BlackBerry, a company that, not so long ago, was a superpower in the mobile industry, has been in free-fall for some time, and despite an executive shake-up that has seen the Canadian outfit appoint a new CEO, things don't look to be getting any better. One area that BlackBerry still clutches on to is enterprise, with many businesses still in favor of using the company's products for their robust security features, but according to the Wall Street Journal, one of its foremost clients - The White House - is assessing the possibility of switching to LG or Samsung.
Android KitKat 4.4, introduced by Google late on last year, brought with it an abundance of useful features, but due to the fragmented nature of the ecosystem, not everybody on Android has been able to enjoy its numerous perks. In fact, only a very small fraction of the Droid-wielding faithful have tasted the chocolatey, delicious new flavor, but thanks to the dedication of a wider community, those on older firmware needn't miss out on all of the new features. The Immersive Mode, for example, turns the process of using any one of you favorite apps into a full-screen experience, and now, thanks to a third-party app, you don't need to be on KitKat 4.4 to take advantage.
Save the Sony Smartwatch and the rather disastrous launch of the Galaxy Gear from Samsung, Pebble has had a fairly easy ride in the smartwatch industry, but with Google announcing Android Wear recently, the company knows that it has a big fight on its hands in order to remain relevant. Already this year, though, Pebble has made several key announcements and releases, and allied to the big software update and roll-out of the Pebble appstore, introduced the very stylish Pebble Steel. Now, those looking for the higher-end finish but who aren't too bothered about the fittings can pick up the Pebble Steel - sans the metal band - for a reduced price.
Having announced the Moto 360 straight after Google showcased its new Android Wear OS, the company made a strong statement of intent as far as the smartwatch market is concerned. Not only does the former Google subsidiary wish to make its mark on this evolving area of mobile space by being among the first to release a wearable gadget running on Android Wear, but it has come up with a very attractive product in the process, and if you wish to check the Moto 360-ready version of the Android Wear OS, an APK has now surfaced that allows you to emulate the experience on your Android device.
Even though Motorola is no longer a Google subsidiary, it's still very much intertwined with the search giant's products, and having been the first to announce a smartwatch running the Android Wear software, the company then organized a Hangout to run a Q&A on the exciting upcoming gadget. Since the last 24 hours have been particularly busy in the world of tech - thanks largely to Google's announcement - there's a good chance that you missed that Hangout, but if you wish to catch up, you can watch it all on YouTube.
Following the announcement of the Samsung Galaxy S5 at Mobile World Congress, HTC's March 25th unveiling of its next flagship handset seemed a fair way off. Now, though, we're just a few days away from seeing what the Taiwanese vendor has planned, and while it would be nice if the company could throw in one or two surprises, the diligence of the tech community has seen most of the key details already unraveled before now. Adding to the stack of info we've collected on the so-called HTC One 2, Nowhereelse.fr has posted a series of comparison images, pitting a dummy version of the upcoming device up against industry titans such as the iPhone 5s, Galaxy S4 and Xperia Z2.
The mobile world, particularly those with an eye for a decent camera, were well and truly amazed by the 41-megapixel PureView snapper that Nokia packed into last year's Lumia 1020, but since then, no competing vendor has really stepped up to the plate with anything capable of challenging with the 1020's shot-taking prowess. Now, though, Oppo has just taken the wraps off its Find 7 handset, and although it only packs a 13-megapixel sensor in the form of the Sony IMX214 CMOS, its advanced software technology means that it's actually capable of taking 50-megapixel photos.
Yesterday, Google announced Android Wear, a modified version of its famed operating system tailored specifically for wearable devices. Having pushed out a Developer Preview of the Android Wear SDK, folks have already been checking out the beta Android Wear software therein, and one in particular - Android enthusiast Dom Esposito - has given us a video walkthrough of the smartwatch-ready OS. Check it out right after the leap!
If the last seven years have been the age of the smartphone, then it's quite possible that the next few years at least will be the age of the wearable computer. Far from strapping an oversized smartphone to yourself, smartwatches and fitness trackers are already becoming the must-have items for any technology fiend, and when Google Glass starts to become more readily affordable as well as easier to get hold of, we suspect that too will see quite the uptake in usage. Wearable technology is undoubtedly the next big thing, and now LG is getting in on the act.
Having been purchased by Google three years ago before being recently offloaded to Lenovo for almost $10 billion less, you might have forgiven Motorola for losing a little of its get-up-and-go, but today's announcement of the Moto 360 - the first confirmed smartwatch to be running on its former overlord's Android Wear software - indicates that Motorola is far from beleaguered by the unsettling corporate movements, and still has a great deal to offer the mobile market. The device itself, which looks a digitized version of a traditional wristwatch, will be available at some point in the summer, with Motorola - like Google - currently focusing its efforts in developing the ecosystem.
