Amazon Will Launch Fire Phone 2 in 2016

Amazon never says die: The company is reportedly already developing a second iteration of its Fire Phone. According to VentureBeat, the e-retail giant expects to release the next-gen smartphone in 2016.

It appears Amazon has been planning another handset for months, but has "gone back to the drawing board" after watching its first attempt crash and burn, VentureBeat said.

Amazon did not immediately respond to PCMag's request for comment. But the company said in October that it will continue developing new Fire Phone models, hoping they will catch on like the Kindle e-reader, which was initially panned.

The company has been struggling to drum up interest in its 4.7-inch phone since its summertime launch; Amazon lost $170 million in the last quarter, and was left with an $83 million surplus in unsold phones. Even features like a 3D-esque parallax display and the "Firefly" identification software could not boost its sales.

Limp later blamed a too-high price tag; the AT&T exclusive launched at the standard $199 for the 32GB model and $299 for 64GB on contract, but was later dropped to 99 cents.

An off-contract, 32GB version is also available for $649; Amazon eventually lowered the price to $449, but couldn't manage to drive more sales. Last month, the cost fell further to $199 for a fully unlocked Fire Phone, but it is currently listed at $449 again.

About Anna Harris:
Anna Harris working as web content writer and a strategist for a major IT firm specialized in various mobile application development services for iOS, Android, Windows Phone and other operating systems.

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Top 5 Android Apps of 2014 According to Google

Now it's the time where we look back of the highlights of 2014. So, let's check out the list of the best Android apps of 2014.

 

Wunderlist: To-Do List & Tasks

This app was rated as Google Play's Editor's choice of the year. This app helps people in posting their innovative ideas, places to visit and even things to do. Get new and intuitive design which is further re-engineered to work faster than ever before.

Review

Free | Download from Google Play

SwiftKey Keyboard

This is an award winning app for keyboard, as it predicts the word that you are about to type. It has a smart autocorrect system and can also support more than 800 Emoji's. This app helps the users to type much faster in typing sms and chat. It has more than 30 colorful themes and several layouts alomgwith a support of 80 languages.

Review

Free | Download from Google Play

IFTTT (If This, Then That)

Put the internet to work for you. IFTTT lets you create powerful connections with one simple statement — if this then that. Activate your Channels and create Recipes on IFTTT! Channels are services like Facebook, Gmail, Twitter, as well as devices like Philips Hue, Belkin WeMo, and UP by Jawbone. Recipes are connections between your Channels that unlock entirely new ways for your services and devices to communicate with each other.

Review

Free | Download from Google Play

Sunrise Calendar

Sunrise is a free calendar made for Google Calendar, Exchange and iCloud! With an amazing design, Sunrise is a new experience that will make your life easier. Also, dear user, support for Tablet is coming soon!

Review

Free | Download from Google Play

Todoist: To-Do List, Task List

The perfect to-do list app is there wherever you need it: on your phone, tablet, desktop, browser, Gmail, and more. Join over 2 million people who are doing amazing things with Todoist.

Review

Free | Download from Google Play

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About Anna Harris:
Anna Harris working as web content writer and a strategist for a major IT firm specialized in various mobile application development services for iOS, Android, Windows Phone and other operating systems.

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Showcasing the Best 5 Smartphones of 2014

It's been a good 12 months for mobile phone fans but things have really turned up a notch since the start of 2014. The market is fit to burst with some impressive top-of-the-range handsets.

 

Sony Xperia Z3 Compact

The Xperia Z3 Compact continues Sony’s Xperia Z1 Compact philosophy: to create a miniature handset packed with the same high-end specs as the flagship device. Compared to the Xperia Z3, the Z3 Compact comes with a pretty similar looking spec sheet.

• Dimensions: 127.3 x 64.9 x 8.6 mm, 129g
• Display: 4.6in, 720 x 1280 pixel resolution
• Processor & RAM: Qualcomm Snapdragon 801, 2GB of RAM
• OS: Android 4.4.4 KitKat
• Camera: 20.7-megapixel sensor
• Battery: 2600mAh

Moto X 2014 Edition

The Moto X was all about offering the best possible user experience, free from as much bloatware and superfluous nonsense, at a reasonable price point.

The Moto X 2014, however, took things a good few steps further, adding in improved specs across the board and plenty of solid improvements to the battery, camera, display and connectivity.

Apple iPhone 6

The iPhone 5s was arguably one of the best handsets of 2013; Apple had some work to do to be able to improve upon the handset. The good news is Apple pulled it out of the bag.

This time around you can also pick up a 128GB version for the first time. The design has much the same language as before but has improved by being thinner, longer and more refined edges and corners the way round. Touch ID has also made a return on the home button at the bottom of the handset.

• Dimensions: 138.1 x 67 x 6.9mm, 129g
• Display: 4.7in, 750 x 1334 pixel resolution
• Processor & RAM: Apple A8 Chipset, 1GB of RAM
• OS: Apple iOS 8
• Camera: 8-megapixel sensor
• Battery: 1810 mAh

Samsung Galaxy Alpha

Looking purely at the spec sheet, you may not get a full feel for the Samsung Galaxy Alpha. Samsung has created a product with an excellent design; this time around it has opted for metal edges that give it a much more premium feel.

