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According to Lenovo CEO Chen Xudong, Google will finally bring the Google Play store back to China.

Google has had very limited exposure in China for the last few years after the company refused to censor its services, but with over 1.3 billion people in the nation, it's clear that the company sees some missed opportunities.

In the last year, Google has made clear steps to try to get back int he good graces of the Chinese government. The company has taken a stake in China's most popular AI and voice recognition companies, Mobvoi, and Google's most recent flagship device is built by Chinese smartphone giant Huawei.

Android has also long been the top smartphone platform in the country, although the market is massively fragmented due to the lack of one centralized store.

There is no word on when the store will return to China (and whether or not it will be censored) but Xudong's word suggests a time frame within months.

Source:
9to5Google

Google CEO Sundar Pichai has confirmed the location of this year's I/O event, as well as the date.

According to the executive, the event is headed back to its original location: the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View.

For anyone who may be interested in attending, I/O will take place from May 18-20.

There was little other details given, but I/O tickets normally move quickly given Google's propensity to give away big ticket items to anyone who attends.

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has noted this week that consumers sharing their Netflix accounts was "a positive thing" for the company.

Hastings explained that those who share accounts with paying subscribers often go on to subscribe themselves in the future.

"We love people sharing Netflix whether they're two people on a couch or 10 people on a couch," Hastings said. "That's a positive thing, not a negative thing."

As an example, Hastings noted that kids that grow up sharing their parent's accounts will eventually subscribe once they have grown up or have their own income and would like the ability to view on multiple screens without worrying that family is already using the service.

"As kids move on in their life, they like to have control of their life, and as they have an income, we see them separately subscribe," Hastings added. "It really hasn't been a problem."

T-Mobile CEO John Legere has taken to the T-Mobile newsroom to ease concerns that the carrier's new Binge On program violated basic net neutrality.

The basis of Binge On is that any customer with Simple plans can watch video from a number of providers and the data used would not go against their monthly caps. Additionally, all video you stream will be throttled to 480p, thus effectively limiting the amount of data you use, as well. There have been quite a few concerns about which video does not go against the cap and whether providers can get an unfair advantage by signing up for Binge On.

Here is Legere's full letter to the public in an effort to address those concerns:

Analysts in Japan have suggested that Nintendo will provide gamers with more information about its upcoming NX console this March ahead of an eventual launch in October.

It has been nearly a year since Nintendo hinted at the NX and we still have no idea what the console will bring to the table at this point.

Besides the first reveal in March, the Nomura Securities analysts claim that Nintendo will give a full reveal in June, almost undoubtedly during E3.

For now, there remain many, many questions about the console, some of which we hope will be answered soon.

This week, during CES, Google announced that YouTube will support HDR video, following in the footsteps of Amazon and Netflix.

Robert Kyncl, YouTube's Chief Business Officer, made the announcement while announcing a partnership with GoPro and its new 360-degree video.

HDR is the new fad in TV and video technology, promising improved video through expanded color palettes and contrast ratios. HDR picture quality, in theory, produces much richer colors and more realistic and natural images.

Of course, to be able to view the content you will need an HDR TV, but luckily, nearly every big manufacturer announced one this year at CES.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) have announced a massive technology overhaul for the world's biggest subway system, including Wi-Fi connectivity across all 278 stations.

Additionally, the MTA will add USB charging stations to subway cars and buses and MetroCard readers will eventually accept mobile payments, as well.

Cell service will be available by the end of 2017, so you never have to worry about missing a call when you are headed to work or home.

"The MTA is absolutely vital to the daily functioning of New York City, but for too long it has failed to meet the region's growing size and strength," Cuomo said. "This is about doing more than just repair and maintain -- this is thinking bigger and better and building the 21st century transit system New Yorkers deserve. We are modernizing the MTA like never before and improving it for years to come."

Source:
Capital NY

Apple Music's launch was far from the perfection we're used to seeing from Cupertino. Quickly Apple racked millions of users and by August 11 million users were trying out the service. But how many of these trials would never graduate to paid subscriptions?

Well, after the first batch of three month free trials, Apple's Tim Cook told that they've reached 6.5 million paying customers. Now according to unofficial sources the Apple Music has surpassed 10 million milestone.

Apple has yet to comment on the figures. The service seems to be racking more paying customers at a pace of a million a month. However, there's still a long way to catch up with industry-leading Spotify. Spotify has 20 million paying customers and a total of 75 million active listeners.

If Apple keeps up with the pace maybe we'll see the services compete for the first place in late 2016. Or is that too much to ask from Apple?

Microsoft is building its own cellular data service for Windows 10 devices, if their own app release can be trusted.

