Motorola UK Boss Leaving the Company in Wake of Lenovo Acquisition

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For smartphone manufacturer Motorola, a lot has happened in the last few years, and for some, it’s now time to move on. In the last four or so years alone, Motorola has been sold to Google, made a comeback of sorts and subsequently been sold to Lenovo. It’s safe to say that it’s been pretty rough for Motorola these past few years, struggling to find the right footing in a market dominated by Samsung and Apple, to being bought by Google for patents more than anything else. The acquisition by Lenovo left a lot of us feeling nervous for the company’s future and it’d seem that Motorola UK’s boss felt the same, and is now leaving the company.

Andrew Morley, Managing Director for Motorola’s UK operations is now leaving the company, saying that it’s “very difficult to commit to another three years at the company now that it is in the hands of Lenovo.” We’re not sure why Morley feels Lenovo is going to somehow adversely effect Motorola’s direction, after all they’ve made the ThinkPad more successful than it’s ever been and they’re one of the few PC manufacturers that is successful right now. Morley’s decision might be more down to Google’s apparent washing its hands of Motorola than Lenovo’s involvement, saying that “Google was a great employer, and many people stuck around at Motorola because of Google, but now that incentive has gone.”

Morley explains that he was only told of the acquisition 30 minutes before the public announcement, something that we’re sure didn’t help his upcoming decision whether or not to stay with the company. Little things like this make it seem more and more like Google was simply looking to offload the sinking ship that Motorola had seemingly become.

Morley hasn’t decided what he’s going to do next, heading to another UK division of a mobile firm is on the cards, but it looks like the former Motorola UK exec is just looking forward to taking a well-earned break. While Motorola’s international position is up in the air as we wait to see how Lenovo manages the company, the Moto G has been a successful product for them in the UK, putting them back on the map across the Atlantic. We doubt that Morley holds any discontent for the company’s new owners, after all he has been there for 7 years now, and everyone needs a change every once in a while.

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TWRP Recovery Released for the Oppo Find 7a Before the Device is Available Stateside

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The team behind Team Win Recovery Project has outdone themselves again. They work hard to bring you the latest recoveries for your devices, and this time they’ve done it before the device in question is even released in the U.S. or Europe. I’m talking about the Oppo Find 7a. TeamWin has already released their latest TWRP recovery for the Find 7a. The device is still only available for pre-order here, but that didn’t stop TeamWin from making it happen. The device is only available in China at the moment, but that was enough for these amazing devs to build TWRP and release it to us.

This recovery is only for the Oppo Find 7a, not the higher-end Find 7. All you’ll need is an unlocked bootloader, which Oppo makes easy to do. Oppo is one of the most developer friendly manufacturers today, making it very easy for anyone to unlock and tinker with their device. You can flash the TWRP recovery image in fastboot mode. Very simple to do, and then you’ll be ready to start flashing new ROMs and mods. That is, of course, once the phone starts shipping to regions outside of China. You can pre-order the Find 7a now on the Oppo website. The device is $499 and should begin shipping by the end of this month.

The Oppo Find 7 and Find 7a are similar devices, but the Find 7a takes a little bit of step down in a couple of areas. Both devices sport a 5.5-display, with the 7 having a 1440p display resolution while the 7a is just 1080p. You probably won’t be able to tell the difference, even with the devices side-by-side. The Find 7 has a 3,000 mAh battery, while the 7a has a slightly smaller 2,800 mAh battery. The Find 7 will come with 3GB of RAM, the Find 7a only has 2GB of RAM. The internal storage is a little smaller on the 7a, at only 16GB, while the Find 7 will ship with 32GB of storage space. Both models have a microSD card for storage expansion, though, so that’s not a big deal.

You can head over to the TWRP site and download the recovery now, if you’d like to be ready for when your Oppo Find 7a arrives.

