Market share numbers for January show almost no changes from last year

ComScore has reported their numbers for the US smartphone market share for November 2014 through January 2015. The numbers are almost identical to how things looked three months ago, with Apple claiming the top spot, Samsung close at #2, and LG, Motorola, and HTC pulling up the next three places.

In total market share, Apple still held the crown, but their numbers dipped by roughly half a percent. Samsung’s market share sat at 29.3%, which was exactly the same in October of 2014, and Motorola’s market didn’t grow or shrink either. LG showed some improvement, but HTC took a slight dip.

As far as operating systems go, Android is still the top dog with over half of the market, but that’s split up among several manufacturers. These numbers look a little different globally, but in the US, Apple still holds an edge over Android OEMs.

source: ComScore

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Featured: Top 10 Best Income Tax Apps

We’re fast approaching the time when we all get our tax refunds from Uncle Sam. Many have already filed, while some have not. It’s important to make sure you file before it’s too late. And there are a ton of apps that can help out with that.

TurboTax Tax Preparation

TurboTax has some great tools for those that need to file their taxes. With their Tax Preparation app, it walks you through preparing your tax return and you can also submit it straight from your smartphone. Which is actually really cool.

TaxSlayer Go

With TaxSlayer Go, you can also prepare and send in your tax returns straight from the App. It will also show you how much you are likely to get back from both federal and state. It’s quick, fast and most importantly, secure.

TaxCaster by TurboTax

With TaxCaster, you can get a quick estimate of what you may owe the IRS this year, or what the IRS may owe you. It’s a great way to know what to expect before you actually start doing your taxes. Remember the deadline is April 15th.

Tax Return Status by TaxACT

Check out the return status of your tax return with this app by TaxACT. It allows you to track when your check might be on its way. Which many of us hope, is sooner rather than later.

IRS2Go

With IRS2Go, you can get free tax return tips, as well as check your return’s status. And make sure that the IRS did indeed get your tax return. As that’s always super important.

Income Tax Status and Calculator

With this app, you can file your income taxes – if you’re in India. This app only works for those in India. But it allows you to track your tax return after you’ve filed, which is a pretty awesome feature to have.

Income Tax eFiling

This is a government app that allows you to file your taxes through eFile. Which has always been a great way to file taxes, as it’s quick and easy and filed immediately. You can also track your refund through the app.

Income Tax Assistant

This is the India Income Tax Assistant, so it’ll only work for those that are from India. This app will allow you to figure out how much you owe in taxes for the year, as well as file your taxes. Making it a one-stop shop.

H&R Block 1040EZ

Do you file your taxes through H&R Block? Well now you don’t have to head over to one of their locations to get it done. You can do it straight through their app. Providing that you can file your taxes using the 1040EZ form. If not, you may still need to head over to one of their locations.

Liberty Tax App

Do you file your taxes with Liberty Taxes? Then this is the app you’ll want. It finds you the closest Liberty Tax location and also will allow you to call them straight from the App. So while you can’t file your taxes through it, it’s still a pretty helpful app.

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PSA: Android Wear devices will automatically update for Daylight Saving Time

In regions that use Daylight Saving Time (DST), users of Android Wear devices have nothing special to do. The platform will automatically jump ahead at 2:00AM rather than requiring manual setup. Google says that it wants users to focus on updating their watch faces for the spring season.

Any specific watch faces you’ve been using? Let us know in the comments.

Source: Android (Google+)

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T-Mobile customers with the HTC One (M7) to get Lollipop on March 10

This Tuesday, owners of the HTC One (M7) from T-Mobile will see a software update arrive on their handsets. Mo Versi, HTC Vice President of Product Management, announced on Twitter that the Lollipop update is coming on March 10. The over-the-air (OTA) update received technical approval from the carrier which allowed its rollout to be scheduled.

Source: @moversi (Twitter)

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Deal: Aduro AQUA Sound Bluetooth Shower Speaker – $18.99

Want a speaker for your shower, so you can sing in the shower? Or better yet, take calls in the shower? Talk about too much information. The Aduro AQUA Sound Bluetooth Speaker is a shower speaker that has a suction cup on the back to clamp onto the tile in your bathroom. Right now it’s on sale from Groupon for just $18.99. You can grab it from the link down below.

