With recent HTC device purchases, you were given some free Google Drive storage for two years as a promotion. For the HTC One (M8) and the One Max, it was 50GB of online storage space. But it looks like HTC decided to be generous for absolutely no reason and bump that storage up to 100GB, with the same offer extending to the new HTC One Remix.

If you want to take advantage of this offer, open the Google Drive app, hit Redeem, and follow the on screen prompts. Then you’ll get an extra 50GB of online storage, which is nothing to scoff at. Sadly, if you have unlocked your bootloader, you cannot redeem this offer.

We’re not sure why HTC decided to bump the existing offer to double the storage, but we can’t complain. If you own a mentioned HTC device, go redeem the extra storage and enjoy!

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ISIS has been a solid alternative to Google Wallet for those who want a mobile payment system. Tap your NFC enabled device to a supported sensor inside a store, and your bank card is charged. No need to carry around your wallet or fumble with cards (not that it’s very difficult).

But with growing problems elsewhere in the world, the name ISIS was more and more associated with a terrorist group, and ISIS mobile payments clearly wanted to get away from that image. Despite the group no longer calling itself ISIS, the mobile payment system will be renamed to Softcard.

It’ll take a few weeks for this change to roll out to everyone, so your app won’t be updated immediately. And with this name change, nothing else will be different. So keep an eye out for the app update and let us know in the comments how often you use mobile payments.

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We promise we’ll stop pumping out individual articles for every Gear VR game announced eventually, but for now, we’re just too dang excited. Announced via Twitter, the developers of the mesmerizing, beautiful Monument Valley, Ustwo Games, is working on a game for the Samsung Gear VR called Land’s End.

We don’t know anything about Land’s End yet, just that it’s, “a surreal trip through an archipelago of forgotten worlds.” Judging by the teaser image for the game, it will look a lot like Monument Valley. So if you’ve ever played Monument Valley and wondered what it would be like to explore the colorful landscape of the game, Land’s End may be your chance.

We were excited about the Gear VR before, but seeing this kind of developer support just hours after its announced has us dying to get our hands on one. We’ll be sure to keep a close eye on Ustwo and Land’s End’s development.

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The Sony QX10 and QX100 mountable camera systems for smartphones were met with less than stellar reviews. In theory, being able to attach a high-end Sony camera system to the back of your phone for taking pictures on the go is a great idea. But it didn’t quite work out as planned. Sony isn’t ready to give up just yet, however, as the company has announced two new camera systems today.

Improving on last years all-on-one system, the QX30 is a zoom lens system that again straps to the back of and connects to your smartphone. The QX30 features a 30x optical zoom, 21-megapixel sensor and uses F-stop values between 3.5 and 6.3. We’ll have to wait and see how image quality turns out, but we’re honestly not expecting a whole lot. The QX30 will be available October 5 for $350.

The QX1 is the slightly more interesting of the two camera accessories to be announced today. For $400, set to be released October 15, the QX1 is a lens mount with a 21-megapixel sensor and flash. Instead of using a built-in lens, you can use any Sony E lens, or with an adapter, any Sony A lens. It connects to your smartphone in the same way the QX30 does, again, it just uses Sony’s higher-end lenses. $400 seems like a good deal, but at that price, you don’t get any lenses. If you already have some Sony lenses or a cheap way to score some, the QX10 might be a serious replacement for more serious cameras available from the company.

The QX1 and QX30 are already available for preorder on Amazon and on Sony’s website.

Gallery

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Samsung’s Gear VR headset is a very ambitious accessory and shows that the company is still capable of innovation and awesome products. But hardware like this can’t succeed without good software to back it up, so Samsung has partnered with a big name in mobile gaming.

Imangi Studios is famous for its addicting game Temple Run and will be bring an entirely new version to the Gear VR. But instead of the now generic third person endless runner formula, this game will be in first person to take advantage of the virtual reality aspect. Now imagine a giant “arctic demon monkey” chasing you in virtual reality.

