The AMD Radeon R9 290X brings lots of bang for your bucks

AMD has just released its R9-series Radeon 290X graphics card with the clear intent to propel die-hard gamers on a budget to gaming Utopia.

How so? Well the R9 290X is a GPU has the potential to knock the already well established NVIDIA GeForce GTX780 out of its comfort zone while costing $100 less.
The Radeon R9 290X is built around a 28nm process, has 2816 stream processors and 4 gigs of Video RAM. The card costs $549, which is really cheap for this kind of performance. The trade off is that it’s louder than most higher-end graphic cards, gets really hot and is very power hungry.
However for the level of performance at this price we think gamers could easily live with that.

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Samsung ranks second in R&D spending for 2013

Booz & Company has released its annual study of Research & Development expenditure and has identified the top 20 biggest investors in the world. Car maker Volkswagen tops the chart with $11.4 billion spent in 2013, but Samsung is close behind with $10.4, taking the second spot.

The research covers the period between June 2012 and June 2013, so the data isn’t strictly for 2013. Mind you, Samsung isn’t spending that kind of money on its Mobile division alone, but rather on its whole business which covers a vast number of areas.
Other technology related companies like Intel and Microsoft are close by – fourth and fifth, respectively. Intel has spent $10.1 billion, while Microsoft is just behind it with $9.8 billion.
Samsung’s investment account for 5.8% of its revenue, while Intel and Microsoft saw their R&D have splurged 19% and 13.3%, respectively.

The Samsung rivals in the smartphone spectrum, namely Nokia and Sony also made the top 20 on the list. Nokia stands at 18 place having spent $6.1 billion – 14.4% less than it in 2012 – and saw a return of 15.8%. Sony is 20th with $5.7 billion in R&D spending.
For the first time, Google has entered in the top 20 of biggest R&D spenders and is the second predominantly software company after Microsoft. The search giant takes the 12th spot with an R&D budget of $6.8 billion.

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Steve Wozniak wants more storage on the iPads

When the Apple iPad Air was being announced, Apple co-founder Steve “Woz” Wozniak was, well, in the air. When his plane landed he took a look at the two new phablets and didn’t like what he saw. “When I finally took a look at the devices, the iPads didn’t hit my needs,” said Wozniak, who emailed his wife “Nope, I don’t want one of those.”

The iPad Air (that’s the 9.7″ model for those who haven’t caught up with the new naming scheme) is thinner and lighter, but what Woz really wanted was more storage.
As hard as it is to believe, the legendary tech guru does not have a fast Internet connection at his home and says that you don’t get one in hotels either, so he resorts to preloading all the media on his iPad. A 256GB model would have allowed him to pack every episode of The Big Bang Theory, but no such luck.
And while the size and weight reductions of the Air did impress Woz, the small iPad mini 2 with its brand new Retina display is “just a hair too large.”
Continuing on the topic of size, the Apple co-founder said he wanted an iPhone with a bigger screen and praised large-screened Androids like the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy S4 and the HTC One.

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Surface Pro to cost $699 after another $100 price cut

Back in August Microsoft dropped the price of the Surface Pro tablet by a $100, bringing it down to $799. Now, after the launch of the new Surface Pro 2, Microsoft has made another price cut.

Starting today, the older Surface Pro will be sold for $699, which is another $100 off the price tag. That might still seem a bit steep for a tablet but when you consider that it is practically a notebook underneath it is not all that bad.
In comparison, the new Surface Pro 2 is priced at $899 but comes with several significant improvements. That is naturally the way to go if you have the cash but if you don’t mind last year’s hardware (the Pro is actually not that bad compared to the RT) then you should be fairly satisfied with the old Surface Pro

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Watch all the new Apple videos, including the keynote, in one place

Did you miss the Apple keynote couple of days ago? What about the new product videos? Well don’t worry cause we got you covered. You can watch all the new videos, from the iPad Air to the new Mac Pro and even the hour and a half long keynote here in one place.

The videos have previously been available on Apple’s website but required QuickTime to be played. Apple has now uploaded all the videos on their YouTube channel so you can watch them on almost any device.
The first video is the Life on iPad video that shows the iPad being used worldwide in various situations.

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‘Dead Trigger 2′ now available for mobile and desktop platforms

Madfinger Games has released the sequel to the popular first person shooter Dead Trigger. Called Dead Trigger 2, the new game features the same first person zombie killing action but this time you won’t be playing alone.