Aduro AQUA Sound Bluetooth Shower Speaker – $18.99

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Google Offering Play Music All Access for $3/Month for First 3 Months to New Customers

Google Play Music is running a pretty nice promotion right now for new users. Those that don’t currently subscribe to Google Play Music All Access should see a pop up, the next time they open the app, telling them that they can get Google Play Music All Access for $3 per month for 3 months, and then it’ll be $10/month after that. Which is the regular price for Google Play Music All Access. We’ve been seeing Google working on getting more users, using All Access for quite some time. We’ve seen a number of promos with the Nexus 6, Motorola Droid Turbo and even the Chromecast. This was all to bring in more subscribers to Google Play Music All Access. While this promo isn’t as great as some of the other promos that Google Play has done for All Access, it’s still better than nothing.

For those unaware, Google Play Music All Access gives you unlimited streaming of music. But it gives you much more than that. You can add songs to your own library and playlist from Google’s catalog of songs. That includes the millions and millions of songs that Google Play has in their catalog. Which is why it’s such a great service. Along with Play All Access you also get YouTube Music Key, which enables background audio for YouTube videos, and also gives you an ad-free listening experience. Which is definitely a nice feature and service to have.

So you’ll be paying $3 per month for 3 months, then the regular price after that. It’s still a pretty decent deal for new users. Since they’ll get to try out the service and see if it’s their cup of tea. It’s a great service, and I really love it myself. Let us know what you think about Google Play Music All Access if you decide to give this deal a try. Head to the comments down below and let us know.

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JDI Introduce New In-Cell Touchscreen QHD 5.0-Inch Display Panel

Japan Display Inc., known as JDI, was formed in April 2012 through the combined forces of the Sony, Hitachi and Toshiba. JDI operate in an intensely competitive sector – smartphone display panels – and are facing competition from Chinese display panel manufacturers in addition to companies such as LG and Samsung. This week, JDI have announced the world’s first mass produced QHD (that is, 1,440 by 2,560 pixel, or 1440p) LCD panel incorporating in-cell touch. QHD panels are the current highest resolution display technology used in smartphones such as the Motorola Nexus 6, Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and Samsung Galaxy S6. And whilst we have seen in-cell touchscreen technology used before, this is the first time that a display of this resolution has seen the technology applied in a production line. In-cell technology combines the digitizer with touch input and the LCD panel into a single layer. The higher the resolution, the technically more challenging it is to incorporate in-cell touch technology and here, JDI are using their in-house technique called “Pixel Eyes.”

The first display panel released with this technology is a 5.0-inch unit. In the details, this is a transmissive IPS unit with a viewing angle greater than 160 degrees and a typical contrast ratio of 1500:1. With the high resolution of 1,440 by 2,560 pixels, the panel has a resolution density of over 500ppi. JDI’s Pixel Eyes technology helps reduce the thickness of the design, which is an important consideration for manufacturers as it allows for more space inside the smartphone for components, or to help keep things thin. This technological refinement should help JDI maintain a competitive edge over its competitors, who are not able to deliver the same quality and thinness of display. We have reported on JDI’s battle with the rest of the mobile display panel market, where the business has at times struggled to differentiate itself and at others, has aggressively chased lower prices to compete.

It’s not clear who JDI have designed the screen for. It might be destined for the a new Sony Xperia Z-class flagship device or perhaps it’ll appear in the next LG device. There is also an outside chance that the new JDI screen will appear in an up and coming Apple iPhone too.

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[Bonus Round] Dark Echo, Bloq, And Bonbon Cakery

Welcome to the latest entry in our Bonus Round series, wherein we tell you all about the new Android games of the day that we couldn't get to during our regular news rounds. Consider this a quick update for the dedicated gamers who can't wait for our bi-weekly roundups, and don't want to wade through a whole day's worth of news just to get their pixelated fix. Today we've got a unique sound-based puzzle game, a nostalgic sliding block puzzler, and Kairosoft's latest business manager.