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Samsung’s New Gear Fit Commercial Demonstrates Their Idea Of Proper Use

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Samsung’s new ad spots are attempting to attract people on more of an individual level this year, as the latest commercial from the Korean manufacturer is out and it’s about their new Gear Fit wearable fitness band, that displays how it fits into one persons life. A recently released commercial came out last week about the Galaxy S5, promptly on time after the official launch on all major US carriers and other regions around the globe presenting the same message. Now they’re showing just how one should be using the Gear Fit, or rather how we can use it and how it would benefit anyone who decides to pick one up. The commercial is quick and to the point, just like their last one about the S5, so it begs the question of whether or not it will work.

Would you be more interested in buying a Gear Fit after seeing this commercial? We have to admit, watching it definitely gets us a little more interested in a fitness band, but not necessarily the Gear Fit. The video goes through different uses for the Gear Fit and displays the wearer with her Gear Fit on in different settings, which seeks to show potential buyers how it can apply to just about every aspect of your day. From work, to workout, to play and beyond, Samsung wants you to know how the Gear Fit can put you more in touch with your health, while also making things more convenient.

We all know that the Gear Fit is water resistant, so being able to wear it out in the rain like in this video is a good way to show how the elements shouldn’t slow you down from getting out there and staying active. While this commercial may not sway some into buying, if you are considering picking up a Gear Fit, what are some of the things that you’re looking forward to most with it? You’ll be able to track your steps, monitor your heart rate, and interact with incoming calls all from the convenience of your wrist, and although it isn’t the least expensive option out there for these types of wearables functions, it is cheaper than Samsung’s own alternative option with the Gear 2.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Samsung Galaxy S5 Edges Out HTC One M8 in SquareTrade’s Breakability Test

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The smartphones that release these days are generally slim and sexy pieces of kit, but unfortunately, we usually end up paying for those eye-pleasing aesthetics through fragility. Smartphones can’t exactly be considered the most durable devices on the block, after all. SquareTrade, a company that offers insurance plans on devices like smartphones and tablets, has rated the “breakability” of the Samsung Galaxy S5 as it relates to two other prominent Android smartphones – the HTC One M8 and the Nexus 5.

The results for the Galaxy S5 are encouraging. SquareTrade rates the breakability of a device on a 1-10 scale, with lower numbers being better. The Galaxy S5 slightly edged out the One M8, with the S5 taking home a score of 6 to the M8′s 6.5. The Nexus 5 posted a score of 7 in its own test, which means the S5 had the upper hand on Google’s latest flagship as well. Just the same, the Galaxy S4 had a breakability score of 7, so Samsung seems to be improving durability between iterations of its most popular device.

However, all three of those big Android devices ended up losing out to the iPhone 5S, which scored a 5.5 in SquareTrade’s breakability test. Though we all love Android for one reason or another, it would appear that manufacturers have some catching up to do in terms of durability. As you can see from SquareTrade’s infographic (click the thumbnail below to see the full-sized image), the Galaxy S5 can boast a “low risk” rating for the front and back panels, water resistance, and the drop test. It’s weight gives it a “medium risk” rating in that department, while its overall size, performance in the slide test, and “gripability” all land in realm of “high risk.” With those results in mind, you don’t necessarily need to panic if you drop your Galaxy S5, but if you do something like slide it across pavement, then it’s time to worry.

All in all, it’s encouraging to see that the Galaxy S5 offers a durability improvement over its predecessor and other high-profile Android devices, but that score of 6 could definitely be improved when we make the jump to the Galaxy S6 next year. Have any of you early Galaxy S5 adopters experienced any problems with durability, or do you think your phone will survive some close encounters? Head down to the comments section to let us know.