While the original game was single player only, the new one is actually a multiplayer game, an MMOFPS, if you will. Here, you join several other players around the world to take down on the zombies. The game is never-ending as such as the story progresses in real time, whether you are playing or not.
Visually, the game is very impressive and improves a lot on the already good looking Dead Trigger with realistic water reflections, dynamic shadows, dynamic light projectors, dynamic grass, per-pixel lighting and advanced rag doll physics. The game also gets enhanced visual effects for devices running on the NVIDIA Tegra 4 processor.
Interestingly, Dead Trigger 2 will also be available on Windows and Mac through Steam and the Mac App Store, along with a Facebook version. As of now, however, only the mobile versions are out.
Unlike the original game, which launched for a price and later became free, Dead Trigger 2 is free to play from launch with in-app purchases. We will be taking a closer look at it in our review later but meanwhile you can give it a shot yourself from the link below.
Download: App Store • Play Store

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Does the animation toggle in iOS 7.0.3 make a difference?

Apple changed around many things with the iOS 7 update, one of which was introducing a whole new set of animations for unlocking the phone and closing apps and folders .

But many users have complained that about the speed of the new animations is just too slow, and once the iOS 7.0.3. update allowed them, disabled them outright. When you do that the transitions are replaced by a fade in effect that many hoped will be much faster. But are they really? Armed with a high-speed camera and our iPhone 5S, we’re ready to find out!
While the cool animation effects in iOS 7 may have added a whole lot of eye candy, they can quickly lose their appeal as even an additional half second can seem like an eternity if it’s something you do all the time. This is particularly true when it comes to things like unlocking your phone or closing an app.
We’ve taken it upon ourselves to see exactly how much time the animations add compared to the fade-in effect, with the help of our camera and some 120fps video tests.
We tested two different use cases. One in which we unlocked the phone and opened an app with the animations enabled, and one where we did the same thing except turned them off (This is done by going to Settings -> General -> Accessibility and turning on Reduce Motion).
The numbers go something like this:

iOS 7 Animation Speed
	Reduce Motion off	Reduce Motion on
Closing an app	0.74s	0.63s
Unlocking the phone	1.61s	1.00s

While the time saved when closing an app is not very significant at just around a tenth of a second, the unlock animation takes a whopping 60% longer than the regular fade animation.
But does this mean that the animations take too long, or that disabling them doesn’t save you much time? Both. Waiting more than a second to perform an action like unlocking your phone can get very tiresome, especially if you do it all the time.
When it comes down to it, a quality UI is all about options, and simply replacing one animation for a slightly faster one doesn’t cater to everyone. Hopefully, Apple will let you make more tweaks to the animation settings in the next update.

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Samsung Galaxy Note 3 battery life test

The latest BIG thing from Samsung is already here. We are done with our in-depth review of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, and the battery torture test has completed, too. Samsung made sure the beast has enough juice to last for quite a bit, supplying a huge 3200mAh battery.

The Galaxy Note 3 features a supposedly very efficient 5.7″ Super AMOLED screen of 1080p resolution and runs on the fastest chipset available – the Snapdragon 800. Android 4.3 is charge of operation, though Samsung’s customizations run deep and the TouchWiz goodies are all over the place.
On the first test we measure the battery endurance when doing calls on a 3G network. The Galaxy Note 3 posted a great score here, although it failed to catch up to some of its rivals like the LG G Pro and Sony Xperia Z Ultra.

Talk time

• Sort by Label
• Sort by Value
• Expand

• Sony Xperia Z1 26:53
• Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX 20:24
• Motorola RAZR i 20:07
• BlackBerry Q10 20:00
• Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 19:54
• Sony Xperia SP 19:49
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3 18:12
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (S600) 18:03
• Sony Xperia ZR 17:48
• Samsung Galaxy S4 mini duos 17:33
• Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100 16:57
• Samsung Galaxy S4 Active 16:40
• Pantech Burst 4:46

Our next test is about web browsing. The Galaxy Note 3 battery went dead after 9 hours and 4 minutes of continuous browsing, which is quite an achievement for an AMOLED screen. That’s the 10th place of our all-time chart and beats all phablets we’ve tested so far.

Web browsing

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• Expand

• LG G2 11:22
• Apple iPhone 5 9:56
• Samsung Galaxy S4 mini 9:47
• Motorola RAZR MAXX (ICS) 9:12
• Apple iPad mini 9:05
• Apple iPhone 5c 9:05
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3 9:04
• ASUS Nexus 7 (2013) 9:03
• Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom 8:51
• Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100 8:48
• BlackBerry Q10 8:42
• Nokia Lumia 810 8:20
• Samsung Galaxy Nexus 3:01

Next, the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 took advantage of the better efficiency of the Super AMOLED screens for video playback and posted a great score in our third test. The Galaxy Note 3 lasted for 13 hours and 32 minutes of looped video playback before its battery dropped down to 10%. This secures the third sport for the Galaxy Note 3 in our chart, outdid only by the dated Motorola MAXX handsets, which have far smaller screens.

