The Android 6.0 Marshmallow update for the unlocked units of the HTC One M8 smartphone is ready to roll out in the US. This was revealed by the company’s VP of Product Management Mo Versi on Twitter.

HTC One (M8) unlocked owners! Great news, all testing has been complete and the update for Marshmallow will be sent out within 24 hours. Thx— Mo Versi (@moversi) December 2, 2015

When asked about the Marshmallow update for the One M9, he replied that the update is being readied, and should be arriving soon. It’s worth mentioning that HTC had previously said that both One M8 and One M9 devices in the US will receive the update before the end of the year.

As for the carrier versions of the M8, Versi said the Taiwanese company is “working with all of them closely” to get the update out “as soon as possible.”

For users in Europe, while there has been no official word yet on when the One M8 Marshmallow update will arrive there, the usually reliable leakster LlabTooFeR has said that it will begin rolling out in a couple of…

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This summer, a reversible micro USB cable called Micro-Flip hit Kickstarter. The campaign promised to design and manufacture a micro USB cable with pins on both sides that’ll fit into a micro USB port regardless of the direction it’s inserted.

The cable is capable of charging at up to 2.4A and is fully compatible with Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 2.0. It also offers a built-in fuse that will protect devices from damage in case of spillages or splitting that can lead to shorting of circuits.

Pledgers have received an email update today that shipments are being fulfilled as we speak and shipping notifications will be going out over the next couple of days.

If you want one, you’re out of luck, the campaign is closed and orders are no longer being taken.

Coincidentally, there is another campaign on Indiegogo offering a similar product with a rather similar name (MicFlip), which is also shipping its products as we speak.

Be sure to check out the original campaign video on the Kickstarter page for Micro-Flip, and check out the Indiegogo campaign for…

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Today Google has brought two more of its apps to the Play Store for Android. Contacts and Phone are part of Google’s version of Android, the one it ships on the Nexus line for example. But up until now, in order to issue updates to these apps, the company had to make them part of a new Android software rollout.

That’s no longer the case, now that both Contacts and Phone are to be found in the Play Store, with updates handled in this much more convenient way. And, as a matter of fact, the two apps’ debut in the Play Store coincides with them receiving some new features.

For example, Phone has added call blocking, as well as a slightly enhanced in-call UI. Also, the dialer will display the nickname instead of the name for any contact you have given a nickname to in Google Now. And if your carrier supports Google’s visual voicemail iteration, you’ll get a voicemail count from now on.

The Contacts app comes with “streamlined editing”, which should make changing contact information easier than before.

The Phone and Contacts apps by Google only work with Android 6.0 Marshmallow. For now, devices that have them preinstalled can update them, but it’s unclear whether you can install either of them on a non-Nexus…

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Microsoft Lumia 950 is the firstborn of the new Lumia series, following the company’s strategy shift. It’s a precisely designed smartphone with clear ideas for its future, sharp hardware choices and groundbreaking software innovations. It’s an epic device based on Nokia’s legacy and reborn under Microsoft’s custody.

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Following a similar move in Germany, Samsung has confirmed that it will stop selling and marketing digital cameras, camcorders, and related accessories in the UK.

A company spokesperson mentioned that a decline in demand for such devices in the UK has led to this outcome. “This is a local decision, based on local market conditions”, the person goes on to say.

And yet a the exact same thing has happened in Germany less than one month ago, with lack of demand being cited as a reason for that move as well. Prior to all of this a rumor stated that Samsung would simply stop making digital cameras altogether. Another mumbling spoke about the company ceasing sales in all of Europe, and this seems to be happening indeed, albeit one country at a time. So we assume such news will make it to other European territories sooner rather than…

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App Annie, an analytics platform for apps, has put out a report for Q3 of this year that crowned Spotify as the number 1 music streaming service in the world on both Android and Apple phones.

Because Apple Music is still pretty new, it does not appear in any top 10 lists in the report at all, however, with Apple Music’s recent release for Android, it has the potential to gain some more subscribers on Android. Apple music can also potentially convert millions of customers who still listen to digital downloads via iTunes.

Pandora, dethroned by Spotify, now holds the #2 spot worldwide, followed by SoundCloud and TuneIn Radio tied for #3. Interestingly, Spotify does not hold the #1 spot in its home country of Sweden.

The report goes on to compare rankings of music services in major markets like France, Japan, Canada, UK, Sweden, and the US, among others.

Streaming services have exponentially grown in the past few years as the new way to listen to music. Apple Music has a long way to go before taking Spotify’s spot, a music platform that’s existed for more than 5 years.

Source |…

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Screenshots of Android 6.0 Marshmallow running on the Samsung Galaxy S6 have appeared online. The screen snaps reveal a slightly redesigned TouchWiz UI, which features more white space. From the current batch of screenshots, the setting toggles in the notification panel show the most major change. They’re now on a grey background and are colored in blue.

There’s no new information for the release of the update. An alleged Samsung Marshmallow update roadmap suggests the Galaxy S6 will see the Android 6.0 update some time next month alongside the Galaxy S6 Edge.

