The hottest iPhone, iPad and Android, phone and tablet headlines from around the Web
Phone & Tablet News
iPad mini Demand Down But New Model May Be Delayed
DigiTimes said that upstream sources in the iPad mini supply chain expect a 20 percent to 30 percent decline in shipments for the 7.9-inch tablet during the second quarter due to declining demand. The lacking demand stems from...
Samsung Galaxy S4 Everywhere in the U.S. Starting April 24th
Samsung announced that before the end of April, the Galaxy S4 will be available through seven different carriers in the U.S. -- a feat no other smartphone manufacturer has previously done. AT&T opened pre-orders for the Samsung...
LG to Tout Genius, Brilliance at Launch Event May 1
LG just sent us a "Save the Date" invitation for an event that's taking place in New York City on May 1. The invitation includes taglines like "Share the Genius" and "Capture the Spotlight in True Brilliance", and the image features...
'Phenomenal,' Right-Sized Devices From Motorola Up Next
Motorola, which was purchased by Google for a whopping $12.5 billion in May 2012, is lining up what a Google executive claims to be a "phenomenal" set of products. Speaking at AllThingsD's Dive into Mobile conference today, Google...
Muzzled Version of Facebook Home's Chat Heads Now on iPhones
Facebook Home -- the custom overlay that would make the social network at the forefront of Android smartphones -- won't be available for the iPhone and iPad, but the launcher's most buzzed-about feature called Chat Heads are coming...
YouTube Updates iOS App, Adds VHS Simulator
Google's YouTube is celebrating the 57th anniversary of the VHS recorder and has updated its native app for iOS with new features, including access to live streams. Live Streams allow users to tune into live events and news conferences...
Samsung Said to Be Readying New 8-Inch and 10.1-Inch Tabs
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 could be announced in the next few days, and Samsung's third-generation Galaxy Tab tablets won't have leading edge specs, if information provided by a tech Web site ends up correct. techblog.gr, citing...
Microsoft Reportedly Working on Own Smartwatch
Microsoft was late in the game in the lucrative tablets market but won't make the same mistake if smartwatches become mainstream. Sources tell The Wall Street Journal that Microsoft has been working with suppliers in Asia to acquire...
Facebook Home, HTC First Available Today
Facebook is releasing the new "Home" launcher today. Although the app pack is now in Google Play, only the HTC One, HTC One X, Samsung Galaxy Note II, Samsung Galaxy S III, and Samsung Galaxy S 4 will be supporting Facebook Home...
Some Owners of Old iPhones to Get $200 Each
Apple has reportedly agreed to pay $53 million to settle a lawsuit concerning iPhone warranties. Subject to the class suit filed in San Francisco, California, was Apple's refusal to cover devices under warranty -- either the standard...
BlackBerry Mad at False Report on Z10 Returns
Detwiler Fenton analyst Jeff Johnston reported that that "key retail partners have seen a significant increase in Z10 returns to the point where, in several cases, returns are now exceeding sales, a phenomenon we have never seen...
Later-Than Expected Debut for iPhone 5S?
Apple's follow-up to last September's iPhone 5 is going to be launched a little later than expected, according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-chi Kuo. Kuo attributes the delays to problems integrating a new fingerprint sensor...
ZTE Unveils the Geek That's Not for Geeks
ZTE has unveiled a phone that might not really live up to its name. Announced this week, the ZTE Geek doesn't have leading edge features that tech-savvy geeks would expect. The ZTE Geek is powered by the new 32nm Intel Atom Z2580...
Samsung Unveils Galaxy Phones with Massive Displays
Believing that 4.99-inch S4 and the 5.55-inch Note 2 are still not big enough, Samsung has unleashed its largest Android smartphone to date, the Galaxy Mega. Borrowing some of the features of the flagship Galaxy S4, the two Galaxy...
Microsoft Office for Android, iOS in Late 2014
The Microsoft Office suite for the iPhone and iPad, as well as Android devices, won't be available until late 2014. Mary Jo Foley of ZDNet says a leak of the Office product roadmap, called Gemini, details different waves in which...
Apple Confirms iMessage and FaceTime Outages
Apple has confirmed that its iMessage and FaceTime services are not currently working for some users. On Apple's System Status page, both iMessage and FaceTime are listed as having issues with a note underneath each that reads...
Google Play Purges 60,000 Apps, Rolls Out New Design
Google removed 60,000 apps from Google Play in February and this week launched a new media focused design for the apps store for Android devices. Google's guidelines are not as strict and bothersome as Apple's but Google's automated...
Samsung Unveils Mid-Range Galaxy Win
Samsung has launched a new quad-core smartphone that could end up as a popular and cheaper alternative to the flagship Samsung Galaxy S4. Already introduced in China and slated to be released in emerging countries, the Samsung...
Facebook Home Already Compatible with Nexus 4 and Nexus 7?
When it's released April 12, Facebook Home will only be initially available for the Samsung's Galaxy S3, S4 and Note 2, and HTC's One and One X. A leaked pre-release version of the Facebook-centric custom overlay for Android devices...
Samsung Said to Be Readying 5.8-inch and 6.3-inch Galaxy Phones
Samsung is rumored to be working on two giant smartphones that are even bigger than the Galaxy Note 2. According to Sam Mobile, the Galaxy Mega 5.8 would feature a 5.8-inch 960 x 540 display, 1.4 GHz processor and Android 4.1...