Video playback

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• Motorola RAZR MAXX (ICS) 16:35
• Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX 14:17
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3 13:32
• Nokia Lumia 1020 13:12
• Samsung Galaxy S4 mini 13:12
• Samsung Galaxy S4 mini duos 12:52
• Apple iPad mini 12:51
• Samsung Galaxy Premier 12:51
• Nokia Lumia 710 3:27

Thanks to the great stand-by endurance and impressive performance in the individual challenges, the Galaxy Note 3 ended up with an endurance rating of 75 h. This means the phablet will last a little bit over three days if you used it for one hour of video playback, one hour of 3G talks and one hour of web browsing each day.

All things considered, the Galaxy Note 3 provides excellent battery life for its size and features. Its battery survived for two days, during which we used the phablet for 4 hours of web browsing, 2 hours of 3G talks, 1 hours of music playback, 3 hours of video playback, 1 hour of snapping screenshots and 2 additional hours playing with the S-Pen. That’s certainly not bad.

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Apple iPhone 5c arrives at the office, the hands-on video is inside

Today Apple iPhone 5c arrived at our office and as the tradition goes, we unboxed it in front of our camera and took a quick tour around its UI.

The iPhone 5c comes in a brand new colorful and plastic shell, but its internals are identical to the already discontinued iPhone 5. The battery capacity is the only thing that got bumped by a hair.
Apple iPhone 5c comes running iOS 7 out of the box, but there are no new hardware features inside. The novelties are reserved for the 5s flagship.
Anyway, we’ve prepared a short hands-on video to show you the new retail box and how the new iPhone 5c behaves.
We are already working hard on our in-depth review and so you might want to keep an eye on our homepage in the next few days.

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Moto X MotoMaker now lets you sync contacts and calendars from Apple’s iCloud

Motorola’s MotoMaker, the online software that let’s you customize the Moto X (currently only in the US and so far only on AT&T) has a fresh new feature that will appeal to Moto X converts coming from iOS.

After purchasing a Moto X through MotoMaker customers will be given a choice, if coming from an iPhone, to add their iCloud and Google credentials and have their iOS contacts and calendars synced with Google.
The feature is in its early stages and is expected to expand its functionality to include more of your personal data, says Punit Soni – VP, Product Management at Motorola Mobility.
The feature isn’t exactly groundbreaking – Sony and HTC both have transfer tools to help new buyers coming from iOS (and even other Android platforms, WP, featurephones and whatnot) transfer their
belongings, while Nokia had a very similar feature for Symbian handsets way back in the day.
Source | Via 1 | Via 2

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Windows 8.1 updates kick off today

Microsoft is releasing its Windows 8.1 OS today. It will be available as a free update to existing Windows 8 users and will also come pre-installed on new Windows 8 PCs sold after tomorrow. The stand-alone retail version also launches on October 18.

Windows 8.1, previously known as Blue, will bring back the Start button, make the Start screen optional (boot to Desktop), will offer more customization options, new spit screen mode, IE 11, better SkyDrive integration, new apps, new connectivity options and lots of other improvements.
Window 8.1 retail version will cost $120, while the Pro edition goes for $200. You do not require any previous Windows version as it was with Windows 8. It’s a complete installation.
The free Windows 8.1 update for existing Windows 8 users will launch at 12PM UK time today. If you are running on Windows 8, you will be able to find the 8.1 update in the Windows Store in a few hours.
Source

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LG details the UK and Ireland availability of G Pad 8.3

LG Mobile announced today the UK availability for the G Pad 8.3. The slate will be offered exclusively via the IT distributor Micro P and will be released at the end of October for £259.99.

Harvey Norman is the exclusive LG distributor for the G Pad 8.3 on the Irish market. The tablet will be hitting the shelves in Ireland by the end of October as well.
LG plans to unleash the LG G Pad 8.3 in 30 more markets by the end of this year.
In case you need a refresh the LG G Pad 8.3 packs a 8.3″ IPS display (1920x1200px) and runs on the Snapdragon 600 chipset. It has 5MP camera, 16GB expandable storage and 4600mAh battery. You can check its full specs here.
LG G Pad 8.3 has recently landed in our office and we are already working on a full-blown review. Stay tuned!

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Google Play Store 4.4 to bring new navigation UI design

Google is prepping some new changes for the upcoming version 4.4 of the Google Play Store app that will bring it in line with other Google apps on your Android device.

