
HTC First’s and Facebook Home’s problems have been well chronicled over the past few weeks. Apart from getting sued by Eminem’s publisher, Facebook’s new Home on Android hasn’t been doing as well as the company had hoped. It has also taken its toll on the HTC First smartphone, which happens to be the first smartphone to ship with Home pre-installed. We had recently reported a rumor that this smartphone was going to be discontinued, it seemed possible as AT&T slashed its price from $99 on contract to merely $0.99. While it continues to sell in the U.S., the smartphone’s U.K. release has been put off indefinitely.
Facebook says in a statement that it is now focusing on adding new customization features to Home in the next couple of months. They say that they have “recommended holding off” the UK HTC First launch, though adding that they’re committed to bringing the latest mobile experiences to their customers. So as the smartphone’s future in the Kingdom looks bleak, those across the pond who wish to try out Facebook Home can do so if they have any one of the supported devices, for which Home can be downloaded from Google Play Store.
Seen at: bgr

It isn’t far-fetched to think if Microsoft actually plans on integrating its Windows Phone platform with the newly unveiled Xbox One in some way. As a matter of fact, the likelihood of such an integration seeing the light of day has greatly increased. Microsoft’s senior marketing manager, Greg Sullivan, has said that the “general idea of an increased seamlessness and integration across these elements is a goal.” He also says that despite the fact that Microsoft didn’t even mention Windows Phone at the Xbox One unveil, that doesn’t mean “there’s nothing that’s being worked on.”
Unfortunately Greg didn’t reveal more than just these subtle hints. So obviously one can’t say for sure when exactly we’ll see this interaction formally be revealed. Greg also said that Windows Phone is an evidence of “great cross-divisional collaboration at Microsoft” and that the company aims to continue improving it. The Windows Phone platform is doing considerably well in the marketing, considering how it snapped up the third place title from BlackBerry recently. The idea isn’t outright impossible, though there aren’t any hints about the level of integration between these two platforms.
Seen at: pcmag
Google, the maestros of search, has certainly done their bit to further enhance the Google search experience on your email, where it will soon be made possible for everyone living in the US to be able to perform an instant search on relevant emails, Google Drive files, and Calendar events among others each time you decide to perform a search in Gmail. Of course, this particular feature did not come about just like that, as this was not an idea pulled out of thin air, but rather, it has been tested in recent months via a trial, and apparently, those “lab rats” so to speak have fallen in love with the time-saving convenience of being able to search for the entire slew of items from a single place.
How many of you out there were exposed to the Transformers for the first time in your life through Michael Bay’s effort on the silver screen? Well, if you so happen to fall under that particular category, might I encourage you to check out the entire back history and story of the Transformers over the years so that you would not end up thinking that there is no such Transformer out there that is as large as an entire planet. Having said that, it is always cool to have a vehicle which changes its shape to that of a robot, and the folks over at the JDSF – Japan Self Defense Force might be on to something with this unique looking anime-inspired helicopter design that you see above.
If you have been on the lookout for the Kindle Fire HD from Amazon, but never really meant business by purchasing one, you might want to take note that the Amazon Kindle Fire HD is now available for pre-orders in more than 170 countries, not to mention doing their bit to expand the Amazon Appstore so that folks living in nearly 200 countries will be able to take advantage of it. If you are interested in the Kindle Fire HD but never really got around to getting one, may we know what is stopping you from picking it up? You are able to place pre-orders for the 7-inch and 8.9-inch models of the Kindle Fire HD via Amazon.com, its UK site, France, and Amazon Germany so far, where shipments are tipped to make its way to customers from June 13th onwards.
I am not sure about you, but I know that for some folks out there, their dream island destination would be something that is definitely not on most Top 10 lists – the Galapagos Islands. If you grew up reading stories on Charles Darwin spending time on the Galapagos Islands which played quite an important role in shaping up his worldview of evolution, and always wanted to drop by the Galapagos Islands for yourself but never had the opportunity to do so, Google has got your back – albeit virtually, of course. 
When we talk about Samsung smartphones, what is it that comes into the mind of most folks? Why, certainly the entire Galaxy range would roll off the tip of most folks’ tongues, especially when you consider what a huge success the Galaxy family has been to date, with the most recent success being the Samsung Galaxy S4 hitting 10 million units worth of sales in record time for the South Korean company. Having said that, one should also take note that most of these devices run on the Android operating system, so for us to see a Tizen-powered Samsung device is not too common a sight. In fact, that is exactly what caught our eyes with a new Tizen OS Samsung device spotted on Samsung’s UAProf website, where it was given the codename Redwood GT-I8805.
We humans are extremely creative beings, and you know for sure that this is a fact throughout the ages, where there is always a certain segment of the population who prefer to express themselves through the arts, be they music, poetry, painting, songs, plays – the list is a long one. Thanks to the wonders of modern day technology, one can express him or herself through art in ways that our ancestors would have never thought of before. Take Random International’s Rain Room installation for instance. It is currently on display at the MoMA in New York City now through July 28, where steady sheets of rain will pour down from the ceiling in order to mimic rainfall, and whenever someone steps into the room, sensors will stop the water from running down temporarily, allowing you to walk through the room without getting soaked.