Chrome for Android allows users to sync bookmarks and omnibox data across multiple devices, and even send webpages from tablets and smartphones to PC’s running the Chrome browser.

According to Google, the iPhone and iPad versions of Chrome will soon be receiving voice search, and should be rolling out in the next few days. If you’re an Android user using the Chrome browser, head over to the Google Play Store for the new version!

[Via: Google Play]

What I’m surprised about is virtually no one making the link between the HTC First and Microsoft’s Kin One and Kin Two devices of 2010. Those were discontinued very shortly after they came out and shared a common theme with the HTC First: completely social. The Kin line had its own UI that aimed to be social in every way possible: easy ways to post to your social networks, quick access to contacts, super quick way to share any photo or website, etc. Everything was about social networking. The one difference is Microsoft wasn’t afraid to admit these were mainly geared toward teenagers and twenty-somethings, while HTC/Facebook seemingly wanted everyone using Facebook Home.

Being of a somewhat younger age, my friends and I use technology from a different perspective as I’ve come to realize. So I have my own theory on why phones like the HTC First and Microsoft Kin never reach success. It’s because they scream “Desperate!” Honestly. That’s why. In other words, no one wants to look like they dedicate all of their time to social networking or more specifically in the HTC First’s case, Facebook. It gives the impression that they don’t have a life, quite frankly. Why do you think people often shy away from posting too many Facebook statuses or tweets per day? The more you post, the more it looks like you need to get out more.

On a regular iOS or Android device, Facebook and Twitter and the like are mere apps that blend in with all the other apps. On Android you can add widgets and what not and on iOS you have additional integration within Settings, but that’s it. Social networks don’t consume your entire phone experience. On the HTC First, sure you can access other apps on the smartphone, but you’re still within Facebook Home’s environment the moment you close those apps. It’s all social, all the time. No one wants that.

I read about a week ago John Gruber of Daring Fireball wrote his thoughts on Facebook Home best: “it’s a well-designed implementation of an idea no one wants.” And the main reason for not wanting it is it’s simply not acceptable. Try bragging to your friends that you just bought a Facebook phone. Spoiler alert: you can’t because it’s nothing to brag about. It’s stupid. Smartphones are a source of pride now — people love showing off their high-tech phones. We all do it. Smartphone and platform wars wouldn’t exist if we didn’t.

You could argue that phones are inherently social because they are communication devices. I suppose that’s true, but regular smartphones are social when you want them to be. You can send out a text, choose to answer a phone call, or tap the Facebook app icon to launch a social network. If you just want to listen to your music collection, your phone is no longer social.

The big factor we’ve all missed is the “lame” factor. It’s often omitted though because we don’t like to admit that the coolness of a product or concept does affect whether we want it or not. The Microsoft Kin was lame, the HTC First and Facebook Home are lame, and any device in the future that makes you seem desperately attached to your online friends will be lame.

The Hydro Xtrm sports a dual-core Snapdragon 1.2 GHz processor, a 5 Megapixel rear-facing camera and a 1.3 Megapixel front-facing shooter. It also includes 1 GB of RAM, 4 GB of internal storage, which is expandable to 32 GB via a microSD card. It also boasts Kyocera’s Smart Sonic Receiver technology, which boosts audio clarity and quality.

The Hydro Xtrm operates on Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, and was surprisingly fast considering the mid-range spec sheet. The 4-inch IPS WVGA display is very sharp and clear, and showed no signs of lag or slowdown while navigating through the app drawer or home screen panels. The device felt comfortable to hold in the hand, and even though the device had some heft to it, it didn’t feel too heavy.

The Kyocera Hydro Xtrm is now available online for $29.99 after a mail-in rebate and a new two-year service agreement, and will be available in U.S. Cellular stores on May 24th.

The improved UI mainly comes in for the side navigation. Rdio says it’s a “new, cleaner look.” The app currently is already pretty clean and very well-designed, so maintaining the high standards is always good. The update also introduces “Find People” for finding friends on Rdio and to discover artists. Relevant to this is the new Labels search, which allows users to search now by record label when finding music to find albums and artists on a label.

Rdio is the lesser known competitor of Spotify, another music subscription service. For access to the mobile apps of either service, you have to be a Premium member which costs $9.99 per month. Many would agree, however, that Rdio’s mobile app is far superior to Spotify’s in both design and functionality. Rdio is also in indirect competition with the likes of Pandora, which just got a bit of an update of its own yesterday.

