Several years back, the BlackBerry was the dominant smartphone platform among consumers and business users, until the iPhone revolutionized the space 6 years ago. One of the main aspects that made the iPhone so relevant was a then-revolutionary and user-friendly touch-based user interface, which has been left largely unchanged till today. According to BlackBerry chief Thorsten Heins, the current iPhone user interface is in dire need for a revamp.

Despite the release of the Galaxy S4 last week, many Android users are looking at which further software upgrades will be available for their devices, especially amid rumors of an upcoming major Android refresh, Android 5.0. According to a credible report, it seems like the Galaxy S III, along with the Galaxy Note II and a whole range of Samsung devices unveiled over the last year, will receive the upgrade once it becomes available.

This past Thursday, Samsung woo’ed consumers with the announcement of the Galaxy S4, Samsung’s newest Android-based smartphone. Many smartphone users are already looking to purchase the device as soon as it reaches retail shelves; those in Italy, however, might be dealt with a slight blow as the price for the new handset will come higher than expected.

Unless your Internet access has been cut off over the last few days, you are likely aware that Samsung showed off its new smartphone, the Galaxy S4, at a high-profile event in New York City. Right across the pond, in the United Kingdom, major retailer Phones4U has revealed that pre-orders of the new Galaxy S4 smartphone have vastly exceeded pre-registrations for previous models, an early sign that Samsung has managed to “woo” customers with its new device, at least in Britain.

Yesterday, many technology enthusiasts across the world spent the evening (or otherwise the early hours of their mornings) watching Samsung show off the new Galaxy S4 smartphone at its event in New York. While many have already made up their minds and will order the new phone, Samsung is being kind enough not to leave Galaxy S III users out in the cold: indeed, according to a Samsung spokesman, many of the software features on the new device will be pushed to the Galaxy S III in the very near future, as part of an Android software update.

Firefox OS, Mozilla’s attempt to make a dent into the crowded smartphone market, has reached another milestone today with the release of Firefox OS Simulator 3.0, the new developer tool that allows developers and smartphone enthusiasts alike to give the smartphone operating system a try, straight from their computers.

Tomorrow, Samsung will finally get out of its way to announce the Galaxy S IV, a major upgrade to its flagship smartphone. Speculation has been great over the coming weeks, enough to fuel interest from third-party accessory manufacturers. One day ahead of the smartphone’s official announcement, a set of cases specifically designed for the Samsung Galaxy S IV have leaked onto the web, embodying many design cues that are expected to make their way onto the look and feel of the new smartphone.

Microsoft’s Kinect was introduced as a powerful gaming accessory, opening the door for a new generation of motion-controlled Xbox games. The applications escalated quite quickly however, with tech enthusiasts finding many other uses for the motion sensing accessory. This newest one simulates an actual x-ray machine, making it (almost) possible to see inside your skull.

Throughout the history of iOS, several third-party browsers have made it to the platform, although the built-in Safari browser is the only one that can be integrated deeply into the system. At a panel at SXSW, a conference taking place in Texas, Mozilla Vice-President of Product Jay Sullivan made it clear that Firefox will not be making its way to iOS until Apple opens up to third-party browsers.

For years now, many have been attempting to figure out new ways of bringing 3D displays to mobile devices, although none of them has reached mass market. While a widely marketable solution is likely still ways away, the Palm Top Theater is an affordable way for 3D content to be played on the iPhone.

The success of print publications on the iPad and other tablets has been a mixed bag: while some have succeeded enormously, others have slipped into irrelevance shortly after launch. New York Magazine is the latest publication launching a digital subscription service for the iPad.

For the last several months, the rumor mill has been chock full of reports about what Apple may have in store for the iPhone this year, especially a brand-new low-end iPhone model to satisfy customers with lower budgets. According to a new report straight out of China, Apple plans on to ship the new low-end smartphones with a Snapdragon chipset, as opposed to the A6 and A6X devices currently used on all of the Cupertino company’s recent iOS devices. This is not new though, as previously a report in January also pointed to a Snapdragon SoC for the low-cost iPhone.

The tablet and smartphone markets are certainly crowded, although all devices in these two categories perform the main task that is expected of them: allow users to browse the Internet on the go, even 36,000 feet above the ground. However, a new study by in-flight Internet provider Gogo suggests that a vast majority of its usage takes place on tablets, most of them Apple iPads.

For the longest of time, Facebook’s most prominent feature has been the News Feed, which is now the default way that many of us stay in touch with our friends and acquaintances over the Internet. At an event on Thursday, from Facebook’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California, Mark Zuckerberg took the stage and announced a major redesign to this well-known feature in order to adapt to make pictures, places, third-party apps and more much more prominent.

For a long time, many comic book lovers have been trying to bring all of their comic books onto their iPhones, iPod touches or iPads while preserving their quality. If you have $10 per month to spare, Marvel may have just come up with the perfect solution for you: a comic book subscription which gives users access to 13,000 back issues of Marvel’s comic books, with the promise of more to come.

For almost as long as there have been casual iPhone and iPad games, Angry Birds has been one of the titles that every iOS user generally downloads almost immediately after purchasing a new device. For the first time, however, the original version of Angry Birds is now available free of charge for the iPod touch, iPhone and iPad, and you can download it today if the price tag was putting you off.

Over the last few years, “phablets”, the new product category defining devices that are too large to be considered smartphones but still too small to be considered tablets, has become increasingly popular. One of the most popular players in the field, Samsung, is said to be readying the release of the Galaxy Note III, which is expected to sport a 5.9-inch screen opposed to a 6.3-inch one as previously reported, according to a Korean newspaper.

If you live in the United States and have signed a contract with a major phone carrier, chances are that your device is permanently locked into your network, stopping you from switching networks long after your contract has expired. A new petition calling for legalizing phone unlocking has been officially endorsed by the White House, following a decision by the Library of Congress late last year to make the practice illegal.

Way before console games and game consoles existed, expensive cable channels and TV networks have become accustomed to the idea of “exclusives”, often essential to promoting their brand and commercial awareness. Now, Microsoft has secured a deal to offer a British indie comedy as the first exclusive movie for the Xbox 360.

If you have deep pockets, or more likely just a large handbag, it might often be difficult to hear notifications from your phone, leading you to return home with multiple unanswered notifications of text messages, important emails or Facebook notifications. A new Kickstarter project, known as the EMBRACE+, is an electronic bracelet that will light up whenever a notification from your phone is displayed.