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HTC America President Says Sense 6.0 Is Coming To The HTC One Before The End Of May

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Now that the HTC One M8 is out and available for purchase, some of you on the older HTC One M7 may be wondering when you’ll be able to get your hands on the UI refresh. I’m talking of course about Sense 6.0, and the answer might be closer than some of you might think. Although maybe not as there hasn’t really been an official lock down on the time yet and rumors were flying around that it could be sooner than it is. According to HTC America President Jason Mackenzie, the HTC One M7 will be getting its official update to Sense 6 sometime before the end of May, so it sounds like it’s hitting just before the beginning of the summer. We’d have thought that it might pop up a little sooner than that ourselves, but often these things take time and HTC wants to make sure things work correctly.

HTC One M7 users may already have KitKat in hand, but they’re still lacking the newer goodness that Sense 6 has to offer, like the updated BlinkFeed widget for the homescreen and dozens of other new features that aim to please. Sense 6 is also said to be a lot lighter and less weighty than the previous version of HTC Sense, which we’re sure our own Alex Maxham and Tom Dawson can attest to. The UI update also looks quite a bit more colorful, so expect an overall better looking experience from HTC One if you run it stock. The news about the update was posted up to Twitter via Jason Mackenzie earlier, so we finally have an official word from someone at HTC. Now if we could just narrow the possibilities down to an exact day? All jokes aside, we’re sure that plenty of old HTC One users will be very happy to have a better idea of when to expect this update to hit.

More information about the timeframe or an exact day is said to be updated on the HTC software update website, so as soon as we know more about the intimate details we’ll update you all here. As of now the software updates page has no information regarding Sense 6 for the One, so we just have to sit tight for now.

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Android Headlines Will Be At Google IO 2014, Will You?

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Google I/O 2014 is fast approaching and some of us can’t wait to see what Google has in store for us this year. We’re sure to see some cool stuff pop up like perhaps something new with the next Android build, and we could see something that has to do with either the Moto 360, the LG G watch or just Android Wear in general. One thing is for certain, it will be an exciting experience with tons of stuff to see and plenty to learn about what’s next for Android and Google. The registration to enter the Google I/O lottery begins tomorrow morning and will end on April 18th, so if you want a shot at going be sure to submit your application before the deadline. As this is a lottery Google will be randomly selecting applicants from the pool of registration submissions, and they’ll notify those people one week after the application submission ends on the 18th. We’ll be on site to make sure you bring the latest information to you as quickly as possible, as we know you’re all just as excited as we are to see what comes next. If you’re planning on submitting an application to attend, you can do so by going to the Google I/O 2014 website.

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Office Online Comes To Chrome Through The Web Store

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Microsoft has updated their suite of Office Online applications today, and not just with some new tweaks and features, as they have also made their most popular office online apps available in the Chrome Web Store. Chrome browser users can now install Word Online, Powerpoint Online, and OneNote Online as one-click accessible web apps from within Chrome, as opposed to using those services through the web portal that was introduced last month. Excel Online will be made available as an installable web app soon, but it is not currently available to install within Chrome.

This means that alongside having all those services available already through Google Docs, users will have another option coming from competitor Microsoft. All four services have gotten some enhancements, which you can dive right into as soon as you install the apps. OneNote Online, now has an easy to use one click printing feature, so that all your notes taken inside OneNote can now be printed out onto a piece of paper, so you can take those notes with you to class or print out those directions you were storing. Word Online is also now more improved, with the ability to edit and change comments at the same time as others. Footnotes and endnotes have also been more simplified.

When it comes to Powerpoint Online, you’ll notice improved performance, while text editing and the Tell Me feature have been added in. Advancement of slides have been sped up, and you can also now play back embedded YouTube videos as well. The text editor has been engineered to make your edits look more like your final revision, so you can have a better idea of how things will look when they’re all said and done. Once the Excel Online web app is available, you’ll be able to insert new comments and delete existing ones. Excel Online now also includes the Tell Me feature like PowerPoint, which allows users to ask the app how to do something and get presented with solutions in a drop down list to perform the actions quickly. If you already use Office Online, you can get the web apps from the Chrome Web Store as of now and start creating documents quicker right from the desktop with the click of a button, meaning no logins.

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