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iblazr2 wireleless flash adds more light for your night time smartphone photography

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The super-thin phone trend means we’ll probably never see a xenon flash on a phone again, so flash add-ons are a thing now. The iblazr2 is getting kickstarted now and should be delivered this September.

The add-on uses four LEDs and a wireless connection (Bluetooth) to up to twice as more light as your phone’s built-in flash can. It supports both iOS and Android phones. Read more »

17% of Apple Watch buyers get at least one more band, Apple rakes in the cash

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Gillette taught us that that what appears to be the main product and what makes the big bucks aren’t always the same thing. Slice Intelligence has analyzed millions of emails and has concluded that 17% of Apple Watch buyers also sprang for at least one extra band.

It may seem like a simple thing, but a basic sports band retails for $49, but may cost as little as $2.05 according to IHS (that’s without packaging, shipping and other costs). Read more »

Reddit hops on the encryption bandwagon, to switch to HTTPS on June 29

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Popular internet community website Reddit, which describes itself as “the front page of the internet,” has announced that it will start encrypting all traffic on its site by this month’s end.

“Please ensure that all of your scripts can perform all of their functions over HTTPS by June 29,” said site administrator rram. “At this time we will begin redirecting all site traffic to be over HTTPS and HTTP will no longer be available.” Read more »

Critical zero-day flaws in Apple’s iOS and OS X could allow hackers to steal passwords

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Researchers have revealed some serious zero-day flaws in Apple’s iOS and OS X operating systems that when exploited could allow attackers to break into the company’s password-storing keychain, app sandboxes, as well as circumvent its App Store security checks, effectively letting them steal passwords from installed apps, including iCloud, Mail app, as well as Google Chrome.

“Our malicious apps successfully went through Apple’s vetting process and was published on Apple’s Mac app store and iOS app store,” said lead researcher Luyi Xing. Read more »

Nokia reportedly considering selling its HERE mapping business to German carmakers

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Over a couple of months after there were reports that Nokia is contemplating a sale of its HERE maps business, Bloomberg is reporting that the unit might be sold to a group of German carmakers.

The report, however, notes that Nokia isn’t satisfied with the price being offered, and wants the group – which includes Audi, BMW, and Daimler – to increase their offer. Read more »

Moto 360 finally gets Android Wear 5.1.1

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Android Wear 5.1.1 finally made its way to Motorola’s Moto 360 smartwatch. The update is rolling out to the wearable device over-the-air.

A couple of weeks ago, we learned that the firmware update for the Moto 360 was delayed due to performance issues. Read more »

Razer Forge TV lands in the Google Store

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Razer’s Android TV-running console is now available to purchase from Google’s hardware store in the US and Canada. Oddly enough, though, you can’t get it in standalone fashion – just bundled with the Serval Bluetooth gamepad. For both you need to pay $149.99, the same amount that Amazon has been asking ever since it started taking pre-orders for the Forge in April.

If you want, you can purchase the Serval controller separately, but it’s been priced at an eye-watering $79.99. On the other hand, you can also use it for gaming on your Android mobile device, and it even has a phone clip included. So it’s not limited to serving as the controller for the Forge. Read more »

LG Watch Urbane Luxe possibly coming soon, trademark filing reveals

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At $349, the LG Watch Urbane is anything but a cheap Android Wear smartwatch. That said, it now looks like LG might be preparing an even more expensive version of its latest wearable.

What you see in the screenshot above is a trademark filing by LG Electronics for “LG Watch Urbane Luxe”. This has been revealed today, and it obviously makes us think that a higher-end iteration of the watch is in the works over in South Korea. Read more »

T-Mobile will give you an LG G Pad F 8.0 for free if you keep a data plan active for two years

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We often see carriers offering low-end or midrange smartphones for free as long as you sign a new two-year contract. Now though T-Mobile is trying something similar for a tablet, the LG G Pad F 8.0.

As a Father’s Day promotion, the magenta carrier is basically offering to give you one of those for free – no upfront cost, and no monthly payments either. The one condition it has is for you to activate and keep a data plan (with at least 1GB of traffic per month) for the tablet for two years. Read more »

LinkedIn revamps Pulse news reading app with personalized content based on your professional network

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Remember Pulse? Once a very well regarded news reading app for mobile, it got acquired by LinkedIn back in 2013, and we haven’t heard much about it since. Until today, that is. LinkedIn is now relaunching the app in both the iTunes App Store and the Google Play Store.

The new Pulse has been rebuilt from the ground up to deliver personalized news that’s based on your LinkedIn connections. Or, as the company puts it, “your professional world”. Read more »

Stephen Elop is leaving Microsoft as part of a major management restructure

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Microsoft has really been working hard lately to get up to speed with contenders across the increasingly dynamic tech market. This involves major process and lifecycle changes, as well as restructuring of internal structures and departments. Both processes are already well underway, as clearly evident by the new open, feedback-driven approach the Insider program brought to Windows 10.

As it turns out, the US giant is making progress on the second point as well. The latest wave of company restructures has established a new Windows and Devices Group. It will unify the Windows and devices divisions, which is only natural, considering the company’s new one Windows strategy. CEO Satya Nadella, had this to comment: Read more »

V-Moda lets enthusiasts mod $300 headphones with $40,000 custom shields

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There’s avast market for customization in the tech world and V-Moda’s approach to their headphones has always had that in mind. The company is offering buyers the option to trick out their set with custom 3D printed shields, and different models could set you back as much as $40K, we’re told.

We struggled to hit maximum and only managed about $32,000 in the configurator, $270 worth of headphones included. Read more »

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite 2015 brings 300ppi screen like the Voyage

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If the high pixel density of the Kindle Voyage e-reader tempted you, but the $200 price tag was holding you back, now you can get the same 300ppi density at $120 with the 2015 edition of the Kindle Paperwhite. That’s a decent jump from what you got with previous Paperwhites (212ppi).

The premium model still has a number of advantages though. Read more »

Apple Music to cost €9.99/€14.99 in Europe

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Apple is taking a second swing at music streaming, based on the Beats Music service. The base pricing in the US is pretty standard ($9.99 a month) but it was the family plan that turned some heads – up to 6 people can share a plan for just $14.99.

What if your cash doesn’t have dollar signs on it? For Europe at least you just stick your local symbol in front of 9.99 and 14.99 for the respective single and family plans. Read more »

Game Recorder+ lets you capture gameplay footage on Galaxy devices

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Gameplay streaming and commentary have always been trendy with PCs and consoles – so much so, that quite a few people are making good money doing just that on media platforms, such as Twitch and YouTube. Yet, recording from mobile devices is still kind of a hustle and Samsung has realized the need to simplify the whole process releasing the appropriately named Game Recorder+.

The app is pretty straightforward – it can capture gameplay footage from your games as well as audio and video from your device’s front-facing camera for on-the-fly commentary. Once you have the said footage, Game Recorder+ allows you to quickly trim it and even upload the final creation to YouTube. Read more »