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FCC indicates Verizon will be getting the LG G Pad 8.3

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This past Thursday, an LG tablet with the model name VK810 was cleared with the FCC. It’s designed to work with Verizon’s 4G network and judging by the dimensions of the device, it’s a pretty safe bet that it’s going to be LG’s G Pad 8.3.

The exact specs of the device haven’t been outed, but there are some confirmed features on the FCC report. Read more »

Oppo Find 7′s screen will work with gloves and wet fingers

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We reported a bit on the Find 7 a while back and we’ve got some interesting news that makes the device even more enticing: the screen will work with gloves and wet fingers.

One of the biggest drawbacks of capacitive screens is that they tend to not work as well in really cold weather, when there’s moisture on the your fingers (or the screen), or when you’re wearing gloves. Read more »

Snapchat gets security update, is swiftly hacked

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Well that was quick. An hour after Snapchat’s new security update was seeded to the public, it was succinctly hacked in under an hour.

The popular ghost-messaging service has come under fire recently after 4.6 million Snapchat users’ data was disseminated online due to a security vulnerability in Snapchat’s software. Read more »

Microsoft allows foreign users’ data to be housed out of US

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With all of the hubbub surrounding the NSA and its many scandals, Microsoft preempted a lot of their foreign customers’ fears and have announced that they’re allowing their users’ data to be housed outside of the US.

The Financial Times reported on the unprecedented move. Most US-based tech companies, like Google, are refusing to comply with other countries requests to allow their citizens’ data to be stored domestically. This is why Microsoft’s move is kind of a big deal. Read more »

Apple may have sold 25 million iPads last quarter

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Munster consensus numbers indicate that Apple could have moved 24-25 million iPad units in Q4 2013. These numbers gain more credence when you consider that Fortune magazine echoed pretty much the same figures.

Many analysts believe that Apple could have sold even more iPads had it not been for the shortage of retina displays for the iPad mini. Couple this with the fact that the iPad air didn’t hit shelves until November 1st, and we could continue to see strong iPad sales even throughout Q1 2014. Read more »

Nexus 4 can rock the Sailfish OS

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Jolla’s Sailfish OS is new, intuitive, and interesting. We gave a preview of the OS’ features a while back and even though we like it, it’s no secret that it will be challenging for Sailfish to gain momentum in a market that is already dominated by well-established operating system’s like iOS and Android.

However, if you have a Nexus 4 (or presumably any other Android phone with an unlocked Bootloader), then you can try out Sailfish without having to fork over your hard-earned cash for an entirely new device. You can see a video of Jolla’s OS in action on a Nexus 4 after the jump. Read more »

Q4 2013 could have been the iPhone’s best quarter

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Morgan Stanley analyst, Katy Huberty predicts that 54-55 million iPhones have been sold in Q4 2013. If this is the case, then the iPhone could have very well had a record quarter.

The consensus on Wall Street is that Apple was able to move 53 million units of their popular smartphone; a slightly lower, but still overwhelmingly impressive number. Read more »

1.7 million new accounts for Verizon

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It looks like the US’ largest mobile carrier just got even larger: Verizon has reported that in the fourth quarter of 2013, they’ve added an impressive 1.7 million new customers to their service roster. This brings their total number of customers to a whopping 102.8 million.

Additionally, last year Verizon expanded its LTE network to cover pretty much all of its 3G network coverage area (over 99%, in fact) and bought back Vodafone’s 45 percent share of the company, so they’ve had a pretty busy year. Read more »

It took 75 tries before MS decided on the Xbox One design

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In a recently posted story on Microsoft’s site, the designer of the Xbox One, Carl Ledbetter, revealed that it took 75 prototypes before Microsoft settled on the current console’s design.

75 3D-printed models were made of the system, 100 just for the kinect camera, and over 200 for the Xbox’s controller. It just goes to show how much thought goes into not only the technical specs of a console, but its aesthetics as well.

Ledbetter says that the goal of designing the latest iteration of Microsoft’s popular console was to blend classic Xbox looks with the idea that the system would be an “always on” multimedia powerhouse. Read more »

Basemark OS II outed by Rightware

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Are you obsessed with the performance of your smartphone and won’t be satisfied unless it beats out all others? If you’re looking for more detailed reports on your device’s performance, then you’ll be happy to hear that Rightware has released the latest iteration of their Benchmark OS software: Basemark OS II.

It’s designed to work with pretty much any Android, iOS, or Windows Phone device and it even offers online comparisons, so you can see how your handset stacks up against others.

Teemu Uotila, a Rightware employee had this to say about the latest update: Read more »

Script for Star Wars 7 is done, movie will be shot on film

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Love him or hate him, J.J. Abrams will be directing the newest Star Wars movie, and is now one step closer to making the film, as he’s just announced that the script is complete.

He also revealed and confirmed a few more details regarding the movie. Jesse Plemons, (aka the sociopath, Todd) from the hit show Breaking Bad, will have a prominent role in the film.

There were also rumors that Star Wars 7 wouldn’t be a digital production and that the movie would be recorded on film. It seemed like a fantastical report, but it turns out that the rumors are true. This will come as a surprise to many, considering J.J. Abrams penchant for the digital medium and IMAX presentations of his previous works. Read more »

Intel will slash 5000 jobs this year

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The PC market has seen some dark days the past couple of years, but it does seem to be on its way to stabilization. This isn’t any solace to 5,000 Intel employees, as the chip manufacturing giant will put them out of work this year.

Intel Spokesman Chris Kraeuter said, “This is part of aligning our human resources to meet business needs.”

The number accounts for about 5% of Intel’s entire workforce. The announcement may come as a surprise to many, especially since Intel’s revenue was improving thanks to a growing number of tablet sales. Read more »

President Obama reveals personal data taken by NSA will be in hands of 3rd party

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It looks like the NSA scandal has gotten enough attention to warrant a serious response from the US Government. President Barack Obama has announced that all of the data collected through NSA surveillance will now be viewed by a third party. He has also announced that there will be an end to the collection of data “in-bulk”.

The third party that will be handling the public’s data hasn’t been revealed. In President Obama’s speech today regarding the matter, he didn’t exactly announce that there would be an end to the NSA’s surveillance of US Citizens,but made promises as to how the agency would go about collecting said data. Read more »

Nintendo admits Wii U sales are grim

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Nintendo President, Satoru Iwata has confirmed that the sales of it’s latest console, the Wii U, have failed to reach the video game giant’s goals:

“We failed to reach our target for hardware sales during the year-end, when revenues are the highest,”

The numbers are so dismal, that Nintendo has cut their projected sales figures 70% by the end of March. Read more »

iOS’ Chrome browser gets an update

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Google will be updating its Chrome browser for iOS devices. The latest iteration of the browser will bring a few new features: Safe Browsing, data compression, and auto-translation.

Here’s a snippet straight from big G about the new data compression feature: Read more »