Three Apple patent filings point to iWatch feaures

 
The USPTO, as is its wont, revealed a trio of patent applications filed by Apple. All three were dated December 14, 2012, and all three dealt with features that could appear on the Apple iWatch. As we told you earlier today, the wearable is in trial production, and is expected to launch this coming October.

Amazon Fire Phone Hands-On

 After much speculation, Amazon announced its Fire smartphone, which features a comfortable and durable design, innovative 3D-like display and a new way of using the camera to identify–and then purchase–anything from armoires to zucchini. We went hands-on with the Fire, which will be available for $199 on AT&T, to test out its new features, and see if it has the potential to unseat Apple and Samsung.

Design

Similar to the iPhone 4S, the front and back of the Fire phone is swathed in Gorilla Glass 3. The sides, though, are covered in a soft-touch material, and are angled at the corners, which makes the phone comfortable to hold. Measuring 5.5 x 2.6 x 0.35 inches, the Fire is skinnier than the HTC One

T-Mobile to reach 250 million Americans with its LTE signal by the end of this year

 
On Wednesday night, T-Mobile CEO John Legere passed along some numbers, detailing the State of the Carrier. According to the executive, the mobile operator's LTE signal reaches 227 million Americans, and that number will hit 230 million by the end of this month. By the end of the year, 250 million Americans will be covered by T-Mobile's 4G LTE signal. In 2015, the carrier's LTE rollout will be complete. 

Amazon unveils the Fire Phone with eye-tracking tech

Building upon its wide expertise in the tablet space, Amazon has unveiled its first smartphone today. So yes, all those rumors were true after all.
It's called the Amazon Fire Phone and its main selling points are bound to be Amazon's reach in terms of content services, as well as the unique 3D UI dubbed Dynamic Perspective. You can see it in action in this, rather quiet, video.

This much talked about feature changes what's depicted on the screen depending on where you are in relation to the phone. It accomplishes this by tracking your eyes with four specialized cameras that are located in the front corners of the handset.
Dynamic Perspective ties in nicely with tilt gestures that allow you to initiate actions by simply moving the phone. For example, you can tilt the device to scroll inside the browser, something eerily reminiscent of Samsung's Smart Scroll feature. And the same thing works inside ebooks, and even games.

Xiaomi to release 4G smartphones as soon as possible

 
Xiaomi saw a meteoric rise in the last years, currently being China’s third-largest smartphone vendor - ahead of Apple, ZTE, Huawei and other older handset makers. The company intends to ship at least 60 million smartphones this year, including the first models with 4G connectivity.

Apple iWatch Rumors: Features, Specs and Release Date

Apple’s first foray into the world of wearables seems all but imminent. Tons of rumors across the web point to the iWatch, an iOS-based smartwatch that we could see as soon as fall 2014. A first-party wearable from Apple seems inevitable, given the company’s dedication to fitness and its new Health app and HealthKit platform in iOS 8. With Apple hiring key players from Nike and Yves Saint Laurent, the company certainly seems on the path to releasing a wearable device that fuses fashion with high-tech functionality. From design and features to potential pricing and release date, here’s everything we’ve heard so far about Apple’s long-rumored iWatch. 

You can now buy OnePlus One sans invites but with caveats

Last week, the OnePlus One should have started shipping to the first people who got invites to buy it. But there's now a way to get a One without the need to wait for an invite.
The Chinese online retailer Oppomart claims to have OnePlus One units in stock and ready to be shipped - worldwide, no less. Oppomart however isn't affiliated with Oppo as its name might imply, so how trustworthy ordering from there might be is up for debate. There are also a few caveats you should know about.

Micromax unveils the Canvas Win W092 and W121 Windows Phones

Micromax is among the latest manufacturers to become a Microsoft OEM partner. Windows Phone OS has become a very attractive choice since Microsoft made Windows OS free for devices under 9".
So, after we saw Blu, Prestigio and Yezz showcasing Windows Phone handsets, now it's Micromax turn to do the same. Micromax is very popular with its affordable Android smartphones across India and soon in Russia and as of today it is reaching out to the Windows Phone fans as well.
The newly announced Canvas Win duo is super cheap and runs on the latest Windows Phone 8.1 OS out of the box.
The Micromax Canvas Win W092 packs a 4" WVGA IPS display, runs on Snapdragon 200 chipset (quad-core 1.2GHz processor, 1GB of RAM), and comes with a 5MP rear cam, a VGA front snapper, 8GB expandable storage and dual-SIM capabilities.
The Canvas Win W092 will become available in July and at Rs 6,500 (€80) it's probably the cheapest Windows Phone to date.

