If you’re in the US, and are planning to purchase the Lumia 950, here is some good news: Microsoft is currently selling the AT&T variant of the Windows 10 device at discounted rates in the country.

A quick look at the Microsoft Store website reveals that the handset is being offered for $549.00, which is $49.99 less than its regular price of $598.99. The Redmond, Washington-based company says that it’s a limited time offer, although there’s no word on when it will end.

In case you are waiting for the Windows 10 Mobile update for your older Lumia device, and aren’t aware, Microsoft has already announced that the update will only start rolling out “early next…

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Consumer electronics retailer Best Buy has started selling the Huawei-made Google Nexus 6P in the US through both its online as well as physical stores. As of now, only the 64GB aluminum variant is listed on the retailer’s website, carrying a price tag of $500.

That’s a $50 discount as the model usually retails for $550. In case you aren’t aware, Google Store also started offering a similar discount on the handset (as well as the Nexus 5X) last week.

As you might already know, the gold color model of the Nexus 6P isn’t available in the US yet. However, recent reports are suggesting that the variant – which is officially called as Nexus 6P Special Edition and is currently only available in Japan and India – will be launched in the country…

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Before I start with this week’s list, I want to address the common complaint in the comments section. The complaint is that we only include iOS apps most of the time, with not enough Android or Windows Phone apps.

So this is the reality: More good apps and games are made for iOS than either Android or any other platform. Not just apps, but good apps. The ones you want to download, the ones you’d expect on a ‘Best Apps and Games of the Week’ list. Big or small, most developers prefer iOS, either exclusively or as their initial launch platform. That’s just how it is and the sooner you accept that the easier this is going to be.

Secondly, Apple regularly highlights new and promising apps on the App Store in a way Google or anyone else simply does not. Often, I can find great new apps and games simply by opening the App Store whereas I have to scour the internet to see what new content was released on Android. Google does an absolutely appalling job of highlighting promising new content on the store. It’s like the company goes out of its way to highlight either mediocre or absolute garbage content most of the time. Just take a stroll of the homepage of the App Store and then the Play Store and you’d know what I mean. The Play Store simply does not have great content on the homepage and new good apps and games often get buried under terrible free and ad supported apps in lists. This makes finding whatever few new good apps and games that did release on Android even more difficult.

As for Windows Phone, I don’t really think an explanation is required. There simply isn’t anything worth mentioning. Again, that’s just how it is. Things might change next year with Windows 10 but for now we’ll be focusing on iOS and Android that do actually regularly get new apps and games.

Also, as for the list in general, we try to include only what we think is really good or worth mentioning. This isn’t really a list of everything that came out this week but only stuff that’s actually worth installing. Some weeks, there is just not enough good content being released, so the lists are shorter. Some weeks have plenty of good titles. That’s kinda out of our control. We might miss a few titles here and there, in which case you can mention it in the comments and if it’s worthwhile we’d include it in the next week’s list.

So with that out of the way, let’s get to this week’s list.

Focus by Firefox

Focus is a new content blocking app for iOS by Mozilla. It’s curious why the company would use the Firefox branding, since this is not exactly a browser on its own but helps block ads and web trackers within Safari. It can also block social trackers and even web fonts to improve performance. The app is free of cost.

Price: Free

Download: iOS

Adobe Post

Post is a new app by Adobe for creating what the company calls social graphics. The app comes loaded with templates, stock images, and fonts, which can be used to create beautiful looking images that can be used for promotional material.

Price: Free

Download: iOS

smartapp

smartapp helps you save on mobile data and talk time recharges by keeping a track of your usage and suggesting suitable plans. You can also use the app to recharge your prepaid or postpaid account. The app has an absolutely beautiful design, which in itself is worth trying it out. Unfortunately, it seems the app only works in India for now.

Price: Free

Download: Android

Copied

Copied is a clipboard app for iOS, which lets you copy text, images, and links and save them in the app using the convenient Notification Center widget. You can then go back to older saved clips and then copy them again. Convenient when you want to copy paste multiple items. The app is free but for $2 you can get cloud syncing of your clips, which sync on other devices when you copy on one, along with lists feature to organize them.

