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HTC says One production will double to meet ‘strong demand’

Fri, 17 May 2013 19:00:24 -0400

Of all the problems to have when launching a new flagship smartphone, trouble keeping up with demand is hardly the worst. Of course, things change a bit when a company has to pump units into channels as quickly as possible before the top-selling smartphone vendor in the world launches the Galaxy S4. HTC undoubtedly lost some sales thanks to its production woes with the One, but a new report suggests its manufacturing issues are behind it. According to Focus Taiwan, HTC North Asia president Jack Tong said that production capacity for the HTC One will double in May and increase further in June. ”Our capacity is expected to rise significantly starting from mid-May,” Tong reportedly said Friday at a press conference. “We

Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 image, specs leak

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:50:50 -0400

A purported image of Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 tablet was published on Friday along with supposed specs. SamMobile obtained the image of the unannounced tablet from an unnamed source, and the device shown in the image looks very similar to Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8.0 tablet, pictured above, with slight variations such as the sensor layout above the display. Not much can be gleaned from the render, though the blog also claims to have knowledge of the tablet’s specs, which include an 8-inch TFT display with 1,280 x 800-pixel resolution, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1.5GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, a 5-megapixel rear camera, a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, a 4,450 mAh battery and Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. The leaked image

Want to Steer Clear of Monsanto? 'Buycott' App Shows You How

Fri, 17 May 2013 15:31:55 -0400

Don’t bother trying to download the Android version of the new Buycott smartphone application today. It’s not there. The company’s website even went down earlier this week.

The five ways Google is ‘assaulting’ Apple

Fri, 17 May 2013 14:35:03 -0400

Google CEO Larry Page spoke about peace in the industry during the Google I/O 2013 keynote, but that doesn’t mean Google has plans to slow its various attacks on rivals’ turf. Forbes contributor Peter Cohan laid out the five areas where Google is launching its “assault” on chief competitor Apple, and he discussed exactly how Google is hurting the world’s most valuable company in each area. Among Cohan’s five fronts are smartphones, where Google’s Android platform has overtaken the iPhone as the most popular handset operating system in the world; tablets, where strength in numbers will soon help Google top Apple’s market share once again; and innovation, the “most important front where Google is trouncing Apple.” Because the company is assaulting Apple

BBM will reportedly not support iPad or Android tablets at launch

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:50:40 -0400

Earlier this week, BlackBerry announced the arrival of BlackBerry Messenger for Android and iOS. A new report suggests that the messaging service will have some limitations, however. According to TrustedReviews, BBM will not be available for the iPad or for Android tablets at launch. Vivek Bhardwaj, head of the BlackBerry software portfolio, reportedly told the website that BBM will be limited to iPhones running iOS 6 or higher and Android smartphones. “Smartphone is our real focus and again it comes back to what BBM is,” he explained. “If you look BBM and the engagement and the activity, it’s because it is mobile, because people are on the go.” While the executive didn’t rule out tablet support in the future, he

Nokia Lumia 928 review: Third time’s the charm?

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:05:12 -0400

After a handful of dismal quarters during which Nokia lost billions, the vendor has recently shown signs of life. But not in the United States. Nokia’s first big attempt at a comeback in the U.S. was the Lumia 900, and the company returned later in 2012 with the Lumia 920. Neither phone was received with much enthusiasm from consumers. In the Lumia 900′s debut quarter, Nokia shipped 600,000 total Lumia phones in the U.S. When the Lumia 920 launched in the holiday quarter last year, Nokia’s U.S. Lumia phone shipments totaled 700,000 units and then slid to just 400,000 units in the following quarter. Nokia now returns with its third flagship phone for the U.S. market — the Lumia 928 — and it’s changing

iPhone cleared for U.S. military use, ready to take on BlackBerry, Samsung

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:05:19 -0400

The United States Department of Defense on Friday approved the use of Apple devices running iOS 6 on its networks, Bloomberg reported. The iPhone will compete with BlackBerry 10 and Samsung KNOX devices, which received approval earlier this month. The Pentagon has continued to test alternative platforms to give employees flexibility when choosing a work phone. The DoD even has plans to create a mobile app store that can handle as many as 8 million devices. There are currently more than 600,000 mobile devices in use at the agency, 470,000 of which are older BlackBerry smartphones. There are currently more than 40,000 iPhones and 8,700 Android devices in use, however most of them aren’t connected to military networks except for testing

