixteen others have pledged a backing of at least $90, securing access to the ACL one week earlier than lower pledges, 5 offered the $150 required for two weeks of early access, four are putting up $250 for the privilege of being a beta tester (paying to help sort bugs, really?).

Beyond that, a single donation of $500 secured a copy of ACL on a CD with a pack of swag, $600 for the swag pack and a new TouchPad with ACL, and one very dedicated soul pledged a whopping $7500 for a flight to New York, dinner with the Phoenix team, and a rare white 64GB TouchPad along with the requisite ACL and swag pack.

Now that the funding goal has been met, the pressure is really on for the Phoenix team. They've committed to an estimated delivery date of July 2013 for the ACL, and though the funding release for the Kickstarter campaign is still ten days away, we hope they're already hard at work on getting the ACL ready for release. Of course, Kickstarter in no way guarantees the success if any project financed on their platform, so it's going to be up to the webOS Nation community to hold Phoenix to their commitments. After all - it's your money.

Having met that funding goal, Phoenix has laid out their plans for the future of the ACL. Funding in excess of the $35,000 goal is intended to go to developing the ACL's next versions, including an update to replace the current Android 2.3 back-end with something based on Android 4.x instead and plans to release the ACL for the HP Pre3. We also hope they're planning on an Open webOS-compatible version of the ACL - as much as we love our old webOS hardware, the future lies with new hardware powered by the open source version of webOS, not in squeezing more life out of our beloved but aged webOS tablets and smartphones.

Jon Rubinstein returns: Former Palm CEO joins Qualcomm's board

Derek Kessler — Tue, 07 May 2013 01:35:04 +0000

When Jon Rubinstein came out of retirement from Apple to join Palm way back in 2007, little did he know the odyssey upon which he and Palm were about to embark. From launching the Palm Pre less than two years later, becoming Palm CEO, guiding Palm into HP's money-filled arms, launching the HP TouchPad tablet, and then watching as all the work he'd overseen got flushed down the toilet, Rubinstein's tenure at the lead of webOS was one of ups and downs, successes and utter chaos. So it was little surprise when, after watching webOS get a thin leash on life as an open source project, Rubinstein left HP in early 2012 for his second retirement.

Rubinstein returned to his Mexican beach villa and resumed the sipping of margaritas while browsing the web on his tiny HP Veer. While he left the door open to returning someday to tech, if anybody needed some time off after the webOS debacle, it was Jon Rubinstein. His schedule of siestas and cervezas is about to be interrupted, though we can't imagine it'll be on an all to frequent basis: Rubinstein was today elected to the board of directors of chip manufacturer Qualcomm.

While Rubinstein joined Palm's board as a very active and hands-on Executive Chairman with the goal of dragging Palm into the future of mobile computing, he's coming to San Diego-based Qualcomm while it's at the top of its game and firing on all cylinders. Rubinstein's addition to the board brings a new heft and decades of computing and mobile experience to the table. Besides webOS, Rubinstein is credited as being the man who made Apple's iPod possible from an engineering standpoint, and was a key player at Steve Jobs's NeXT.

It's not quite Silicon Valley, but it's definitely silicon. Welcome back, Ruby.

Disable Gesture Area LED when an app is active

Adam Marks — Mon, 06 May 2013 17:27:15 +0000

When the physical button on the original Palm Pre was replaced with a virtual capacitive button on the Pre Plus, there was more than just a change to the physical appearance of webOS phones. While both the physical button of the Pre and the capacitive button of Pre Plus performed the same functions to minimize cards or provide blink notifications since webOS 1.4, the LED light of the Pre Plus would also light up any time an app was open and active on the device. This may be a nice reminder that the LED light also doubles as a home button, but it can also be quite annoying. All webOS devices since the Pre Plus has continued this functionality, with no way to disable it if you would rather not have the LED light up whenever you are working in an app.

Not willing to take no for an answer, the webOS homebrew community stepped up and provided a homebrew patch to fix this issue. All you need to do is install the "Disable LightBar" patch from developer Herrie and that default behavior of the LED will now be disabled. It will still blink for any app notification, it just won't light up every time you are working in an app.

Monday Brief: The mysterious AT&T XFON, a cheeky Windows Phone commercial, and more!

Ashley Esqueda — Mon, 06 May 2013 13:21:52 +0000

Clear phone call history

Adam Marks — Sat, 04 May 2013 00:30:19 +0000

The Phone app in webOS maintains your complete history of every phone call that was ever placed, received or missed since you activated the device. If you are on a webOS 2.1 or higher, this data is also backed up to your Palm Profile so the call log will transfer over any time you activate a new webOS device. While the call log can be a helpful tool if you ever need to refer back to it, there are times where you may want to remove individual entries or wipe the entire log.

To clear the entire call log:

Open the Phone app
Tap on the icon to access the call history
Swipe-down from the top-left to access the Application Dropdown menu and select "Clear Call History"
Confirm that you want to clear the history in the pop-up dialog box
If you have a large call log, you may need close the Phone app and then reopen it

If you don't want to wipe the entire log but just remove a single entry, that is a simple act of performing a swipe-to-delete on the call log entry and then confirming the deletion.

App Giveaway: Othello StockWatch

Derek Kessler — Wed, 01 May 2013 01:00:21 +0000

If you're an investor in this day and age, keeping up on your stock portfolio can seem like a daunting task. There's not just the day-to-day progress of your positions, but there are technical indicators and charts and news out the wazoo that you've got to track. Your options for that are plenty to, but we've got one you might want to check out: Othello StockWatch for the HP TouchPad. With autocompleting search, customizable charts, and sortable technical indicators, this app could be your best friend as an investor. Othello StockWatch is normally $1.99 in the App Catalog, but we're pleased to say that we have 50 copies to give away to 50 of you.

Contest: We have 50 copies of Othello StockWatch to give away. Just leave a comment on this post to enter. Contest ends next Sunday at midnight US Eastern Time, after which time we will select 50 random entrants to win. Please only leave one comment, multiple entries won’t count. Promo codes are only valid in countries serviced by the App Catalog, and users must be running webOS 3.0.4 or higher with the latest version of the App Catalog.

Last call! Verizon Pre3 60-second video entries close tomorrow

Derek Kessler — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 22:01:22 +0000

Consider this your final reminder.

If you want to win one of five brand-new Verizon HP Pre3 smartphones and are totally cool with putting together a video that's no longer than sixty seconds, then you should totally head to the contest post linked below for the complete entry requirements and to submit your entry (don't post it here). The contest closes tomorrow, so you'll want to get cracking on convincing us that you deserve one of the rarer birds of webOS.

Contest: The Great webOS Nation Giveaway: 60 seconds for a Verizon Pre3

Monday Brief: WWDC sells out, BlackBerry Q10 review and the Samsung Galaxy S4 has arrived

Ashley Esqueda — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 19:01:13 +0000

BlackBerry Q10 Review
Download Skype for the BlackBerry Z10 ahead of official release
Selfridges sells out BlackBerry Q10 in 90 minutes