A number of different smartphone reports are posted every quarter, but one of the most influential of them definitely have to be the ones by Consumer Reports. They’ve called the Galaxy S4 a “top-notch” smartphone, adding that the device is now their top rated mobile device. It clinches the spot from LG Optimus G, which has held it for several months.

Consumer Reports says that the S4 delivered top-notch performance in most critical areas of their tests, citing its various impressive specs such as the full HD 1080p 5 inch display and plethora of sensors. The S4 has also been called a “true-multitasker” as it lets users run two apps side by side in split-screen view. It has also been termed as a great device for couch potatoes, because HDTVs and set-top boxes can be controlled through it, apart from the fact that it can display program details and local listings. With the Galaxy S4 already on track to sell 10 million units by the end of May, its definitely hard to not admit that Galaxy S4 is indeed a top notch smartphone. If you’re wondering to pick one up, why don’t you check out our detailed Galaxy S4 review to get a perfect idea of the device?

While the world goes absolutely bananas over the Samsung Galaxy S4, there are people out there who don’t need the latest and greatest and would much rather get their hands on the Galaxy S3 for a discounted price. There are a wide variety of carriers customers can pick up the Galaxy S3, but Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile customers have yet to get their hands on the Android device. That is – until today.

Both Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile are announcing they will be adding the Samsung Galaxy S3 to their lineup of smartphones they’ll provide to their customers starting in June. The Galaxy S3 will operate on Sprint’s 3G and 4G LTE networks, with 4G LTE available to a total of 88 U.S. markets. At this point, no official pricing or availability has been announced, but both Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile will make their announcements at a later date.

In case you need a refresher of what the Galaxy S3 offers, it has a dual-core 1.5GHz processor, an 8MP rear-facing camera, Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean and dual mode 3G / 4G LTE. You’ll also be able to use S Beam, which allows you to share photos, documents and videos with other S Beam-enabled devices.

Microsoft is going to reveal the next Xbox in 45 minutes, and you if you don’t want any minute of it, you can watch the live event with the 720p streaming video below, courtesy of Twitch TV and Gamespot. Today, Microsoft is going to answer to Sony’s PlayStation 4 push, and we will finally know what the new Xbox is about. If you want to catch up with the speculations, check “Xbox 720: everything to look” for story. We will be posting more updates on Ubergizmo.com today. Enjoy.
Read full post →Watch The Live Xbox-Next Reveal 5/21 In HD

Lenovo has been introducing a variety of laptops over the past couple of months with its ThinkPad Edge series and ThinkPad T431s. But Lenovo’s ultrabook lineup could certainly use a little more variety, which according to some recently leaked images, it looks like that’s exactly what the company is looking to create with its ThinkPad S3 and ThinkPad S5.

The Lenovo ThinkPad S3 and S5 will feature a 13 and 15-inch display, respectively and could be launched in China by the end of this month. Both the S3 and S5 feature an aluminum case, an island-style keyboard layout, matte displays, and JBL speakers. It seems both the S3 and S5 are expected to come with either a black or silver lid.

Considering Computex is taking place in Taiwan next month, we wouldn’t be surprised if Lenovo chose that show to unveil its ThinkPad S3 and S5 ultrabooks. Until Lenovo decides to unveil both the S3 and S5, we’ll just have to sit back and wait to see what kind of specs they’ll feature as well as their availability.

Not only is Sony expected to deliver a new piece of gaming hardware with its PlayStation 4 later this year, but they’re also preparing its video streaming service to offer a better experience to its users in the very near future.

According to a new post on Sony’s Entertainment Network site, Sony is beta testing a faster and more adaptive format by offering a number of films at discounted prices. The discounted films will help Sony test out its new streaming technology, which the company at this point isn’t revealing what exactly it consists of. All users will have to do is log into the PlayStation Store, then navigate to the movies section where there should be an additional “beta” section available on the front page.

The films within the beta section will be greatly discounted, with HD films costing $1.99, while SD films are just $0.99. Hopefully during your time with Sony’s new streaming technology, you’ll notice if it magically improved the films that are included in the beta. If not, at least feel good that you got to see a film for next to nothing while helping Sony test some new tech.

It looks like Panasonic isn’t the only smartphone manufacturer to announce a waterproof device as Kyocera is making a splash by introducing its new Hydro XTRM.

