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Verizon Wireless has announced a new option for phone buyers, same-day shipping if you live in Philadelphia.

If you place an order before 10AM online during weekdays, you can have the phone delivered before 7PM that same day.

Same-day shipping does come at a premium price, $19.99, but Verizon was already charging $14.99 for next-day shipping for those in a rush.

The pilot program will roll out to New York City, San Francisco, Dallas, and Pittsburgh soon, as well.

Marvel is reportedly looking to extend their programming significantly, creating original shows for streaming services.

The report claims that Marvel has four different original TV shows and a miniseries totaling 60 episodes, that it will shop to Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and others.

At this point, the initiative is still in its first stages, and there is no word on which characters the shows are based on or who will play said characters.

There is little doubt that original programming from Marvel will sell for a premium given the returns Marvel's movies and shows have brought in the past five years.

One of the most prolific software pirating scene groups, LineZer0 (Lz0), has retired from the scene this week.

First launched in 1999, the group says a four-year old leak has compromised their security and sent the group to an early retirement after over 30,000 releases. The group stuck mainly to software and games for handhelds like the iPad.

TorrentFreak reports that over the weekend, somebody in the scene released information "that was obtained as part of a security breach against Lz0 in 2009." Most of the data was related to long since closed sites and pirates that have left the scene, says the group, but they decided still to shut it down. "We've shared a long and fun road, and we're sad that this is how it ends," Lz0 noted.

Although the scene will miss the crew, another 10 groups will likely show up in its place.

Ubisoft has announced that it is delaying the launch of its highly anticipated 'Watch Dogs' game until next spring.

The game had originally been set for release on current-gen consoles on November 19th and on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One during their launch periods.

"We know a lot of you are probably wondering: Why now?" Ubi notes. "We struggled with whether we would delay the game. But from the beginning, we have adopted the attitude that we will not compromise on quality. As we got closer to release, as all the pieces of the puzzle were falling into place in our last push before completion, it became clear to us that we needed to take the extra time to polish and fine tune each detail so we can deliver a truly memorable and exceptional experience."

In addition, Ubisoft says it is delaying their racing game 'The Crew' until next spring, as well.

Ubisoft did not respond to questions as to what would happen to Sony and Microsoft pre-order bundles with the game. It appears that those customers will likely be offered a plain console instead.

Nintendo has another certified hit on their hands, the latest in the blockbuster Pokemon franchise; Pokemon X and Pokemon Y.

The company says they have sold over four million copies in just 48 hours of availability around the world.

Says the gaming giant: "...when combining and comparing regional data for previous launches, Pokémon X and Pokémon Y would be the fastest-selling Nintendo 3DS games of all time and are tracking ahead of the last Pokémon RPG titles, Pokémon Black 2 and Pokémon White 2, by more than 70 percent."

The previous fastest-selling Pokemon titles were Diamond and Pearl, which hit 1.75 million units sold during its launch week in 2006.

There have been 34 million Nintendo 3DS handhelds sold to date, so the 4 million number is certainly significant given the small time frame. Nintendo has sold 245 million copies of Pokemon, starting with the original in 1996. The best selling is Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl, at 17.63 million for the DS followed by Pokémon Ruby and Pokémon Sapphire at 16.22 million for the Game Boy Advanced.

A new Financial Times report claims that struggling smartphone maker HTC will build the oft-rumored Amazon phones.

Three devices are supposedly in development, with one "in the advanced stages" and near completion.

None of the devices are expected for this year, but 2014 seems like a strong possibility, says the report. One of the devices is expected to use a 3D interface, although little is known about what features it will employ.

HTC would not comment but did say, "We have been very focused on building our own brand, but we have also been very open to co-branding and collaborating with carriers and other technology brands."

The company could certainly use a victory, just weeks after it reported its first ever quarterly loss.

Apple has confirmed they will be holding an iPad press event on October 22nd, two weeks after the date was leaked by multiple online sources.

The company is expected to have a busy day planned, unveiling the Retina iPad Mini, the fifth-gen iPad, new Macbook Pros, and the release date and price of the powerful desktop Mac Pro.

In the invitation, Apple has left the tagline "We still have a lot to cover," giving credence to the fact they are expected to have lots of the aforementioned announcements.

The iPad Mini with Retina will likely be the biggest announcement, as the tablet is also expected to include the new Touch ID fingerprint scanner. The iPad Mini, a thinner, lighter 7.9-inch version of its flagship tablet, has become a huge hit since its launch last October.

As with most Apple launches, the tablets will likely go on sale on October 30th, a week after their unveil.

According to new a Juniper Research whitepaper, mobile device users continue to leave their phones and tablets unprotected from malware.

In fact, as much as 80 percent of smartphones remain unprotected, says the report.

This year, 325 million phones will have mobile malware protection installed, but Juniper believes that number will jump to 1.3 billion by 2018.

Android has become a major target for malware makers, due to its more open nature when compared to iOS and Windows Phone. Fortunately for the criminals, Android is the most popular operating system in the world, by a long shot.