Amazon ‘Kindle Fire’ phone rumor round-up: 3D interface, specs, release date, and price

 
Amazon is building its first smartphone and it is expected to come with unique 3D features that will change the traditional tap-and-swipe way around a phone, adding completely new tilting gesture navigation.

Amazon has released the official teaser for the upcoming ‘Kindle Fire’ phone and it even slipped a few frames where you can see the device, but what’s really notable is the reaction of people using it. “It moved with me,” that’s probably the phrase that best summarizes the experience that you should expect, as first-time users are moving around the phone, looking at it from various angles to enjoy the alleged 3D-esque effect. “I have never seen anything like this” catch phrases fly around as well, telling you that what’s coming is really new. But what’s it really about?

Microsoft owns PureView, ClearBlack and four other Nokia trademarks

 
When Microsoft purchased Nokia Devices and Services, there were questions about what Redmond would do with certain Nokia created names, like PureView. The latter title was used by Nokia to denote a high-end camera on the back of some of its higher-end Lumia models like the Nokia Lumia 1020.

Google wants to get into the health data game with 'Google Fit'

Everyone wants a piece of the fit tech action these days, and Google, it seems, is not immune to Fit Tech Fever. According to a new report from Forbes, the company plans to introduce its own fitness data aggregation service called Google Fit at this month’s Google I/O conference.

HP says 'The Machine' will supercharge Android phones to 100TB

 
Hewlett-Packard has kicked off an ambitious project that aims at nothing less than reinventing the basic architecture of computers. It looks like servers are its initial target, but HP is also working on an Android version that it says could lead to smartphones with 100TB of storage.
HP said Wednesday it was working on a new computer architecture, dubbed The Machine, based on a type of memory called memristors and a communications technology called silicon photonics, which uses light beams to move data around at high speeds.

Aptly named Upload to YouTube, ready for Windows Phone 8.1 users

 Upload to YouTube is now available for free in the Windows Phone Store, where it is the first YouTube uploader for Windows Phone 8.1. The app does exactly what its name suggests it does, which is upload video to the streaming video site. From your camera roll, click on Share and then Upload to YouTube. Or, you can open the app, and go rummaging through your phone (you can visit your saved downloads, for example) to find a video that you want the world to see.

Apple iWatch could tap into patented weightlifting sensor

A newly-approved patent points to a sensor that could track weightlifting and send it to a mobile device, notably a watch.
 
Apple's much-rumored iWatch might be able to serve as your own virtual weightlifting coach.

Google shows the human side of Google Glass by focusing on Dad in new ad

 
 Google Glass has almost become a pariah in some locations. Some restaurants and bars won't serve patrons who are wearing the connected specs, and recently a movie chain in Austin told its customers wearing Glass, to remove them before the trailers start. How can Google fight back to make its wearable shades become a device as wholesome and friendly as the smartphone? Is there a way to take the hole out of Glassholes?

Lenovo A8 Review

 

Pros: Sharp screen; Solid construction; Long battery life; Useful app for sharing files

Cons: Somewhat dim display; Middling graphics performance

The Verdict: The Lenovo A8 is a well-made 8-inch Android tablet that offers a rich IPS display and long battery life for less than $200.

Samsung comes to the FCC with a smaller smartwatch that could feature Android Wear

An unknown Samsung smartwatch with the model number SM-R382, recently visited the FCC. Smaller than the manufacturer's current line up of Tizen powered Galaxy Gear and Gear watches, there is speculation that this smartwatch could feature Android Wear. The latter is a version of Android made specifically for wearable devices. The watch that visited the FCC is about 10mm shorter than the Gear smartwatches and features Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.

Micromax Canvas Gold A300 with octa-core CPU specs

The Canvas Entice A105 apparently isn't the only new Micromax device we'll see this month. The Indian company has scheduled a press conference for June 16, and during that it may officially introduce the Canvas Gold A300.
This smartphone will reportedly come with some pretty interesting specs. And the 'Gold' in the name isn't there by accident, as the color options for it will be called White Gold and Black Gold. They can be seen below.

Huawei now seeding Android 4.4 KitKat to Ascend P6

 
Huawei Ascend P6 owners rejoice! Your smartphone has not been forgotten and while it took Huawei a while to ready the KitKat update, the firmware is now available for download.

Facebook Messenger now allows you to instantly send 15-second videos

 
If you are a Facebook devotee, then it's almost certain that you have installed Facebook Messenger on your smartphone. This app comes with the chat heads feature, which allows you to quickly access your Facebook messages from almost anywhere, even in full screen apps. Apart from releasing Messenger for Windows Phone, which comes sans said chat heads, Facebook also improved the overall functionalities of the iOS and Android versions of the app over the last few months.