Price:

Download: iOS

Cut the Rope: Magic

Magic is the latest in the long running Cut the Rope series by Zeptolab. You’d think the game would be long in the tooth by now but the developers manage to make it fun and interesting somehow. In the latest one, you can change the form and size of your main character, which gives you additional abilities and different ways to collect all the stars and candy in the level. The visual design has also…

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Barring any surprises, there won’t be any new phones to hit the market before the year is out, so it’s time to determine which of the phones announced this year was best-received by our readers. We’ve selected some of the most deserving phones for the “Phone of the Year 2015″ title, we leave the rest up to you.

Note that many companies went for a two-pronged attack this year – a flagship and a flagship Plus – and we’ve picked the smaller of the two (the larger ones will get another poll next week). There’s no fixed upper limit for screen size, the LG G4, for example, has a 5.5″ screen, but that’s still smaller than V10’s 5.7”. Also, money is no object so we went straight to the flagships, mid-rangers need not apply.

Go ahead and cast your vote, you have a week to think it over. Afterwards we’ll unveil the results and crown the…

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As the New Year draws closer, we are all occupied gathering information and exploring leaks and rumors to get a glimpse of what 2016 has in store. But amidst all the digging and snooping around, a few new last-minute device announcements did manage to slip by.

Although only two, both handsets are quite interesting and have spiked fan interest. First up is the Xiaomi Redmi Note Prime. It is an extremely budget-friendly solution, but that doesn’t make it low-end. The Chinese OEM has pushed the envelope yet again with what is achievable on a shoestring budget with this $125 handset.

It features a 5.5-inch HD display and a Snapdragon 410 SoC with quad-core 1.2GHz CPU. Memory is set at 2GB for RAM and 16GB of onboard storage. The camera setup include a 13MP primary shooter and a 5MP one on the front. The Redmi Note Prime measures 154×78.7×9.4mm and weighs in at 185g. Last, but not least, if offers support for 4G and dual-SIM.

The other new announcement from this week is the YU Yutopia. It is the company’s first premium flagship device and was just recently unveiled in India. It boasts an aluminum unibody design with PureBlack front glass for an extra premium look. Underneath the hood is a Snapdragon 810 SoC, coupled with 4GB of DDR4 RAM and 32GB of storage with a microSD card slot. The Yutopia is equipped with a 5.2-inch QHD LCD with a contrast ration of 1000:1 and 91% coverage of the NTSC color spectrum.

The camera setup is also quite impressive. There’s a 21 megapixel Sony IMX230 camera on the back with phase detection autofocus and optical image stabilization. On the front is an 8 megapixel shooter. It boots Cyanogen OS 12.1, based on Android 5.1.1 and is powered by a 3,000 mAh battery. All of this is neatly packaged up into a pretty affordable bundle with a price tag of NR 24,999 ($375) and will be available exclusively through Amazon India.

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Xiaomi Redmi Note Prime

specs gallery

YU Yutopia

specs…

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It is often times hard to escape from the shadow of your sibling – this is especially true for a lot of budget-friendly handsets nowadays that are specifically intended to be a more-affordable substitute for their bigger brothers. The Huawei G8 that we recently reviewed finds itself in precisely this position. It is hard not to compare it to the Mate S and the G8 doesn’t have too many arguments there.

But, although the G8 is objectively inferior to the Mate S in almost every way, there is still one department where the budget-friendly model managed to best its flagship counterpart and that is battery life.

The Huawei G8 makes much better use of its 3000 mAh battery pack than the Mate S manages with its 2700 mAh one. The G8’s slightly thicker body might not be to everybody’s liking, but it did allow for that extra 300 mAh to be fitted and definitely contributed towards there respectable 70 hours endurance rating that it scored.

Seeing how the G8 is a dual-SIM device, you can also get 69 hours with a pair of network connections and 71 hours with only one, which is an impressive 9 to 11 hours more than the Mate S. It is also worth noting that the Mate S also has the benefit of a more power-efficient AMOLED panel, which means that the bulk of the superior battery performance can be attributed to a more efficient chipset (the Snapdragon 615 in this case) and also better power management.

Breaking the score down to its components, we find an impressive talk time of almost 28 hours. That is probably the one aspect in which the G8 treads in true flagship territory better than its high-end sibling – the Mate S. It is a huge difference between the two – and it might be a big deal if you still tend to use your phone to talk more than anything else. However, there is note to be made here – sadly, the G8 exhibited rather pool sound quality during our call test.

