Amazon Android app disappeared from Google Play store

Amazon’s primary Android app is rather mysteriously missing from the Google Play store. The application is not completely gone of course, but has been pulled from the official store and no longer pops-up in searches, although it is accessible through a direct store link.

This comes as a direct consequence of Amazon’s fairly recent addition of an “Apps and Games” section into its main application.

Microsoft announces January 21 event for Windows 10 consumer presentation

Microsoft will hold a Windows 10-related event on Wednesday, January 21, 2015. Terry Myerson, Joe Belfiore, and Phil Spencer from the Operating Systems Group will all be speaking, as will CEO Satya Nadella.

The company has only published its official invite for now (which you can see above), choosing not to specifically say what the event will be about.

Speed test pits the iPhone 6 against the Nexus 6 and Galaxy Note 4

The age-old question – which device is faster? – has received an answer in a video, at least when it comes to the two current ‘kings’ of Android and Apple’s finest. Someone decided to pit the iPhone 6,Motorola Nexus 6, and Samsung Galaxy Note 4 against one another in a speed test of sorts.

The test itself is pretty simple. At the beginning, a timer is set on each device.

Microsoft gifts 100 albums on Xbox Music

If you are using Microsoft’s Xbox Music streaming service, you can now download 100 popular albums for free. Microsoft is giving those away those albums to citizens in the USA only (damn licensing rights!), who are subscribers to its music app with Xbox Music Pass activated.

Hangouts for Android gets Material Design update, stickers, video filters, and more

If you have been using Hangouts for some time now, you’d know the app was in some serious need for overhaul. Not only was it not updated to Google’s new Material Design but also had several other issues.

That all seems to have been taken care of in the latest update, however, which not only brings an updated design but also several other features and improvements.

United Airlines will hand out 23,000 iPhone 6 Plus devices to its flight attendants

United Airlines announced that it will hand out 23,000 iPhone 6 Plus devices to its flight attendants. The airline will begin distributing Apple’s phablet during the second quarter of next year.

As expected, the iPhone 6 Plus units that the crew members will have a number of work tools preloaded.

Here Maps for Android is now available from the Google Play Store

The Nokia that still exists after Microsoft bought off its mobile device-making unit has been working on a version of its Here Maps app for Android for quite a while now. A beta version has been available through sideloading since October, and today it arrived in the Google Play Store.

This will surely make it a lot more accessible for more people, as not everyone with an Android device knows what sideloading is or how to do it.

Telltale’s ‘Game of Thrones’ now on Android

Last week we took a look at Telltale’s latest game based on George R R Martin’s series of ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ books (and the subsequent HBO show). Back then iOS was the only mobile platform where the game was available on but you can now also purchase it on Android on Google Play Store for $4.99 for the first episode, with subsequent episodes costing $4.99 each.

Lollipop update for Android Wear might be coming tomorrow

On the phone and tablet side some devices have already been updated to run Android 5.0 Lollipop, the latest version of Google’s OS. But the company’s Android Wear platform has not yet made the jump. That could all change tomorrow.

A new rumor says that’s when the update to Android 5.0.1 Lollipop for Android Wear will start rolling out.

VLC for Android drops beta tag, brings bug fixes and improvements

After spending over 2 years in beta, the VLC for Android app has finally graduated to stable release. Although the stable release brings a host of bug fixes, no new features have been added. In fact, Chromecast streaming support, which was promised earlier this year, is still missing.

Specifically, the release fixes Android 5.0 crashes as well as issues that affected devices with ARMv8 processors.

Microsoft offers 12 days of holiday promotions

Just like last year, Microsoft is again organizing a 12 day long holiday promotion with price cuts on various devices. Much like an advents calendar the US tech giant will be unveiling the special offers one at a time, every day until December 19.

The campaign is, sadly, only available in the US and Canada and kicked off yesterday with the Toshiba Encore Mini tablet. 

Samsung Gear VR listed for $200 in AT&T site and available online

The Samsung Gear VR is available now online from AT&T so be sure to act quickly before it is all gone!

The Samsung Gear VR is perhaps one of the most interesting smartphone-based hardware kits ever, not to mention the trendiest at the moment.

Apple releases new iPad Air 2 commercial

Apple recently launched the new iPad Air 2, which is the company’s thinnest and most powerful tablet so far. The original Air was already a super thin tablet but the new one is even thinner while being more powerful and having similar battery life.

The company has now released a new commercial for the product.

‘Game of Thrones – Episode 1 – Iron from Ice’ game review

Game of Thrones is the latest series of games from developer Telltale Games, who very recently brought us titles such as The Walking Dead series and The Wolf Among Us series.

Game of Thrones follows the episodic release nature of Telltale games and tells the story of House Forrester that happens concurrently with the fourth season of the eponymous TV series on HBO.

YouTube for Android is the latest app to get material design

YouTube for Android got received a major update. Version 6.0.11 of the application brings Android 5.0’s sleek material design to the popular video sharing platform.

In addition to the fresh new look, the latest YouTube for Android offers revamped navigation panel.Search has also been improved – it now offers new filters.

Qualcomm will be forced to lower licensing fees in China after antitrust investigation

The Chinese National Development and Reform Commission has been conducting an antitrust investigation of Qualcomm’s activities in the country for quite a while, and now we get an idea of what the outcome of that will be. Short version: not good for Qualcomm.

The mobile chip maker will have to pay “huge fines” for “monopolistic” behavior, but that’s not all.

Google Messenger updated, now allows you to choose contact colors

Just a few weeks after releasing it, Google has updated its Messenger app with the ability to allow you to choose your own colors for individual contacts, a feature requested by many. Earlier, the app used to do this automatically.

To access the feature, go to the “People and Options” button from the overflow menu and select the color you want to assign to the contact.

Bluetooth 4.2 will carry new features and improved speed

Bluetooth Special Interest Group announced version 4.2 of the wireless protocol. Bluetooth 4.2 delivers a number of improvements over its predecessor headed by the ability to connect to the internet.

The new Bluetooth version will be up to 2.5 times faster than past releases thanks to a tenfold packet capacity increase.

Samsung ranked as world’s second-biggest R&D spender of 2014

Barring Volkswagen, Samsung Electronics has surpassed all other global companies in terms of R&D spending this year, according to a report from Strategy&. The South Korean company has been ranked No. 1 among all technology companies and No. 2 across all industries.