The Windows 10 update for the Microsoft Lumia 535 has started rolling out in the Middle East. Specifically, Lumia 535 users in Egypt and Jordan have reportedly confirmed the roll-out.

Sadly, no other information related to the update – including even the version number – is available at the moment. On its part, Microsoft is yet to formally announce the roll-out.

If you recall, there were reports last month that Windows 10 Mobile rollout for older Windows Phone device will finally begin in the “early to mid February” timeframe. So, the Middle Eastern roll-out is very much inline with that timeframe, and indicates that other regions (as well as devices) will get the update soon.

This comes nearly a month after the update started hitting Lumia 535 units in Latin…

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BlackBerry has announced that it has entered into a patent licensing agreement with Canon for what the company describes as “certain power charging technology used by Canon products.”

“Our agreement with Canon substantiates the value companies place on BlackBerry’s innovative and foundational power charging patents for mobile and consumer electronic devices,” BlackBerry said in a press release. “With the agreement in place, Canon can continue to incorporate convenient charging solutions in its exciting new products.”

While specific terms remain confidential, the Canadian company did reveal that the deal was signed in the month of November last…

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Samsung’s humongous Galaxy View tablet has received another price cut in the US. The 18.4-inch device now costs just $449, which is $50 down from the price tag it has been carrying for the past few months now.

The discount is available on Amazon, but it shows up when the device is added to cart. Other third party retailers including Best Buy and B&H Photo are also selling the over-sized tablet for $449.

The latest discount comes a few months after the Galaxy View received a $100 price cut in the country, something which happened just a couple of weeks after the tablet was launched in the US.

Source 1 2…

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Apple has revealed that its Apple Music service now has more than 11 million paid subscribers. The revelation was made by company executives Eddy Cue and Craig Federighi in a recent interview.

That number was at around 10 million last month, meaning the Cupertino-based company added a million new Apple Music paid subscribers in the past one month.

Aside from Apple Music, stats on various other Apple Internet services were revealed. For example, iCloud has 782 million users; the company processes a whopping 200,000 iMessages per second; and 750 million worth of iTunes and the App Store purchases per…

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If you recall, for the past few months, Apple and the US Justice Department are battling it out in court over whether the government can force the company to unlock the iPhones the latter is capable of. Now, the Cupertino-based firm wants the judge to settle the case soon.

If you aren’t already aware, the current case involves Justice Department’s request to force Apple to extract data from a locked iPhone that the government agency wants to investigate. The device in question is an iOS 7-powered iPhone 5s, meaning Apple is capable of what the agency wants, but is reluctant fearing that doing so will tarnish the trust between the company and its customers.

In a newly submitted letter, Apple has argued that the government is planning to make similar requests in future, so it’s important for both parties to know what the court thinks, and that too without any further delay – the case has been dragging on for nearly 3 months now.

“Apple takes no position on whether and to what extent information from the Apple device in the government’s possession is relevant to any ongoing investigation, or necessary for the criminal defendant’s sentencing. But Apple has received additional requests similar to the one underlying the case before this Court. Apple has also been advised that the government intends to continue to invoke the All Writs Act in this and other districts in an attempt to require Apple to assist in bypassing the security of other Apple devices in the government’s possession,” the company said in its…

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Another HTC smartwatch rumor, and guess what… another delay. Just when we thought that the Taiwanese company would launch the long-rumored (in fact very long-rumored) device this Mobile World Congress, a new rumor is claiming otherwise.

Back in December last year, the usually reliable leakster @evleaks said the wearable would be launched in February. But now, he is claiming that would happen in April.

Small consolation, HTC fans: you’ll be able to pick up the watch before the end of April.— Evan Blass (@evleaks) February 11, 2016

Meanwhile, there has been no word whatsoever on the device or its release time frame from HTC. FYI, rumors that HTC is developing a smartwatch first cropped up in 2013. So far, from what we’ve heard, it’s an Android Wear-powered device with 360x360px display, and is codenamed…

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A new LG phone has been spotted on benchmarking website GFXBench. The listing reveals that the device is powered by a Snapdragon 625 chipset and sports a 5.3-inch Quad HD display.

It has 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal memory. In terms of camera, both front as well as rear units are listed as 8MP, although we’re expecting the main camera to be better. As for the operating system, the listing says the handset runs Android 4.4 KitKat, which is definitely a mistake of some sorts.

The smartphone carries a model number of H840, suggesting it could be a variant of the South Korean company’s upcoming LG G5 flagship (LG-H830) – LG G5 Lite may…

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The official BlackBerry store is offering a couple of cool offers for this Valentine’s Day weekend on the BlackBerry Priv. Up until February 24, the US and UK BlackBerry stores will be offering the BlackBerry Priv in black for a discounted price of $650 or £529.

The deal is sold as a bundle so it also includes a complimentary set of accessories for your BlackBerry Priv at a value of $99 or £74.

These accessories only include a smart cover case and a sync station that doubles a phone stand. Still, it’s a great offer even with the discounted phone.

Also, the BlackBerry Passport can be purchased for $399 or £349 in either black or white.

Source: BlackBerry US UK |…

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Amazingly, Google’s Picasa photo service still exists. You probably thought that with the big launch of Google Photos last year Picasa would have been put out of its misery, but no. Not then, anyway.

After a long time of analyzing the situation, the search giant has finally decided to “retire” Picasa and focus on Google Photos. Which obviously makes perfect sense, unlike running two different photo services at the same time. That said, Google still hasn’t actually said when Picasa will be gone forever, just that the process will take several months.

The Picasa desktop application will no longer be supported starting on March 15. It will keep working after that date, but won’t be updated anymore. On the other hand, the web service will remain unchanged until May 1. And even after that, you’ll still be able to view, download, or delete your albums, you just won’t be able to create, organize, or edit albums anymore.

Perhaps rather confusingly, you can always go to Google Photos and see your photos and videos from Picasa over there. Since this is the case, it’s really unclear why it’s taking Google this long to shut down Picasa for good. Anyway, expect some more news about this on or around May…

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Skype has been getting ready for the Valentine’s Day weekend, and with the latest updates for its Android, iPhone, and iPad apps it comes with some new love-themed features.

An all-new Love tab brings you emojis and emoticons specially crafted for the occasion (including a new set of emojis featuring custom compositions from Sir Paul McCartney, which should help you “express different forms of love through music”). And if you want to share other emotions, you can do that more easily too by searching through the various available emojis and emoticons.

Furthermore, you can record a special Valentine’s Day video message, complete with floating hearts as seen in the image above. According to Skype, this will “help set the mood”. And if you’re particularly proud of your creation, you can share it via email or to Facebook to make it more generally available.

To do the video deed, you tap on the new heart symbol which shows up on iOS to the right of the Skype logo inside the app, and on Android after you hit the “+” button in the…

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