Mihăiță Bamburic

Mobile devices have completely transformed the way we connect with others. We can chat from anywhere these days, assuming there is an Internet connection available. What was once primarily aimed at browsers and traditional PCs has since fully embraced mobile computing, or vanished. There are also new, mobile-friendly apps and services that leverage features offered by smart devices to offer more personal and private ways to reach friends, family, coworkers and other folks.

For social butterflies Windows Phone has quite a lot to offer. The tiled smartphone operating system neatly integrates with popular services like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, allowing users to easily post updates from within their Me tile, see what others are doing and respond to their activity on said social networks in the People hub. But there are also dedicated apps available in Store that offer more, and we are going to take a look at the best of them in this article.

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South Korean maker Samsung is now rolling out the Android 4.4.2 KitKat update for its Galaxy Note 3 phablet. The software upgrade arrives more than two months after Google announced the latest version of its mobile operating system.

The code that Samsung is rolling out now is identical to the version that leaked earlier, and is available for the international (SM-9005) model of the Galaxy Note 3. Unsurprisingly, the first stage of the roll out commences in Poland.

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At trade shows all around the world companies try to impress us with catchphrases, unique features, buzzwords, claims of how important and innovative their new products are and the perennial promise that whatever they are offering will tremendously improve the quality of our lives. CES being one of the most important trade shows is certainly no exception.

CES is about consumer tech and companies do not shy away from trying to reinvent the wheel or exploring new territories. Still, as anyone will tell you, mistakes can easily be made no matter the playing field and, as a result, weird things can happen. Last year it was an iPad-equipped potty that took the grand prize. Now lets take a look at the most bizarre things CES had to offer in 2014.

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Finnish maker Nokia has announced the Lumia Black update roll out for its Windows Phone 8 smartphone lineup. The latest software upgrade, which is set to first reach the Lumia 1020 and Lumia 925, is based on Windows Phone 8 Update 3, and adds a number of exclusive features.

Nokia's official announcement comes nearly three months after Microsoft took the wraps off Windows Phone 8 Update 3. The latest version of the tiled smartphone operating system brings an orientation lock, support for quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processors and 1080p displays and an extra live tile column on phablet screens, as the most important changes. Now let's take a look at what Nokia adds on top of this.

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With the rise in popularity of Windows Phone, the Store has reached an important milestone as more than 200,000 apps are now available. That is good news and certainly impressive for the third-most popular smartphone platform, considering its track record. However, such numbers are actually meaningless as users do not install, or need, every available title. It is the quality, and not the quantity, that matters.

And, of all available Windows Phone apps, only a small part can be considered essential, or the best for most people. Those are the titles that can enrich the user experience, and add great value atop of what the tiled smartphone operating system offers. So without further ado, here are the must-have apps for your Windows Phone.

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When I was a teenager I used to love having stickers on some of my things -- furniture, school notebooks and my PC. Of course, I later regretted my decision to "personalize" my belongings, but at the time it was fun and, in my mind, cool. I especially enjoyed seeing the logos of major then-popular tech companies, like Intel, AMD, Nvidia, ATI, on the front of the PC case. It meant something for me, and maybe others, at the time. My stance changed, rapidly, as I grew up.

After I bought my first laptop, the first thing I did was to remove the stickers that were on it. Unlike on my PC, they were not out of the way and, quite frankly, looked silly on my business-grade machine. For people who buy new Windows PCs, stickers are still a part of the present as you continue to have them on your (even flagship) devices. It is a common sight, even though they are in fact as attractive as the plague. Sadly, the same trend is emerging on new Windows tablets. I'm looking at you, Lenovo and Toshiba. How disappointing. And here I was thinking that stickers were reserved only for the cheapest and gaudiest Android slates that are usually displayed in supermarkets. I was, unfortunately, wrong. But so are you for placing them there. Why can't you escape that aging stink that surrounds you and move on with the times?

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Windows Phone may have managed to overtake Apple's iPhone in a small number of markets, based on sales, and become the third most popular smartphone operating system, but it -- and the devices that run it -- do not get much love from US consumers who are still buying Android smartphones and iPhones in droves.

Based on a new report from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, in the US Windows Phone continues to struggle to gain considerable traction as the OS only had a paltry 4.7 percent market share, in the three months ending November 2013. This may represent a whopping 80.76 percent increase compared to the same period from 2012, but it is not large enough to even remotely threaten the local dominance of either Android or iOS. The results of the report are based on smartphone sales.