After months of leaks, HTC has finally officially unveiled the HTC One Max.

The device boasts a 5.9-inch 1080p LCD display and HTC has kept the same aluminum look and feel of the smaller One smartphone.

Under the hood is an older 1.7GHz Snapdragon 600, 2GB RAM, 32GB internal storage (with a microSD slot for expansion) along with free 50GB Google Drive storage and a 3300mAh battery. The device also includes the UltraPixel camera from the One.

Making the device different is a fingerprint scanner on the back, which will allow you to log in using your own touch. So far, reviews have panned the scanner, claiming it does not work on par with Apple's Touch ID scanner.

The device runs on Android 4.3 with HTC's own Sense 5.5 user interface.

Apple has announced today that Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts will be joining the company as a senior vice president and member of the executive team, reporting directly to CEO Tim Cook.

Ahrendts will be in charge of "strategic direction, expansion and operation of both Apple retail and online stores," says the press release.

"I am thrilled that Angela will be joining our team," said Cook. "She shares our values and our focus on innovation, and she places the same strong emphasis as we do on the customer experience. She has shown herself to be an extraordinary leader throughout her career and has a proven track record."

"I am profoundly honored to join Apple in this newly created position next year, and very much look forward to working with the global teams to further enrich the consumer experience on and offline," said Ahrendts. "I have always admired the innovation and impact Apple products and services have on people's lives and hope in some small way I can help contribute to the company's continued success and leadership in changing the world."

Sony PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida has confirmed that the upcoming PSP Vita 2000 model will lose Sony's own proprietary charger.

In its place will be a standard microUSB, which should allow for easier charging (and cheaper replacement chargers).

Sony has been moving towards standardized ports recently, on their smartphones and smartwatches.

The PCH-2000 model is so far only available in Japan.

Check the post here:

PS Vita 2000を使っていて何気に嬉しいのはMicro USBでスマホの充電器で充電出来ること。#充電ismylife pic.twitter.com/LvYhCbSKkB

-- Shuhei Yoshida (@yosp) October 13, 2013

Sony has announced today that it will produce Netflix's latest original program, a one-hour psychological thriller.

The news is huge for Netflix as Sony is the first major Hollywood studio to produce original content for the streaming giant.

"We're willing to do different things and bet on the future," adds Steve Mosko, president of Sony Pictures Television. "We're pumped up--it's a challenge to show a major studio can be in business with one of these services."

There are little details known about the show, but the creators say it will explore "the complex bonds between parents and children, brothers and sisters, and the rivalries, jealousies, and betrayals at the core of every family."

Other studios are also said to be in talks to produce new content for the streaming service, including Fox and WB.

Although we have the letter available online, BlackBerry will post a message to its loyal users in 30 major news publications tomorrow spanning 9 countries.

The company hopes to calm down frazzled consumers and investors who literally have no idea whether the company will even exist when they wake up tomorrow.

BlackBerry is quick to back their security, productivity, EMM and social networking potential.

The letter in its entirety:

To our valued customers, partners and fans,

You've no doubt seen the headlines about BlackBerry. You're probably wondering what they mean for you as one of the tens of millions of users who count on BlackBerry every single day.

We have one important message for you:

You can continue to count on BlackBerry.

How do we know? We have substantial cash on hand and a balance sheet that is debt free.

We are restructuring with a goal to cut our expenses by 50 percent in order to run a very efficient, customer-oriented organization.

These are no doubt challenging times for us and we don't underestimate the situation or ignore the challenges. We are making the difficult changes necessary to strengthen BlackBerry.

One thing we will never change is our commitment to those of you who helped build BlackBerry into the most trusted tool for the world's business professional.

Nokia is looking to boost Lumia sales in the UK by offering freebies including a subscription to Netflix.

One British retailer, 4u, is offering six months of free Netflix to Lumia buyers while major carrier Vodafone is offering up to 12 months of free Netflix depending on which Lumia you purchase.

"Nokia's Free Netflix Subscription promotion in conjunction with Vodafone and Phones 4u in the U.K. is just one example of a sustained program of marketing activities for the rest of year," a Nokia representative noted. "Nokia will continue to invest significantly in promoting its Lumia 1020 flagship devices in all media channels as well as working closely with our operator and retailer partners to deliver campaigns and propositions across our entire portfolio."

The company did not reveal what other promotions they would be offering with Lumia sales.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has announced this week that the government is working on a new secure email system that will shield official emails from spying by the NSA and other countries.

"We need more security on our messages to prevent possible espionage," Rousseff added.

The president has ordered the Brazilian Federal Data Processing Service, (SERPRO) to implement the system throughout the federal government. The agency has already created secure systems for online tax returns and is also in charge of new passports.

"This is the first step toward extending the privacy and inviolability of official posts," Rousseff noted. Rousseff recently filed official complaints against the NSA and other intelligence agencies at the United Nations General Assembly. The president's official communications were revealed in the media following leaks by Edward Snowden.