LG isn’t shifting away from smartphones to TVs

LG isn’t exiting the mobile-phone business to focus on televisions, it says, contrary to a report in a Korean news website. The LG G2 smartphone (Credit: CNET) A report on Korea’s ETNews website last week suggested that LG, which doesn’t have the same runaway success in mobile devices as its in-country counterpart Samsung, would shift …

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Galaxy Note 3 and HTC One disqualified for cheating tests

The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and HTC One have been made to sit things out on the bench, as an independent testing site disqualifies them for apparently cheating benchmark tests. Benchmarking site Futuremarks has delisted the One and Note 3, as well as the Note 10.1 and HTC One Mini. That means the four devices are disqualified from the FutureMarks …

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Tonino Lamborghini Antares is like a Moto G, only for £2,500

You know the worst thing about being super-wealthy? Whenever you’re indoors, no-one knows you own a Lamborghini. Luckily for oligarchs everywhere, you can now whip out the new £2,500 Tonino Lamborghini Antares smart phone to remind everyone just how stinking rich you are. Despite the whopping price, the luxurious Antares is pretty similar specs-wise to the Motorola Moto G, which …

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Qualcomm kicks off pre

The newest smartwatch to hit the scene is now up for pre-order. Qualcomm is letting early buyers purchase black versions of its Toq smartwatch as of Tuesday. The device’s official launch is not until December 2, but Qualcomm has opened up pre-orders on its Web site. The Toq costs $350 and shipping time is expected to be within one to …

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Smartphone shipments to surpass 1B this year

The world will see more than 1 billion smartphones shipped in 2013, research firm IDC said on Tuesday. Shipments this year will be more than 39 percent higher than those in 2012 and will soar to 1.7 billion by 2017, said IDC. Though smartphones are close to a saturation point in mature markets, demand continues to surge in emerging markets. …

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Learn the secrets of Google Now voice commands (infographic)

Trendblog.net At the risk of incurring Android fanboy wrath, Google Now is a lot like Apple’s Siri: it responds to voice commands and can perform lots of cool and practical functions. Of course, like Siri, it comes without an instruction manual. And, in fact, if you invoke the help command or look at Google’s own support page, you’ll get only …

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Tablets to carve out nearly half of PC market next year

Tablets will come close to outshipping notebooks and desktops in 2014. At least, that’s the latest forecast from research firm Canalys. In a report released Tuesday, Canalys predicted that tablets will account for almost 50 percent of the total worldwide PC market (which includes desktops, notebooks, and tablets) in 2014. Tablet shipments were less than half a million units behind …

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Android 4.4 KitKat coming to Google Play S4 and HTC One

KitKat continues its quest for global domination this week, with Android 4.4 rolling out to the Google Play editions of the hugely popular Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One, Google has revealed on its Android Google+ page. The Google Play editions are exactly the same desirable hardware as Samsung and HTC’s flagship mobiles, but run plain Android, with none of …

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Barnes & Noble’s Nook limps into holidays with weak earnings

Barnes & Noble’s Nook operation continues its steep decline. The Nook business, which includes Barnes & Noble’s devices, e-books, and accessories, lost $45.2 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) during the company’s second fiscal quarter ended October 26, according to an earnings release from the bookseller on Tuesday. That’s slightly better than the $51.4 million Nook …

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BlackBerry launching BBM Channels, its answer to Twitter

BlackBerry’s response to the social network craze, BBM Channels, is rolling out starting on Tuesday. Device owners running BlackBerry OS 5 or higher will soon have access to Channels, allowing them to communicate with companies, brands, and other luminaries. The idea is somewhat simple: a company, let’s say, creates a Channel, and BBM users can then send messages, post questions, …

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Amazon now a prime source for U.S. Cellular prepaids

Related stories From Bordeaux to Warhol: How Amazon goes high-brow Amazon lets users give Prime memberships as gifts Starting today, online retailer Amazon will start selling select prepaid cell phones from U.S. Cellular. The phones range from basic handsets that cost $30 to more-powerful $300 Android devices, and include (alphabetically) the Alcatel Shockwave, Huawei Ascend II, Kyocera Dura Pro, LG …

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iPhone 5S or Galaxy S4 owner? What’s your problem?

Unhappy with your battery-sucking iPhone 5S or your overheating Samsung Galaxy S4? You’re not alone. Battery life and overheating issues were just two of the problems cited by users of four of today’s top smartphones in a new report from tech Q&A site FixYa. Released on Tuesday, FixYa’s Black Friday Smartphone Report revealed the top gripes among its site users …

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HP pushing Windows 8.1 hybrids for holidays, says CEO

Hewlett-Packard is banking on “convertible” tablets to power its consumer holiday sales, CEO Meg Whitman said Tuesday. “We’ve got a lot of convertibles in the market, so do our competitors, and we’re advertising behind those because we think that’s a really innovative form factor that’s the best of the tablet and the best of the PC,” she said in response …

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White Motorola Droid Ultra coming to Verizon?

An all-white Motorola Droid Ultra might make a debut on Verizon store shelves soon. The Twitter account for @evleaks on Tuesday published an image of a white Motorola Droid Ultra featuring a Verizon logo. The Twitter account has become a hotspot for leaked mobile devices and, in many cases, the images turn out to be real. Although there’s no way …

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Surprise! The $179 Moto G hits the US early

Now playing: Watch this: The Motorola Moto G is a colourful bargain 2:09 Motorola Mobility apparently couldn’t wait for its low-cost Moto G to hit the States. The Moto G went on sale in the US on Tuesday, available only in the GSM variant and unlocked on Motorola.com for $179 without a contract. Related stories Best Phones Under $500 for …

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