The Kyocera Hydro XTRM has a Military Standard 810G certification to withstand drops, can survive 3.28 feet of water for up to 30 minutes and has IP57 dust resistance. The Hydro XTRM also includes Kyocera’s proprietary Smart Sonic Receiver, which is a technology that replaces a phone’s peaked with a ceramic actuator, turning sounds into vibrations that travel through the body directly to a person’s eardrum. As for its specs, the Kyocera Hydro XTRM comes with a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, a 4-inch impact-resistant touchscreen display, a 5MP rear-facing camera, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and 4G LTE.

U.S. Cellular will begin selling the Kyocera Hydro XTRM starting today online and in its retail stores on May 24 for $29.99 after an instant rebate. Not a bad deal for an Android 4.1 Jelly Bean smartphone that can survive drops, dust storms and being submerged into water, don’t you think?

Ubisoft has been regularly updating Splinter Cell fans with new information on their upcoming Splinter Cell: Blacklist, such as highlights of the Wii U version of the game, Blacklist’s multiple play styles and the triumphant return of its popular multiplayer mode, Spies vs. Mercs. Today, Ubisoft is revealing Splinter Cell: Blacklist’s co-op mode.

Splinter Cell: Blacklist’s co-op mode allows two players to play as either Sam or Briggs through 14 different maps that feature missions that directly tie into the game’s main campaign. The 14 maps feature 4 different mission styles, although players will need to adapt to multiple play styles in order to survive each mission. Not only will Blacklist players be able to play its co-op mode online, but a local split-screen mode will also be made available.

It seems this time around, Ubisoft is definitely pushing its online offerings in Splinter Cell: Blacklist hard, which is certainly a good thing as it will help keep the replay value of the game high. Including both Spies vs. Mercs and a full co-op mode is something fans of the series have been wanting for a long time.

We caught a glimpse of the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active yesterday which is rumored to have a slower processor than the original Galaxy S4. Today, the device has shown up in a short video that briefly highlights the Galaxy S4 Active.

The ruggedized variant of the Samsung Galaxy S4 sports physical buttons, a 1080p HD display and is powered by a Snapdragon S4 Plus CPU, although it contradicts the information made available with its leaked image as it was originally believed to have a quad-core 1.9GHz CPU along with an Adreno 320 GPU. An 8MP rear-facing camera is also mentioned in the brief video.

Even though the video of the Galaxy S4 Active is relatively short, we’re able to see it’s running the latest version of Samsung’s TouchWiz UI and the surroundings seem to match up with yesterday’s leaked image. Hopefully Samsung won’t wait too long to announce the Galaxy S4 Active as we’re sure there are many of you out there who want the Galaxy S4, but would prefer it to be able to keep up with your active life.

We’ve seen some impressive uses for 3D printing over the past couple of months, one of which really blew us away as it used human DNA found in public places to deliver a 3D printed portrait of the person. But one thing we’re sure you’ve been waiting for was the use of 3D printing to move onto food, potentially making it possible for you to print your own dinner.

NASA is planning to conduct some research into 3D printing of food, which will begin with 3D printed pizza, that they hope will evolve the future of food for not only its astronauts, but for the rest of the pizza lovers here on Earth. As of now, the concept wouldn’t actually print a full pizza as we’re sure you were thinking, but instead, to print out basic ingredients such as oils, water and carbohydrate powders. The cartridges that house the ingredients would have a shelf life of decades, which should give you more than enough time to actually learn how to cook a pizza.

As for as for the taste, we’re sure it’ll be terrible at first, but hey – it’s 3D printed pizza!

We’re sure you, just like us, are anxiously awaiting Microsoft’s next-generation Xbox reveal event, which should be taking place later today at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET. As of now, the Internet is running rampant with speculation on what exactly Microsoft will show us today, and more importantly, how it will compete with what Sony showed us with its PlayStation 4 earlier this year. But there’s one thing we’re hearing is Microsoft is already making moves to make its next Xbox available by the end of the year.

DigiTimes is reporting Microsoft has already started the production of its next Xbox in “small volumes,” but has already placed orders for mass shipments of the console to start in Q3 2013, to then reach its full peak in Q4. DigiTimes is citing sources familiar with Microsoft’s supply chain.

Getting its next Xbox mass produced early will certainly help get the new console into the hands of those that wish to purchase it. I can tell you from personal experience issues Microsoft had with getting enough Xbox 360 consoles into stores shortly after it was released was extremely annoying. Hopefully Microsoft has learned from their past launch mistakes and not only will make enough Xbox’s available, but will also make sure a high percentage of them don’t fail.