You may have noticed that some of the Google apps, such as Play Books, Play Movies, Play Music, Play Games, Maps, Gmail and YouTube, have a slide out drawer on the side that have tabs for navigation. It’s only natural then that the Play Store app also gets the same treatment.
Android Police have managed to get their hands on work-in progress UI screenshots of the upcoming 4.4 update that showcase this new UI. Options such as My apps, My wishlist and Redeem that were previously under the action menu are now housed in the drawer and the action menu now only has Settings and Help options. Sure, it’s not that big deal but it helps bring some UI consistency across Google’s own apps.
Android Police also says that Google will probably do a complete revamp of the design and what we see here is just a work-in-progress but that is just a rumor for now.
You can find more screenshots in the link below.

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Facebook releases official app for Windows 8.1

Although Windows 8 has always had Facebook integrated in the OS Facebook has now released a proper app for those who are into that sort of thing. The app is being released on the same day as Windows 8.1 and is only compatible with the new version of Microsoft’s desktop operating system.

As you can see from the screenshot, the app looks similar to the web version of Facebook, but has a flat look to blend with the general UI design of Windows 8.1. It also supports Snap View so you can run it alongside other apps and with Windows 8.1 now improving the Snap View functionality by letting you adjust the size the apps take and having up to four apps on the screen simultaneously, this is going to come in handy.
The app is rolling out across regions so even if you’re running the preview build of Windows 8.1 you may not be able to download it right now but give the link below a try anyway.

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Nikon announces D5300, company’s first DSLR with built-in Wi-Fi

Nikon has announced the D5300, a new mid-range model in the company’s DSLR range. It has a 24.2 megapixel CMOS sensor that covers an ISO range of 100-12800 (expandable up to 25600) and is powered by the new EXPEED 4 image processor. The D5300 doesn’t have an optical low pass filter, which improves image sharpness and detail at the expense of anti-aliasing.

Other features include a 39-point auto-focus system, Scene Recognition System, 1080p60 video recording, 5 fps burst mode and a 3.2-inch articulating LCD.
But the main feature here is the built-in Wi-Fi support. While this might not sound much these days, the D5300 is the first Nikon DSLR to have this feature built-in. It lets you pair the camera with Nikon’s Wireless Mobile Utility app for iOS and Android to transfer your photos wirelessly. There is also built-in GPS for geo-tagging your photos.

The Nikon D5300 will be on sale this month in black, red or gray for $799.95 body-only or $1399.95 with the new 18-140 F3.5-5.6G lens.

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Analysts: Retina iPad mini to outsell the iPad 5 if Apple meets demand

Apple is set to unveil the iPad 5 and iPad mini 2 tablets next Tuesday and both are set to feature Apple’s TouchID sensor. According to analyst Amit Daryanani over at RBC Capital Markets, the iPad mini 2 is going to be the much better seller of the two, beating its bigger brother 2:1.

More precisely, he expects the second-generation iPad mini to take 65 percent slice of all Apple tablet sales leaving 35 percent to the 9.7″ iPad 5. The more portable iPad is rumored to pack a high resolution Retina display and thus be called the Retina iPad mini.
Mr. Daryanani expressed his concern that Apple might not be able to meet the demand for the Retina iPad mini. Similar vision was also shared by sources close to Apple’s supply chain, who went even further saying that the Retina iPad mini rollout wouldn’t be taking place this year, “if at all.”
Because of those supply chain concerns, analyst David Evanson of Canaccord Genuity is inclined to think that the fifth-generation iPad will outsell the Retina iPad mini. According to his prediction Apple will sell 12.9 million iPad 5 and 11.5 million Retina iPad mini units in the three months of market availability of the two tablets.
We’ll see which analyst was closer to the truth once Apple actually announces the two tablets and the first sales data surfaces.

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LG uses online banners to bash competing flagships

The PR Scandinavian agency M&C Saatchi created a very clever ad campaign for LG that bashed the G2 competitors through banners on websites they visit.

If you browse a website serving the latest LG G2 ad campaign on your Samsung Galaxy S4, HTC One or Apple iPhone 5s, you will be getting device-specific banners. Fox example, if you browse such a website through your iPhone 5s your banner will say “Hard to read this on your iPhone? Get the LG G2 with a 5.2″ FHD IPS Display”.
HTC One is bashed because of its inferior battery life, while the Galaxy S4 is attacked for its slower processing. Here are all banners you may encounter if you are browsing Scandinavian websites these days.



The smart marketing campaign launched on October 4 and is, in our point of view, one of the better PR efforts we have seen recently.

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Nestle posts a tasty-looking Android 4.4 KitKat teaser

Google has released a new image teasing the upcoming launch of Android 4.4 KitKat. Accompanied by the text “Everybody dance now!, the image hints that we should expect Google to spill out all the beans of the latest Android release any day now.

