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Apple Vs. Samsung: Apple Says Google Now Violates Siri Patents

Apple has been mum about any new product developments over the last few months, but the company is certainly not rolling over to the likes of Samsung in its ongoing patent infringement battle. Interestingly, Apple is now claiming that Samsung is violating Siri patents, via an amendment in its current court case. Apple is claiming that Samsung is infringing on patents 8,086,604 and 6,846,959, which detail a “universal interface for retrieval of information in a computer system,” a.k.a. Siri, by using Google’s Google Now technology in their devices. Apple is also claiming Read more

Ian Kersey

LG Announces Optimus GJ – Waterproof Optimus G Coming to Taiwan

Sure, the Kyocera Hydro Edge and XTRM are all fine and dandy, but LG just announced the Optimus GJ. What’s so special about this GJ, you ask? Well, take the already-awesome LG Optimus G – Now make it waterproof. The LG Optimus GJ rocks many of the same specifications you’d find on the existing Optimus G, like a beautiful 4.7 inch display, 1.5GHz quad-core CPU, 2GB RAM, and 13 megapixel camera, just to name a few. Most water-resistant/proof devices have largely been on the low-end of the market. This changed Read more

Deals of the Day – 15.6″ Toshiba Satellite C850-BT3N11 for $299

Looking for some sweet deals on some new tech toys? You’ve come to the right place! Our Top Deal today is the 15.6″ Toshiba Satellite C850-BT3N11 for only $299.99! Normally $499.99, this is a pretty nice discount for a nice laptop that is ultra sleek! Looking for a new smartphone but don’t want a contract? Well, you can grab the unlocked Nokia Lumia 810 for only $310 without a contract! This sexy Windows Phone handset is sure to please your wallet! Need more deals? Hit read on below! Top Deal 15.6″ Read more

Verizon 4G LTE Now Available in Over 497 Markets, 95% of 3G Network

Verizon’s CTIA event was dominated by J Lo and the big announcement of the new, Latino focused Viva Movil Network. But they did drop an interesting tidbit early on. COO Marni Walden announced that Verizon’s 4G LTE network now covers 497 markets, which is 95% of its 3G network. Verizon’s stated goal is to cover 100% of its 3G network with 4G by the end of 2013, but the company’s on track to finish well before that.  Full disclosure: I have Verizon and I’m (finally!) getting a 4G phone, so I’m Read more

Chrome for Android Updated: Features Speed Improvements, Fullscreen Mode on Smartphones

Yesterday, Chrome was updated for the desktop, and today Google has updated the Chrome browser for Android as well. Chrome for Android has been updated to version 27, and brings with it a number of improvements. Chrome for Android now lets users take advantage of full screen mode, a simplified search and tab history support for tablets. It also includes various bug fixes and stability improvements. 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 Read more

Ian Kersey

Microsoft’s Don Mattrick Says Backwards Compatibility is “Backwards”

It’s a day after the Xbox One announcement and the reception around the interwebs has been…. less than great. The bloggers have ruled, and their expressions of disappointment range from mild to downright indignant. Sony’s stock has shot up while Microsoft’s is down. Now the head honcho of the Xbox division has his foot planted firmly in his mouth after comments he made about backwards compatibility. Microsoft Interactive Entertainment head, Don Mattrick gave an interview to the Wall Street Journal today where he dismissed the idea of backwards compatibility outright. Read more

The HTC First failed for the same reasons as Microsoft’s Kin

When people talk about the HTC First and why it could have flopped, most resort to just blaming Facebook Home for lacking features or being too tied in to the Facebook ecosystem. These are both fair arguments, I suppose. Facebook Home did strip away a lot of what people like about Android in favor of a closed Facebook-controlled environment, as well-designed as the UI was. 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. Read more

CTIA 2013: Hands-On With The Kyocera Hydro XTRM

Kyocera unveiled a few new ruggedized smartphones at CTIA, and we recently got our hands on the Hydro Xtrm – a device that’s both waterproof and shock-proof. The Hydro Xtrm will be released on U.S. Cellular starting on May 24th, and will run on U.S. Cellular’s 4G LTE network. 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 Read more

CTIA 2013: Verizon Partners with J-Lo to Launch Viva Movil

Today Verizon announced a new partnership with J-Lo to announce Viva Movil – A phone retailer offered specifically to the Latino population. With the Latino population growing faster than ever, it certainly doesn’t come as much of a surprise to see a partnership like this form. While we think it’s a smart partnership, this is hardly the announcement that we were expecting to see come from Verizon this CTIA. At best, we were hoping to see a Voice Over LTE announcement or something to that extent and what we got Read more

Rdio updates iOS app with Find People feature and cleaner UI

Music subscription service Rdio brought a small but welcome update to its iOS app today. It has an improved search feature, an easy way to find friends and artists, and a cleaner user interface for navigating. 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 Read more

Cricket to launch Samsung Galaxy S 4 on June 7, with $55 down payment

Cricket has announced that it will be offering the Samsung Galaxy S 4 phone on June 7th. This is big news for those who want the phone but don’t want to get in a two-year commitment with the one of the major four wireless providers. Although Cricket is coming to the GS4 party a bit late, they’ve stepped their game up by offering the device with a ridiculously low down payment fee of 55 bucks. Matt Stoiber, senior vice president of devices for Cricket, had this to say about the impact the Read more

Caterpillar CAT B15 rugged Android phone makes US debut, priced at $350

Caterpillar has officially launched its extremely rugged Android smartphone called the Cat B15 in the U.S. This comes after the device hit the United Kingdom first last month for 300 GBP. The company’s durable handset comes with some decent features and specs that aren’t anything to sneeze at. 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 Read more

Sprint announces a trio of tri-band LTE mobile broadband devices

Sprint announced a trio of mobile broadband devices that will take advantage of three bands of 4G LTE wireless spectrum available on the Now Network. These devices will be available at some point in the summer, bringing customers improved network performance and stronger in-building coverage as LTE is deployed on each of these bands, including Sprint’s 1.9GHz and 800MHz, as well as Clearwire’s LTE network at 2.5GHz. Novatel Wireless MiFi 500 LTE – offers sleek and compact styling, and the ability to connect up to 10 devices with the same Read more

Samsung Galaxy S III coming to Boost Mobile, Virgin Mobile in June

With the hot-new Samsung Galaxy S4 now available from Sprint, the carrier is pushing Sammy’s last year flagship to its wholly owned no contract subsidiaries, Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile. 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 Read more