Latest news

It appears that Amazon may have let the cat out of the bag on the Google Nexus 5, with the retailer listing a launch date for the smartphone alongside a Nexus 5 case.

The Ringke Fusion for Nexus 5 is available on the e-tailer's site, with a ship date of October 31st, teasing that the phone will made available on that same day.

Included with the listing is a render of the Nexus 5, just like the ones we have seen over the past month, but one that has not been confirmed by LG or Google yet.

The device is expected to feature a 5-inch 1080p display, a 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor, 2GB RAM, dual 8MP/2MP cameras and the new Android 4.4 KitKat.

Check the listing here: Ringke Fusion for Nexus 5

UK music retailer HMV has finally begun selling digital music, just months after emerging from bankruptcy after being purchased by Hilco, a retail restructuring firm.

HMV digital MD James Couglan said of the new store: "I'm excited to say that we're putting music ownership back into focus with the launch of our new digital music products. For the first time, music lovers have the ability to experience the traditional feel of HMV on the high street and have the option to discover and build a digital music collection, delivered and managed across devices, from HMV, the Home of Entertainment."

"An exciting vision is unfolding and I look forward to announcing further developments regarding our plans for 2014 in the coming weeks - this is just the beginning!"

As with other rival stores, you can download content directly from the app or the web store, and the music can be saved directly into your iTunes or WMP libraries.

The app is available now for iOS and Android.

LG has announced that their G Pad 8.3 tablet is now available in the U.S.

Among the powerful specs are an 8.3-inch WUXGA (1920 x 1200 pixels / 273 ppi) display, a 1.7GHz Quad-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 Processor, 16GB eMMC internal storage, 2GB RAM, dual 5MP/1.3MP cameras, Android 4.2.2 and a large 4,600mAh battery,

The device will sell for $350 and is now available online and will be available in-store at Best Buy starting on November 3rd.

"From its light weight to its sleek design, LG G Pad 8.3 is the ultimate complement to the Android smartphone experience," said James Fishler, senior vice president, marketing, LG Electronics USA. "LG G Pad 8.3 delivers top-notch viewing and entertainment for Android users with its impressive Full HD screen and useful, intuitive multitasking tools like those found in LG G2."

Some new LG-exclusive features:

Amazon has announced that its new Kindle Fire HDX is now up for pre-order in the UK and Canada.

The flagship tablet will begin shipping on November 14th in the UK and November 26th in Canada, and both will sell at a premium to the U.S. model.

For the 7-inch model, the pre-order price is $254 CDN/£199 and the 8.9-inch model, with more internal storage, starts at $284 CDN/£229.

The displays feature very nice resolutions, 1920x1200 at 323 ppi for 7" and 2560x1600 at 339 ppi for the 8.9" and under the hood are quad-core Snapdragon 800 processors running at 2.2GHz. Amazon boasts that they are the only company offering clock speeds above 2GHz.

In addition, the company has dropped the weight of the larger tablet to 13.2 ounces, 34 percent lighter than the second-generation Kindle Fires. The tablets will launch with Fire OS 3.0, which upgrades and improves on many of Amazon's popular features such as X-Ray, Cloud Collections and Goodreads. The company says battery life is much improved, as well, with up to 11 hours of mixed use, and 17 hours of reading.

Amazon has added dual stereo speakers with Dolby Digital Plus audio and virtual 5.1 multi-channel surround sound, and dual cameras, 2MP/8MP with 1080p video recording capability.

Vizo has unveiled the sequel to its Co-Star set-top box, dubbed the Co-Star LT.

The $80 box offers 1080p streaming, 3D, advanced HTML5 support and Vizio's Internet Apps Plus platform.

An interesting feature of the Internet Apps Platform is that it allows you to watch live TV while you browse through streaming apps like Netflix, Hulu Plus and YouTube allowing you to never not have something running.

Vizio says you can sync up your smartphone with select content, and the mobile device can then be used as a second screen, allowing you to switch between your TV and phone/tablet seamlessly.

"The latest generation of VIZIO Internet Apps Plus represents years of forward-looking development and design. Delivering more power through a new full-screen mode and enhanced multi-screen viewing features, the platform offers an incredibly intuitive and seamless entertainment experience," said Matt McRae, VIZIO Chief Technology Officer. "The Co-Star LT stream player's unique ability to integrate live TV and streaming apps, offers standard HDTV owners a simple upgrade option. One of the most advanced smart TV experiences on the market, the new VIZIO Internet Apps Plus platform also gives users access to the added convenience of second-screen interactivity."

Microsoft has unveiled its new GDR3 (General Distribution Release) for Windows Phone 8, showing off the features of the operating system.

The update will begin rolling out to Windows Phone owners later this month and continue until the end of the year, including a number of enhancements for future hardware.

GDR3 will offer Start screen support for screens between 5-7 inches, and can now support resolutions up to 1080p.

Additionally, the operating system will now support Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800 quad-core SoC, meaning future devices will be much more powerful.

On the software side, Driving Mode is now available, you can close individual apps within the multitasking menu, you can assign custom ringtones for texts and the "other" category within settings has been broken down into more specific categories.

Full press release here.

Lenovo has unveiled their first 8-inch Windows 8.1 tablet, the Miix 2.

The device has a 1200x800 resolution, has up to 128GB internal storage, and more importantly runs on the new efficient quad-core Intel Bay Trail processor.

On the front there is a 2MP camera and a 5MP camera, on par with other rival devices. Additionally, a full version of Microsoft Office Home & Student 2013 is pre-installed.