Here are the leaked screenshots in question.

Samsung Galaxy S6 running Android 6.0 Marshmallow

Samsung Galaxy S6 running Android 6.0 Marshmallow

The Samsung Galaxy Note 5 was updated for just one lucky owner not too long ago, too. Samsung reportedly plans to issue the update for the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ this month.

Source (removed) |…

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British multinational banking and financial services firm HSBC has said that Taiwanese company TSMC will be the exclusive manufacturer of Apple’s A10 SoC. The chipset is expected to power the Cupertino-based company’s next generation of iPhones (the iPhone 7 series).

This is inline with some of the earlier reports that echoed the same sentiments, while also noting that the chip-maker will begin the mass production of the A10 in March next year. It’s worth mentioning that the A9 chipset used in the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus was manufactured by both TSMC and Samsung, with the former’s variant outperforming the latter’s in some benchmarking tests.

HSBC also noted that the A10 exclusivity will translate into $300 million in sales for the Taiwanese chip-maker next year, and around a billion dollars the year after. The company’s overall revenue is expected to increase by around 8% in…

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The next season of the A-Team is on! Samsung just unveiled the new Galaxy A7, A5 and A3, which add OIS cameras, fingerprint sensors and support for Samsung Pay’s magnetic strip card emulation.

The new Samsung Galaxy A series will launch in China first in mid-December, the global expansion will later on. Pricing has not been mentioned yet.

Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016)

The Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016) is the biggest of the bunch, since there’s no A8 yet. It boasts a 5.5″ Super AMOLED screen with 1080p resolution and an octa-core processor running Android 5.1 Lollipop.

The bezels around the screen of the new A-series have been shaved off, making the phones impressively narrow. Their bodies are constructed of metal and glass, just like the flagship Galaxy S and Note series. The Galaxy A7 measures 7.3mm thick (thicker than both the old A7 and A8) and weighs 172g (that’s heavier too).

Samsung Galaxy A7

On the plus side, the battery is now bigger at 3,300mAh battery and it supports Fast Charging. You get an extra gig of RAM, 3GB total, though the storage stays at 16GB. Good thing Samsung kept the microSD slot.

Also, the 13MP camera has a wider aperture, f/1.9, and features OIS. The selfie camera also has an f/1.9 aperture, that sounds like the Galaxy S6 setup.

The Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016) has a fingerprint reader and Magnetic Secure Transmission (the tech to emulate magnetic strip cards). The new chipset brings LTE to Cat. 6 speeds (300Mbps, double what the old A7 got), a dual-SIM option will be available.

Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016)

This one has outgrown its predecessor, it comes with 5.2″ Super AMOLED display with 1080p resolution (old A5 screen had a 5″ 720p screen). The old quad-core processor has been left behind in favor of an octa-core one (Samsung is stingy with exact chipset model). RAM and storage remain at 2GB and 16GB respectively.

The Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) is thicker too, 7.3mm up from 6.7mm, and heavier, 155g up from 123g. The battery has grown too, 2,900mAh.

Samsung Galaxy A5

It uses the same camera as the A7, 13MP with OIS on the back and 5MP on the front. A fingerprint reader and Samsung Pay with MST are on board too. The Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) will come in dual-SIM flavor as well.

Samsung Galaxy A3 (2016)

The Samsung Galaxy A3 (2016) got the biggest upgrade of the three. The wimpy qHD screen has been replaced with a bigger 4.7″ Super AMOLED unit with 720p resolution.

Also, the camera bump to 13MP is significant, both it and the 5MP selfie cam have f/1.9 apertures (no OIS here, though).

Samsung Galaxy A3

The processor remains at four cores and the RAM at 1.5GB, same for the storage – 16GB. The battery goes up to 2,300mAh, once again at the cost of thickness (7.3mm) and weight (132g). Dual-SIM will be available as an option, LTE is set at Cat. 4 (this is market dependent though).

The Galaxy A3 (2016) is the only member of the new lineup to lack a fingerprint…

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As fashionable thinness continues to stab battery life in the back, some turn to battery cases to get the longevity they need from their iPhones. There’s a promo going on at Amazon.com that will net you a new case for your iPhone 6/6s or an older iPhone 5/5s for about the same price as a few cups of coffee.

For the iPhone 6/6s Anker has a Premium Extended Battery case that adds 3,100mAh capacity, which should result in 18 hours of extra talk time and 13 hours longer browsing. The case can use a microUSB cable both for charging and syncing your phone, so you don’t need a Lightning cable.

The Anker case costs $27 using the 289K7RHW code, normally it’s $48.

For those with older devices, a Belkin Grip Power case can add 2,000mAh to an iPhone 5 or 5s. This one uses a separate microUSB port for charging and comes with an adapter so you can use your EarPods. Like the ZeroShock, this case boasts added shock-resistance.

The Belkin Grip Power goes down to $10 shipped with the MAQN2NV5 code (normally it’s…

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