Google has added a new case for the Nexus 5 on the Play Store. Called the Snap Case, the new case is made from a harder material and unlike the previous Bumper Case or the QuickCover does not wrap completely around the device.

The new Snap Case is lighter and thinner than the other two cases and is designed to offer protection without adding too much to the size and weight of the phone. There are already several variations of this design available for the Nexus 5 from third party manufacturers. Read more »

LG officially spilled the beans on the upcoming availability of its duo of fitness-centric devices. The Lifeband Touch and the HeartRate Earphones will begin shipping this month in the United States, as well as key markets in Asia and Europe.

Announced right before this year’s CES, the Lifeband Touch is a wearable that you slap on your wrist. Read more »

The tech company behind SlimPort unveiled a new version of the USB-enhancement called SlimPort Pro. The new standard can simultaneously transmit high-definition video (up to UHD / 2160p), 8-channel audio, USB 2.0 data (480Mbps) and power over a standard-looking 5-pin USB port.

The press release talks up docks – with smartphones becoming more powerful, a dock could connect them to both displays and peripheral devices and SlimPort Pro can do it with a single connector. Read more »

Samsung and Seagate have joined forced to create a new wireless media drive. The drive lets you store all your media content, which can then be wirelessly streamed to a mobile device or a computer.

The device has a 1.5TB hard drive that should provide plenty of space for most of your content. You can connect a mobile device running Android 2.3 and above directly to it to stream the content. You can also stream to a Windows or OS X computer. Read more »

Samsung has launched an external battery pack that has the same faux-leather design as the Galaxy Note 3. With a capacity of 6,000mAh, the battery pack is capable of charging the Galaxy S5 two times.

The Samsung EB-PG900B battery pack measures 74 x 140 x 11mm, which is quite compact. A neat feature is the built-in retractable microUSB cable used for charging. Read more »

Turn-by-turn navigation is one of the best things to have when exploring a city, but constantly looking at your phone while walking is hardly ideal. Well, now that the guys from Symphony Teleca have brough the feature to your Gear 2-touting wrist, you no longer have to.

In March the same company brought its TurnByTurn app to the original Galaxy Gear and now it has managed to port it to its Tizen-powered successors. And despite the change of platform the app has retained the same core functionality. Read more »

According to a report in the Financial Times, Apple is close to completing the acquisition of Beats Audio. The deal is said to be worth $3.2 billion and could be officially annoucned as early as next week.

Apple’s acquisition of Beats Audio will allegedly include both its audio streaming service and its hardware business. Read more »

Key-rings haven’t been the focal point of much innovation over the years but a new crowd-sourced campaign is aiming to change that. Dubbed GOkey the device brings a Bluetooth-enabled key locator, an external battery, a USB flash drive and a USB cable (or Lightning if that’s how you roll) into one.

The cool looking piece of tech has a battery of its own, which according to the manufacturer will provide enough juice for two hours of talk time for those emergency cases. It has a built-in cable (either microUSB or Lightning depending on the version) so you won’t need to carry that either. Read more »

It’s no secret that Apple is working on a smartwatch/wearable of some sort that is expected to be unveiled some time this year. But while the competition is trying to get their own smartwatches out before then, actual watchmaker Swatch is after something else.

The Swiss company is trying to acquire the trademark for the name iWatch, widely believed to be the name of Apple’s smartwatch. Swatch already has a range of watches called iSwatch and thinks a competitor having the iWatch name will cause confusion, so it will either acquire the trademark or block Apple from doing so. Read more »

Announced at this year’s CES in January, the Pebble Steel was one of the brightest stars of the show. The newcomer is the young company’s upscale sidekick to the original Pebble, which took Kickstarter by storm last year.

In addition to its sleek looks and premium build, the Pebble Steel arrives with a well-polished, dedicated store for apps and watchfaces. Read more »

Samsung has announced a new series of audio products, called Level, which comprises of three headphones and one portable speaker. The three headphones include the Level Over, Level On and Level In, and Level Box is the portable speaker.

The Level Over are a pair of wireless Bluetooth circumaural headphones. They have 50mm drivers with neodymium magnets and use active noise cancellation using dual microphones with support for the aptX codec. Read more »

Oppo will launch an attachable lens-style camera a la Sony QX in the near future. Live images of the upcoming gadget made the rounds on the Chinese social network Weibo.

The live photos show the bulky-looking snapper attached to an Oppo Find 7. Read more »

According to sources close to Apple that got in touch with Techmaniacs.gr the Apple smartwatch (dubbed iWatch) may be conceived in collaboration with long-time fitness band maker Nike.

Apple has a long relationship with Nike involving fitness tracking accessories and iPhones have carried the Nike+ app out of box before. According to said sources Apple and Nike will be making the iWatch with focus on tracking more than just fitness but also the user’s constant movement. Read more »

Some gloomy news coming out of Nike today as reportedly the company has laid off its hardware division, responsible for wearable devices such as the FuelBand. For those not aware, the FuelBand was a popular fitness device worn around your wrist that tracked your daily activities with Nike’s mobile and desktop software.

According to CNET who broke the news, about 55 of the 70 people hardware team were laid off. Along with the FuelBand, the hardware division was also responsible for products such as the Nike+ SportWatch. Read more »

The latest microSD card slot to come out of Toshiba is the fastest in the world. The 32GB version of the Toshiba UHS-II microSD card boasts speeds of up to 260MB/s read and 240MB/s write.

There’s also a 64GB version available, but it’s not as fast with a maximum of 145MB/s read and 130MB/s write speeds. Read more »