Latest news

Google has released a new map and blog post highlighting cities that may be next to get the company's gigabit Fiber Internet.

The Internet, which is available currently in Kansas City and Austin, allows for download and upload speeds of 1,000 Mbps, astronomically higher than the average American ISP speeds of 5-15 Mbps.

Google is now inviting 34 cities (housed within eight metro areas) to try out Google Fiber. The lucky cities are:

A new campaign on the crowdfunding site Indiegogo is looking to raise $50,000 so they can turn the online Wikipedia into a million page, 1000 book physical encyclopedia.

The ultimate goal is to "print the complete English Wikipedia in 1,000 books and display them at a public exhibition. Containing the most volumes and edited by the largest number of contributors the printed edition will be a work of record breaking dimensions. Furthermore the exhibit aims to honor the countless volunteers who have created this fascinating trove of knowledge in little more than ten years."

A small group of developers are behind the project, which has not gained traction yet, with only $2050 in funding so far to date.

The group says "We'll fit the complete English Wikipedia in approximately 1,000 books with 1,200 pages each. All volumes will have continuous page numbers, so the last article could as well be on page number 1,193,014."

When put on display, the book shelf will be over 35 feet long, and the company says the books will be printed in greyscale or in full color if they can get funding above the $50,000 goal.

Check out the interesting campaign here, especially if you'd like to donate.

Organizers of the annual 'Game Developers Conference' have released the "state of the industry report," surveying devs and publishing upcoming themes and thoughts for the video game industry.

The report surveys 2600 "game industry professionals" in North America, all of which have been GDC attendees.

As expected, the push to smartphones, tablets and back to PCs remains in full effect, with over 50 percent planning to release their next game for iOS, Android, Windows Phone, PC or Mac.

Unfortunately for Nintendo, that kind of love is not being given to the Wii U, with only 4 percent of those polled planning to release their next game for the struggling console. 20 percent were planning for the PS4, with 17 percent planning to release their next game for the Xbox One.

Nokia has continued to tease its upcoming Android-powered smartphone, the Nokia X (codename Normandy).

The teaser images do little but tease that the device is coming, not revealing any specs.

One of the images (attached) shows a pirate treasure map and a green "X," not-so-subtly marking the spot of the treasure.

Interestingly, the company posted the images on Weibo (the Chinese equivalent of Twitter), suggesting the device will head to Asia first, as previously rumored.

The rumored specs for the device suggest that the X will be a low-end phone, with a 4-inch TFT display (480x854 resolution), a 1GHz dual-core Snapdragon 200 processor, a 5MP camera and Android 4.4 with Nokia's own suite of apps, including the possibility of a Nokia app store rather than Google Play.

HTC has sent out invites for a media event on March 25th where they will unveil their next flagship smartphone.

The announcement will be for the company's "primary flagship for 2014" and the event will actually be two simultaneous events in London and New York.

Luckily, via a plethora of leaks, we know that the device will be an upgraded version of the One, likely with a larger screen and the same dual-sensor camera as the One.

Additionally, HTC will unveil the latest version of the Android UI "Sense," which is expected to refine old features and add some new and unknown features.

Microsoft, in an effort to bring some recognition to its newly renamed OneDrive (formerly SkyDrive) cloud storage solution, is offering free space to mobile users and other new users.

The company is giving away up to 8GB of extra cloud space if you are using a Windows Phone, iOS or Android device or if you are a brand new user.

All new users get 3GB to start, but the rest is available if you refer a friend (easy to do) and you get 500MB for each friend you refer (similar to how Dropbox works).

In addition, the company has started a promotion where you can possibly win 100GB free for a year: "To celebrate the official launch of OneDrive, today we will also give 100,000 people 100 GB of free storage for 1 year. That's 10 PB of free storage--enough storage space for a photo of everyone on the planet. If you want to be one of those 100,000, keep an eye on @OneDrive for clues."

Last year, Transit Wireless started bringing Wi-Fi and cell service to New York City's bustling subway system.

Starting in March, 40 more stations will get the treatment including some of the most popular in the city: Grand Central Terminal and 34th St. Herald Square.

The rollout is expected to be completed by June and will give millions of annual subway riders access to their T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon and Sprint service, along with Wi-Fi.

"Hundreds of millions of new annual subway patrons will soon receive the benefits of having all the major wireless carriers AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, Sprint and Wi-Fi service in underground stations – including Queens. This is a huge benefit to all the visitors and tourists that come to New York City every day," said William A. Bayne Jr., CEO of Transit Wireless. "We are not only extending our network to all underground stations in Queens and additional stations in Manhattan, we are setting the stage for future innovations that will provide riders with an enhanced experience in the New York City subway system."

Samsung, which is set to unveil the device at their 'Unpacked' event on February 24th, is said to be adding a fingerprint sensor to their upcoming Galaxy S5 flagship.

The device will feature a 5.2-inch screen with an over 500 ppi, one of the sharpest in history.

