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Apple iPhone 5S owners are likely to get a software update in the coming weeks that will significantly improve the reliability of the TouchID fingerprint sensor.

While the sensor has generally strong reviews, more recently there have been complaints from iPhone owners that the reliability of their TouchID has diminished since they first purchased the device. A quick fix has been to delete the original fingerprint scan, and rescanning them to start fresh, but the issues seem to come back over time again.

With the new update, Apple is working on that "fade" issue, and it could be part of iOS 7.1 or its own update (7.0.7). 7.1 is expected to rollout towards the end of next month.

Moving forward for future iPhones, Apple is actively working on improved hardware sensors using AuthenTec technology it acquired in 2012.

Sony has decided to sell its former headquarters and the buildings surrounding it in Tokyo in its ongoing efforts to cut expenses and losses.

The sale would be the third in two years of iconic Sony buildings. The company sold its U.S. headquarters in NYC for $1.1 billion and another Tokyo building for $1.1 billion in the last year.

With an asking price of $146.5 million, the buildings house Sony's medical business and other back office operations. It was the company's headquarters from 1990 until 2007.

The area in Shinagawa Ward where the buildings are located used to be called "Sony Village" because the company owned over 10 buildings there. Sony founders Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuka moved to the area in 1947.

Sony recently forecasted a loss of $1.1 billion for the fiscal year thanks to devastating PC and TV divisions. The company has been selling assets and laying off employees to help shave costs, and will also spin-off its struggling divisions to focus on consumer electronics like the PlayStation and Xperia smartphones.

According to the latest mobile monetization report from app testing firm Swrve, a shockingly small amount of mobile gamers account for almost the majority of all in-app purchases.

In fact, just 0.15 percent of players account for about 50 percent of all in-app purchases, with these players being dubbed "whales" like counterparts in a casino that lose huge money to the house but always come back.

Digging deeper into the report, only 1.5 percent of players pay for any in-app purchases at all, which can include character upgrades, coins, new lives, virtual money, clothes, upgraded vehicles and more.

You can check the rest of the report here.

Facebook has confirmed that its Facebook Messenger for Windows service will be shutting down effective March 3rd.

The Windows version of Messenger had been around for over two years, and there is little explanation from the social networking giant as to why it is being shut down. Additionally, Facebook Messenger for Firefox will also end on the same day.

When trying to use the application, users are greeted with the message: "We're sorry, but we can no longer support Facebook Messenger for Windows, and it will stop working on March 3, 2014. We really appreciate you using Messenger to reach your friends, and we want to make sure you know that you can keep chatting and view all your messages on [ link ]

The app will remain available for iOS and Android, and a new Windows Phone app is on the way in the coming weeks.

ABC announced earlier this year that they would be live streaming the Academy Awards for the first time ever this year, but now we know the restrictions are vast.

To watch the stream, you will need to have a pay TV subscription from a supported provider, which include AT&T U-verse, Cablevision, Charter, Comcast, Cox, Verizon, Google Fiber, and Midcontinent but does not include Time Warner Cable, the nation's second largest cable company.

Restricting even further, the stream will be available in just eight cities: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Houston, Raleigh-Durham and Fresno.

If you are one of the few people who can access the live stream, the features should be pretty intriguing. You will be able to switch away from the main stage feed to other camera views of the "Winners Walk," "Audience" and "Press Room." If watching from a mobile device, there will be an ongoing stream of social media and a photo gallery.

A couple of weeks after @evleaks revealed the name and was mocked by an overzealous "Senior Global Online Communications Manager at HTC," the name of the upcoming codename M8 device as been confirmed by the smartphone maker.

The device will officially launch on March 25th at joint events in NYC and London.

In a teaser trailer, the M8 is referred to as the "All New HTC One," so it appears the company is looking to keep the name of its past flagship while reflecting the updating features of the new device.

The new phone is expected to keep a similar design to the original One, including the UltraPixel camera.

Nintendo has announced that it is shutting down the online services for its Wii and DS/DSi users.

The 'Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection' service will shut down on May 20th, leaving just the console's respective online stores but ending leaderboards, online play and more.

Reads the company's post:

As of May 20th, 2014, the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service will be discontinued and it will no longer be possible to use online features of Nintendo DS/DSi and Wii software such as online play, matchmaking and leaderboards.

The Wii Shop Channel and Nintendo DSi Shop will not be affected however, and will continue to be accessible after May 20th.

Amazon is reportedly in talks with the major music labels to start a streaming service that would be included in its Prime service.

The service will likely be very similar to Spotify, Beats, Google Play Music and others, but by being part of Prime, millions of subscribers will get the streaming service for free, rather than paying $5 or $10 per month.

