58298821
submission
zacharye writes:
According to Apple, Samsung has stolen a number of key iOS features and design elements, and used them when making its Galaxy smartphones and tablets. Back in 2012 a jury agreed to some extent, and Apple was ultimately awarded nearly $1 billion in damages as a result. Now, Apple and Samsung find themselves in Judge Lucy Koh’s California court once again to argue over whether or not Samsung stole a different set of patents owned by Apple. Wondering exactly what Apple is claiming Samsung swiped in its Galaxy smartphones this time around? This post has everything you need to know...
57946303
submission
zacharye writes:
After all these years, battery life is still one of the biggest pain points when it comes to smartphones. Battery technology is always improving, of course, but not nearly fast enough to offset the various new tech that drains the juice from our smartphones. Especially where the iPhone is concerned, the phone’s design is also constantly getting slimmer so there is less space to fit a battery with each new generation. But don’t despair — we’re here to help...
57832667
submission
zacharye writes:
Using Google’s “don’t be evil” slogan in articles criticizing the technology giant’s hunger for private data is a pastime tech bloggers and journalists have long since worn out. Yes, we know Google is an advertising company. Yes, we know nearly every single product and service in Google’s massive portfolio is used in part to collect personal data from the company’s massive user base. Yes, we know that data is then used to build profiles of each Google user. And yes, we know those profiles are used to serve targeted advertisements. But if Google is "evil," then being evil truly is fantastic for users...
57376319
submission
zacharye writes:
Internet trolls are not a new phenomenon, but people have yet to find a way to effectively stop these woeful web goers from spoiling the fun for the rest of us. They flood forums, blogs, news sites, social media networks and any other page that supports open discussions with the deplorable goal of ruining any hope of meaningful conversation. Trolling is obviously annoying and sometimes even exasperating, but many people don’t realize that it’s much worse than that. As noted in a recent report, we now have actual scientific proof that trolls are ruining the Internet...
57097361
submission
zacharye writes:
Are you constantly streaming high-definition video, downloading tons of Xbox One games and sending massive files to friends and family? You should pay more for Internet access than your neighbor, who only uses a 10-year-old PC in his living room to read email and occasionally browse the Internet for cat GIFs. This is the position of Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam, who said this week that heavy broadband users should have to pay more for home Internet access than those who don’t take full advantage of the service for which they already pay top dollar...
56852555
submission
zacharye writes:
Who runs the Internet? Is it Google, the global search leader that trades fantastic free services for borderline frightening insights into user behavior? Is it Apple, whose iPhones and iPads are reportedly used to connect people to the Internet more than any other mobile devices on the planet by a massive margin? Is it the Illuminati? According to a new feature from the team that taught us how to disappear online, there are actually six organizations that secretly run the Internet and you might not have considered any of them...
56851791
submission
zacharye writes:
The battle for the future of digital wallets is still in its infancy and there are still no clear winners in the United States. What is clear, however, is that NFC-based solutions haven’t seen the widespread adoption some industry watchers had expected. The lack of a universal solution and the cost of upgrading merchant terminals are both huge barriers, and they may never really be overcome. As such, several companies are looking for ways around these limitations by coming up with solutions that work with current equipment. One example we covered recently is Coin, which is building a one card to rule them all solution. Now, another contender called Loop has released a novel product it hopes will change the way we pay for goods and services...
56819859
submission
zacharye writes:
The “iPhone vs. Android” debate is an odd one but it’s also quite prevalent among technology enthusiasts, so we cover it often here on BGR. Among the more interesting aspects of the debate are the perspectives shared by users who jump from one camp to the other and then share their thoughts; since we use both mobile platforms constantly here at BGR, the occasional outside commentary is interesting. In the past, we covered an account from an Apple fanboy who couldn’t stand using the Nexus 5 even for a full 24 hours, and we also found a more level-headed anecdote from someone who switched from the iPhone 5 to the Galaxy S4 for six months. Now, a Silicon Valley investor and marketer has shared his thoughts on Android after switching from the iPhone a few weeks ago...
