Based on HTC’s quarterly earnings reports this year, you might agree Reuters columnist Robyn Mak remark that HTC is “heading for extinction in 2016.” Mak’s statement was made with his analyses of the current state of the smartphone market and many smartphone manufacturer’s inability to squeeze out a profit in 2015. Responding Mak’s marsh comment, Cher Wang and HTC went on the offensive, stating that the HTC brand will never disappear.

HTC claims that it is well positioned to take on the competition with targeted devices for niche markets and 2016 may actually be the first year that HTC will make money from its Connected Devices division. The HTC Vive VR system will go on sale in April and HTC’s partnership with Under Armour should produce a family of connected fitness devices during the first half of 2016. That being said, HTC does need to find a way to return its smartphone division to profitability in 2016. Fortunately, the company is already working on internal reorganizations which should cut out a lot of unnecessary overhead and a more coherent product portfolio.

HTC may never regain the market share within the smartphone industry it enjoyed in 2011 and 2012, but it certainly isn’t doomed.

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Samsung made waves when it bought LoopPay and used its technology to create Samsung Pay, its exclusive mobile payment system that works with nearly all existing payment terminals. The company has continued to aggressively expand the capabilities of Samsung Pay, adding gift cards and a gift card store within Samsung Pay itself. Now, the co-general manager of Samsung Pay, Thomas Ko, has stated that Samsung Pay will expand to online shopping in 2016.

Expanding Samsung Pay into online shopping makes it even more of a fully-fledged mobile wallet and allows it to compete more directly with services like PayPal.

Additionally, Ko stated that Samsung Pay will be made available on more devices in 2016. This includes the notable category of mid-range Samsung phones. In this early period of its life, Samsung Pay has only been available on high-end Samsung devices, such as the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy Note 5. Expanding Samsung Pay to more devices will increase its impact while also giving Samsung an additional selling point for its devices.

Samsung Pay looks to have a bright future in 2016.

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Remember earlier this year when reports suggested that new Google Glass hardware, dubbed Enterprise Edition, was in the works? Well, Google still hasn’t announced any new Glass, but that didn’t stop the FCC from going ahead and posting images of the unannounced hardware.

A new FCC listing includes several images of the new Google Glass Enterprise Edition. The biggest change with the new hardware is the inclusion of a hinge that should help protect against accidental bumps. A hinge was one of the most requested features following the original version of Glass, so it’s nice to see Google listening to user feedback and including it with the Enterprise Edition.

In addition to the hinge, this new Google Glass Enterprise Edition is packing a prism that looks significantly larger than the Explorer Edition. The device’s power button has been relocated, as well.

Other changes that are rumored to be included with the new version of Google Glass include an updated Intel processor, better Wi-Fi connectivity, and better battery life. And in case the battery life improvements aren’t enough, it’s said that Google is prepping an external battery pack attachment to extend Glass’s life even farther. Finally, the whole package is said to be waterproof.

This new Google Glass Enterprise Edition looks like a solid improvement over the Enterprise Edition that was first offered years ago. The bad news is that, as its name suggests, the Google Glass Enterprise Edition is intended for business use. That means that any regular consumers looking to upgrade to the new Glass will find it difficult to get a hold of the upgraded hardware. That’s kind of a bummer for any Glass fans out there, but hey, maybe Google will eventually release a new consumer version of Glass with the improvements included with the Enterprise Edition.

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Every week we cover new Android apps with Fresh Meat on Wednesday, followed by Android Gaming on Thursday and Top 10 App Updates on Friday. When Monday rolls around, we look back to see which apps were the most appealing to our audience. Read on for the five most popular Android apps from last week. These apps are ones that are most likely new and haven’t appeared in the top five list more than three times.

1. Action Launcher 3

App info: Action Launcher 3 replaces your homescreen with a colorful, customizable and speedy app you’ll quickly learn to love. Try it out for free!

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2. Cavernaut

App info:  Pilot your spaceship through a maze of caves on an alien planet. Try to reach the surface, while collecting luminum crystals which you can trade for upgrades. 

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3. Wallpapers QHD

App info: Wallpapers QHD (Background HD) are beautiful wallpapers for your phone and tablet. Cool wallpaper in the highest resolution (HD wallpapers and QHD wallpapers) and, of course, 3D wallpapers.

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4. KeyMe

App info: KeyMe is a safe, smart and inexpensive solution to frustrating lockouts, and a convenient way to copy and share your keys.

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5. Phone

App info: Update the Phone app for your Android Marshmallow device* to improve your calling experience and gain control over calls with features like caller ID and call blocking.

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Note:  To ensure that all apps receive a fair chance to make the list, we will retire any app that has made the list for three consecutive weeks.

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Switching carriers is a big decision for a lot of people, so obviously incentives are something worth considering. And with all the major wireless networks in the United States offering up some kind of deal to grab a potential customer’s interest, being competitive still remains an important factor right out of the gate.

Verizon Wireless is stepping up its switcher promotions in an attempt to get a few more customers from other carriers to join the Big Red ranks. Right now, the carrier is offering up to $650 for someone to switch from one of the other networks. The kicker is you’ll need to sign up for a monthly device payment plan (along with your plan), trade in your current device, buy a Verizon phone in its place, and port your old number over to Verizon’s network.

The trade-in has to be in good working condition to be eligible, and Verizon says that the new line has to stay active for at least 6 months (or they can charge you that promotional reimbursement money they sent you).

The promotional money that Verizon is offering will be available via a Visa prepaid card, which the carrier says will be shipped out to you within eight weeks after receiving and accepting the trade-in. Verizon is offering up to $650 to pay off a device, or they’ll fork over $350 to pay off an early termination fee (ETF).