BlackBerry comeback underway on home turf

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:40:23 -0400

On the global stage, BlackBerry is still hurting — for the first time ever, Microsoft’s Windows Phone market share topped BlackBerry in the first quarter this year to take the No.3 spot in the smartphone platform war. We’re still very early on in BlackBerry’s comeback attempt though, and progress is being made in some key markets. Raymond James analyst Tavis McCourt points to BlackBerry’s home turf in Canada as one of the markets where the vendor has seen good early response to its new BlackBerry Z10 and Q10 smartphones, and BlackBerry’s progress thus far has been impressive according to his figures. In a recent research note, McCourt says that BlackBerry’s share of the smartphone market fell to an embarrassing 6% in Canada to close

A stretched Samsung chases rival Apple's suppliers

Thu, 16 May 2013 20:36:53 -0400

By Miyoung Kim SEOUL (Reuters) - Overtaking Apple Inc as the world's leading maker of smartphones has stretched Samsung Electronics Co's in-house supply lines, and the South Korean firm is now courting some of its rival's main parts suppliers. After costly courtroom battles over technology patents, the two gadget giants are now going head-to-head over securing the best supply of parts as they jostle to rule the $253 billion smartphone market. The two took 100 percent of the industry's profit in January-March, Canaccord Genuity data show. ...

Google’s new Hangouts app will soon support SMS

Thu, 16 May 2013 19:15:06 -0400

Google on Wednesday announced a new application, known as Hangouts, during its annual I/O Developers Conference that looks to unify the company’s existing chat and video services. The application was released for Gmail, Android, iOS and Chrome, and it supports Google Talk, Google+ Hangouts and Google Messenger. Dori Storbeck, community manager of Google+ Hangouts and Chat, confirmed on Thursday that SMS integration is also “coming soon,” noting that is it one of the company’s “most requested features.” Adding the ability to send and receive SMS messages will help Google further compete with Apple’s iMessage service and BlackBerry’s upcoming cross-platform BBM app.

Google’s new Hangouts app will soon support SMS [updated]

Thu, 16 May 2013 19:15:06 -0400

How Cell Phones Are Helping Fisherman Fight Piracy

Thu, 16 May 2013 18:21:06 -0400

See full coverage

Prepaid iPhone sales exploded in Q1

Thu, 16 May 2013 17:45:30 -0400

A new report suggests that prepaid smartphones are becoming more popular among consumers. According to research from NPD Group, 32% of all smartphones sold in the first quarter were prepaid devices, up from 21% during the same period in 2012. Samsung was found to be the most popular vendor of prepaid smartphones, accounting for 32% of sales in the first quarter. Handsets from LG made up 22%, Huawei 11%, and Apple and HTC tied at 8%. Prepaid iPhone sales were found to have increased fourfold in Q1 though, while sales of LG smartphones doubled year-over-year. “Prepaid has proven to be a real winner for national retailers,” said Baker. “The easy purchase cycle and grab-and-go nature of the product play into the strength

Samsung advertising barrage said to ‘mentally enslave’ Indian consumers

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:20:33 -0400

Samsung’s marketing Death Star isn’t just hovering over the United States — it has designs on conquering the entire world. Per Barron’s, Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry thinks that Apple may have a tougher time in India than other markets because BlackBerry and especially Samsung have already blanketed the country with ads touting their smartphones as elite products that consumers simply see as less expensive versions of the iPhone. Because of this, he says that the companies have created ”an environment where they tend to mentally enslave the consumer to buy their products.” Chowdhry says this is particularly true of Samsung, which he says airs TV ads once every 15 minutes in India.

