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Amazon has taken the wraps off an entire family of new Kindle Fire tablets, including a new budget-friendly $50 model alongside two Kindle Fire HD tablets and a special Kids Edition version with a unique protective case. The new Android-based devices were launched alongside a new Amazon Fire TV family and will feature a revamped user interface, dubbed Fire OS 5 ‘Bellini’…

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Samsung’s recently announced Gear S2 has stirred a lot of attention for itself over the past few weeks. The sleek, round design, attractive user interface, rotating bezel and non-discriminatory Android support all sets it up nicely to be one of this year’s most desired wearables. Samsung is yet to announce when the device will hit retail stores in the States, but if a leaked internal training video is anything to go by, it looks as though the company is prepping for an October 2 release…

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Yota Devices and ZTE have announced a new partnership this morning. From the next generation onwards, the chinese OEM will produce YotaPhones for the Russian manufacturer, with the 3rd gen smartphone scheduled for a Q1 2016 release. The companies haven’t revealed specifics on the financial terms of the deal, but it will see future YotaPhones be made in China and see a significant reduction in the cost of producing the devices. Previous models were built in a Hi-P factory in Singapore…

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When the Xperia Z family first launched a few years ago, Sony proudly advertised their waterproof capabilities. For almost every generation of phone, up until this year, the hardware manufacturer used imaged of phones being used to take photos in swimming pools, or in the sea, as a way to sell its products. They’ve even come with some impressive-sound IP-rated certificates to prove their durability under water. And, while the the Xperia Z5 range comes with IP68 rated waterproofing, you might want to refrain from taking them to the beach to take your own underwater pics…

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Leading up to Apple’s eagerly anticipated keynote presentation last night, Sony had a jab prepared for the iPhone-makers before they unveiled the iPhone 6s, Apple TV and iPad Pro. It seems, however, Sony wasn’t the only manufacturer attempting to rain on Apple’s parade. Arguably Apple’s biggest competitor, Samsung had a few of its own jibes to share with us and took to its UK Twitter handle to publish them…

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In one of the most ambiguous rebuttals of recent memory, Samsung has denied reports claiming it is looking to reduce its workforce by 10%. It’s not reducing its workforce, it says, but “relocating” them. One of Samsung’s high-ranking officials spoke to Yonhap News, claiming that it will “only be relocating workers”, denying rumors that it was looking to move on 10 percent of its management staff in sales and PR. What it didn’t say was what “relocating” actually means, leaving us speculating a number of possible translations for the phrase…

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Bloomberg reports that Google will begin testing grocery and fresh food delivery in two US cities later this year in an attempt to directly compete with AmazonFresh. Brian Elliot, general manager of Google Express stated that the company will be partnering with Whole Foods Market and Costco Wholesale, among others, to deliver the new service. Initial testing will begin in San Francisco and one other unnamed city…

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Android and Mobvoi have formed a ‘strategic partnership‘ to bring Android Wear to mainland China for the first time. This news comes days after revelations that Google is working to bring a tweaked version of Android and the Google Play Store to China. Negotiations have been difficult, and require compromises from Google, but with Android Wear officially landing, it signals the beginning of a much bigger focus on China than has been possible in recent years…

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It’s no secret that Google makes the majority of its money from advertising revenue, and has done for a very long time. So, when a product comes along to threaten that major revenue stream, it has to find ways to combat it. That’s seemingly what it’s done with AdBlock Plus, a relatively well-known Chrome extension used to block out ads across the internet. This includes the ads shown before and during video playback on YouTube…

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Samsung’s recently revealed smartwatch, the Gear S2, has seemingly had its European pricing outed by German electronic retailer Saturn. The Tizen-based wearable will be available as a standard and more premium Classic model – with similar pricing to the entry-level Apple Watch …

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The Sony Xperia Z5, Z5 Premium and Z5 Compact have all had price cuts before they’ve even hit the market. Prices were revealed just a few days ago, and Sony has already seen fit to adjust the price points.  Perhaps in response to the sense of disbelief at how expensive they would be…

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ASUS is showing itself to be a competent company at dealing with all the challenges facing traditional consumer tech manufacturers in the post-PC world. It’s released some great smartphones recently, and now it’s just released a fantastic laptop. The Chromebook Flip has won me over.

I’m sure you can imagine, as a tech-reviewer it’s not often I fall for a product just on first impressions alone. But as soon as I picked up the Chromebook Flip, I adored it. The all-metal build looks, and feels fantastic. Its rounded corners and the gentle taper of the back towards the diamond-cut chamfered edges are beautiful. On the bottom, all the edges and corners are rounded, giving it a really friendly look, and making it comfortable to grip.

What’s more, the speakers are hidden underneath two perfectly round grilles made of hundreds of tiny machined holes. But it’s the hinge that makes this unique. The screen rotates 360 degrees, and can be used in 4 different modes: laptop, tent, stand or tablet modes. Because the hinge is so firm, it holds strongly at virtually any angle.

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After weeks of speculation and leaks, Huawei has finally announced the Ascend Mate S, what many see as a direct competitor to the likes of the iPhone 6 Plus and HTC One. It has a bunch of flagship staple features as well as a couple of unique selling points which will get you talking, if nothing else.

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Android Wear finally has iOS support after Google pushed its iPhone-compatible software to the App Store. This means that Android has beaten Apple Watch to the cross-platform game. Or, at least it would, if iOS didn’t restrict it to a state of almost uselessness. The only device officially supported is the LG Watch Urbane although — as we previously revealed — the older generation Android Wear watches do work. I got it set up with my Moto 360, and have been mostly disappointed by my experience so far.

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In a press release this morning, Qualcomm announced a brand new technology to help keep us protected from potential malware threats on our smartphones. Smart Protect will be built into chips in the near future and provide “real-time, on-device machine learning designed to support accurate and effective detection of zero-day malware threats for improved personal privacy and device security”. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820 chip will be the first to feature the new technology when it hits the market in 2016.

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One of Android’s best features is the ability to download and install custom third-party launchers. Don’t like the way your phone home screen looks or how the apps are organized? Fine. Change it. But finding the best one, or a good one for that matter, can sometimes be a daunting challenge. And which one you think is the best ultimately depends on what you value most: aesthetics, organization or productivity? I’ve rounded up what I think are some of the best launchers out there, as well as a wild card for you to consider in your quest for the perfect Android experience.

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It looks like Google has been working behind the scenes to make searching for apps a much more intuitive and better-looking experience on Android. As spotted by the folks at Android Police, if you go searching for apps from the default search feature in Android, you’ll now get a very attractive, Material-themed grid of apps. Although it doesn’t work for every single term, simply search for anything followed by ‘apps’ and it’ll bring up a grid of downloadable options from the Google Play Store.

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Recently we revealed that Motorola’s new smartwatch passed through the Brazilian equivalent of the FCC. In it, the filings indicated that Motorola is clearly working on two sizes for its next generation Moto 360 smartwatch. Moto 360L and Moto 360S will seemingly keep the same ‘flat tire’ on the bottom of the screen, and similar round metal cases but there are clear differences. Today, both big and small versions of the Moto 360 have popped up in individually leaked photos.

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