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Battery life has long been the Achilles' heel for Windows laptops, as manufacturers have mostly focused on other areas such as outright performance, portability or touchscreens. Consumers who have needed to use their device unplugged for a considerable amount of time have had to attach an external or extended capacity battery, turn to an Apple MacBook (Air) or even switch to a tablet.

Samsung, though, is looking to change the perception that Windows laptops and great battery life do not mix. The South Korean maker's latest ultrabook, the ATIV Book 9 2014 Edition that was just unveiled at CES, touts 14 hours of battery life. If the device can deliver on its promise, it will be a game changer.

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Hours after Nvidia announced its new Tegra K1 processor, rival US company Qualcomm took the wraps off two new chips, called Snapdragon 802 and Snapdragon 602A, designed for home entertainment and in-car infotainment solutions, respectively.

The Snapdragon 802 is an iteration of the year-old Snapdragon 800, which was presented at CES 2013. The processor is aimed at the next generation of smart digital media adapters, set-top boxes and TVs. Unsurprisingly, it comes with 4K support and a number of technologies designed for efficient power consumption and resource-intensive applications, such as games.

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As in previous years, most of the fun associated with CES actually happens before the famous trade show officially starts. Major tech companies rush to announce their new products ahead of the big opening day (January 7, for CES 2014) in an attempt to steal the show, like Lenovo just did with its Windows 8.1-based ThinkPad Tablet 8. For those who are not already there, CES could likely be over before it kicks off.

Nvidia is also part of the pre-CES announcements, as the US company has already announced a new mobile processor, called Tegra K1. The new chip is based on the Kepler architecture, that is used in the GeForce GTX 790Ti video card. "For the first time, next-generation PC gaming will now be available on mobile platforms", says Nvidia.

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Even though CES has yet to officially commence (it starts on January 7), tech companies have already started to announce products that will be showcased at the well-known trade show. One of the latest is Chinese maker Lenovo, which just unveiled its newest Windows 8.1 tablet, the ThinkPad Tablet 8.

Unlike some other 8-inch Windows 8.1 tablets that we have seen so far, the ThinkPad Tablet 8 is the first to actually rival, specs-wise, the latest Android flagship slates and Apple's iPad Mini with Retina display. Heck, it is so intriguing that I might actually buy one (assuming that it will be available, locally).

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Snapchat has received quite a bit of publicity after allegedly turning down buyout offers of billions of dollars from Facebook and Google. Now, the service is in the spotlight once again following a leak which exposed 4.6 million phone numbers and usernames.

Snapchat has responded to the leak in a blog post, which explains that the culprit is actually an abuse of the Find Friends feature. According to the service, "it was possible for an attacker to use the functionality of Find Friends to upload a large number of random phone numbers and match them with Snapchat usernames. On New Years Eve [sic], an attacker released a database of partially redacted phone numbers and usernames. No other information, including Snaps, was leaked or accessed in these attacks".

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As mobile operators across the globe continue to roll out 4G LTE networks, more consumers will be able to take advantage of faster data speeds. By 2017, market research firm Strategy Analytics predicts that the technology will reach 1 billion connections. The main requirement, on the user side, is a compatible, 4G LTE device.

Nowadays, 4G LTE smartphones are increasing in number and availability, but without mobile operator subsidies consumers may still be put off by the cost. Luckily for price-conscious buyers, more vendors are lowering the admission bar by offering even more affordable 4G LTE phones. French consumer electronics company Archos just revealed that one of its latest such devices can be had under the magical €200 mark.

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A quick look at the Windows Phone market portrays an interesting picture, a landscape that is dominated by a single maker, Nokia. Competition is practically non-existent, as the Finnish company takes the lion's share for both sales and usage. How can other vendors challenge it?

Nokia's market share for Windows Phone usage exceeds 90 percent and dwarfs that of HTC, Samsung and Huawei which struggle to overcome their near-anonymity on the platform. Sales reveal a similar tale. And, as soon as Microsoft takes control of Nokia's phone-making arm, this problem will grow even larger. Consumers will suffer and so will Microsoft, which will find itself in a very difficult spot trying to convince manufacturers that it's OK to play and, despite its role as the sole developer and main vendor, there will be no backfire. That is a tough sell. So what can be done?

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Right before the end of the year, Microsoft releases an update for its OneNote Android app which adds major features and improvements, as well as better integration with the mobile operating system.

OneNote now makes it easier for Android users to share content from another app, as the new version of the note-taking software introduces an Add to OneNote option in the OS' Share via menu. Rival players like Evernote have offered this feature for quite some time, so it's nice to see that Microsoft is paying attention to the competition and enabling a more tailored user experience.

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