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Talk time

Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1 LTE
46:44h

Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro
33:20h

Huawei Ascend Mate2 4G
33:19h

Oppo R7 Plus
30:46h

OnePlus 2
30:29h

Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+
30:29h

Motorola DROID Turbo
30:09h

Microsoft Lumia 640 XL LTE
29:46h

Microsoft Lumia 640 XL
29:46h

Microsoft Lumia 640 XL Dual SIM
29:46h

Microsoft Lumia 640 XL LTE Dual SIM
29:46h

Nokia Lumia 1520
28:34h

Samsung Galaxy Note5
28:34h

HTC One (M8) for Windows
28:34h

Samsung Galaxy Note 4
28:31h

Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet LTE
28:25h

Sony Xperia Z5 Compact
28:23h

Huawei G8
27:44h

Huawei G8
27:44h

Samsung Galaxy S5
27:37h

Sony Xperia Z1
26:53h

Samsung Galaxy S6 active
26:29h

Motorola Moto X Play
26:28h

Samsung P6800 Galaxy Tab 7.7
25:45h

LG G3
25:38h

LG G Pro 2
25:37h

LG G Flex
25:19h

Sony Xperia T2 Ultra
25:16h

LG G2
25:15h

Samsung Galaxy A7
25:12h

Samsung Galaxy A7 Duos
25:12h

Huawei Ascend Mate
25:12h

BlackBerry Passport
25:12h

Motorola Nexus 6
25:03h

Samsung Galaxy A8 Duos
25:02h

Alcatel Hero
25:02h

Samsung Galaxy A8
25:02h

Oppo N1
25:01h

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo
24:52h

Sony Xperia Z Ultra
24:23h

Oppo R7s
24:03h

Apple iPhone 6 Plus
23:49h

LG AKA
23:20h

Sony Xperia Z3
23:13h

Meizu PRO 5
23:10h

Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE Dual SIM
23:09h

Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE
23:09h

Microsoft Lumia 640 Dual SIM
23:09h

Oppo R7
22:58h

Samsung P6200 Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus
22:42h

Motorola Moto E (2nd gen)
22:36h

Motorola Moto…

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It’s been yet another busy week in the mobile realm and as has become tradition, it’s time to look back once again and see what news captivated our collective attention in the past few days. We start off with Xiaomi – the Chinese OEM that seems to be on a never-ending winning streak lately. It just recently launched an updated version of its Redmi Note handset – the Redmi Note Prime, which somehow manages to pack even more value within the modest $125 price tag. With a Snapdragon 410 SoC, 2GB of RAM, a 5.5-inch HD display and a 13MP main camera, the device is meant to push the boundaries of budget-level offers yet again.

But the real treat everybody is actually looking forward to is the next flagship offer, courtesy of Xiaomi. The Mi 5 is definitely shaping up as a true-next flagship, boasting a 5.5-inch QHD display, 4GB of RAM, a 20MP shooter and Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 820 chipset. Initial leaks, however, also hint at a flagship price for the handset at $599 – still quite reasonable, considering its specs.

Microsoft has also been gathering a lot of attention lately and the Lumia 850 in particular. Codenamed Honjo, it is apparently Microsoft’s upper mid-range offer and is pending release shortly. Specs are still open to debate, but could include a 5.7-inch FullHD display and Snapdragon 617 SoC – quite an upgrade from previous rumors. Then there is also the 5.0-inch Lumia 650 to look forward to.

Of course, no week can go without mentioning Samsung. The Korean giant is keeping fans on its toes with more than one eagerly-anticipated devices. We recently got out hands on some exclusive renders and measurements of the upcoming Galaxy A9, which, along with subsequent leaks and rumors, definitely suggest a huge 6.0-inch display, inside a thin metal shell. Powering the device should be the new Snapdragon 620 SoC, which despite its mid-range nature, actually packs quite a lot of power. The A9 is definitely interesting, especially in the context of the upcoming Galaxy S7 flagship line. It has been popping up all over the place, but sadly, Samsung will apparently make us wait for the announcement a bit longer, as the S7 will likely be skipping CES 2016 in January.

In other news, the Yu Yutopia was officially announced in India this week, we caught a few early glimpses of the HTC One X9, as well as the new Motorola Moto X (4th Gen) and the invitation-free sales of the OnePlus 2 have finally kicked off, with rumors on a OnePlus mini in the works.

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Xiaomi launches Redmi Note Prime with 5.5-inch display, 3100mAh battery
This is the Chinese company’s second made-in-India handset after the Redmi 2 Prime.

