Hasta La Gadget!

It is no secret that HTC is not doing too well for itself at the moment. Not only is the company suffering financially, but on the legal front they are not having much luck either against the likes on Nokia whereby the Finnish company has successfully managed to obtain injunctions against several of HTC’s products in different parts of the world. That being said, what are HTC’s options? Sell themselves off to the highest bidder? Take themselves private like Dell did? Maybe merge with another company? All of these are possible scenarios although it seems that there have been rumors making their way around the internet which suggests that HTC could be looking to merge with another Taiwanese company, Acer.

Acer has a long history of producing computers, although it was only in the past couple of years did the company attempt to break into the mobile market with tablets and smartphones, so for them to acquire HTC who has a wealth of experience makes sense. Well as it turns out the rumors were just that, rumors, and that neither company will be merging, at least not for the foreseeable future. This rumor was dismissed by none other than Acer’s chairman, Stan Shih, who told the Taiwanese media that the company had no plans and no intentions of merging with HTC. Of course it is entirely possible for HTC to turn things around in 2014 with new products, so we guess we will just have to wait and see what the company has in store for us.

In the meantime what do you guys think? Will HTC be able tot turn things around for themselves in 2014? Or is the company headed downhill?

Acer Chairman Dismisses Rumors Of HTC Merger original content from Ubergizmo.

There was a lot of controversy a couple of years ago when Microsoft revealed that Windows Phone 7 handsets would not be upgradable to Windows Phone 8. This was surprising given that for the most part, Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android updates were made available to all, if not the majority of devices out there. Well the good news is that Microsoft will not be making that mistake twice as the company has revealed that they will be updating all Windows Phone 8 handsets to the next Windows Phone update when it is expected to be made available in the spring of 2014. Microsoft has not set a firm release date yet, but we guess Windows Phone 8 users will be pleased to know they will not be left hanging.

This is according to a Microsoft official who spoke to the folks at Computer World. This also seems to echo Microsoft’s sentiments from back in 2013 that Windows Phone 8 devices will not be left in the lurch. Like we said given Microsoft’s move with Windows Phone 7, many were worried that they would repeat it with the next update, and there were rumors that Microsoft would be doing that as well, but we guess Windows Phone users can breathe a sign of relief. Of course we expect that there will be plenty of new Windows Phone 8 devices later this year, but for those who don’t plan on upgrading their handsets anytime soon, we guess this is good news.

Microsoft Will Update All Windows Phone 8 Devices To The Latest Version original content from Ubergizmo.

The folks over at Xiaomi has plans to double their smartphone sales this year, and just how are they going to achieve that particular target? Well, either you come up with a handset that is highly desirable that folks are willing to sell an arm and a leg to procure one, or to drop the entry price point to such insanely reasonable levels, that everyone would not mind picking one up even though they already own a decent smartphone to begin with. Xiaomi of China looks set to take the latter route, where they are touted to be working on a $50 smartphone that ought to be released sometime down the road.

I guess this $50 smartphone will be part of this year’s target of rolling out 40 million handsets, and to be able to own a handset that does not cost more than a tank of gas? That would be pretty cool to come up with. One of the target markets that Xiaomi is looking at would be Southeast Asia, where Hugo Barra, the former Android chief at Google who happens to be heading Xiaomi’s expansion efforts now sid, “I’m trying to find markets and get to them as quickly as possible.” Would you pick up a $50 handset just for fun since it is so cheap?

Xiaomi Looks To Future With $50 Smartphones original content from Ubergizmo.

It seems to be the trend that some of the best software updates for Android tend to be part of either app updates or updates to the Google Play services framework, compared to the full system update for Android. Well, from today onward, Google has begun to introduce Google Play Services version 4.1, where those who apply this particular update would be able to enjoy the wonders of turn-based multiplayer support when it comes to games, among others.

With turn-based multiplayer, this would mean that game developers are now able to make use of Google Play services in order to deliver asynchronous multiplayer in games. In a nutshell, this would make Google function as the middleman when it comes to transferring turn data between players. This particular service will also add support for multiplayer games of anywhere between 2 to 8 players. Turn data will also be sent to Google and automatically routed to other players. Apart from that, there is also a developer preview of a new Google Drive API which is currently in the pipeline, where this particular API will enable any app to read and write Google Drive files, not to mention offer offline editing capabilities to boot. Do expect to see more advertising support in the Play services update as well, where DoubleClick for Publishers, DoubleClick Ad Exchange, and Search Ads for Mobile Apps are now part of the family.

Google Play Services 4.1 Delivers Turn-Based Multiplayer Support original content from Ubergizmo.

[CES 2014] We have already moved on forward in a clear manner when it comes to wireless connectivity. Go to any decent restaurant or cafe, and apart from serving up good food, another prerequisite would be the presence of Wi-Fi connectivity. Well, wireless charging has yet to catch on in a big way at this point in time, but there are efforts being made to make sure that the tide changes in its favor. Take for instance, the video above that you can view. WiTricity has come up with a wireless charger for the Apple iPhone 5s as well as the older generation Apple iPhone 5, where this particular system will make use of magnetic resonance. This translates to the ability to juice up a particular device at a distance, and you do not need to have to line up the iPhone on a wireless charging pad, too. Should you decide to throw into the mix a wireless power repeater, you are then able to place the latter in your top drawer under your nightstand, and following that, any device that has been placed on that nightstand will recharge.

CES 2014 is the platform where this wireless pad from WiTricity is demonstrated, although it remains a reference design as at press time. There are plans to sell this particular pad in the months ahead for $99, while the case will retail for $49 a pop.

WiTricity Charges iPhone Sans Wires original content from Ubergizmo.