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Making sense of Google's high Galaxy S4 price tag

On Tuesday, when Google's Vice President of Android Product Management Hugo Barra told a crowd of nearly 6,000 attendees that the online giant would be releasing its own variant of the critically-acclaimed Samsung Galaxy S4, many broke out in applause.

Not only would the top-tier device sport all the same desirable specs the GS4 was already known for (like the quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor and Android 4.2 OS), it would also give Android purists/TouchWiz haters, an unsullied Nexus software experience.

Yes, there was clapping all around (and even a "woot!" or two) until Barra … Read more

Forced to live with BB10, and kind of liking it

ORLANDO, Fla -- Irony may be funny to the gods of Olympus, but it's a cruel lesson for us mortals. I found this out the hard way at BlackBerry Live 2013. Within minutes of arriving at my hotel I managed to misplace my lovely HTC One test unit. As a result, my backup BlackBerry Z10 was suddenly promoted to first-string smartphone duty. … Read more

Sonic the Hedgehog hits Android, Nintendo platforms

Attention all those of you who came of age in the 1990s: Sonic the Hedgehog is back and ready for the mobile world of the 21st century.

So get out your old HyperColor T-shirts, pop in that cassette copy of Pearl Jam's "Ten," and get ready to relive the days when kids had actually heard of a company named Sega.

The company this week launched a remastered version of the original Sonic game in the Google Play store for Android, and also announced the next title in the Sonic franchise will be exclusive to perhaps Sega's oldest foe, Nintendo.… Read more

HTC One volumes to double in May

HTC will be ramping up production of its flagship HTC One device, and capacity will double this month from April's, as the company looks to make up for lost sales due to component shortages that delayed the phone's launch in various markets.

Focus Taiwan reported Thursday that the production capacity for HTC One is rising on a month-to-month basis as its component supply chain issues improve. Jack Tong, president of HTC North Asia, said manufacturing volume will double in May from the previous month and will rise further in June to meet "strong demand."

"Our … Read more

Android to assimilate Bluetooth Smart technology

One of the many announcements flooding out of Google I/O that may have gotten lost in the shuffle is Android's expected support for Bluetooth Smart technology.

This may seem like an odd development, especially if you know that many Android devices already feature Bluetooth 4.0, the version in which Bluetooth Smart (that is, Bluetooth Low Energy) first appeared. What's new here, though, is that the fresh flavor of Android, expected to hit in the next few months, will natively integrate all of Bluetooth 4.0's fancy tricks, including BLE, or BT Smart. Previous Android iterations … Read more

Drool-worthy white Nexus 4 may hit Google Play June 10

Though the white version of the LG Nexus 4 began floating around the Interwebs as early as January, it may officially hit the Google Play Store starting June 10.

According to Android and Me, which reportedly got hold of the elusive device, the white Nexus 4 may even launch with Android 4.3, as well.

On Monday, CNET Asia reported that the white device appeared on a Google+ user site and speculated that it could make an appearance at this week's Google I/O.

Unfortunately, as we all saw in yesterday's keynote, no news of a white Nexus … Read more

Samsung to consider freeing up memory in Galaxy S4

Samsung is changing its tune regarding Galaxy S4's storage after the phone appeared on the BBC's Watchdog, saying it will try to squeeze its myriad features into a smaller space, freeing up more memory for apps.

The BBC's consumer affairs show investigated the Android powerhouse's claims of 16GB of storage, after users complained the phone has only half of that available.

"We appreciate this issue being raised and we will improve our communications," a Samsung spokesperson told CNET UK. "Also, we are reviewing the possibility to secure more memory space through further software … Read more

Android beats iOS with 52 percent of ad impressions

Android scooped up more than half of all ad impressions seen by Millennial Media last quarter, according to the ad network's new MobileMix report.

For the first quarter, Android won 52 percent of all impressions (the number of times a mobile ad is displayed), up from 49 percent in the year-ago quarter.

In second place, iOS accounted for 39 percent of all impressions, up from 33 percent. That left the third spot to the BlackBerry OS, which saw its slice of ad impressions cut in half to 7 percent from 14 percent. Microsoft's Windows Phone also witnessed a … Read more

Windows Phone jumps to third place in smartphone market

Microsoft's Windows Phone grabbed third place from BlackBerry in global smartphone shipments in the first quarter, market researcher IDC said Thursday.

Windows Phone accounted for shipments of 7 million smartphones, earning itself a market share of 3.2 percent last quarter. That was a gain from the first quarter of 2012, which saw shipments of 3 million and a market share of 2 percent.

Over the same period, BlackBerry saw its fortunes fall. Last quarter, shipments fell to 6.3 million from 9.7 million in the year-ago quarter, while BlackBerry's market share dropped to 2.9 percent … Read more