You can grab the app for free in the App Store, but don’t forget you’ll have to be a premium subscriber to use it.

[via 9to5Mac]

Matt Stoiber, senior vice president of devices for Cricket, had this to say about the impact the Galaxy S 4 will have on Cricket’s customers:

“The Galaxy S4 redefines the smartphone and we are very proud to offer our customers the highest level of wireless technology on the market.” He continued by adding that “Cricket’s three smartphone rate plans start as low as $45 per month1 and give customers value-packed choices for the plan that’s right for them with unlimited music included.”

Unfortunately, in order for this deal to be worthwhile, potential customers will have to be eligible to get in on the extremely low down payment price. More importantly, customers will have to live in one of Cricket’s LTE coverage areas — which is a small list of locations.

[via engadget]

Specs include the following:

• 4-inch WVGA display
• MediaTek MT6577 1GHz dual-core processor
• 1GB of RAM
• 4GB of internal storage
• 5 megapixel rear camera with 720p video recording
• VGA front camera
• GPS
• microSD card slot
• Runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

These specs are more than reasonable for someone who just wants a phone that can take a bit of a pounding. But wait, there’s more. The Cat B15 has IP67 specification, which means it’s dust-proof, shock proof, and waterproof for up to 30 minutes when submerged in up to 3.2 feet of water.

The Cat B15 is priced aggressively for a decent unlocked smartphone, with its $350 tag. The company has lofty ambitions of becoming the number one manufacturer of rugged handsets in the world. Although this proclamation is bold, we’re positive Motorola will have something to say about that in the near future. However, with Motorola’s direction being changed by Google, Caterpillar may actually stand a good chance of accomplishing what they are setting out do. After all, there’s a wide open market for rugged handsets.

That said, for any of you interested in buying Caterpillars Cat B15 handset you will only have one source to go through, Quality One Wireless. Hey, that isn’t so bad if you’re really in the market for a rugged phone like this.

[via Phandroid]

It’s still unclear how much the Galaxy S III will cost sans any long-term commitments, with Sprint wowing to release pricing information at a later date. We do, however, know that interested users will be able to get it in June with Boost Mobile’s no-contract $55 Android Monthly Unlimited plan with Shrinking Payments; or Virgin’s Beyond Talk monthly no contract plans which offer unlimited data and messaging starting at $35 per month.

Those who grab the Galaxy S III from either Virgin or Boost will be able to use it on 4G network in 88 markets to get the “real” (as in – fast) experience.

Things are now different at the Canadian company and I see a lot of new people bursting with enthusiasm when talking about the platform’s prospects. And while I agree they’re onto something, I do notice one thing’s missing – some of them have no clue what their competitors are doing.

Some of the things I’ve heard:

• We have the fastest web browser out there – to which I reply: and you’re sure it will work better with Google’s web services than Chrome?
• You can connect your BlackBerry to a TV via HDMI cable and use your phone as remote. I said: Cool, I can do that with my Android phone without a single wire (Miracast or Wi-Di on some Intel-based Android devices).
• We have the best conversation (not just email) client in the Hub. It’s true that Hub is awesome, but it doesn’t give GMail users “proper” support. For instance, you can’t Archive an email. Some BlackBerry folks even wanted to convince me that I shouldn’t manage my email the way I was doing it for the last 5 (or so) years? Yeah, sure…
• You can easily share stuff with BlackBerry. Really? Can I manage multiple Facebook pages from the Z10? Can I add stuff to my Buffer queue?

Please note that all these things are fixable and that I believe BlackBerry did great job with BlackBerry 10. There are some obstacles ahead, though:

• BYOD – with employees being able to use their own devices at work, BlackBerry sales will suffer. While Z10 and Q10 are selling well, their figures don’t come even close to those of iOS and Android devices.
• Enterprise competition is getting stronger – just recently United States has approved Samsung Knox and iOS devices (in addition to BlackBerry 10) as “safe enough” for the military. BlackBerry used to be the sole contender in this market.

So what should BlackBerry be doing?

The way I see it, they must hire new kind of people – Android users (willing to switch). This is the group of people where BlackBerry should look for, as previous BlackBerry users will likely upgrade (but is that enough?). While Android has many flaws, it also attracts more developers.