Reads Microsoft's new "Cellular Data" app for Windows 10:

Are you looking for a reliable, convenient way to stay connected everywhere you go, even when WiFi isn't available? The Cellular data app allows you to connect to a trusted nationwide mobile data network using only your Microsoft account.

Connect with – and pay for – a mobile data plan on your Windows 10 device using only your Microsoft account information.

That means no fixed contract and no long term commitments to a mobile network operator. Now you can buy and use mobile data at your own convenience. This is the easiest way to get online using a trusted nationwide network. Purchase a plan via Windows Store anywhere network coverage is available. The Cellular data app can get you connected at any time with a secure, high-speed mobile connection. This app is designed to work solely with specific Windows 10 devices and requires a Microsoft SIM card. Service is available in some markets and offers are for domestic plans only – international roaming offers will be available soon.

Candy Crush, the addictive mobile game still played by millions is now a trilogy.

Joining Candy Crush Saga and Candy Crush Soda Saga is 'Candy Crush Jelly Saga,' which builds on the same foundation as its two predecessors.

For fans of the series, however, there will be one minor change. To complete the level, you will have to spread jelly to every square on the field, rather than trying to get rid of it like in past games. Additionally, you will face off against the 'Jelly Queen' in a few levels which means fighting an AI opponent trying to do the same thing as you in turn-based combat.

Facebook has boasted an incredible figure for its Messenger instant messaging service: 800 million monthly active users.

"The Messenger team's mission is to make Messenger the best place to communicate with all the people and businesses in the world. I'm happy to report that we've made a good step in that direction, and towards the end of 2015, we crossed the milestone of 800 million people using Messenger each month. It's a good number, but we believe we have so much more opportunity ahead of us, and these are still the early days of Messenger," said Facebook in a recent post.

In 2015, the company spent a lot of money on improving Messenger, adding video calling, adding emojis, introducing Messenger for Business and other customization features. The company also got into the financial services world and began allowing users to send and receive money right through their chat.

At this rate, the service is likely to reach the billion mark in a matter of months, a major milestone for any service.

Over the past few weeks, there have been more and more reports concluding that Apple is set to get rid of the standard 3.5mm headphone jack from its upcoming iPhones.

By removing the port, it is expected that Apple can make the iPhone a tiny bit slimmer and, of course, they can boost their own bottom line as the new headphones will have to connect either wirelessly or via the proprietary Lightning port.

Apple fans are not happy about the rumored move (possibly because they already own expensive Beats headphones with a standard 3.5mm jack and have petitioned to stop Apple from dumping the connector.

The petition has 227,000 signers as of writing. That is a large figure given that the iPhone 7 is, at least, six months away from even being announced, but a tiny figure compared to the 100 million-plus iPhones the company is expected to sell in 2016.

If accurate, this would not be the first time Apple has double-dipped on its own customers. In 2012, the company got rid of its old proprietary 30-pin connector and replaced everything with the Lightning connector. Anybody who upgraded their phones and tablets then had to buy new charging cables and USB connectors.

According to multiple sources, Apple is working on completely wireless Beats headphones that will launch alongside the iPhone 7.

The headphones will not even have wires to connect the left and right buds and will, therefore, sit flush in your ears without ever tangling.

Motorola released the Moto Hint last year, which has a similar concept but includes only a single mono headphone.

Although everything is unconfirmed, the accessory is expected to include a built-in noise-cancelling microphone, allowing for phone calls and voice activation to Siri. Apple recently trademarked "AirPods" which gives a suggestion as to what the buds will be called.

For the time being there is no word on a suggested price, but these are expected to be the premium model of headphones Apple sells while they continue to include a free pair of EarPods with each phone.

Infamous Chinese game cracking group 3DM has warned that pirating PC games may be impossible in the near future.

"Bird Sister" of 3DM said "according to current trends in the development of encryption technology, in two years time I'm afraid there will be no free games to play in the world," The reason for the end of piracy is Denuvo Anti-Temper technology that protects DRM and stops even the best of crackers from editing any game files.

In fact, the recently released FIFA 16 and Just Cause 3 are still not cracked due to Denuvo, months after their respective release dates.

Denuvo is certainly excited with their results as director of marketing and sales Thomas Goebls added that they have "achieved good crack-free windows on every title we've protected" and "Due to our recent success in the past two years, some publishers are even considering releasing console-only titles for the PC platform."

First shown off last year at IFA, Samsung's new Ultra HD Blu-ray player is available for pre-order at $399.

The UBD-K8500 goes on sale in late February but you can order it now directly from Samsung or Amazon.

Design-wise, the 4K Blu-ray player looks very familiar to Samsung Blu-ray player owners except that this hardware can download 4K streaming apps, play 4K and 3D Blu-rays, and playback MP3s, MP4s, MKVs and more.