As it’s been the case with every major Android update so far, Google will bring a new Nexus device to go with 4.4 KitKat. The search giant is all but guaranteed to launch the Nexus 5 at its event later this month.
The date for said event hasn’t been confirmed yet (if there is one), but October 30 has been marked as a possible announcement date.
Leaked screenshots of the Nexus 5 running the updated OS have surfaced, giving us an overall idea of what we should expect. There’ll be some UI changed, which include mildly redesigned stock apps with Quickoffice integration, new additions to the settings menu, as well as the cool-looking Android KitKat Easter egg.
The status bar is transparent and with white icons. There’s also a camera shortcut placed in the lower right corner of the lockscreen – much like on iOS 7. The option to access the camera via a swipe gesture is also reportedly now going to be backed into the OS itself. Under the hood, Google has been working out new tweaks to SMS handling as well as new location settings.

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Sony announces new A7, A7R and RX10 cameras

Sony has announced three new cameras, two of which are particularly exciting. Those are the A7 and A7R that have been doing the rounds of the internet the past few days in the form of leaked images. The third is the RX10, which is essentially the RX100 II with high-zoom lens.

The A7 and A7R are the world’s first compact full frame mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras. The only difference between the two is in the sensor used. The A7R has a 36.4 megapixel sensor, the highest for a Sony A series camera, but without an optical low pass filter. You lose the anti-aliasing capability of the filter but instead gain sharper, more detailed images. The A7, on the other hand, has the filter, along with a lower-resolution 24.3 megapixel sensor and a fast Hybrid AF sensor.

Other than that, both cameras have a new BIONZ X processor, 2.4 million dot XGA OLED electronic viewfinder, 3.0-inch tilting LCD, full manual control with front and back control dials, 1080p60 video recording, Wi-Fi and NFC support. Both have a magnesium alloy body and are dust and moisture resistant.
The Sony A7 will be priced at $1699 without a lens and at $1999 with the new 28-70 F3.5-5.6 OSS lens. The A7R will be sold in body-only configuration for $2299. Both will be on sale in December.

Then there is the RX10. It uses the same 1.0-type, 20.2 megapixel CMOS sensor from the excellent Sony RX100 II but pairs it with a 24-200 (35mm equivalent) lens with a constant F2.8 aperture. The increased zoom is great for telephoto shots but comes at the cost of smaller aperture, which is bound to affect the low light performance and depth of field, two things that were exceptional on the RX100 II thanks to its F1.8 aperture.

The RX10 packs the goodies in a spacious, DSLR like body, with a proper grip and manual control dial for exposure and two other user customizable dials. The ring on the lens can be used for zooming or for manual focus and there is a secondary display on top for showing info. The RX10 also has a hotshoe, an OLED viewfinder and a 3.0-inch White Magic tilting LCD on the back. The RX10 also supports Wi-Fi and NFC functionality.
The Sony RX10 will go on sale in November for $1300.

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Square Cash lets you send cash through email

You may have heard of the mobile payment company Square. Co-founded by the co-founder of Twitter – Jack Dorsey – the company came up with the revolutionary Square Reader for the iPhone for swiping credit cards directly on your phone.

Their newest venture, called Square Cash, lets you send money to anyone for free using just an email without any signup or registration. All you have to do is send an email to the person you want to send a cash to and CC cash@square.com while adding the amount as the subject line.
Once you send the mail, you get a reply from Square asking you to link your bank’s debit card, which is a one time process. The recipient then gets the mail and is asked for their banks debit card number, again, a one time process. After that the money is transferred to the account.
Of course, this method works from any device with an email client but being a mobile focussed company Square also has some neat apps for the iPhone and Android. You can do the same through the mobile app with a much slicker interface and it even tracks your replies for when you get a mail asking you to link your debit card.
Unfortunately, the service is US only for now. If you happen to live in the region, you can give it a try over email or by using the apps below.

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HTC One max fingerprint collection method gets detailed by the manufacturer

HTC detailed the fingerprint collection method of the freshly announced One max phablet. In a fashion, similar to Apple’s solution in the iPhone 5s, the Taiwanese manufacturer stores the fingerprint data in the device’s local memory.

When in local memory, the fingerprint data is stored and encrypted in the system partition which cannot be easily accessed or copied. More importantly, the data is not an actual image of the user’s fingerprint, but a set of its characteristics determined by a proprietary algorithm.
HTC can’t access the information and it cannot be used by third parties. Therefore, users can feel quite confident about the way the safety of their biometric information in HTC’s first phablet.
You can find out all about the HTC One max in our detailed review over here

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Amazon Kindle Fire HDX gets the teardown treatment

Amazon’s Kindle Fire HDX is the latest tablet to undergo the teardown treatment. iFixit has taken apart the 7-inch slate to show us what’s under the hood.