The point I want to make is that BlackBerry shouldn’t make a feature-for-feature comparison with other platforms; cause it will lose it, big time. For instance, its camera software is only good (and still not on par with that of Samsung, HTC and Nokia) because they’ve licensed many elements from Scalado (now part of Nokia). Overall, I would say that BlackBerry isn’t too appealing to the younger audience since they can’t find their favorite apps for the platform. Think official apps for Pinterest, Fancy, Tumblr, Quora as well as a number of games (Rovio still doesn’t support BlackBerry 10).

But this doesn’t mean the Z10 and Q10 are bad devices; quite the contrary, I find them well balanced, positioned in their own category. As soon as old-school BlackBerry folks start explaining their features and compare them with what’s else on the market, the hell unleashes and I keep waiting to hear something I don’t already have on my Android phone. And instead of me praising the platform (my original intention) I end up “attacking” it. Kinda weird…

Finally, we would love to see that tablet shell I’ve talked about yesterday. Such a product could make a big difference, or so I think. What do you say?

P.S. I’ll continue to rant about BlackBerry in the coming days and weeks. Next time I’ll be looking at the Z10′s design and how it can be improved. Stay tuned…

Samsung has $800,000 to spare with winner taking home whopping $200,000. In addition, three second-placed apps will earn their makers $100,000, with $50,000 waiting for six developers that come in third.

But that’s not all; winning apps will also be candidates for investments from Samsung Venture Investment and be promoted through the company’s online properties and press events.

“With Samsung Smart App Challenge 2013, Samsung is going to boost mobile ecosystem,” said Won-Pyo Hong, President and Head of Samsung Electronics Media Solution Center. “The Samsung Smart App Challenge will greatly enhance application choices for Galaxy S4 so users can enjoy a valuable experience.”

The specs of the device are not super impressive by today’s standards, but are functional nonetheless. The Kyocera Hydro Edge packs a dual-core 1 GHz processor, a 5 MP rear facing camera, 4-inch WVGA display and tempered glass. The device also touts Kyocera’s Smart Sonic Receiver, which utilizes bone conduction technology to transmit sound in the noisiest of environments.

Even with the mid-range spec sheet, the Hydro Edge was snappy and responsive, and it’s rubberized back was non-obtrusive and felt comfortable to hold in the hand. I wasn’t able to connect the device to Wi-Fi however, but scrolling through the homescreen and opening apps showed no signs of lag. It’s a snappy little device for sure, and will be great for those who are often in extreme conditions, or have little ones running around anxious to play Angry Birds.

The Kyocera Hydro Edge will be launching on Boost Mobile and Sprint this summer. Pricing was not available, but will be aimed at the lower echelon for certain. If you’re looking for a rugged device at an affordable price point, this could be the smartphone for you.

While the device is has a nice aluminum body, don’t think it to be a weighty piece of kit. It’s rather lights, and it’s 4.5 inch PureMotion HD+ fits in the hand very nicely. The rounded edges surrounding the device also help this great in-hand feel. While the pack plate of the Lumia 925 is polycarbonate, it’s certainly “metal enough” to get the quality feel we’ve come to expect. This isn’t a HTC One, of course, but no phone can really compare to it in the in-hand feel department.

The sides of the 925 are simple, leaving the most important bits. You’ll find the volume rocker, power/lock button, as well as the dedicated camera button on the right side, leaving the left panel of the device clean. Nokia also felt the need to cram the micro SIM card slot, Micro USB port, and 3.5mm headphone jack at the top of the handset, leaving the bottom of the device clean as well.

The back of the 925 is a feast for the geeky eyes. Living within the polycarbonate backing is a large speaker grill, as well as the 8.7MP PureView camera, and the Nokia logo in between the two.

Windows Phone has seen some great handset designs from Nokia and HTC, but the Lumia 925 takes the great design we’ve seen from previous handsets and gives it a great build quality to match the beautiful design.

It’s going to be a tough call between the Lumia 925 and 928 if you’re looking for the next greatest Nokia Windows Phone handset. Still, while the very-plastic 928 has its advantages, it certainly feels nowhere near as great in the hand as the beautifully designed and crafted Lumia 925.

Check out the gallery below!