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Indian smartphone maker Intex has unveiled its Aqua Octa device, powered by MediaTek's latest octa-core chip.

The Aqua runs on a MediaTek 1.7GHz MT6592, which allows for all 8 cores to be active concurrently. The device has a 6-inch 720p display and 2GB RAM.

Running on Android 4.2.2, the phone has 16GB internal storage (microSD slot), 13MP/5MP cameras, a 2300mAh battery and 3G connectivity along with all other standard radios.

The phone is currently selling for 19,999 INR (about $320 USD) but will likely never leave Asia given its lack of LTE support.

Lenovo has unveiled a whole new lineup of smartphones, meant to offer something for every would-be device owner.

Starting with the phablet, Lenovo's 6-inch S930 has a polycarbonate body, a 720x1280 LCD IPS display, a MediaTek 1.3GHz quad-core processor (28nm process using four power-efficient ARM Cortex-A7 cores).

Additionally, there is 1GB RAM, only 8GB internal storage (with microSD), and dual 8MP/1.8MP cameras. The device should last all day with a 3000mAh Li-Polymer cell battery. The phablet will sell for $319 off-contract and includes dual-SIM capabilities, which is a sold price for those who want a large screen but otherwise mediocre specs.

The new 4.7-inch 540x960 Lenovo S650 is powered by the same 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6582 chipset, 1GB of RAM, 8GB internal storage, dual-SIM and dual 1.8MP/8MP cameras, but with a smaller 2000mAh battery and no stereo speakers. The device will sell for $229 off-contract.

According to a new research report published by Tulane University Law Professor Glynn Lunney, illegal file sharing has helped lead to more hit music for record labels and artists.

This is a sharp contrast to what the RIAA and other trade groups believe, with their claims that piracy leads to billions of dollars in losses every year.

Lunney says file-sharing actually encourages the distribution of existing music, and is in line with current copyright law. His latest research paper, "A Case Study of File Sharing and Music Output," looks into how file sharing leads to more hits for artists.

According to TorrentFreak, the paper "shows that the output from existing artists increased, while new artists appeared less frequently in the hit charts. However, since the new material from existing artists was greater than the loss from new artists, the "creation" of new music increased overall."

Earlier this week, AOL completed the sale of Winamp and Shoutcast, ending a month-long search for a new owner after the company had announced it was going to shutdown the popular media player and radio service.

AOL saw a storm of outrage after they announced Winamp would be shut down in December, with Change.org even getting its own petition to have the software open-sourced and kept alive.

The acquiring party is Radionomy, a Belgium-based aggregator of online radio stations.

Radionomy may not be a household name, but it does have 6000 stations in its catalog, with anyone allowed to create their own. Shoutcast, by comparison, has over 50,000 stations in its catalog.

According to a new report, Sony may be considering releasing a Windows Phone this year.

Sony currently builds high-end Android devices under the Xperia brand name, and the report says any Sony Windows Phones may be branded under "Vaio," the electronic maker's branding for Windows laptops.

Allegedly, Sony and Microsoft/Nokia have had discussions about such a phone, and Sony has even revealed designs for a prototype.

Negotiations hinge on licensing fees and preloaded software requirements, says the report, and could fall apart.

Windows Phone continues to take global market share, albeit at a slow pace, due to Nokia's Lumia line, which can start with very good global GSM phones for as cheap as $80. Most other OEMs have dropped out of Windows Phone since Microsoft's acquisition of Nokia's hardware division.

Pebble, makers of the Pebble smartwatch, will have a "big announcement" on January 6th at the upcoming CES event.

The smartwatch maker, which set the Kickstarter record for funding last year, will make the announcement at 11am PST/2pm EST with CEO Eric Migicovsky taking the stage.

Pebble recently announced the open of their developer portal which will lead to a dedicated app store, which was huge news for the device.

It is unclear what the new announcement will be but most speculation is it will be a second-generation Pebble with an updated design.

