As all of you surely know, Windows 10 is already on its way. It will be a huge step forward in building a uniform Windows ecosystem across all sorts of devices, ranging from TVs and PCs, all the way to smartphones and embedded tech. This time around, Microsoft has remodeled the whole development process and by launching the Windows Insider program, has made everything a lot more-transparent and user-driven.

One of the many consequences of Microsoft’s open model is that we have been able to test some early technical previews of the platform for quite some time now. Read more »

Best Buy began accepting pre-orders for LG’s latest flagship smartphone – the G4. To sweeten the deal, the retailer is offering a $100 gift card with all purchases of the device.

You can pre-order the handset, both with and sans contract on Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint. Read more »

Microsoft’s Office productivity suite will get its own personal assistant app called Office Now. Currently the application is being tested on Windows and might be released for iOS, Windows 10 Mobile, and Android.

Office Now gives a summary of one’s day at a glance. Read more »

BlackBerry said that it is cutting jobs worldwide. The news arrives nearly a month after the company announced that it is mulling closing its offices in Sweden in a move that put around 100 jobs at stake.

“The company is reallocating resources to capitalize on growth opportunities and achieve profitability across all its business segments,” a company spokesperson said. There was, however, no word on the number of employees that will be affected in the latest wave of job cuts. Read more »

NVIDIA’s Shield Tablet is now getting Android 5.1 Lollipop over-the-air. The new firmware is seeding to both the Wi-Fi and the LTE variants of the video game-centric tablet.

As part of Software Upgrade 3.0 for the Shield Tablet, Android 5.1 brings improved performance and overall responsiveness to NVIDIA’s slate, as well as enhanced security. Read more »

A few days ago the latest version of Android Wear, 5.1.1, started rolling out to all smartwatches running Google’s platform. This release has many new features, chief among them being Wi-Fi support. What that means is that if a particular watch has the necessary hardware, it can connect to Wi-Fi networks directly, thus not being dependent on a Bluetooth connection to a phone.

The LG Watch Urbane launched running the latest Android Wear iteration, but the G Watch R is only now in the process of getting it. Intriguingly though, even if the G Watch R does have the required internals for Wi-Fi support, this will not be enabled after applying the Android Wear 5.1.1 update. Read more »

Sony Mobile and and UEFA announced a three-year global partnership. Under its terms, Sony will promote its Xperia smartphones and tablets during Champions League games.

Sony Mobile will also support the UEFA Super Cup, as well as the Women’s Champions League Final and UEFA Youth League Finals. Read more »

The LG G4 was last in line in this year’s set of major flagship announcements, but, even though it arrived a little late to the show, the Korean tech giant intends to hit hard with the intriguing device and one such effort is this latest promotion. Even though, the smartphone is still available only as a preorder in the US, LG has already promised that if you purchase it, you can receive a pretty good gift bundle, for no extra charge.

In consists of a second 3,000 mAh battery and a 32GB microSD card. This definitely sound like a pretty good deal and we can’t help but notice the subtle undertone of the gift set. LG could have easily gone with a case, protector, headphones or any other accessory, but the selected items are surely meant to bring extra attention to the fact that LG’s flagship has use for both items, which is more than some of its competition can boast. Read more »

Over 1 million Apple Watches were sold on launch day, Slice Intelligence analysts put the number at almost 1.5 million. A solid start, but then something strange happened – demand all but disappeared.

These projections are for the US and are based on info from over 14,000 online shoppers and cover the period from April 10 to May 18. Most of the action happened on the first day, since then the total has sauntered to just 2.5 million. Read more »

Over a month after there were reports that Nokia is contemplating a sale of its HERE maps business, CEO Rajeev Suri has said that the company is in no hurry to unload the division. He made the comment in an interview with trade magazine European Communications.

“Let’s give it more time…We may not end up selling it if we don’t get the right value. It has to be a good competitive deal for Nokia and our shareholders,” Suri said, while revealing that the division has managed to attract significant interest as the Finnish company is receiving high quality bids from potential buyers. Read more »

Google axed its Talk messenger about three months ago and focused its push on Hangouts instead.

Now the search giant has updated the Hangouts app for Chrome browser with the Android’s Material Design language. The new design slices the page in two columns – right one shows current conversation and left side shows a stack of recent conversations. Read more »

Gamers have a fascination for matte black products and glowing LED lights. The present breed of Razer’s gaming mice and keyboards are the living proof of that. Now the company has stepped ahead to bring a gaming mouse mat with LED lighting called Firefly.

Razer Firefly has a textured finish and a reflective coating to optimize the mouse tracking. This gaming mouse mat is hard and has LED lights smartly placed around the left, right and bottom edges. Those LED lights can be controlled and customized to emit specified colors as well as effects. Read more »

It’s been almost two years since the last NFS game out and just in case you thought EA has given up on the series, a new one is coming this year.

So far called only Need for Speed without any other fancy suffix, the new game will feature “deep customisation, authentic urban car culture, a nocturnal open world, and an immersive narrative that pulls you through the game.” Read more »

Pebble has managed to earn a formidable reputation on the smartwatch market. The company’s battery life-first approach tends to stand out among the competition and this definitely has its appeal. So much so, that you might recall the manufacturer’s latest creation – the Pebble Time, shattered Kickstarter funding records earlier this year.

Everybody was keeping an eye on the impressive crowd-finding campaign, but now, after it has raised well over $20 million, it is time to get production moving and deliver on some promises. Today, we got an update with an estimated shipping date for the initial batch of units. The units will begin their journey to customers on May 27, but it will take some time for every box to hit the mail. Read more »

US-based technology companies, including Google, Twitter, and Facebook have been warned by Russia’s media watchdog Roskomnadzor against violating the country’s Internet laws.

The agency has sent out letters to the firms asking them to comply with the rules. “In our letters we regularly remind (companies) of the consequences of violating the legislation,” said the agency’s spokesperson Vadim Ampelonsky. He also said that the Russian government could block access to the services being offered by the companies if they do not fall in line. Read more »