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Android KitKat features hit Jelly Bean in Google update

Android KitKat features are taking a break from the Google Nexus 5 and coming to Jelly Bean phones. Google is updating older phones with Search version 3.1.8 to give you a taste of KitKat. In KitKat, Google Now is integrated into the home screens so the latest information is right at your fingertips. Although this …

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Republic Wireless’ $299 off

Republic Wireless finally has its flagship smartphone in the Motorola Moto X. Related stories: Hands-on with the Republic Wireless Moto X Moto X coming to Republic Wireless for $299 unsubsidized Moto X review The Moto X is attractively priced at $299, and can be had without signing any contracts. Try to buy the smartphone directly from Motorola in the same …

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Amazon introduces design

Want to stand out in the Kindle crowd? You can design your own Origami or flat Kindle case from the Amazon website. (Credit: Amazon) Amazon’s Kindle cases come in a variety of colours, but if you wanted to get more fancy, you had to find another case elsewhere. Amazon has now launched custom Kindle cases, allowing you to put a …

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Verizon cuts price of customized Moto X phone to $50

Verizon subscribers can slash the price of Motorola’s Moto X smartphone in half by purchasing it via Motorola’s Moto Maker Web site. Normally $100 with the usual two-year contract, the phone is selling for $50 until the end of Monday. Verizon customers can find the deal at the Moto Maker Web site. There you can pick the front and black …

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Does fixing Microsoft mean ending Microsoft as we know it?

During his quieter moments — assuming they even exist any more — outgoing Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer might be excused for wondering why the company he has led for the last decade, blessed with enormous wealth and so many smart people, has had to struggle so long and hard for its tech cred. Even if Microsoft’s board lucks into …

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Inside Coin’s techie vision for the all

In a compact San Francisco office suite equipped with soldering stations and swipe-testing machines, Coin’s team of seven has been working furiously to perfect the final prototype of an unlimited credit card. No, not one that will let you charge with abandon. Rather, a device as slim as a standard piece of payment plastic that can hold countless credit, debit, …

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BBM update to support Wi

Owners of the Wi-Fi-only iPad and iPod Touch will be able to download and use BlackBerry Messenger before the end of the day. BlackBerry confirmed Thursday that updates to BBM for Android and iOS will start to roll out as free downloads during the day. Available through the Apple App Store, the iOS edition of BBM will offer several enhancements. …

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BBM and its quest to become a social phenomenon

BlackBerry’s BBM messaging app needs a little help from its friends. Since launching on Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android last month, the popularity of BBM has been a rare bright spot in an otherwise messy situation at the company. But while BBM has done well in select foreign countries where its phones are still popular, it has had less luck …

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Windows Phone wins bigger chunk of smartphone market

Windows Phone continues to eke out gains in a landscape dominated by Android and iOS. During the third quarter, Microsoft’s mobile OS share rose to 3.6 percent globally from 2.3 percent in the year-ago quarter, Gartner said in a report on Thursday. Shipments grew to 8.9 million from 3.9 million over the same period. Though Android’s market share surged to …

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Nokia’s next Windows Phone handsets: Think Bond, James Bond

Nokia likes its smartphones shaken, not stirred. Related stories Windows Phone Blue: Microsoft’s next tablet OS? Microsoft posts details of next Windows Phone 8 update The company is working on two new handsets that will run Windows Phone 8.1 Blue, according to a new leak on mobile-leaking Twitter account @evleaks. Although neither device has an official name yet, they’re currently …

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