Amazon tablets soar in mobile content consumption

Thu, 16 May 2013 15:40:08 -0400

Millenial Media, a leading mobile advertising platform, is out with another Mobile Mix report. It shows Amazon’s tablets gaining share in the mobile content market at a fairly dizzying clip. The Mobile Mix report is based on billions of monthly ad impressions and it offers an interesting glimpse of emerging trends in mobile content consumption. Perhaps the biggest bombshell is that Amazon is now hogging 28% of ad impressions served to Android tablets; just marginally behind Samsung’s tablets that get a 35% share. No other Android vendor has achieved double digits. The cheapo Kindle tablet strategy has helped Amazon to already vault to the top tier of the U.S. tablet market when it comes to content consumption. Android tablets get 45%

Warplanes, troops in NE Nigeria; mobile phones cut

Thu, 16 May 2013 14:20:23 -0400

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — Mobile phone service was cut off Thursday in areas of northeast Nigeria as jet fighters streaked through the sky and more soldiers were deployed to fight Islamic extremists waging a brutal insurgency.

Windows Phone’s big problem: Most OEMs see it as an afterthought

Thu, 16 May 2013 13:35:25 -0400

The latest numbers from IDC show that Windows Phone is still having a tough time gaining traction, as the operating system was found on just 3.2% of all smartphones shipped in the first quarter of 2013. And things could look even worse for Microsoft in the second quarter since Windows Phone devices will have to go toe-to-toe with heavyweight flagships being rolled out by both Samsung and HTC, as well as the low-cost BlackBerry Q5 that BlackBerry is aggressively pushing into emerging markets. In fact, the only company that’s really devoting a lot of resources toward manufacturing and publicizing Windows Phone devices is Nokia, which really has no choice since it has chosen Windows Phone as its exclusive operating system. Let’s

Android 4.3 was a no-show at I/O, but report claims launch coming soon

Thu, 16 May 2013 12:50:59 -0400

The first day of Google’s I/O Developers Conference keynote has come and gone without a single mention of a potential update to the company’s Android operating system. Despite a number of rumors that suggested Google would announce a new version of Android at the annual event, the company remained quiet on the issue. According to a press release from the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, however, a new version of Android will be announced in the ”in the coming months.” The group announced on Wednesday that Google has committed to bringing support for Bluetooth Smart to future versions of the operating system. The power efficient Bluetooth standard is already supported in Apple’s iOS, as well as in a number of Android smartphones

Mobile phone service off in northeast Nigeria

Thu, 16 May 2013 11:36:15 -0400

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — Mobile phone service has been cut in areas of northeast Nigeria as the military sends more soldiers to the region to fight Islamic extremists.

Android shipments explode in Q1 as iPhone stalls; Windows Phone tops BlackBerry

Thu, 16 May 2013 09:20:26 -0400

Microsoft and BlackBerry are fighting to become viable alternatives in the mobile market, and while Android and iOS accounted for a majority of smartphone shipments in the first quarter, Windows Phone made some significant moves that propelled it ahead of BlackBerry. Research firm IDC found that Windows Phone shipped 7 million smartphones, accounting for 3.2% of all shipments in the first quarter of 2013, more than double the year-ago quarter. Microsoft was able to overtake BlackBerry, which despite its new BlackBerry 10 operating system, saw smartphone shipments decline from 9.7 million units to 6.3 million units, accounting for 2.9% of global channel sales. “Windows Phone claiming the third spot is a first and helps validate the direction taken by Microsoft

Smartphone survey shows the ‘Apple/Samsung duopoly has strengthened’

Thu, 16 May 2013 07:50:53 -0400

Is the mobile industry headed for a duopoly where Apple and Samsung are the only two companies that matter? Breakdowns of smartphone industry profits sure make it look that way and now Barron’s points us to a new survey conducted by MKM Partners showing that the two companies’ grip on the smartphone market has only strengthened over the past several months. The survey, which measures smartphone buying intentions for just over 1,000 American consumers, found that 30% of likely smartphone buyers planned to buy an iPhone while 28% said they planned to buy a Samsung device for their next smartphone. For comparison, just 6% of likely smartphone buyers said they would go with a BlackBerry device and just 2% said they

HTC confirms no plans for HTC One with stock Android

Wed, 15 May 2013 21:50:25 -0400

Google made a splash at its I/O Developers Conference on Wednesday when it announced a special edition Galaxy S4 smartphone. The device will be sold directly through Google’s Play Store for $649 and runs a stock version of Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, rather than Samsung’s TouchWhiz user interface. Unfortunately it would appear other manufacturers will not be following Samsung and Google’s lead. HTC confirmed in a statement to TechnoBuffalo that it has no plans to offer its popular all-metal One smartphone with a stock version of Android. The company does offer an unlocked developer edition of the HTC One on its website, however that model still runs the company’s Sense user interface.