Prime costs $79 per year currently, and gives Amazon buyers free 2-day shipping on millions of items, hugely discounted 1-day shipping, free access to Kindle books and free access to Amazon's video streaming service.

Although the e-commerce giant is in talks with the labels, sources say they are not close to a deal. The same sources says Amazon is looking for larger discounts than rival services have received.

While Prime is still $79 per year, Amazon suggested this year that the price of the service could go up to $99 or $119 in the future.

The studio behind the blockbuster 'Worms' franchise, Team17 Software, has created their first new IP since 2001, a game called 'Flockers.'

Managing director Debbie Bestwich made the announcement during Sony's most recent PlayStation Open Day.

A more complete unveiling of the title is set for next week, with the Open Day just providing a teaser.

Besides Worms, the last games Team17 put together were on the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2.

"This is the most important game we've worked on in over a decade," Bestwick added. We will update when we have more news.

Although there have been rumors since before the console even launched, Microsoft says it has no plans to release an Xbox One without Kinect bundled.

The motion sensor system is why the console sells for $100 more than the rival PlayStation 4, and many would prefer to pay less and lose out on the feature-set provided by the Kinect.

Before announcing a 30 pound price cut in the UK for the console, Xbox UK marketing chief Harvey Eagle said that Kinect is "integral" to the console. "[A Kinect-less Xbox One] is not in our plans at all," he added. "As we've said from the very beginning, we believe Kinect is an absolutely integral part of the Xbox One experience."

Currently, there are just a handful of games that require Kinect, so it is not integral to the gaming aspect of the console.

Google has confirmed that it did not bid for WhatsApp, the multiplatform messaging app recently acquired by Facebook for $19 billion.

There had been multiple reports that Google bid up to $10 billion for the company, but Google SVP Sundar Pichai has denied the claims.

Pichai did admit that the company spoke with WhatsApp in the past in an effort to have the companies work more closely: "Whatsapp was definitely an exciting product. We never made an offer to acquire them. Press reports to the contrary are simply untrue."

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says he got a great deal in acquiring the company, which currently has 465 million users. "I could be wrong. It could be the one service that reaches 1bn [users] and doesn't become valuable."

Japanese video game industry publication Famitsu is reporting that the PlayStation 4 is already a hit in the nation.

The company has sold 322,083 units in the first 48 hours of availability, adding to the company's 5.3 million sold in North America and around the globe to date.

Sony now expects to sell 12 million units by the end of 2014, making it a huge success. The company is handily beating the more expensive Xbox One, as well. In Japan, it is expected to be no contest, as Microsoft has historically had a very tough time competing there in Sony's home country.

For Japanese consumers, the PS4 is offered in its standard package for for ¥41,900 (~$405 USD) and a bundle with a PlayStation Camera and a free download of Knack for ¥46,100 (~$450 USD).

AndroidPolice has released some leaked pictures of an early prototype of Motorola's smartwatch.

The photos do not reveal too much but show off a standard square display with large bezel (and Moto logo), a rocker and a power button on the lower left of the watch. In keeping with Android, there is a capacitive "back" button on the face.

On the other photo, we can briefly see the settings screen which includes a developer mode, giving credence to the fact that it was an early dev prototype.

Also tough to see is the icons on the rocker, one of which looks like a microphone with the other looking like a person. It is a possibility that one is for fitness and the other is for Google Now or other voice activation features.

More recent rumors have LG building the Google Now smartwatch for release in June at the company's I/O conference.

Minecraft creator Markus 'Notch' Persson has announced that the original version of the game has reached 100 million registered users.

More importantly, Persson says 14.3 percent of all the users have converted over to paid accounts.

You must register for a free account before you can demo the game or purchase the full version.

It is significant to note that the 14.3 million copies sold is just for Windows and Mac. On the Xbox 360, the game has reached 10 million copies sold, and the "Pocket Edition" for mobile has reached 10 million sales, as well. On the Sony PlayStation 3, where the game is relatively new, there have been over 1 million copies sold.

I got an email. We've reached 100 million registered users on the original Minecraft. 14.3% conversion rate to paid accounts. Wow. :D <3

-- Markus Persson (@notch) February 25, 2014

Even though sales have fallen off a cliff and the entire Nook division is failing, it appears Barnes & Noble will still be releasing a new tablet.

The new tablet will not be built internally, however, as the company works on deals with OEMs.

"The company is actively engaged in discussions with several world-class hardware partners related to device development as well as content packaging and distribution," says CEO Michael Huseby.

B&N reportedly fired a significant amount of its Nook team earlier this year and during their recent earnings call confirmed that "staffing levels in certain areas of the organization have changed."

As with all of B&N's previous hardware tries, the company is really just aiming to sell more books that can be read through the excellent Nook app. The company had just $57 million in digital content sales, down 27 percent year-over-year from already dropping numbers.