56675445
submission
zacharye writes:
Last week, we wrote about five Android apps that do amazing things the iPhone just can’t. There are countless clear benefits to owning a smartphone powered by Apple’s mobile platform but the simple fact of the matter is that the restrictions imposed on third-party apps inevitably leads to limitations. There are also good things about Apple’s approach to third-party apps, of course, and we think Apple’s mobile software ecosystem is easily still the best in the business. As good as it is, however, there are some amazing Android apps out there that remind us why Google’s open approach has some real advantages. Here are five more apps that really show us how amazing and creative developers have gotten with Android...
56638085
submission
zacharye writes:
Last year ahead of Apple’s iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c launch, lines began forming outside Apple stores weeks in advance. At the time, we thought it was pretty crazy that anyone would line up that far in advance to buy a cell phone — but now we know what crazy really looks like. A Japanese man named “Yoppy” says he has already lined up to buy Apple’s unannounced iPhone 6, which isn’t expected to launch for another seven months...
56606803
submission
zacharye writes:
I had one single thought the first time I held Apple’s iPhone 5s in my hand: I want a bigger display. As I have covered here on BGR several times, most extensively in my review of the phone, the iPhone 5s is both Apple’s best iPhone yet and its least significant iPhone update thus far compared to the previous-generation model. Performance improvements in most use cases are barely perceptible compared to the iPhone 5, and there really isn’t much useful new functionality to speak of. The iPhone 5s is still a great smartphone, mind you — the best of the year in 2013, in fact — but it isn’t the huge “S” jump iPhone users have grown accustomed to over the years. And compared to other leading smartphones on the market, the iPhone’s 4-inch screen is painfully small. Size matters....
56378795
submission
zacharye writes:
Have U.S. Internet users’ worst fears just been realized? A new report from iScan Online programmer David Raphael claims to confirm that Verizon, which you might recall helped lead the charge against net neutrality regulations, has begun limiting the bandwidth utilized by certain websites for its FiOS Internet subscribers. In a blog post on Wednesday, Raphael shared a troubling account of issues that his company had been experiencing with service slowdowns. After digging into the problem he finally contacted Verizon customer support, which seemingly confirmed that the ISP is throttling bandwidth used by some cloud service providers including Amazon AWS, which supports huge services including Netflix and countless others. As BGR has learned, however, this is in fact not the case...
56338167
submission
zacharye writes:
T-Mobile’s chief executive John Legere is a marketing genius. There’s no denying it. His antics have made a carrier that no one really cared about a few short years ago the talk of the tech press on a regular basis. What’s more, consumers are listening — T-Mobile added 4.4 million net new postpaid subscribers last year. In the fourth quarter of 2013, T-Mobile netted 869,000 new postpaid customers while it’s self-proclaimed top rival AT&T only gained 566,000 net postpaid subs. Make no mistake about it, those are phenomenal results and T-Mobile is, without question, the most important wireless carrier in America right now. That said, it’s time to clear the air. With tricky marketing and CEO Legere’s constant barrage of shocking commentary, T-Mobile has managed to convince U.S. consumers that it has eliminated cell phone contracts. Simply put, this just isn’t true...
56141805
submission
zacharye writes:
Can you negotiate the cost of cell phone service just like pay TV and Internet service? Thanks to pressure from T-Mobile, the answer might be yes...
55887043
submission
zacharye writes:
We see plenty of iPhone users switch to Android for a period of time and then write about their experiences. For example, we recently read an account from an Apple fanboy who couldn’t stand using the Nexus 5 even for a full 24 hours. We also see plenty of stories from Android enthusiasts who try to stomach the iPhone for a period of time. These stories are often written from the perspective of fanboys on both sides, however, so they rarely offer much substance. One iPhone user took to Reddit on Thursday to describe his experience using Android for six months though, and he provided an uncommonly succinct and level-headed account of his impressions after moving back to his iPhone 5...