HP announces two new dockable Android and Windows 8 tablets

Wed, 15 May 2013 19:30:23 -0400

HP on Wednesday announced the Android-powered SlateBook x2 and the Windows-powered Split x2. The SlateBook x2 is equipped with a 10.1-inch 1920 x 1200-pixel display and a new 1.8GHz quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 4 processor. The tablet also features 2GB of RAM, up to 64GB of internal storage, a rear-camera capable of 1080p video recording, an SD card slot, HDMI-out, a USB port and Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. The Split x2 is equipped with a 13.3-inch 1366 x 768-pixel display and has the option of an Intel i3 or i5 processor. The device is powered by Windows 8 and also features an 8-megapixel rear camera, 2GB of RAM, a micro SD reader, one USB 2.0 port and one USB 3.0 port, an

Google unveils maps, photo, music features

Wed, 15 May 2013 19:19:57 -0400

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google's sixth annual conference for software developers opened Wednesday with a chance for the company to showcase its latest services. Announcements included new features for online games, maps and search, a new music-streaming service and enhancements to its Google Plus social network, including tools for editing and sharing photos.

Study Says Talking on Cell Phones Raises Blood Pressure

Wed, 15 May 2013 18:11:00 -0400

A new study says you can add a commonplace activity to the list of things that raise blood pressure: talking on a cell phone.

Dr. Dre, Iovine donate $70M for new USC center

Wed, 15 May 2013 17:15:46 -0400

The new Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy at the University of Southern California will offer a curriculum aimed to help young innovators create the next iPod or Facebook. The hip-hop mogul best known ...

Google shares close above $900 for first time, market cap at over $300 billion

Wed, 15 May 2013 16:00:28 -0400

Google’s shares continued to rise on Wednesday in the wake of the Google I/O conference, closing at over $900 for the first time and giving the company a market cap of over $300 billion for the first time in its history. The company’s stock value has been increasing at a rapid pace all year, growing from the low $700 range at the start of 2013 to the low $900 range by the end of trading on Wednesday. The continued rise in shares Wednesday was somewhat curious given that Google didn’t unveil a new Nexus tablet or a new version of Android at I/O this year as many had been expecting. Some analysts have slapped the company with a $1,000 price

Google Maps updated for Android and iOS, launches this summer

Wed, 15 May 2013 14:31:29 -0400

With its I/O Developers Conference in full swing on Wednesday, Google took the wraps off its redesign of Google Maps for mobile devices. As revealed in an earlier leak, Google Maps has been updated with a brand new layout, new search features and new ways to highlight the “things that matter most.” The latest version of Google Maps for mobile devices is fully integrated with Zagat restaurant ratings, Google Offers and includes enhanced navigation with real-time updates for accidents. The update will hit the iPhone, iPad and Android devices this summer. Google also redesigned the Maps user interface on the Web to better match up with the company’s mobile offering. Google’s I/O keynote is streaming live and the video feed is available on this

Google unveils social, photo, music features

Wed, 15 May 2013 14:28:26 -0400

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google's sixth annual conference for software developers opened Wednesday with a chance for the company to showcase its latest services. Announcements include a new phone, new tools for online games and a new music-streaming service and new features to its Google Plus social network, including tools for sharing and enhancing photos.

Google unveils $10-a-month 'All Access' music plan

Wed, 15 May 2013 13:46:14 -0400

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google on Wednesday launched a subscription-based music service, allowing users of Android phones and tablets to listen to their favorite songs and artists for a monthly fee.

