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Samsung’s Galaxy S5 is here with more power, more pixels, and a refined design

What do you do when you’re one of the world’s largest smartphone makers and it’s time to update your flagship device? If you’re Samsung, you trot out the new Galaxy S5, a refined and updated take on last year’s wildly successful Galaxy S4. Like the new Gear wearables, the Galaxy S5 looks and feels familiar, but offers a number of improvements over last year’s edition. The Galaxy S5’s design is a minor evolution of the Galaxy S4 — in fact, the two are almost indistinguishable from the front. The S5’s display is ever so slightly larger at 5.1 inches, but it’s still a 1080p, Super AMOLED panel that doesn’t look very different from the S4’s screen. Below the display is a new home key with integrated fingerprint scanner and capacitive keys for multitasking and Android’s back button. Samsung has retained the familiar metal-looking plastic surround on the S5, though the charging port (now USB 3.0) comes with an integrated port cover for waterproofing. The S5 is IP67-rated for wa...

Nokia X, X+, XL: Nokia launches its first Android-based Budget phones

Nokia introduced a new family of smartphones, the Nokia X series of phones. The first three phones in the family - the Nokia X, X+ and XL - run on the new Nokia X software platform, that is based on Google's Android. The phones under the Nokia X family are not pure Android phones; these phones instead run a forked variant of Android, similar to the way Amazon does for its Kindle Fire lineup. Nokia has taken the open-source elements of Android and has pulled in other elements of Asha and Windows Phone to offer users a different experience. The downside here is that Nokia X users can't have access to the Google Play Store for apps. However, the phone will run Android apps, but Nokia will curate a list of such apps. A recommended source for the apps is the Nokia store, says the company. In other words, the new platform, Nokia X, is based on the Android Open Source project (AOSP). CEO of Nokia Corporation Stephen Elop presents the new Nokia XL at the Mobile World ...

Everyone Who Thinks Facebook Is Stupid To Buy WhatsApp For $19 Billion Should Think Again!

Facebook made a breathtaking move yesterday, buying messaging app WhatsApp for $19 billion. Even for Facebook, that's a staggering amount to pay for a company with estimated 2013 revenue of only $20 million. It represents almost 10% of Facebook's overall value. And in the wake of the announcement, the usual chorus of armchair pundits took to Twitter to snicker together and pronounce Facebook and its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, brain dead. But Facebook buying WhatsApp for $19 billion isn't brain dead. It's just bold. Very bold. Like other bold moves, Facebook's WhatsApp deal could end up looking brilliant. Or moronic. That's what makes it bold. If it were guaranteed to end up looking brilliant, it wouldn't be bold. It would be obvious. I don't know how Facebook's WhatsApp deal will end up looking - and neither, it's worth noting, do any of the pundits who are pronouncing it brain dead. Based on everything I do k...

How to determine whether a USB 3.0 device is operating at SuperSpeed?

How to know whether you are using USB 2.0 or USB 3.0? How to determine whether a USB 3.0 device is operating at SuperSpeed?  TechProceed will let you know the differences. Note: The information provided in this blog post applies to Windows 8. In this blog post, I will describe some ways in which you can determine whether a USB 3.0 device that is attached to a PC running Windows 8 version of the operating system, is operating at the optimal connection speed - SuperSpeed. USB 3.0 introduces a new operating speed called SuperSpeed. Compared to USB 2.0 bandwidth of 480 Mbps, SuperSpeed supports 5.0 Gbps making it 10 times faster than USB 2.0. USB 3.0 also supports lower operating speeds: high speed, full speed, and low speed. Along with increased bandwidth, USB 3.0 host controllers and devices come with the promise of compatibility. USB 3.0 controllers are required to work with all existing USB devices. The fact that current PCs ship with both USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports pr...