The teardown reveals that the Kindle Fire HDX is certainly not an easy to repair device. The only good news is that you can open the tablet without having to use the heat guns by unscrewing and removing the clips of the tablet.
Under the display lies the complex circuitry of the Kindle Fire HDX, while the battery is glued to the motherboard making it impossible to replace without displacing the motherboard. The LCD is attached to the cover glass so a shattered display would mean a replacement of both the units.
At the end of the day, the Kindle Fire HDX with an iFixit score of 3, which suggests do-it-yourself hardware fixes are almost impossible. Check out the source link below for the step-by-step photos of the teardown.
Source

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Samsung Galaxy Round unboxed

The Samsung Galaxy Round has been unboxed in front of the camera to reveal what it has to offer in terms of accessories. In the case of the South Korean version of the phone it turns out that’s quite a lot.

As Italian tech site WebTrek reveals, Samsung has packed the Galaxy Round with two batteries, wireless battery charging pad, as well as the usual headphones with replacement tips, a USB 3.0 cable and a charger.
In the video, the Galaxy Round gets compared to the Galaxy Note 3. You can clearly see the difference in the displays and just how curved the 5.7″ Super Flexible AMOLED display really is.
Check out the video below for the full unboxing of the Galaxy Round.
The race to become the flexible display pioneer has been won by Samsung. LG isn’t too far behind, though, having announced its flexible OLED display has entered mass production. The first LG handset with a bendable screen seems to be coming shortly, too, as press images of the LG G Flex have already leaked out.

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Angry Birds Go! coming on December 11

The Angry Birds franchise is one of the most popular arcade games for mobile platforms in recent times. Rovio, the folks behind Angry Birds, is coming out with a new series dubbed Angry Birds Go!

The upcoming series of Angry Birds comes with a completely new style of gameplay that features the high-octane downhill racing with upgradable karts and as usual, a ton of characters with unique special powers.
Angry Birds Go! Official gameplay trailer is already out and you can check it out below.
Angry Birds Go! will be makings its way to iOS, Android, BlackBerry10 and Windows Phone 8 platforms on December 11.

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Google releases two new Nexus 7 ads

Google has released two new ads for its new Nexus 7 slate. The first one promotes Google Now and Search capabilities, Hangouts and Android’s multi-tasking.

The second video accents the textbook rentals and how Nexus 7 will help you learn at the last moment.
You can check the new Nexus 7 specs here, while its review is right here.

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Leaked Apple iPad 5 photo confirms TouchID home button

Earlier this month it was discovered that the TouchID fingerprint home button of the iPhone 5s fits perfectly into the leaked front cases of the yet unofficial iPad 5. Now, thanks to a leaked photo, the TouchID sensor on the iPad 5 is everything but confirmed.

Naturally, the fingerprint sensor will work the same way as it does on the iPhone 5s, but hopefully Apple has worked out more and better ways for the TouchID feature to be encompassed into the OS.
Leaked photos and videos of the upcoming iPad 5′s front and rear panels have revealed a lot of similarities to the looks of the current-gen iPad mini. The back is less curvy and the bezels are a lot narrower than before, which results in a more compact form factor for the 9.7″ slate.
Apple is yet to confirm an announcement date for the iPad 5, but it’s expected to be before the end of October.
Source | Via

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Updated: Nokia Lumia 2520 tablet dressed in cyan and red leaks out in press images

The upcoming Nokia Lumia 2520 Windows RT tablet made yet another unscheduled appearance, thanks to @evleaks. After allowing us to potentially catch a glimpse of its kickstand three days ago, the slate leaked out in a press image, dressed in a cyan outfit.

Update: @evleaks posted another press image of the upcoming tablet, this time dressed in a red outfit. See it below.

The tablet in the leaked images sports a design which is in line with the looks of Nokia Lumia range of smartphones. Its rumored specs include Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 SoC, 10.1” 1080p display, and LTE support.
Nokia Lumia 2520 is all but certain to be unveiled at the Nokia World event in Abu Dhabi on October 22. The tablet is rumored to be available in four colors – black, white, red, and the cyan from the image above.
Source

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Android 4.4 KitKat might feature a new location settings option

Google teased its latest Android release, version 4.4 KitKat, a month ago. The upcoming version of Android OS is expected to be available this month alongside the upcoming Nexus 5 and as we are nearing the official announcement, the leaks are picking up intensity.

According to leaked image, the Android 4.4 KitKat will be featuring new location settings menu with a simplified layout. Renamed “location mode” the new settings entry will offer three different modes instead of the currently available multiple selectors for each location tool.