"Many users want the convenience of a smaller screen tablet, but do not want to lose the performance and convenience of a powerful, quad core Windows 8.1 device. With the Lenovo Miix2 8-inch, users can take advantage of a small, light form factor without sacrificing performance," said Bai Peng, vice president and general manager, notebook business unit, Lenovo Business Group. "The Lenovo Miix2 8-inch is a great example of how thoughtful design can deliver the best of both worlds."

Bloomberg has reported today that the rumored HTC Amazon smartphone could be made available only to Amazon Prime subscribers.

It was reported earlier this week that HTC would be the manufacturer to build the rumored Amazon devices, and that at least one of the three devices is close to completion.

Amazon has yet to confirm the existence of the devices or even their development and sources say the final decision on moving the project to mass production has not even been decided yet.

The company's Prime service costs $79 per year and gives members free 2-day shipping on millions of items as well as free access to the company's large streaming library.

Tim Cook took to Twitter to celebrate the approval of Apple's new 'spaceship' campus.

The Cupertino City Council unanimously approved the development plans, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2015. Employees will start moving into the new campus by mid-2016.

Construction had been slated to start last year, but was delayed by budget concerns and the required approval by the council.

Cook's tweet:

Our home for innovation and creativity for decades to come. Cupertino City Council Gives Unanimous Approval for Apple's New Campus

-- Tim Cook (@tim_cook) October 16, 2013

After a recent controversy in which Google was asked to explain why their Google Fiber Internet connection banned servers, the company has updated their terms of service to explicitly allow home servers.

The original ToS had banned business servers and a Fiber FAQ stated that the "use of applications such as multi-player gaming, video-conferencing, home security and others which may include server capabilities but are being used for legal and non-commercial purposes are acceptable and encouraged." The issue was that Google's Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) specifically said all servers were banned.

This has now been updated.

Reads the updated AUP: Customers can not "operate servers for commercial purposes. However, personal, non-commercial use of servers that complies with this AUP is acceptable, including using virtual private networks (VPN) to access services in your home and using hardware or applications that include server capabilities for uses like multi-player gaming, video-conferencing, and home security."

Despite reports that Microsoft was considering killing off the standard 'back' button in Windows Phone with the upcoming release of 8.1, the rumors are not entirely true.

The hardware requirement for the button is likely to disappear, but Microsoft will still replace that with an on-screen equivalent.

In addition, Microsoft is experimenting with removing the hardware requirement for Start and search, as well, as it will help OEMs save slightly on hardware costs. Those buttons will be replaced with virtual ones, as well.

The move will be well known to Android device owners, as they went through a similar transition starting in 2010.

Microsoft continues to test apps that use the back button to ensure functionality still works, before making a decision, say the sources.

Despite Microsoft ending support for its old Windows XP operating system, Google will not give up on their Chrome browser, issuing updates until at least April 2015 for XP users.

Google rightly notes that browsers are one of the major points of attack for malware, and keeping Chrome up-to-date might help XP users stay safe after Microsoft ends their security updates for the operating system.

Users with XP can only use up to Internet Explorer 8 if you want to stick with Microsoft, which is a heavily outdated browser in terms of functionality. Microsoft recently released IE11 for Windows 8.1.

Many business customers are still making the transition from Windows XP to Windows 7 (or in some rare cases, Windows 8), and Google's move may be a play on stealing away some Internet Explorer users while these transitions occur.

By most accounts, Windows XP is still the second most popular OS in the world, at around 30 percent share.

T-Mobile has confirmed that it will be retiring all grandfathered service plans and moving customers to its new Uncarrier/Simple Choice plans, along with new rates.

The carrier's statement:

"Maintaining thousands of rate plans is the norm in the industry, but we think it creates unnecessary complexity. Simple is better, which is why we're reducing the number of older plans in our systems. We're giving customers on these plans the opportunity to choose a plan that best meets their needs. For the vast majority, their plan will provide similar or better features at a comparable price."

Angry customers using plans from over five years ago have taken to forums to vent about the move, but the vast majority of customers will see little change to their current plans. In fact, T-Mobile has even discounted some plans for existing users, including one who posted the letter he received. (Below)

T-Mobile offers their Simple Choice Plan starting at $50 per month with unlimited voice, texting, international roaming and 500MB of 4G data (and throttled speeds after that).

Intel CEO Brian Krzanich says consumers should expect new lows in prices for their favorite electronics this holiday season.

The exec says he expects $99 tablets, $299 Haswell-based laptops, and $349 convertible hybrid tablets and laptops.

Bay Trail chips, the codename for the latest and most efficient processors, offer twice the built-in graphics capability and up to 50 percent better battery life than previous generation models and will be available by this holiday season.

"We continue to see touch adoption come along," Krzanich added, noting there will be 10 models available at $299 using the ultra-efficient chips.

According to the WSJ, Apple has slashed orders for the less popular iPhone 5C for the Q4.

Sources say Apple has told its two manufacturers to reduce orders, as it appears demand is not what was expected for the smartphone.

Apple released the iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S last month in 11 markets, with a global expansion expected for this month and next. The flagship 5S features a 64-bit processor and a fingerprint scanner and sells for $100 more the iPhone 5C, which has last year's specs but new colorful backplates.

Pegatron and Hon Hai (the parent of Foxconn) will cut orders by 20 and 30 percent, respectively.

In addition, a component supplier was reportedly told that iPhone 5C part orders would be cut by 50 percent, suggesting that shipments will likely slow well into the new year.

On the other hand, Apple has been quickly increasing iPhone 5S orders ahead of the holiday.