All we have to go on is a “coming soon” release date. And with no price or release date for the Gear VR itself, we don’t know when we will be able to get our hands on the awesome accessory. But we’re excited to see VR go mainstream. Will you be giving the Gear VR a shot? Leave a comment!

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Now that the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 has been announced a detailed, you’re probably thinking to yourself, “where can I sign up for more information on the Note 4? When is it going to be released? Who is going to sell it?” Thankfully, we have at least some of that information to share with you.

As was to be expected, every major carrier in the US and then some is going to be selling at least the Galaxy Note 4, some the Galaxy Note Edge and others official Samsung accessories as well. Here’s what we know so far:

AT&T will be selling both the Galaxy Note 4 and the Galaxy Edge. You can already find information pages for both devices on the AT&T website. Along with the two devices, AT&T will carry some of the new Samsung accessories, like the Gear VR.

Verizon will also be selling both the Note 4 and Note Edge, and they have an information signup page located here.

T-Mobile has also announced that, yep, they will also be selling the Note 4 and Note Edge. And they also have a signup page live.

Surely Sprint users won’t be left out, right? Right. The Note 4, Edge and Gear VR are all going to be available on Sprint.

US Cellular has announced it will be selling the Note 4, and has even revealed an October release.

Exact pricing and release information is still hard to come by, but you can bet around $299 on-contract and in October are good bets.

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Though not as cool as a virtual reality headset, Sony has announced its own gaming related accessory to go along with its new flagship devices.

Sony is showing off a mounting accessory for attaching an Xperia Z3, Z3 Compact or Z3 Compact tablet to a PlayStation 4 controller to use with remote play. By using remote play with an Xperia Z3 device, you essentially turn your phone or tablet into a wireless TV. You can play AAA PS4 titles over WiFi, while your PlayStation does all the heavy lifting.

It might be awhile until remote play and the mounting accessory are available but they do make buying into the Sony ecosystem a little more attractive. What do you think, would you rather be able to play your console on your smartphone, or turn your smartphone into a virtual reality headset?

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Samsung is known for releasing some seriously fashionable devices. Well, I mean “fashionable.” Many of its devices have been given the Swarovski treatment, coated in the crystals and painted a fancy gold color, and the Gear S is no different. Underneath is a standard Gear S smart watch, featuring 3G connectivity and a 2 inch display.

While this isn’t at all attractive to me, I’m sure some people still buy it as Samsung continues to make them. If you happen to be interested in this flashy device, it’ll be available from Samsung next month. So tell us, would you wear this thing in public? Leave a comment!

Show Press Release

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Are you ready for this? Sony has announced six, yes six, new devices at IFA today. The company is refreshing practically their entire Xperia product line, and throwing in a couple wearables for good measure.

Sony Xperia Z3

First up on the list if the plain-jane flagship of the bunch, the Sony Xperia Z3. The Z3 comes with everything you’d expect in a modern day flagship device. 1080p display, Snapdragon 801, 3GB of RAM and more.

• 5.2-inch 1920×1080 TRILUMINOS display
• 2.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor
• Adreno 330 GPU
• 20.7-megapixel rear camera with Exmor RS sensor, ISO 3200 in manual mode
• 2.2-megapixel front camera
• 3GB of RAM
• 16GB storage
• microSD slot with support for cards up to 128GB
• 4G LTE connectivity
• 146.5 x 72 x 7.3mm
• IP65 and IP68 rated for resistance to dust and water
• 3100mAh battery
• Android 4.4 KitKat

Sony Xperia Z3 Compact

Sony is continuing the trend of treating their “mini” devices as fist class citizens. Much like the Compacts to come before it, the Z3 Compact is almost identical to its bigger sibling. The Z3 compact only loses 1GB of RAM to go along with its smaller 4.6-inch 1280×720 display.