However, these are just speculations based on the leaked image. Also this might be a test feature that may or may not make it to the final builds so take it with a pinch of salt.

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Apple iPhone 5s and Samsung Galaxy Note 3 go head to head in a drop test

We recently saw the individual drop tests of the Apple iPhone 5s and the Samsung Galaxy Note 3. Now, both flagship smartphones hit the pavement again in an attempt to prove which one is more durable.

In the first round, the aluminum Apple iPhone 5s came on top with flying colors, while the Samsung Galaxy Note 3′s display was shattered. So, does the fate of the smartphones remain the same in its second encounter? Well, go ahead and see for yourself.
Apple iPhone 5s and Samsung Galaxy Note 3 went down crashing three times and you can check out the video with the drops below.
After round two, it appears that the odds of cracking the screens on the iPhone 5s and the Galaxy Note 3 are about even. You probably didn’t need us to tell you this, but you might want to be more careful with these expensive gadgets and make sure not to drop them on their faces.

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Google Maps for Android gets an update

The Google Maps app on Android OS has got a pretty decent update. It includes new notifications that now utilize the expandable interface. Now you can see your next turn, estimated time of arrival, and remaining distance to destination without having to open the app itself.

There are a few more new things in this update such as smaller navigation cards and smoother scrolling.
Finally, if you’ve accidentally hit the Back key while writing a review, you will be now promoted to discard your action.
The rollout of the update is gradual as usual. If you want to get it now, just hit the source link below for the original APKs.
Source | Via

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Dropcam Pro goes official, brings a new Android app

Dropcam has officially announced its new streaming camera device, dubbed Pro. Dropcam Pro is said to be brighter than before and the newest spy cam comes with superior hardware than its predecessor.

The new Dropcam promises enhanced image quality and brings an Android app to go with the already existing iOS app, expanding the reach of the device quite significantly.
Dropcam Pro has a larger image sensor than the previous edition and its new new lens is said to offer 7 times better low-light performance and wider, 130 degrees viewing angle.The camera also features dual-band Wi-Fi along with Bluetooth LE.
Our colleagues over at Slashgear have already managed to get their hands on the Dropcam Pro. You can check its hands-on video below:

Dropcam Pro comes with a price tag of $199 and will be available in the stores, starting today. If you plan to make use of the cloud video recording, then the service will cost you $9.95 for 7 days or $29.95 for a period of 30 days.

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Sony Xperia Z1 Mini goes through a round of benchmark tests

Sony launched the Xperia Z1 Mini (Z1 f) exclusively on the NTT DoCoMo network in Japan yesterday and its Snapdragon 800 chipset with quad-core Krait 400 CPU makes us feel all fizzy inside.
With such specs, the Z1 Mini seems to be a result of our quest for a high-end compact Android smartphone, which we started a while ago. It seems Sony has listened and we’re now going to see just how fast the Xperia Z1 Mini really is thanks to some benchmark results that have surfaced today.

The benchmark test in question is AnTuTu and the result it shows are quite intriguing. Since the Xperia Z1 and Xperia Z1 Mini share the same chipset, you’d expect them to perform the same. However, that’s not the case.
The Xperia Z1 Mini scores 34,376 points in AnTuTu, while the Xperia Z1 managed just 30,850 points in our test.

AnTuTu 4

Higher is better

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• Sony Xperia Z1 Mini 34376
• Sony Xperia Z1 30850
• LG G2 30243
• Sony Xperia Z Ultra 29185
• Samsung Galaxy S4 27613
• HTC One 26389
• LG Nexus 4 17006

The reason for the difference in the performance is sure to be the displays of both devices. The Xperia Z1 features a 5″ 1080p display, which is much more demanding than the 4.3″ 720p display of the Z1 Mini.
Here’s hoping Sony manages to launch the Xperia Z1 f SO-02F in a broader range of regions than just Japan.
Source | Via

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Acer Liquid E2 battery life test

The Acer Liquid E2 also known by its V370 alias has come to our office sporting a very respectable spec sheet for a very reasonable price. It has an 8 MP camera on the back, quad-core CPU with four Cortex-A7 cores, 1 GB of RAM and a 4.5″ display of qHD (960 x 540) resolution.

All of that is powered by a 2000 mAh battery and we decided to check out just how much juice the Acer Liquid E2 has before it goes under and to do that we put it through our rigorous mix of calling, browsing and watching video, coupled with an overnight stand-by to determine what sort of endurance rating the Liquid E2 has.
We start you off with calling. Here the Liquid E2 capped an 11:07h performance, putting it around the middle of our table, just above the Exynos-powered Galaxy S4 – a pretty solid result.

