It's fair to say that the mobile industry gets a little bit carried away with raw specs than is actually necessary. After all, the fact that vendors keep chucking in new, improved processors of multiple cores doesn't necessarily equate to significantly better performance, particularly if the software isn't optimized to make the most of the power at its disposal.
The Samsung Galaxy S5 is just a few days from releasing, but some lucky individuals have managed to get their hands on the device earlier than billed. But while many of those with early access have given us a run-through of the numerous features that Samsung has bundled into the new handset - something we are certainly grateful for - others have used their privileged access to the new hardware to satisfy an appetite for destruction. It's certainly arguable that the videos that invent elaborate ways to destroy gleaming new devices are the most enjoyable of all, and a couple of new clips showing a hammer and a boiling water tests only further emphasize this point.
Samsung and Apple are frequently at loggerheads in the courtrooms over numerous patent disputes, but while it has been established that both companies are unafraid to file a lawsuit or two, the two parties don't always require the means of a court in order to get their respective points across. Often, Samsung will use an ad campaign to take a few not-so-subtle pot-shots at its biggest adversary, and in a plethora of new advertisements, has had yet another dig at the Apple iPad. There are four in total, with one even taking a swipe at the Amazon Kindle, and you can check them out after the break!
Samsung is not a company that you'd say is unfamiliar with litigation, but while the Korean outfit tends to find itself in court accused by Apple of patent infringement, the Galaxy S5 maker has reportedly sued a newspaper of its native tongue for posting some unflattering coverage of its upcoming flagship. Given that the Galaxy S4 didn't sell as well as the company had hoped, there's added pressure on its successor to make amends, but while negative reviews certainly don't help matters, Samsung's decision to respond by means of a lawsuit does seem a tad extreme.
The new HTC One M8, as well as LG's G2 and G Flex handsets, all include a nifty feature allowing you to lock a device by simply tapping on a certain area of the display. Now, a new app released over at the Google Play Store offers something similar to those who don't happen to be in ownership of those aforementioned handsets, and so if you're looking for a cool new feature but don't feel like ponying up for new hardware, you may want to give this little utility a try.
Google's Android 4.4.3 update may well be on the way for select devices, but while this rudimentary bump could be rolled out in the next couple of weeks, something much more significant is said to be on the horizon. Currently referred to as 'Project Hera,' the future implementation will aim to bring an aligned, synchronized experience across Android, Chrome and Web apps, with users able to carry out tasks in a seamless manner throughout the range of Google platforms.
A set of internal documents has revealed that Google is all set to make an assault on the soon-to-be bloated set-top TV device industry. The internal Google documents reveal that the Internet services company is deriving inspiration from existing products such as the Roku, Apple TV and Amazon's new Fire TV to introduce an intelligent set-top box known as Android TV that will hopefully serve as a powerful alternative to the existing solutions on the market.
Samsung's Galaxy Note range had its fair share of critics from the get-go, with skeptics baffled as to why or how anybody would use devices of such monstrosities. Fast-forward a few years, though, and the word 'phablet' is thrown about constantly, with several of Samsung's rivals having followed the Korean companies lead in delivering smartphone-plus-tablet handsets. With the flagship Galaxy S5 almost upon us, the Galaxy Note 4 is the next big release as far as Samsung is concerned, and although we've heard precious little so far in its regard, a few details are now beginning to emerge.
Because of its open-source nature, Facebook has used Google's Android as its main breeding ground for experimental new mobile features and ventures. The introduction of Facebook Home / Chat Heads update, for example, brought a neat, integrated launcher that combined the social company's own IM service with the native Android SMS app. Such improvements appear to have been rolled out at the expense of enhancing the official Facebook app for Android, which has been left looking rather unkempt and in need of a visual makeover. An overhaul is on the way, though, and if you're willing to jump through a couple of hoops, here's how you can enable the new-look UI right now on your device.
When we talk about Android, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind? I bet 99% of the people will answer smartphones or tablets (unless there’s an app that you’re crazy about and that’s what you prefer). However, Android, being the open source platform that it is, offers much more flexibility in terms of the hardware that it can run on, and so there’s Android out there that can run just fine on x86 computer architecture as well. Yup - full-blown Android running natively, not the likes of BlueStacks! In this post, we’ll show you exactly how to get that.