The current devices sell for $150.

Chinese security firm Silenstd has posted proof that the Nokia Lumia 920 has been jailbroken.

Silenstd posted a video sent to them from a Chinese hacker called "POANDSOUL," who is allegedly creating a Cydia-esque app store for the Windows Phone platform. Cydia is the popular app store built for jailbroken iPhones and iPads which allows for developers to create apps that do not have to go through Apple's stringent rules.

The hack can be enabled through the phone's micro USB port, and will not require hardware mods.

If real, it could be a game changer for Windows Phone, which is a well received operating system that cannot really compete with Android or iOS due to lack of apps.

Samsung has begun offering a new massive 110-inch Ultra HDTV in South Korea that will go on sale around the globe soon with a price tag of $150,000.

The TV is the size of a king-sized bed and the Ultra HD resolution has 8 million pixels, four times that of 1080p displays.

China and the Middle East will get the device in the next 30 days, say the reports, followed by other major nations in the "next 9 weeks."

While consumer demand is not expected to be too high, especially given the price tag (not to mention the size) but Samsung is also targeting government agencies and other corporations that need large displays for video conferencing.

Even so, Samsung says it has already received 10 orders for the set in the Middle East.

Netflix has confirmed that it is testing a single-user standard definition streaming plan that will cost $6.99 per month.

The standard streaming plans cost $7.99 per month and allow users to to watch SD and HD streams on two devices at one time.

TechCrunch notes that the plan will likely be used primarily by smartphone users, where an SD stream will not make too much of a difference from an HD stream given the smaller screen.

Netflix does say that while it is testing the service, there is a chance that it will not go live for everyone.

HTC has released a long and thorough infographic explaining the update process for your Android devices and why they usually take a really, really long time.

Titled "The anatomy of an Android OS update," HTC shows off either the 8, 9 or 12 step process to get an update and includes carrier device updates, unlocked device updates and Google Play/Nexus edition updates.

One of the biggest criticisms of Android has been its fragmentation, exemplified by Android 2.3 (which was released in early 2011) still having 24 percent share of the Android market.

Check the infographic here:

After being unveiled at the Nokia World 2013 event in October, Nokia's 6-inch Lumia 1320 has gone on sale in China this week, soon to be followed by Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and others.

The device features a 6" 720 x 1280 pixel supersensitive IPS-LCD panel with Gorilla Glass 3 protection and 245ppi. Under the hood is a 1.7 GHz dual-core Snapdragon 400, 1 GB of RAM and a tiny 8 GB of internal memory that will need to be expanded with the microSD slot. The 1320 has a 5 MP camera with flash on the back but no front-side camera.

For connectivity, the device has 4G LTE and HSPA+ capability along with all other standards. To power the massive screen, the 1320 has a 3400 mAh battery.

Roku set-top boxes, popular due to their small size, relatively cheap prices, and access to numerous streaming services like Netflix, Hulu Plus, Vudu, League Pass and many more, have been rooted, at least temporarily.

While the company is open to developers and custom channels, the hardware itself has stayed secure and locked down; at least until this week.

The GTVHacker team known for cracking the Google TV software found a way to root the Roku 2 and Roku 3 and run its own commands as root. The team says they used development password field to get in.

Roku 2 boxes remain rooted even after reboots due to a modification of the initial boot loader. The Roku 3 requires the commands every boot due to having updated software. The Roku 2 will be able to run XBMC once it is ported, which the team expects will be rather soon.

According to a new Der Spiegel report, the NSA's elite hacking unit (TAO), in collaboration with the CIA and FBI, intercept deliveries of laptops and other computer accessories in order to implant spyware, keyloggers and other hardware bugs.

The TAO can divert deliveries to "secret workshops" through a method called interdiction, where the devices are then bugged by trained agents. US intelligence agencies then have remote access to the machines.

