Samsung gets a lot of stick for its commercials — mostly because they almost always make cheap stabs at Apple and other rivals. But the South Korean company does have the ability to produce great ads every so often, and its latest, featuring pro surfer (and iPhone user) Kelly Slater, is downright awesome.
If you’re a fan of Marvel Comics (and, frankly, who isn’t?) you’ll likely be pleased as punch to hear of the publisher’s latest offer.
To celebrate Comic-Con International, Marvel is opening up its online archive — consisting of more than 15,000 books that date back as far as the Golden and Silver ages — for the princely sum of one dollar.
When Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi announced the Mi 4 on Tuesday, we — and pretty much every other site that covered the news — were quick to point out that it bears a slight resemblance to the iPhone. This isn’t the first time Xiaomi has been influenced by Apple, either. In fact, the company is often referred to as the “Chinese Apple.”
And yet, despite all that, Xiaomi global vice president Hugo Barra, who used to be in charge of Google’s Android division, has dismissed any likeness to the Cupertino company, and says he’s “sick and tired” of the Xiaomi being labeled an Apple copycat.
Based on the evidence, I have to say I disagree.
Jeff Bezos may be ready to roast the Galaxy and iPhone with his much-discussed Amazon Fire Phone, but judging from the first round of reviews, the handset is more of a damp squib than a firestarter.
Ahead of the smartphone’s launch tomorrow, and with the embargo lifted on the early review unit handsets, we’ve finally got an idea of how Bezos’ intriguing pet project has panned out.
And, unfortunately, “panned” seems to be the right word to describe it.
Apple’s Siri virtual assistant is getting better all the time, but Google Now still takes the biscuit, according to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster.
Munster ran both virtual assistants through a battery of tests, and shared the results in a new research note, published Tuesday. He concluded that Android’s voice search correctly answers questions asked 84 percent of the time, while Apple’s Siri follows up behind with a still impressive 82 percent correct rate.
Almost five years after the original Angry Birds game made its debut, Rovio is keeping things fresh with a new update that adds 15 brand new levels. All are based on fan-favorite episodes, and they’re available now on both Android and iOS.
To celebrate the upcoming release of Modern Combat 5: Blackout, Gameloft has rolled out an awesome new challenge inside one of its other hugely successful titles, Asphalt 8: Airborne. It features a new track inspired by the hit FPS series that’s full of explosions and crumbling buildings — and there’s a nice prize for the best racers.
Google Now users can now use Google Search to create new reminders from their desktop. It’s as simple as visiting Google.com in your browser, and typing things like “remind me to call mom when I get home” into the search box.
While Android has a significantly larger user base, iOS has always been the more profitable platform for app developers. That’s expected to change over the next three years, however. One analyst believes that by 2018, Google Play will bring in more revenue than the App Store for the first time ever.
The European Commission has issued some words to Google and Apple about both companies’ steps to ensure children don’t rack up huge amounts of money on in-app purchases without their parents’ permission.
In a statement released by the Commission on Friday, Google is praised for a series of changes that will be put in effect by the end of September — while Apple finds itself on the receiving end of some harsh criticism.
No name in the world of iPhone hacking looms larger thank George Hotz. At only 17 years old, Hotz, aka geohot, became the first person in the world to jailbreak the iPhone back in 2007. He also released a few jailbreaks and ended up in a legal battle with Sony after hacking the PS3, but now Hotz is taking his talents to the other side, by joining an elite team of security hackers at Google.
To help plug security holes in every major piece of software that touches the internet, Google has recruited an elite team of talented hackers called Project Zero. Their mission? Find as many zero day vulnerabilities as possible, and get paid a lot of cash in process.
Unlimited music streaming services are still struggling to make a profit, but Amazon is turning to its bread and butter for its next subscription service: Books.
Amazon is testing a new ebook and audiobook service that will give subscribers unlimited access to over 600,000 titles, according to spotting by Kindle Book forum users, but it won’t come with your Amazon Prime subscription.
The Rickrolling meme will never die, and if Dan Petro has his way, you may soon be able to drive down your neighborhood and rickroll every TV on the block in seconds.
After finding a vulnerability in Google’s Chromecast Wifi implementation, Dan Petro built a device for less than $100 out of a Raspberry Pi, a touchscreen, wireless cards and 3D-printed pastic case. It’s name: The Rickmote Controller. It’s superpower: Takes over any Chomecast-equipped TV within Wifi range and plays Rick Astley’s legendary “Never Gonna Give You up.”