Talk time

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• Sony Xperia Z1 26:53
• Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam 11:58
• Samsung I8262 Galaxy Core 11:52
• HTC Desire 500 11:31
• Samsung Galaxy Premier 11:30
• Asus Padfone 2 11:20
• Acer Liquid E2 11:07
• HTC Droid DNA 11:07
• HTC Windows Phone 8X 11:07
• Samsung Wave 3 S8600 11:07
• Samsung I9105 Galaxy S II Plus 11:06
• HTC Desire X 11:03
• Pantech Burst 4:46

Web browsing is safely the Acer’s best result as it managed to top the LG G2′s 11:22 by a whole hour and 17 minutes to claim the title. With 12:39 hours under its belt the Acer Liquid E2 is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to web browsing endurance and would surely last enough if you’re big on mobile browsing.

Web browsing

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• Acer Liquid E2 12:39
• LG G2 11:22
• Sony Xperia ZR 11:20
• Samsung Galaxy S4 mini duos 10:10
• BlackBerry Q5 10:04
• HTC One 9:58
• Samsung Galaxy Nexus 3:01

Video playback is an enjoyable affair on the Acer’s 4.5″ display, even at this resolution. Here the Liquid E2 didn’t quite live up to standards putting in a 7:30 hour shift of mobile video watching. That’s by no means a bad result but is one that doesn’t really shake the status quo at the top of our chart.

Video playback

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• Motorola RAZR MAXX (ICS) 16:35
• Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V 7:45
• Apple iPhone 5c 7:41
• Asus Padfone 2 7:38
• Huawei Ascend P1 7:38
• Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G 7:33
• Acer Liquid E2 7:30
• Samsung I8262 Galaxy Core 7:30
• Sony Xperia ZR 7:30
• HTC Droid DNA 7:30
• Samsung Galaxy Note LTE 7:30
• Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2 7:30
• Nokia Lumia 710 3:27

When we add up the numbers with the stand-by of the Acer Liquid E2 we get an endurance rating of 60 hours. That’s the how long it would take the Acer Liquid E2 to deplete its battery if you do an hour of calling, browsing and watching video a day, and it certainly is a great score by the likeable mid-ranger.

So at its reasonable price along with the competent sheet of specs the Acer Liquid E2 completes a good battery test and managed to convince us of its worth. If you’re into long-lasting smartphones, the Acer Liquid E2 is certainly a good choice.

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Tablet-friendly Twitter app for Android debuts on Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 Edition)

Twitter announced the official availability of a tablet-optimized app for Android. The highly-anticipated app will be exclusively available for the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 Edition) for the time being. It will make it to other tablets by the end of the year.

The tablet-friendly Twitter app is unsurprisingly enjoyed best in landscape view. Tweets expand to the right to preview all the relevant information they carry, and tapping on the preview links will allow the user to view the content in full screen mode.
The newly launched app comes with a couple of tricks which are geared specifically towards the talents of the latest Samsung Galaxy 10.1. They include the ability to view tweets alongside another app in multi-screen mode, as well as draw images or doodle on photos with the S-Pen.
Twitter for Android tablets also comes with a dedicated widget. Users can favorite or retweet directly from it.
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Sony Xperia Z1 f promo videos are out, check them out

Unsurprisingly, Sony launched a couple of promo videos alongside the freshly announced Xperia Z1 f smartphone. The compact handset with top-end specs is exclusively available for NTT DoCoMo in Japan.

The first promo video is quite extensive – it features the Sony Xperia Z1 f alongside its bigger brother – the “regular” Z1 with a 5” display. The video offers a walkthrough of the devices’ key features and shows us the size difference between them by placing them side by side.
The second video is shorter and shows off the different colors available on the Sony Xperia Z1m, as well as its camera talents.

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Nokia releases Glance Background for the Lumia lineup

Nokia has just published an awesome app that builds upon the popular Glance Screen feature. If the Glance screen was a bit too boring for your taste, you can now spice it up by adding a background to it.

Thanks to the Glance Background (still in beta), you can choose a set of backgrounds for your Glance Screen.
To use the Glance Background you have to turn on the Glance Screen first. It is available with the Amber update on Lumia 620, 720, 820, 920, 925 and 1020. There you’ll find a few pre-defined backgrounds, but you can add more from your gallery.

Nokia Glance Background app
Once you select a custom picture you can apply color effects or you can just convert it to a single color. Not every picture is suitable for a background on the Glance Screen since it’s transformed into a low-quality 8-bit image in order to save battery.
You can download the Glance Screen app on your Amber-running Lumia right now, it’s free.
Thanks, Adnan, for the tip!
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