Kelly Hodgkins

Samsung may be developing a mobile payment system to rival Apple Pay, reports Re/code. The Korean handset manufacturer reportedly is negotiating with payments startup LoopPay about the system, which it plans to debut it in 2015. The combined Samsung and LoopPay system would allow customers to wave their Samsung phones at payment terminals instead of swiping credit cards or paying with cash...

T-Mobile today announced that it will be broadcasting a "fireside chat" with CEO John Legere and Yahoo Tech's David Pogue tomorrow. During the live webcast, Legere will announce the terms of "Un-carrier 8.0" and answer questions about the latest chapter in the company's ongoing Un-carrier initiative to differentiate itself from the other major U.S. providers. Details on the changes T-Mobile ...

Amid the explosion in popularity of streaming music services, Warner Music Group continues to support the concept, as long as subscribers are paying for the music to which they are listening, reports Re/code. Warner's CEO Stephen Cooper spoke about the company's growing interest in streaming music during the company's latest earnings conference call which was held last week. Streaming music...

BBC One later this week is airing a documentary, Apple's Broken Promises, that profiles factory conditions for overseas workers who are producing components and assembling the company's iPhone 6. Richard Bilton and his team at current affairs program Panorama went undercover to examine Chinese factory life and mining conditions in Indonesia. Apple is the most valuable brand on the planet,...

Manufacturing of Apple's A9 processor is reportedly underway in Samsung's Austin, Texas plant, according to Korea's ET News (via The Verge). Samsung is believed to be handling the bulk of the orders for the A9 using its 14-nanometer chip process, with rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) contributing a supplementary supply. Samsung and TSMC have been competing for Apple's ...

Canada's Competition Bureau confirmed on Thursday that it is investigating Apple's contracts with wireless carriers to determine whether they violate the country's anti-trust laws, reports CNET. The investigation is in the early stages, with the Bureau filing a court order to compel Apple to supply documents that will assist with its investigation. Apple is being accused of including...

Accolades for Apple's Zorlu store in Istanbul, Turkey continue to roll in with the company's Zorlu store winning the both the Supreme Award for Structural Engineering Excellence and the award for best Commercial or Retail Structures at the Structural Awards 2014. This Supreme award is given to the building that exemplifies the "finest example of structural engineering design" for the year....

With Apple's Watch looming on the horizon, fitness makers are moving to push their services to a variety of individual and corporate customers. The latest band maker to improve its offerings is Jawbone, which this week announced a new program designed to get its UP fitness bands into the office and on the wrists of business people in the US. The new UP for Groups provides discounts on bulk...

Microsoft today released a suite of five consumer apps under the MSN brand, bringing news, health, and other previously Windows Phone-exclusive apps from the Bing team to the iOS platform (via ZDNet). This launch follows the recent expansion of Microsoft's Office for iOS suite to the iPhone that produced standalone versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint to Apple's smartphone devices. The...

Nokia's revamped navigation app, HERE, will be landing on iOS early next year, according to a company blog post that also announced the official launch of its Android version. HERE will enter a crowded field that includes Apple Maps, Google Maps, and titles from established navigation companies such as Garmin and TomTom. Nokia says its decision to bring the app to Apple's mobile platform is ...

Mad Catz Interactive today officially started shipping its C.T.R.L.i and Micro C.T.R.L.i Bluetooth-enabled mobile gamepads. Announced earlier this year at Mobile World Congress, the controllers are compatible with Apple's latest iOS devices running iOS 7 and iOS 8. While there has been some limited availability of at least the larger model through several retailers in recent weeks, today's...

Apple's OS X faced an increasing number of malicious attacks in the past year with antivirus firm Kaspersky Lab noting roughly 3.7 million infection attempts blocked by its software, the firm reports in its 2014 Security Bulletin (via The Telegraph). The annual report quantifies malicious activity by analyzing attacks blocked by Kaspersky's anti-malware products. According to the 2014 report, ...

As noted by Re/code, YouTube today updated its app for the Apple TV, improving its appearance and expanding the content available to stream. With this update, the Apple TV version catches up to the Xbox, PlayStation and other similar streaming devices. Besides a refreshed design, the new YouTube Apple TV update adds features such as personalized recommendations, channel subscriptions and...

Apple announced on Tuesday that it will be opening a new research and development center in Japan, reports The Wall Street Journal. The announcement followed a statement by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who revealed earlier today that Apple was eyeing Japan for its research expansion. Abe relayed the information about Apple while campaigning in Tokyo, stating that Apple planned to...

China's minister of the Cyberspace Administration recently sat down with Tim Cook for a meeting that included discussion about the Apple Watch and Chinese security concerns, reports China.com.cn (via Bloomberg Businessweek). Lu's visit to the U.S. also included meetings with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Cook was photographed showing off his wrist watch to Internet...

Apple is continuing to expand its digital audio expertise with the recent addition of digital signal processing (DSP) expert Dana Massie to its team as an SoC Audio Architect. Massie has over 30 years of extensive experience working with DSP hardware and software architecture with high-profile companies such as Audience and Waves, as well as prior brief stints at Apple and NeXT. While at...

Foxconn recently deployed robots to help assemble iPhones and other Apple devices, but so far the program may not be as successful as first anticipated. According to the Chinese economic website Jiemian (via G for Games), the first-generation Foxconn robots are not precise enough to meet Apple's standards. In the first stage of deployment, the "Foxbots" have been tasked with menial jobs...

After years of speculation, Apple may be preparing to open its first retail store in Belgium in the city of Brussels, reports Belgian blog Apple Nieuws Vlaanderen. Apple yesterday posted six job listings for vacant positions in the upcoming Brussels location. Details on the store and its location were not provided in the listing, but the store is believed to be planned on the...

Spotify is trying to boost its subscriber numbers with a holiday promotion that lets customers test drive the service at a minimal monthly cost. The new holiday promotion is available now and offers three months of Spotify Premium for just 99 cents. Spotify Premium is the company's top-tier plan that allows users to download music for offline use, stream while on their mobile devices, and...

Apple is reportedly planning to expand its 2015 iPhone lineup to include a new 4-inch model, according to Asian sources [Google Translate] cited by G for Games. The smaller form factor would bring back the ease of one-hand usage that was lost when Apple introduced its larger iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus handsets. The supply chain sources suggest the new phone may debut in the second half 2015 with...