Do you plan on taking advantage of Verizon’s offer?

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We’re still a ways out from seeing Samsung’s next flagship, but that’s not stopping the rumor mill from churning out reports about the Galaxy S7. The latest rumor comes from Korea’s Electronic Times, which indicates that Samsung is planning to produce the Galaxy S7 with two different screen sizes. The company will reportedly offer the standard Galaxy S7 with a flat, 5.2-inch display, while the Galaxy S7 edge will feature a 5.5-inch display with curved edges on both the left and right sides.

The report also indicates that Samsung’s initial mass production run will produce 3.3 million Galaxy S7s and 1.6 million Galaxy S7 edges. From what we can tell, it seems as though Samsung is following Apple’s strategy after the iPhone found success by offering two models with different screen sizes. Will that same success strategy carry over into to the Android world? That remains to be seen, but Samsung garnered plenty of praise for last year’s Galaxy S6, giving the Galaxy S7 a lot to live up to.

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The HTC Vive won’t be going on sale until April of next year, but HTC’s virtual reality system can’t seem to go more than a few days without making the news. The FCC has given the Vive its seal of approval, listing the Vive’s headset, controllers, base station and link box separately on its site. No exact specifications or new images are revealed in the FCC listings, but they do contain images that show where the FCC labels will be placed on each device.

Last week we were treated to two images that showed off the updated HTC Vive headset and controllers, which will be unveiled at CES next week. Along with the new developer kits, HTC is also planning to shows off  “a very, very big technological breakthrough,” which is the reason why HTC chose to scrap the original December launch plans and move things back to April.

While there are quite a few VR players at the moment, there’s no real indication as to how big the consumer market will be until the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift go on sale in 2016. Everyone who’s tried the competing devices claims that the HTC Vive offers a more refined and immersive experience since the system can track your entire body and enable you to actually move around within virtual environments. If HTC and Valve can find a way to bring Vive to market at a reasonable price, it may become the product that pulls HTC out of the gutter in 2016.

Gallery

Source: 1, 2, 3 ,4

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Over the lifespan of the Amazon Appstore, Amazon has shown that it is more than willing to give away things. The company started with the Free App of the Day, but now frequently holds special promotions in which it offers customers the chance to get paid apps for free. Today is the beginning of yet another one of those promotions, in which Amazon is celebrating the holiday season by giving away more than $30 in paid apps for free.

The promotion includes some decent apps and games, such as Goat MMO Simulator and Batman: Arkham City Lockdown (for Kindle tablets). If you’re less concerned about games, then you might be interested in some of the other apps that are being offered. Three that stand out are AVG AntiVirus Pro, 2Do: To Do List and Sworkit Pro, the personal training and fitness app. All of these would regularly run you a few dollars, but are currently being offered for free.

The promotion runs through 11:59 PM PST tomorrow, December 27, so go and download your favorites now!

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We have to admit, the HTC One M9 isn’t the best Android phone of 2015, but it is a lot better than many. The phone features a 5-inch 1080p display, a decent 20 megapixel main camera on the back and an UltraPixel (4 megapixels for those who don’t speak HTC) front-facing camera which actually takes some incredible selfies – even in low light. While’s it’s aluminum unibody design didn’t change much when compared to the HTC One M8, the performance of the phone is dramatically better thanks to 3GB of RAM and its Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor. Somehow HTC’s engineers managed to tame the processor that so many other manufacturers struggles to keep under control.

But if you’re reading this article, you probably already know all this. You’re here because you purchased your HTC One M9 from your service provider and now want to unlock it so that you can take it on an international trip or switch service providers to get a better deal or better reception. We’re here to walk you through the process.

HTC One M9 SIM unlock process

To SIM unlock your HTC One, you will need your phone’s IMEI number, a SIM unlock code and a SIM card from an alternate service provider. The steps below walk you through how to unlock your One M9 by purchasing a SIM unlock code from htcsimunlock.com for $12.99, but you can also use androidsimunlock.com or other similar sites. Follow the steps below and your HTC One M9 will be SIM unlocked in a matter of minutes.

• Open the phone app and dial *#06# on your phone to get your IMEI number
• Visit a third-party unlocking service like htcsimunlock.com
• Enter your phone’s IMEI number and enter your payment details to purchase the code
• Your code will be emailed to you in less than 30 minutes
• Replace your phone’s SIM card with one from another service provider
• When the SIM is inserted into the phone, an unlock screen will appear
• Enter your HTC One M9 SIM unlock code
• Your HTC One M9 is now SIM unlocked!

In many cases, your phone will automatically recognize the network settings associated with the new SIM card you are using in the phone. If it doesn’t, you will need to manually configure the APN settings on the HTC One M9 to obtain a data connection.

NOTE: If you are trying to SIM unlock a T-Mobile HTC One M9, Android SIM Unlock offers an unlock service for phone which use T-Mobile’s Device Unlock app.

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The LG V10 isn’t the company’s flagship, but it sure is selling well in the US. LG is now reporting that within the first 45 days since the launch of the V10 in the US, 450,000 units have been sold. That puts it at an average of 10,000 units sold each and every day since launch, which is quite a feat for a phone that’s not a flagship.

The V10′s success is reportedly aided by growing demand for larger smartphone displays, particularly from younger users. The V10 makes it incredibly easy to capture and share photos and videos, making it very popular among younger generations that actively use social media. LG also says that the V10 has seen success with white collar workers in urban cities.

For some more info from LG on the success of the V10, follow the source link below.

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