Google has released an updated version of the Google Play Books application for Android. Some of the biggest complaints with this application were the lack of dictionary, note taking and highlighting abilities and Google has addressed all of them in this update.

As you can guess, you can now add highlights to the text and take notes while reading books. There is also a built-in dictionary now, so you can quickly look up a word. Read more »

The Xperia T is Sony’s first go at a Snapdragon S4-powered phone (not counting the Japan-only Xperia GX), and should give us an idea what to expect from the similarly spec’d Xperia TX and Xperia V.

The Sony Xperia T features a 1850mAh battery, which is one of the biggest we’ve seen in a Sony smartphone. Remember the 1305mAh batteries in a few fairly recent Xperias? Yeah, that wasn’t enough. Read more »

Intel currently has only one smartphone-ready SoC on the market, but it’s already found its way inside six phone models, the most recent (and high-profile) of which is the Motorola RAZR i. The chipset packs a single Atom CPU core (with Hyper-threading enabled) but it does lack LTE, which is a big buzz word recently (especially in the US, where the RAZR i won’t be available).

Well, things are about to change as Intel confirmed it’s developing its own line of LTE modems that will become a part of an upcoming chipset. Read more »

It will soon be a year from the Samsung Galaxy Nexus announced, and if Google keeps with the tradition, we should be seeing its successor. According to a tip we received, the device to replace it might be the oft rumored HTC 5″ phablet, known as Droid Incredible X or One X 5. There’s no way to confirm the validity of the tip so take it with a pinch of salt, but it certainly sounds plausible.

Our anonymous tipster claims that the Google Nexus 5 will run on Android 4.1.2, which brings bugfixes, Project Butter improvements, extra lockscreen functionality as well as other minor tweaks. Read more »

The mobile gaming category is currently populated by two types of games, those that are meant to give you a “console quality” feel and others that are designed specifically with the touchscreen and the usage case in mind. While it’s nice to have high quality 3D visuals and extensive character and story driven games, in the end, the second category of games is the one that works the best and is the most popular.

HUEBRIX falls in the latter category. It’s a puzzle solving game for iOS and Android where you have to drag out paths and fill the shapes. Sounds simple, but it’s often the simple things that are the most enjoyable. We decided to find out if it that’s the case with this game. Read more »

Users may find the performance of Samsung’s Exynos processors exhilarating, but it seems the developers who work on custom ROMs for these devices don’t share the same enthusiasm.

Responding to a query on xda-developers forum, CyanogenMod developer who goes by the forum ID ‘codeworkx’ explained why he and other developers think that Exynos processors are bad for developers. It essentially boils down to lack of proper support from Samsung in terms of providing sources or documentation for their processors and when they do it’s either outdated or incompatible. Read more »

This should hardly catch you by surprise, given that the company is under Google ownership. Motorola has followed Nokia’s example, and released an ad, which pokes fun at Apple’s far from perfect Maps service.

The ad, released by Motorola in Twitter and Google+ put the Apple iPhone 5 next to the company’s latest DROID RAZR M. Both devices have the same search query entered with Apple’s handset returning a rather questionable result. Read more »

When thinking dual-SIM Android smartphones, HTC doesn’t usually come to mind. That’s about to change, however, with the Desire V, the company’s first international dual-SIM Android-running handset.

Running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich with Sense UI 4.0 on top, the Desire V packs a 4-inch WVGA screen wrapped up in a neat looking plastic body. Read more »

When a hot smartphone comes to the market it has a number of tasks to complete on its launch day. After ticking the “being subjected to a teardown” box, the iPhone 5 is now facing the drop test challange.

And, as if seeing one ultra-expensive gadget crash against the floor isn’t painful enough to watch, we’ve got a second one to accompany it while taking the fall. The iPhone 5 is joined by the Samsung Galaxy S III in this experiment, conducted by Android Authority. Read more »

Following Intel’s recent foray into mobile processing with the Motorola RAZR i, Qualcomm has released a video comparing it to their Snapdragon CPU.

What’s more, Qualcomm are comparing the Atom processor to the Snapdragon S2 architecture, which was first announced back in 2010. Read more »

Hot on the heels of the Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 launch, Nokia has also taken the fight to the competition in the location based services field. The Finnish company has released a table, comparing its own Maps application to the likes of Google Maps and Apple’s own brand new Maps service.

Nokia’s graphic sees the Maps experience compared on the likes of the Lumia 920, the Samsung Galaxy S III, and the Apple iPhone 5. Read more »

T-Mobile might not have an LTE network for the Galaxy S III to enjoy, but the carrier continues to throw free bonuses at those who purchased the Samsung flagship on its network.

The latest gift is a free copy of The Avengers, which will be made available through the Samsung Media Hub starting September 25. The copy will naturally be DRM-protected, but you will still be able to stream it through DLNA or MHL. Read more »

Google Maps for Android just received a new update with two key improvements. The first extends the amount of info shared between your desktop computer and your Android device – the web history option enables it to access your desktop Google Maps searches. The other update is a cool one-hand zoom method.

After the update, Google Maps for Android can access your search and direction history. So, if you looked up some place on the computer, you can easily find its info again on your phone as it will auto-suggest it as you start typing. Read more »

Samsung strikes again. The Korean manufacturer has launched yet another ad aiming to promote its Galaxy S III flagship, while poking fun at hardcore Apple fans.

Like in previous ads from Samsung, the action takes place in front of an Apple Store where a huge line-up of people waits for the doors to open so that they can grab the latest iPhone. Read more »

The Sony Xperia T has just finished its run through our gauntlet of benchmarks, and we can finally see how this Sony dual-core Krait stands up against the competition.

We’ve got it going against the just-announced Motorola RAZR i and DROID RAZR M, the Samsung Galaxy S III, and the HTC One X and other current smartphone top-dogs. Read more »