Check out this video of the Rickmote in action:
After Apple acquired Beats, it wasn’t going to be long before Samsung was selling expensive audio accessories of its own. Rather than buying an already well-established brand, however, the South Korean company has today launched its own. It’s called Level, and it currently boasts three sets of headphones and one good-looking wireless speaker.
Magic Radio, the music streaming from DoubleTwist that boasts more than 13 million tracks, finally supports AirPlay streaming thanks to a new update that’s available now in Google Play. The release also adds Qualcomm AllPlay integration, but strangely, support for the Google Chromecast is still missing.
While Google has Nest Labs and Apple has HomeKit, Samsung is reportedly looking to enter the home automation space by acquiring Internet of Things company SmartThings for $200 million, according to TechCrunch.
SmartThings is a home automation platform that allows users to connect devices such as lights or doorlocks to a system controlled by their smartphone. It has previously raised over $15 million from investors.
CloudMagic, the best third-party email client for mobile, just got even better thanks to a major new update that’s available right now on Android and iOS. In addition to adding quick filters for things like unread and starred messages, the release brings customizable alert tones, account nicknames, access to spam folders, and lots more.
Apple sure is making us wait for the iWatch, and if recent rumors are to be believed, that wait isn’t about to end any time soon. If you’ve decided to spend your cash on an LG G Watch or Samsung Gear Live instead, then why not add a touch of iOS to it yourself with the free iWatch theme for Android Wear.
Google Maps now gives users the ability to measure the distance between two or more locations simply my placing markers down on a map. The feature, available only in Maps on the web for now, lets users choose a starting point and then creates a path to each additional “measuring point.”
Having been delayed from 2013 to 2014 in order to let its developers “fully achieve” their vision for the game, the eagerly awaited Modern Combat 5: Blackout finally has a release date — and it’s later this month. The Gameloft FPS will be arriving on Android and iOS devices on Thursday, July 24th, priced at $6.99 with (mercifully) no in-app purchases.
The game is set to take players on yet another adventure across the world, beginning in Venice, Italy, before protagonist Phoenix is set on a special operation to secure the transport of WMDs from a well-armed terrorist group. Unsurprisingly, not everything will go to plan, and from here you jump from set piece to spectacular set piece, including helicopter and speedboat-based moments.
If you’re flying into or out of the United Kingdom, you’d better make sure your Android or iOS handset is fully charged. With the U.S. government recently announcing that all airline passengers with personal electronics devices will now be required to turn them on to prove that they work, the U.K.’s Department for Transport has announced that the same rules will now apply in the United Kingdom.
The new ruling follows reports that terrorists may be able to use phones and electronic devices as a conveyor of explosives that can get around current security checks.
A gang of 20 armed robbers have raided a Samsung factory in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and stolen over 40,000 devices worth around $6 million. Phones, tablets, laptops, and other electronics were loaded into seven trucks before the thieves made off with the loot.
On Sunday, South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission on Sunday ordered both Google and Apple to make changes to their Android and iOS app store policies, to make after-purchase refunding more friendly to consumers.
Under the new terms, Google will need to establish a refund system based on developers’ individual policies, while Apple must send out notifications to App Store users every time the company updates its contract terms and conditions.
Everyone knows that the Apple vs. Samsung patent war has been raging for what seems like forever, but would you be any the wiser to hear that Samsung is invoking “Alice” to try and beat two Apple patents?
The patents in question are Apple’s “slide-to-unlock” patent, which describes swiping your smartphone’s home screen to unlock it — and “universal search,” which refers to a universal interface for retrieving information in a computer system.
In May, a jury found Samsung to be guilty of infringing on the first patent, but let it off the hook for the second.
But while Apple was only awarded an underwhelming $119.6 million (compared to the $1 billion it was awarded from Samsung in 2012) Samsung lawyers think they’ve come up with a way to invalidate the whole lawsuit: by taking advantage of a recent legal precedent called Alice v. CLS Bank.
The entire country is busy watching America’s rebels take on the Belgium Red Devils at World Cup, but while everyone else is focused on the football pitch, Google is busy readying its plans to take on Beats Music with a music service acquisition of its own.
Songza, a music streaming service that specializes in finding the right music to fit your mood – kind of like Beats’ Sentence feature – announced that is has been scooped up by the folks at Google.