Xiaomi Mi 5 listed on online retailer’s website with full specs
The flagship offer will be equipped with a 5.5 inch QHD display and a Snapdragon 820 SoC.

YU announces flagship Yutopia smartphone in India
Comes with the new ‘Around YU’ service that integrates multiple services into one app.

Microsoft Lumia 850 (Honjo) leaked in full glory
Golden trim on the outside frame and a front facing LED flash, as promised.

Another leak of the Microsoft Lumia 850, now in 4 color schemes
For all those who asked – a rose gold option is on the menu, too.

First photo of the Moto X (4th Gen) leaks, shows metal unibody design
Motorola is working on the fourth generation Moto X and a photo of its effort has leaked.

OnePlus 2 invite-free sales begin
Invite-free sales of the OnePlus 2 are now live. As of the time of writing, only the 64GB/4GB RAM version of the phone is…

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Business seems to be going well for BlackBerry over the last quarter (well, by the company’s recent standards) and it’s in no small part thanks to the Priv. A smartphone with its share of flaws as we established while doing our in-depth review, the BlackBerry Priv nonetheless manages to entice users, and our weekly poll results are in to attest that.

At 77% in favor, the general public opinion is pretty clear – the Priv has a lot to offer to offset whatever disadvantages it may have. Or at least a little something for anyone, be it the hardware keyboard, the BlackBerry-enhanced Android build, or the nifty sliding mechanism, which is a breath of fresh air in today’s realm of plain tile-like touchscreen phones.

But the non-believers were likely put off by the price tag, which is high, even as flagships go. Not strictly befitting a top-tier device, the BlackBerry Priv’s build is another area, where haters (or simply objective observers) can find grounds for complaint.

We can ponder all we want, but numbers are numbers, and 3 out of 4 people gave the BlackBerry Priv the thumbs-up. And even if our poll results don’t necessarily translate into unit sales, there may very well be a future to BlackBerry’s hardware division after…

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In a curious turn of events this week, the iPhone 5s has entered our Top 10 trending chart. Two generations old, Apple’s aging 4-incher hasn’t enjoyed such interest in all of this year, which is as long as we’ve been keeping tabs.

Now, it’s all the way down in 8th, with less than half of the daily hits of the winner, but that’s still comfortably ahead of the current iPhone 6s, which is in 10th.

The newly announced YU Yutopia has managed to make room for itself in between the iPhones. The Indian flagship looks mighty fine on paper and with a price of about $375 it’s a tough offer to top.

Climbing up the chart, we see the Samsung Galaxy Note5 in 7th for a third week in a row with the Galaxy Grand Prime a spot ahead – the phone has been a near permanent fixture in the chart since its inception. The Galaxy J2 has lost its podium position and has dropped two spots into 5th, while the Galaxy S6 has placed 4th this week.

The Galaxy J-series occupation of the podium from last week has been disturbed, but the new Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 was only good for third place. The Galaxy J7 rules yet again, and its customary runner-up J5 is where you’ve come to expect it to be.

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Samsung Galaxy J7
RANK: 1WAS: 1

specs review

Samsung Galaxy J5
RANK: 2WAS: 2

specs review

Xiaomi Redmi Note 3
RANK: 3WAS: 5

specs gallery

Samsung Galaxy S6
RANK: 4WAS: 6

specs review

Samsung Galaxy J2
RANK: 5WAS: 3

specs review

Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime
RANK: 6WAS: 4

specs review

Samsung Galaxy Note5
RANK: 7WAS: 7

specs review

Apple iPhone 5s
RANK: 8NEW IN

specs review

YU Yutopia
RANK: 9NEW IN

specs…

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Evernote has announced that it will be shutting down the Skitch and Clearly services. Skitch is a desktop and mobile app that allowed users to annotate images with text, arrows and other shapes and was extremely simple and convenient. Clearly, on the other hand, allowed those on desktop browsers to see a simplified version of the page to make reading easier. Both apps were very useful, so naturally Evernote is shutting them down.

The apps won’t be updated any longer and will be pulled from their respective stores on January 22. For some reason, the OS X version of Skitch will continue to be available for now, but the Windows, iOS, and Android version will get the axe.

Evernote’s argument is that some of the functionality of these apps is now included in the main Evernote app, but it just sounds like they just want you to ignore everything and just use the main app, even if it’s not exactly what you want.

Lastly, if you used Evernote on Pebble, then that will also be discontinued with Skitch and…

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