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[Bonus Round] Dark Echo, Bloq, And Bonbon Cakery was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

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Moto Turbo Shown On Indian Motorola Website: Is This A Name Engineered Droid Turbo?

Motorola’s Droid Turbo is one of the most exciting handsets to arrive in 2014. It is based on a 32-bit, 2.7 GHz, quad core, Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor with 3 GB of memory, a 5.2-inch, 2,560 by 1,440 pixel resolution display (which until the Samsung Galaxy S6 was the highest density AMOLED panel on sale). The Droid Turbo is well equipped in the camera stakes, too, bringing a 21MP rear camera and a 3,900 mAh battery. These specifications are similar in some respects to the Motorola-built Nexus 6: the Droid Turbo has a smaller, even sharper display, a higher number of megapixels on the camera and a battery that’s noticeably larger. After the device arrived at Verizon, it was subsequently sold as the Moto Maxx around the world, which certainly seems a fitting name as at the time, the Droid Turbo packed the top line smartphone components from around the world. We’ve news today that Motorola may be about to sell the Motorola Droid Turbo, or Moto Maxx, in India but with a third iteration of the name: the Motorola Moto Turbo.

We already know that Motorola has an event on Tuesday, 10 March in India. We believe that Motorola will release the second generation Moto E on Tuesday, but the Motorola Indian website is showing that there’s a new device coming, the Moto Turbo. The conclusion to be drawn here is that the Moto Turbo is a name-engineered Droid Turbo and if it were launching soon, next Tuesday would be the logical day to make the announcement. Especially as the Moto Turbo is the headline feature on the Indian Motorola website as the image above shows. The Moto E is likely to be on sale exclusively through Flipkart and it seems reasonable to expect the Moto Turbo to have the same arrangement, too.

Motorola’s expansion across the world has accelerated under Lenovo’s ownership and it should be no surprise that the business is introducing another handset into India. We won’t know if the new device is indeed a Droid Turbo with a different name, or if perhaps Motorola have water the flagship device down for the Indian market. We’ll know in a few days, meanwhile are you waiting for the Motorola Indian announcement on Tuesday? Are you looking for a new high end device? If you are, what do you think about the Motorola Moto Turbo? If this is similar to the Droid Turbo, would you be interested in buying one? Let us know in the comments below.

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Deal: Samsung Galaxy Alpha, Brand new and Unlocked – $299

The Samsung Galaxy Alpha was one of my favorite phones from Samsung last year. While it looked similar to the Galaxy S5, it felt nicer in the hand due to it’s smaller size and the metal frame. The Galaxy Alpha was a pretty expensive smartphone, but right now it’s on sale over on eBay’s Daily Deals right now for just $299.99.

Samsung Galaxy Alpha – $299

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Android Deals – March 6th, 2015: BLU, LG, Photive and More!

Plenty of great deals going on today, let’s check them out!

iOttie Easy One Touch 2 Car Mount Holder

AmazonBasics Lightning Car Charger, Black

Photive Rain WaterProof Portable Bluetooth Shower speaker

Otterbox Symmetry Series for Samsung Galaxy S5

Samsung Galaxy Tab S

Omaker Premium 3 USB 26W 5.1A Aluminum Panel Compact Designed USB Car Charger

LG Tribute Black (Virgin Prepaid)

BLU Studio 6.0 HD Smartphone – Unlocked – White

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Possible Huawei P8 shows up in more photos

We’ve seen in a variety of leaks, that Huawei is looking at announcing the P8 sometime in April without the Ascend moniker. Well two new photos out of China show us a new look at the possible Ascend P7 successor.

The two photos show the side and back of the possible successor and from what we see, the device is extremely thin. The device is said to sport a 5.2-inch 1080p display and it looks like Huawei will had a lite variant with a 720p screen. Chinese web site CNMO also states that the company is looking at a P8 Max that will boast a massive 6.8-inch screen. The resolution is unknown.

Either way, we should be at a little over a month away from the new device. We’ll update you when it becomes official.

source: CNMO

via: Phone Arena

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