• 4.6-inch 1280×720 display
• 2.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor
• Adreno 330 GPU
• 20.7-megapixel rear camera with Exmor RS image sensor, ISO 12800 in manual mode
• 2.2-megapixel front camera
• 2GB of RAM
• 16GB storage
• microSD slot with support for cards up to 128GB
• 127.3 x 64.9 x 8.64mm
• IP65, IP68 rated for resistance to dust and water
• 2600mAh battery
• Android 4.4 KitKat

Sony Xperia E3

You might recognize this pretty face. Despite it’s lower specs, it fits right in with the rest of the Xperia family. The Xperia E3 is Sony’s stab at an introductory level smartphone. And they do a darn good job at it.

• 4.5-inch 854×480 IPS display
• 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon processor
• 5-megapixel rear, VGA front cameras
• 1GB of RAM
• 4GB of storage
• microSD slot with support for cards up to 32GB
• 137.1 x 69.4 x 8.5 mm
• 4G LTE connectivity
• 2330mAh battery
• Android 4.4 KitKat

Sony Xperia Z3 Compact tablet

Sony is bringing the same philosophies it brought to the Xperia Z3 Compact to the Xperia Z3 Compact tablet. Sony is boasting that the tablet is ultra thin, ultra light, and made out of premium high-end materials. All while still being waterproof.

• 8-inch 1920×1200 display
• 2.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor
• 8.1-megapixel rear camera with Exmor RS image sensor
• 2.2-megapixel front camera
• 3GB of RAM
• 16GB storage
• microSD slot with support for cards up to 128GB
• 4G LTE connectivity optional
• IP65, IP68 rated for dust and water resistance
• 4500mAh battery
• Android 4.4 KitKat

Sony SmartWatch 3

Sony’s third entry in its SmartWatch series is its first Android Wear device. It stand out from the competition by utilizing a more sporty look. The band looks more like a rubber housing which comes in black, white, lime and pink. Specs wise it does little to set itself apart from the competition, but it will make a great accessory for your new Xperia phone.

• 1.6-inch 320×320 LCD display
• 4GB of storage
• IP68 rated for resistance to water
• GPS, accelerometer, microphone, compass
• Charges over microUSD
• Available in black and lime editions at launch, with white and pink straps coming later on

Sony SmartBand Talk

The SmartBand Talk is a new device for Sony. It’s essentially a fitness band with access to Sony’s new LifeLog health app suite. The SmartBand Talk comes with an e-ink display for extra long battery life, a microphone and speaker for interacting with the device, and you guessed it, it’s also water proof.

• 1.4-inch always-on e-paper display
• Built-in accelerometer and altimeter sensor
• IP68 rated for water resistance
• Black and white available at launch, more colors coming later on

Wrap up

Sony wasn’t keen on providing a ton of release or pricing information on any of the devices announced today. T-Mobile has confirmed it will be selling the Z3 this fall, but that’s all we have for now. Keep checking back for updates.

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Samsung is no stranger to announcing a ton of accessories for every major device they release, but today’s special accessory announced for the Note 4 is an exception. Thanks to the Samsung Gear VR, you can turn your Galaxy Note 4 into an Oculus Rift that works just as well.

Developed with Oculus Rift, the Gear VR is a simple device that will be able to do amazing things. Think of the Gear VR as an empty Oculus Rift that is powered by your brand new Samsung Galaxy Note 4. It uses the display and processing power of the Note 4 to immerse you in a world of virtual reality content that will undoubtedly expand far beyond the demo games and concert Samsung is using to introduce the device.

The Gear VR opens up and the Galaxy Note 4 clips into the device. In the future the Gear VR will come with Bluetooth controller support, but for now you control the device with head movements and a small trackpad. According to early hands-on reports, the Gear VR works very well. Samsung boasts that content will run in 60 frames per second, and with the ultra-high density of the Note 4′s AMOLED panel, visual problems that plagued earlier generation Oculus Rift headsets should be fixed with the Gear VR.

Right now there’s no pricing or release information available on the Gear VR, but we imagine it will be available sometime before the end of the year in time for the holiday season. We don’t know about you, but the Gear VR has us almost sold on a Note 4 by itself. What do you think of Samsung’s entry in the virtual reality race?

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