• Dimensions: 132.4 x 65.5 x 6.7 mm, 155g
• Display: 4.7in, 720 x 1280 pixel resolution
• Processor & RAM: Exynos 5 Octa 5430, 2GB of RAM
• OS: Android 4.4.4 KitKat
• Camera: 12-megapixel sensor
• Battery: 1860 mAh

Nokia Lumia 930

Nokia’s Lumia 930 reflects a real achievement for Microsoft’s new phone division. It’s got very similar specs inside to the Lumia 1520 but shrinks down the size and gives it a much slicker design.

Windows Phone 8.1 still has some serious issues but it’s grown a lot with this update and is on its way to becoming the OS it was always meant to be.

About Anna Harris:
Anna Harris working as web content writer and a strategist for a major IT firm specialized in various mobile application development services for iOS, Android, Windows Phone and other operating systems.

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Projecting The Top 5 Laptops of 2014

Laptops are facing a lot of competition from tablets and even large smartphones, but they’re still the mainstay device for getting work done. Here are the best of 2014. 

 

13-Inch Macbook Air

The 13-inch MacBook Air has always been one of the lightest (just under 3 pounds) and thinnest laptops, and it has incredible battery life. Its most recent iteration packs Intel’s latest silicon and can run for 12 hours or more in common usage scenarios.

The MacBook Air 13 offers a modest 1,440 x 900 resolution display, a bit of a throwback to the days when screens were almost an afterthought in laptop design. But that’s easy to overlook when you have a design this good.

Microsoft Surface Pro 3

This could be considered a controversial top pick because the Surface Pro 3 is not a laptop, and many business laptop users insist on a tried-and-true, traditional clamshell design. But Microsoft has reached a high degree of refinement with its third-generation Surface Pro after two generations of more or less experimental designs.

The design is impressive: At only 1.8 pounds (2.3 pounds with the keyboard) and 0.3-inches thick, it’s about the same weight (with the keyboard) as the uber-svelte 11-inch MacBook Air and packs all the power of a typical laptop, including the option for Intel Core i7 processors.

Toshiba Chromebook 2

Chromebooks run Google’s Chrome operating system, and that’s just fine if you spend most of your time in the Chrome browser anyway, especially when the hardware comes cheap.

Topping the list is Toshiba’s latest entry, the 13-inch Chromebook 2, which goes above and beyond the typical stripped-to-the-bone hardware of this category and delivers a brilliant 1,920 x 1,080 display.

The Toshiba offers probably the best experience you can have on a Chromebook, though it’s a minimalist one because of the limitations of the Chrome OS and the Chrome store.

Dell XPS 15

With the XPS 15, Dell has designed a laptop that might make you think twice about buying its Apple rival, the revered 15-inch MacBook Pro Retina.

Inside are a quad-core Intel processor and Nvidia graphics to push around those 5.7 million pixels. It’s reasonably light (4.4 pounds) for its size (a 15.6-inch diagonal display), and it’s only 0.7-inches thick at its widest point. The chassis is made of brushed aluminum with a carbon fiber bottom. It’s quality all around.

HP Stream Laptops

The HP Stream laptops are exceptional for one reason only: price. The HP Stream 11 is available at the Microsoft Store for $199, a good deal considering that you get a full Windows 8.1 laptop with a one-year subscription of Office 365 Personal, to boot.

The Stream 13 sells for $229. Think of it this way … based on pricing at the Microsoft Store, you could buy four Stream 11s for the price of one MacBook Air.

About Anna Harris:
Anna Harris working as web content writer and a strategist for a major IT firm specialized in various mobile application development services for iOS, Android, Windows Phone and other operating systems.

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Rumors Depicting the Date, Specs & Price of Microsoft Surface Pro 4

Six months after the Surface Pro 3 was released, Microsoft is reportedly gearing up for the release of the fourth version of the gadget - the Microsoft Surface Pro 4, Latinos Post reported.

According to Crossmap.com, the upcoming version of the Surface Pro will have a bigger display screen than the previous versions, but will also be lighter than the Surface Pro 2 and 3.

Additionally, Latinos Post revealed that the Surface Pro 4 will have a greater CPU than its predecessors and will be running on the upcoming Windows 10. Also, the gadget is believed to have an increased RAM compared to the older versions of Surface Pro.

Although not much has been said about the price of the upcoming gadget, The Telegraph believes that it will have a higher price tag than the Surface Pro 3, which is being sold from US$800 to US$1400, with the smaller version having a lower price tag.

With regards to the release date of the gadget, Gospel Herald reported that the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 will be released at the same time as Windows 10, which will make it the first device to run using the newest Windows system.

After being faced with problems during the release of earlier Surface Pro devices, Microsoft has strived to focus on creating better devices that will be a hit with fans, and as a result, they were able to make the highly successful Microsoft Surface Pro 3, according to the International Business Times.

Microsoft Surface Pro 4: Rumors & Speculations

Rumors that a new generation of Surface Pro will be released after Surface lineup general manager Brian Hall wrote on Microsoft Surface Blog that the accessories of the Surface Pro 3 "are designed with our product roadmap to be compatible with the next generation of the Pro line Surface."

About Anna Harris:
Anna Harris working as web content writer and a strategist for a major IT firm specialized in various mobile application development services for iOS, Android, Windows Phone and other operating systems.

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