Google unveils social features, music streaming

Wed, 15 May 2013 13:45:08 -0400

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google's sixth annual conference for software developers opened Wednesday with a chance for the company to showcase its latest services. Announcements include a new phone, new tools for online games and a new music-streaming service and new features to its Google Plus social network.

Google unveils Hangouts unified messaging service

Wed, 15 May 2013 13:44:08 -0400

Google on Wednesday took the wraps off its new Hangouts unified messaging service aimed at pulling together all Google messaging services including Google Talk, Google+ Hangouts and Google Messenger. The new service will be available starting Wednesday on Google Chrome OS, Android and iOS, and can also be accessed through desktop versions of Google+ and Gmail. The service will also allow users to save text, images and videos from all chats conducted across all platforms and access them through Google’s cloud storage service. What’s more, Hangouts will allow users to initiate video calls with up to 10 of their friends at the same time. Google’s I/O keynote is streaming live and the video feed is available on this page. Follow along with BGR’s

Music streaming, new phone new in Google line-up

Wed, 15 May 2013 13:29:42 -0400

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google's sixth annual conference for software developers opened Wednesday with a chance for the company to showcase its latest services. Announcements include a new phone, new tools for online games and a music-streaming service that will allow Android users to listen to their favorite songs and artists for a monthly fee.

Music streaming, gaming among new Google services

Wed, 15 May 2013 12:56:21 -0400

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google's sixth annual conference for software developers opened Wednesday with a chance for the company to showcase the latest mobile devices running its Android software, while also unveiling other features in its evolving product line-up. Announcements include new tools for online games and a music-streaming service that will allow Android users to listen to their favorite songs and artists for a monthly fee.

Google unveils new Samsung Galaxy S4 version with stock Android

Wed, 15 May 2013 12:56:03 -0400

There are still two hours left in Google’s I/O 2013 keynote, but there have already been some big announcements… for developers. Product news is flowing too now, thankfully, and Google just announced a new version of the Samsung Galaxy S4 that runs a stock version of Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. Google will sell the phone unlocked with 16GB of memory for $649 beginning June 26th, and it will support T-Mobile and AT&T networks, including AT&T’s LTE network. Google’s I/O keynote is streaming live and the video feed is available on this page. Follow along with BGR’s coverage of Google I/O 2013 on this page.

Google adds player matching to Android

Wed, 15 May 2013 12:47:53 -0400

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google is adding leaderboards and the ability to match players in online games to its Android operating system for smartphones and tablet computers.

Game features among new Google services

Wed, 15 May 2013 12:46:21 -0400

Google kicks off showcase for devices, services

Wed, 15 May 2013 12:27:23 -0400

Google's sixth annual conference for software developers opened Wednesday with a chance for the company to showcase the latest mobile devices running its Android software, while also unveiling other features ...

Google Play game services brings leaderboards, achievements, matchmaking and more to Android

Wed, 15 May 2013 12:25:45 -0400

Google on Wednesday at its annual I/O Developers Conference in San Francisco announced Google Play game services. As earlier rumors suggested, the gaming suite is similar to Apple’s Game Center and allows developers to add support for leaderboards, achievements, matchmaking and the ability to save game data to the cloud. Early partners include developers such as Gameloft, Glu, Ironhide Games and Miniclip. Google Play game services is cross-platform and can be integrated into applications on Android 2.2 or higher, as well as iOS and web apps. Google’s I/O keynote is streaming live and the video feed is available on this page. Follow along with BGR’s coverage of Google I/O 2013 on this page.

Google I/O 2013 kicks off: Android is taking over the world – activations reach 900M

Wed, 15 May 2013 12:11:40 -0400

Google just kicked off this year’s Google I/O conference and we’re in store for quite a show. The keynote is scheduled to run for three hours — yes, three hours — and Google SVP Sundar Pichai started off the show by announcing cumulative Android activations have now reached 900 million. Google also announced Google Play has topped 48 billion app installs, including 2.5 billion installs in the last month alone. Revenue per user for Android apps is now 2.5 times more than it was a year ago, according to Google. Google’s I/O keynote is streaming live and the video feed is available on this page. Follow along with BGR’s coverage of Google I/O 2013 on this page.