In addition, the phone will use a 20MP camera sensor, and have improved battery life.

Perhaps most notably, the S5 will have a fingerprint sensor embedded in the home button, just like the new iPhone 5S. Slightly different, you will have to swipe your button over the button, rather than just placing your thumb on the home button like with the iPhone. The phone will also warn you if your finger is too wet for a reading.

The mock comes via Sonny Dickson.

Sony has revealed that the company has sold 5.3 million PlayStation 4 consoles as of February 8th, well ahead of its projections.

Earlier in the year, the company said it hoped to sell 5 million units by the end of the quarter, but it has easily surpassed that milestone with over 5 weeks to spare.

Next week, the console goes on sale in Sony's backyard, Japan, which should lead to another large boost in sales. So far, the console is available in North America and across Europe and Latin America.

Microsoft has seen strong sales for their new Xbox One, as well, but it appears to be falling back significantly with unit sales at 3.4 million (most recent estimate).

Nintendo's Wii U, released in November 2012 giving it a one year head start, has only seen 5.7 million unit sales, with the PS4 expected to surpass it next week.

Thanks to a new report, we have video proof that Microsoft's upcoming Windows Phone 8.1 software will bring a swipe keyboard to the platform.

Android fans will be familiar with keyboard, which allows users to swipe their fingers across the keyboard to easier type. Additionally, the keyboard adds better word prediction.

The most popular keyboards are SwifyKey and Swype, both of which have premium apps.

Windows Phone already uses 'Word Flow' for suggestion and prediction, so Swype/SwiftKey would be a nice addition to the operating system.

Check the teaser video here:

Harmonix, the creators of the once-popular 'Rock Band' series have unveiled an interesting new concept for their latest game, 'Chroma.'

The multi-player first person shooter is a sci-fi game that allows gamers to fight opponents as usual but with one huge difference: the game is based on its soundtrack.

Weapons shoot musical tones, and all combat and movement are based on the music of the soundtrack. Levels change as the music does, and you can choose weapons based on sounds.

"It's a very different headspace than most shooters," said Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos in an interview, "and on some level much more about creation than destruction."

The game is currently in alpha but will be released as a free-to-play model on Steam later this year. You can demo the alpha here.

According to the WSJ, Foxconn may begin manufacturing TVs in the U.S. in the near future.

Last month, chairman Terry Gou said the company was "studying the feasibility" of opening a plant to build TVs in the U.S. Now, the idea is gaining traction: "We have many big projects in the US coming up. For instance, is it possible to make our 120-inch TVs in Taiwan and ship them over? It's impossible. We have to make them on site."

Foxconn is already a major partner for American-based Vizio, but the company's displays are manufactured in Asia. The two companies recently unveiled a 120-inch 4K TV at CES, and Gou's latest comments seem to suggest that such a design would require an American plant.

The manufacturing giant recently announced plans to open a $30 million R&D plant in Pennsylvania that includes an additional $10 million investment in research at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Mellon University.

Giant online music streaming service Spotify is preparing for an IPO, say new reports, going public in a deal that could value the service as high as $8 billion.

The IPO is expected for early next year, and Spotify is already working on proper financial disclosures for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Job listings on LinkedIn and in the company's careers section are looking for an "External Reporting Specialist," one whose job would be to "prepare the company for SEC filing standards. Set up all reports necessary to be SEC compliant."

Spotify declined to comment on an IPO but did say that "as Spotify grows and becomes a more mature company we are looking for people who can help us keep our financial reporting in order and up to global standards."

The company recently raised $250 in funding, making it easily one world's most capitalized startups.

Apple has finally opened their first retail store in Brazil, a nation that has one of the fastest-growing smartphone populations.

CEO Tim Cook tweeted "obrigado" (thank you very much in Portuguese) to all those that visited the new store in Rio de Janiero.

Brazil is a key emerging market, and will host the World Cup over the summer and then the Summer Olympics in 2016.

According to local papers, the grand opening saw over 1700 people to the store in a suburban area mall.

Hurdles to entry into the nation have been high, due to steep import tariffs that have brought prices of high-end Apple iPhones to over $1200. Apple has started producing some devices in Brazil to reduce prices, but the the 16GB unlocked Wi-Fi iPhone 5S will still sell for $1174 at launch.

'Obrigado' to everyone who visited our new store in Rio de Janeiro today and to our terrific customers across Brazil! pic.twitter.com/3nFPxN4m3Y

-- Tim Cook (@tim_cook) February 15, 2014

According to Tech in Asia, cloud syncing service Dropbox is now unblocked in China after having been trapped behind the Great Firewall since 2010.

Besides the standard personal cloud syncing, the report confirms that publicly sharing files is also available.

Despite the site being back, it is doubtful that many in China will use it given the slow speeds to overseas servers and the general disinterest in the service compared to local offerings.

Services such as those from Tencent and Baidu, offer higher speeds and more space, some as high as 1TB compared to Dropbox's 2GB for free.