Although it is unclear which Americans are being targeted, one popular product the NSA is using is a USB "hardware implant" which they have been using since 2009.

Der Spiegel came upon the information through internal NSA documents. NSA agents order the bugs and other tools through a "mail-order spy catalog" which offers backdoors into both the hardware and software of nearly all major computer and computer parts makers like Cisco, Juniper Networks, Dell, Seagate, Western Digital, Maxtor, Samsung, and Huawei.

As longtime Netflix users know, the films and TV shows available via the streaming service change regularly.

For the period of December 29th to January 4th, however, many of the most popular films on the service in the U.S. are set to disappear.

TV shows seem to have been spared for the most part with the exception of a handful, but over 75 of the most popular films will expire (most on January 1st).

Here is the list (via Reddit):

LIST APPLIES TO NETFLIX USA STREAMING MARKET:

----------TV SHOWS--------------
EXPIRING JANUARY 1, 2014
Dark Shadows (original from late 1960s)
Saturday Night Live The 2000s
Mr Bean
The Kids In The Hall
Perfect 10 Model Boxing (Volume 1)

-----------MOVIES-----------------
EXPIRING DECEMBER 29, 2013
Transformers Dark Of The Moon

EXPIRING JANUARY 4, 2014
Alice In Wonderland (1951 Disney)
Immortals
Dynamite Warrior

EXPIRING JANUARY 1, 2014
The Rundown
Brick
Being John Malkovich
Back To School
Battle Of Britain
Born On the Fourth Of July
Braveheart
Body Of Evidence
Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo
Man On The Moon
Lionheart
1492 Conquest Of Paradise
Killer Klowns From Outer Space
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
FX
Do The Right Thing
Desperado
Up In Smoke
Can't Hardly Wait
Capote
Biloxi Blues
Seed Of Chucky
Jarhead
As Good As It Gets
In The Name Of The Father
Inside Deep Throat (documentary)
I'm Gonna Get You Sucka
In Like Flint
Hard Target
Foxy Brown
Frankenstein And The Monster From Hell
Gallipoli
Half Baked
Flashdance
50 First Dates
For The Love Of The Game
The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas
The Bad News Bears
The Russia House
The Secret Of Nimh
Revenge OF The Ninja
Roman Holiday
Rob Roy
Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back
Remo Williams
Requiem For A Dream
Quigley Down Under
Pumpkinhead
Platoon
Once Upon A Time In Mexico
October Sky
Mystery Men
The Skulls
Titanic
Ronin
Romeo And Juliet (1968)
Tales From The Crypt: Bordello Of Blood
Tales From The Crypt: Demon Knight
The Woman In Red
Top Gun
Street Fighter
TNT Jackson
Serpico
Seed Of Chucky
Scary Movie
Running Scared
Troll II
True Grit (1969)
War And Peace
Talk Radio
War Games
We Were Soldiers
What Dreams May Come
Windtalkers
World Trade Center
The Private Life Of Sherlock Holmes
The Odd Couple (1968)
The Mask Of Zorro
The Great Train Robbery
The Faculty
The Dream Team
Best Of Times
Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot
Species

Nokia has posted their thirteen favorite Windows Phone apps for 2013.

As posted by the top Windows Phone maker (with little surprises):

BBC iPlayer

What is it? The official mobile app for BBC television and radio

Why it's a favourite: This, the official iPlayer app for Windows 8 phones, came out back in May and has been going strong since: it's a fantastic resource for UK TV and radio fans, with wifi and 3g streaming (though not live streaming). Lovely interface, great content.

Angry Birds Go!

What is it? A racing game

Why we love it? This is Mario Kart with feathers: the Angry Birds have gotten wheels and, we guess, an appropriate amount road rage. It's 3D, you can play as the Birds or the Pigs (oink!), there are special powers to unleash for each charcter, and a whole bunch of different tracks and game modes. More importantly for Birds fanatics, it's free! Get downloading pronto lest e beat you to the finish line...