Despite rumors about devices like that Galaxy S 4 Google Edition, there's a feeling going in to Google I/O that this year's event could be much more focused on services than hardware. We're looking forward to news of Google Play Games, and in the hours leading up to the conference a new version of the Google Play Store has started arriving. On the surface, this looks to be a relatively minor polishing-up job. The app gets a few new button and image designs, and the colors are tweaked in some areas. Google also updated a couple text strings, and cleaned up how you redeem gift cards. There ...

One of my biggest pet peeves with smartphones has been their branding. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, it's all a bit like a car showroom: some models have lovely, flowery names without the slightest hint of a descriptive element, where others bog their names down with overly-descriptive initialisms - instead of GT and 4WD we have HD and LTE. In recent years, I've had the feeling that things were slowly getting better, with phone names trending towards a happy medium between those extremes. Most recently, some of Samsung's models caught my eye as a prime example of really ...

Late last week we talked about a theory regarding the launch of Verizon's version of the HTC One. While it was heavily based on speculation, the idea that Verizon might take advantage of an event during the upcoming CTIA conference to announce the smartphone seemed pretty darn logical. Verizon continues to remain tight-lipped about the situation, but we get a little bit of circumstantial evidence supporting the One launch theory today, upon seeing Verizon heavily discount the HTC Droid DNA. After all, the predominant theory for why Verizon has kept its distance from the One concerns last ...

You've seen us go hands-on with Nokia's new Lumia 925. You've seen us check out the color options available for the handset, and even how it measures-up to the Lumia 920 and 928. Our Lumia 925 coverage continues as we see how the latest Windows Phone 8 handset looks when put up against two of the heaviest hitters over on the Android side of the fence, Samsung's Galaxy S 4 and the HTC One. Obviously, the GS4 and One have the 925 out-classed from a raw silicon standpoint, but there's so much more that contributes to making a phone the phone that is than just the processor. Will the 925's ...

Nokia's big London event didn't bring us a 41-megapixel PureView Lumia, but that doesn't mean that we didn't get to see some significant new hardware. The Lumia 925 may be more of a gradual evolution of existing models from a hardware perspective, but the new metallic design certainly marks a notable departure from the colorful, plastic handsets that have dictated the design language of Lumias thus far. Now that the complete trio of 92x devices has gone official (at least, we think that's the last of 'em) we wanted to bring together some of our editors to share our opinions on Nokia's ...

With Nokia's latest product announcement now behind us, attentions are rapidly turning to this week's other big circle on the smartphone calendar: Google I/O 2013. The event kicks-off tomorrow, but Google's already hard at work getting San Francisco's Moscone Center ready for the the crowds. Some photos of the team's progress gives us a little preview of what to expect. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like this photoset is going to deliver in quite the same way as some staging photos from a big expo like MWC or an Apple event where a product announcement is due, as we're not seeing any ...

Back in April, we got word that Verizon would be adding its own version of the Galaxy S 4 to its lineup sometime in May. As we moved closer to the end of April, we saw pre-orders for the phone begin, and finally learned just when it would hit the carrier: May 30. Several weeks have passed since, and Verizon has a touch of good news for its subscribers, revealing today that the GS4 will arrive early. Instead of May 30, Verizon will get the Galaxy S 4 a full week earlier, on May 23. We wonder if Samsung simply committed to having stocks ready earlier, or if Verizon has moved things up as a ...

Last week's news of a big HTC First price cut resulted in mixed reactions. Some saw it as great news, making an already hot phone even more affordable. On the other hand, that big of a cut, that early on in the phone's life, had others talking about the beginning of the end for the First. Today a new rumor claims that the latter situation is closer to the truth, and the First could be getting an early retirement. BGR claims to have heard from its sources that dismal First sales - to the tune of a mere 15,000 units - are causing the carrier to abandon the phone, rather than ride things out ...