Facebook has been pushing its Messenger application pretty zealously, and there’s even been talks of the social networking giant monetizing the app.

Well it looks like Zuckerberg and company are making the installation of Facebook Messenger a mandatory affair for anyone who wants to communicate with their Facebook friends from their mobile device. Read more »

Starting next year Hilton will allow iPhone users to use their phones as hotel room keys. That means that you’ll be able to bypass the front desk of the hotel completely.

Currently as is iPhone users do have the Hilton app but upon walking into a hotel they’d still need to get a physical key with the app handling online check-in, reservations and such – Android users have the same deal going on but there’s no word on using your droid to unlock Hilton doors, although it should happen as well. Read more »

Microsoft has a new ad out and it pits Windows Phone 8.1′s virtual assistant Cortana against Apple’s own Siri in a fight to prove which is the best.

The assistants battle on the grounds of a Lumia 635 and iPhone 5s. Microsoft naturally picks its strong suits asking Cortana for things it knows it can do like set up a reminder for the next time a contact calls. Read more »

Apple will be acquiring the Swell Radio service, according to the sources at Recode. The deal is worth $30 million and the app will shut down this week as part of it.

Swell Radio is a news and podcast streaming service. It takes content from sources such as iTunes, NPR, ABC, ESPN, BBC, CBC, TED and more and turns them into personalized streaming radio playlists based on your listening preferences. Read more »

Tinder’s swipe-happy layout is so addictive, that other app developers are taking notice.

Weave is one such app, that helps you not find dates, but potential workplace connections. Read more »

The Grovemade Walnut case for iPad Air is designed to be a more distinctive alternative to Apple’s own Smart Case for the slate. As its name suggests, the high-end accessory is handcrafted in the United States from natural walnut.

Based in Portland, Oregon, Grovemade designs and creates accessories exclusively for Apple devices. The small company’s products use locally sourced materials (there’s plenty of timber in Oregon) and combine eye-grabbing design and high ergonomics. Read more »

Around the world, people are buying more tablets.

At least that’s what new sales reports indicate. Tha market share has grown 11% with 49.3 million slates sold in Q2 2014 alone. Read more »

The rumors surrounding Apple’s upcoming iPhone 6 and alleged smartwatch have reached Jimmy Kimmel, who decided to play a practical joke on bypassers on the Hollywood Boulevard. His team decided to stick an Apple logo on a $20 Casio watch and see how people react to the company’s latest gadget.

And what do you think happened? Everyone fell for it, thinking that Apple has managed to pull off a classic, yet modern version of a watch. Read more »

Do you love taking selfies and posting them online, but wish there was a way for your face to be seen more often and by more people?

Well with the new mobile app Imoji, you’ll be able to barrage anyone you text with mini-emoticons of your face. Read more »

A few days ago some people spotted a new feature in Google Maps for Android – Explore Nearby. And now the search giant has made it official, though it also works on iOS.

Explore Nearby lets you discover stuff that’s close to you with the tap of one button (which is located in the bottom right corner of the map). Read more »

eBay’s barcode scanning software, RedLaser, is now branching out from just Android and iOS.

It’ll now be available for Google Glass as well, so you’ll be able to take a look at products in the store and see if you can find them cheaper on eBay, just at a glance. Read more »

In the battle of the mobile personal assistants, Google Now seems to have the edge compared to Apple’s Siri. At least that’s what a study conducted by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster has found.

Google’s service has become slightly more accurate than Apple’s, despite the situation being the opposite last December. Read more »

It’s a story as old as time – tech time that is. At first when Samsung bashed Apple in ad form it was amusing to some and not so much to others and now it’s just par for the course with big company rivalries.

The latest Samsung ad is nothing new really – an iPhone user that’s oblivious and insecure and a Samsung Galaxy S5 user that is upbeat because his phone has a big screen, which evidently is what the first guy is dying to have added in the next iPhone. Read more »

File this under ‘This is why we can’t have nice things’. In fact, those were the exact words of Gameloft community manager on the game’s Facebook page. And he does have every right to be annoyed.

As it happens, Gameloft gave away early access copies of the iOS version of their latest Modern Combat 5: Blackout game to contest winners. Instead of being thankful and playing the game as they were expected, some of these people cracked the game and uploaded it on pirating sites. Read more »

Just a few days after outing another new feature, Facebook today has announced the Save functionality. This basically allows you to save anything you see on the social network – to read later.

So yes, it’s clearly a competitor to standalone services such as Pocket, Instapaper, or Readability. There are certain differences, though, chief among which is the fact that Facebook’s Save lets you store any content you come across on the social network – including links, places, movies, TV and music. Read more »