HTC M4 Said to Sport Ultrapixel, But No Facebook Home
After HTC this week unveiled the HTC First, a 4.3-inch Android phone with Facebook Home built-in, rumors are emerging that the Taiwanese device-maker is prepping a version of the phone that doesn't have Facebook Home but has the...
Microsoft and Apple Reject Facebook Home
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg says Facebook Home is a custom overlay for phones -- Android handsets for the moment -- that bring people (and Facebook) rather than apps to the forefront of the smartphone. It appears like Facebook...
Facebook Home Lands on Android Phones, HTC First
Facebook announced its custom Android interface 'Home'. Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said 'Home' would turn "any phone to a Facebook phone" and said the interface is focused on people rather than apps. Facebook also...
Apple's iPad Turns 3 Today; New iPads Could Be Near
Apple's iPad is three years old today. Although hit at launch for being just an oversized iPod, the iPad became the fastest growing consumer product ever and has been blamed for the decline in demand for traditional PCs. Apple...
Google Said to Launch Second-Gen Nexus 7 in July
Google will launch a new version of the Nexus 7 in June. Reuters, citing unnamed sources, said the second-generation Nexus 7 will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and will still be manufactured by ASUS. The ASUS-made...
$199 HTC One Lands on AT&T and Sprint April 19th
AT&T and Sprint said the HTC One will hit shelves on April 19 starting at $199.99 -- which is $50 cheaper than the recently announced Samsung Galaxy S4. The 32-gigabyte version of the all-metal phone will cost $199.99 on a...
iPhone 5S in Second Quarter, Low-Cost iPhone Later This Year
Apple will be releasing this year not one but two follow-ups to the iPhone 5 this year. The Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous sources, reports that the iPhone 5S will begin production in the second quarter, possibly setting...
Quickoffice App for Business Is 'Free', Now on Play Store
Google announced free iPhone and Android versions of the Quickoffice app exclusively for its Apps for Business customers. A free version of Quickoffice for the iPad was released way back December. The app lets users edit Microsoft...
Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9 at AT&T for $249
The LTE-ready Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9-inch tablet -- which 18 days ago saw a $100 reduction off its $499 price tag at launch -- will be available on AT&T starting April 5 for $399 outright or for $150 less on a limited basis....
Facebook-Centric Android to Be Unveiled Thursday
Facebook sent press invites for an April 4 event to unveil what it calls its "new home on Android." The world's largest social network has not provided further details amid speculations that it could be hardware (Android-running...
iWatch or Future iPhone: Apple Files Patent for Wrap-Around Display
Apple practically revolutionalized industry in 2007 with a touch-focused and app-centric, rectangular phone, and since then maintained the form factor of the iPhone. Just as Samsung and others are now flooding the market with...
Flop or 2nd Gen Coming? iPad Mini Shipments Cut 20%
Apple is cutting shipment of the 7.9-inch iPad mini by between 10 to 12 million units into the second quarter, according to DigiTimes, citing multiple industry sources. The 20% production cuts suggest that Apple already is working...
HTC One Gets Lowest Score Ever for Repairability
iFixit performs teardowns of flagship devices in hopes of helping people repair their own gear to reduce electronic waste. Don't bother repairing an HTC One when it breaks out of warranty -- it just has an incredibly low 1 out...
AT&T's Samsung Galaxy S4 at $250, Pre-Sales Start April 16
AT&T announced that preorders for the Samsung Galaxy S4 will open April 16th. Samsung's newest flagship device will be available for $249.99 on a two-year contract -- making the device a full $50 pricier than other carrier-subsidized...
Better Late Than Never: Temple Run and Other Games Hit Windows Phone
Many developers engage in wait-and-see mode before investing money writing apps for a new platform. In what could indicate that Windows Phone is showing signs of growth, the popular Temple Run is coming to the Windows Phone Store...
Amazon Kindle Phone to Sport 4.7-Inch Screen
Amazon is on track to release the Kindle Phone in the second half of 2013, and the first version would have a 4.7-inch display, according to the latest reports. The online retailer was originally working on a handset with a 4.3-inch...
T-Mobile Launches $99 iPhone 5, LTE Network & No-Contract Plans
T-Mobile, the fourth largest wireless provider in the U.S., is looking to shake things up by touting its LTE network, unveiling plans to stop subsidizing new phones, and striking a deal to start selling the iPhone. At its "UNcarrier"...
BlackBerry Z10's U.S. Launch Disappointing
BlackBerry's new BlackBerry 10 devices had a solid launch in Canada and Europe in early February, but the decision to delay the launch in the U.S., a hugely important market, may be costly for BlackBerry. Goldman Sachs reduced...
Galaxy Note 3 Said to Tout Unbreakable, Flexible Display
The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 that will be unveiled later this year will feature a flexible OLED display that won't crack when dropped, according to the latest report. Korean site Asiae, citing "industry sources", says Samsung will...
HTC to Go Loud, Drops "Quietly Brilliant" Tagline
HTC's new marketing chief, Ben Ho, said the Taiwanese company will drop its "quietly brilliant" slogan with the key concepts "bold", "authentic", and "playful". Ho explained to the Wall Street Journal that the company's rhetoric...