Mihăiță Bamburic

You can easily increase the amount of storage that's available with your OneDrive for free. Bonus space can be unlocked by referring the service to your friends and enabling the auto camera upload feature in the mobile apps. The most that you can get though is 20 GB. Those of us who have been using the service from the early days also get a loyalty bonus of 10 GB. But maybe that's still not enough.

As you may know, Microsoft has recently started to give Bing Rewards users the option to unlock a further 100 GB of free OneDrive storage. The catch? Only folks using the service in US have been welcome. However, now you can get the same treatment worldwide. Here's how.

Continue reading →

Google had become rather predictable at introducing new major Android releases, announcing two a year, when we most expected them -- around late-June and October. But this changed in 2014. Lollipop stood alone. What's more, the first major update that followed -- version 5.1, which came earlier this year -- arrived completely unannounced. There wasn't even a blog post about it, as we confirmed its existence based on reports from folks who discovered it on their Android One smartphones, and a mention in passing on the Android One site.

Weeks after Android 5.1 was revealed to exist we are still waiting for Google to tell us more -- well, something -- about it, including when we should expect to see it available in the Android Open Source Project. Luckily, we may now know this important detail thanks to an HTC VP.

Continue reading →

Some of the features that have made Windows Phone special, differentiating it from its rivals, are slowly being stripped away. The latest victim is Rooms, which Microsoft has announced it will no longer be supporting starting next month. What a shame.

The software giant says that, as a result, users of Windows Phone 8 and Windows Phone 8.1 will be unable to chat with their Room contacts, create new rooms, add or remove members, or change permissions. And, if they upgrade to Windows 10 Technical Preview, their beloved rooms will be gone forever.

Continue reading →

The four-largest carriers in US have come up with a list of measures designed to make phone unlocking easier for their customers, following pressure from FCC and activist groups, among others. The deadline for enforcing these measures passed last week, so how do AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon fare today?

According to consumer rights activist Sina Khanifar, surprisingly to some, Verizon, which is the leading carrier in US, is the only player that implements all the measures. At the other end of the spectrum are T-Mobile and Sprint, which appear to be doing a shoddy job, only managing to implement half.

Continue reading →

Google today announces the arrival of Android One in the Philippines, bringing the number of countries where the program is offered to six. The first Android One smartphones to launch in the Philippines are called Cherry One and MyPhone Uno, and they'll both come with Android 5.1 Lollipop out-of-the-box.

Google says that both smartphones will be available to local consumers in the coming weeks, featuring hardware specifications that are on par with those of other Android One devices. Let's take a look at what One and Uno have to offer.

Continue reading →

Smartglasses are tricky. You have people who don't like to wear glasses. Those who do may not like their design. They can also be tiring to wear for extended periods of time, as Google Glass Explorers have confessed. Not to mention that smartglasses are also very expensive. And, at least for the time being, consumers are not taking the plunge, as they appear to be perfectly happy with using just their smartphones.

The lack of consumer interest, and Google recently killing its beloved Glass project, hasn't stopped Japanese maker Sony from coming out with its own pair of smartglasses. They're called SmartEyeglass Developer Edition SED-E1, and they're available for pre-order starting today.

Continue reading →

When designing smartwatches, manufacturers tend to miss what makes plain old watches attractive. So they come up with products that look overly geeky, have short battery life, and feel too fragile. Motorola is the only one to have come close to an appealing design with its Moto 360, but it, sadly, missed the mark in other areas.

With the newly-announced Watch Urbane, LG gives the impression that it too understands that smartwatches have to look great, first of all, and then woo us with all the bells and whistles that come with the software. But does it also nail the other bits?

Continue reading →

We always knew that the US government would have a very tough time stopping civilians from using drones -- formally known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). First of all, they are easily available and can be had for very little money. You can order one today from Amazon for less than $100. And, second, flying does not require the operator to have any special skills, as proven by numerous videos posted by enthusiasts all across YouTube.

So, instead of taking on that Herculean task, the Federal Aviation Administration has come up with a proposed set of rules that aim to regulate the use of small UAVs, weighing less than 55 lbs (or 25 kg), by the civilian sector. And under this new set of rules, Amazon might have to ground its package delivery drones for good. What's more, operators will have to meet certain requirements just to get theirs up from the ground.

Continue reading →

In less than a week, HERE has seen two major updates. The first brought more accurate maps to Android and Windows Phone users, making way for turn-by-turn navigation in more countries. And the second brings a slew of improvements to HERE for Android as the app finally drops the beta label.

Having used HERE on Android right from the start, I have to say that there is little that I miss compared to what the app suite has to offer on Windows Phone. Still, this hasn't stopped Nokia from making some tweaks here and there. Here's what the latest update brings to the table.

Continue reading →

Office Online is great for creating simple documents, presentations and spreadsheets, as well as doing some light editing, while maintaining compatibility with the full-blown version of Office. The web suite may not be as powerful, and that's fine. Not everyone needs the most advanced features that Office has to offer.

Still, Microsoft has been working hard on improving Office Online, to make it even more powerful and refined. The latest update, which is available now, adds more depth to the features offered by the web suite.

Continue reading →

HERE Maps users on Android and Windows Phone are being treated to a major map update today, which expands the list of regions where turn-by-turn navigation is available, improves map quality in a number of regions, and increases the accuracy of public transit information in more cities, among other things.

In fact, Nokia claims that there are too many changes in this update to list individually, but says that they impact users all over the globe. Let's take a look at the biggest changes.

Continue reading →

Nokia Lumia Icon is among the last Windows Phones to receive a software update to Windows Phone 8.1, despite its flagship credentials. But this shouldn't surprise anyone. After all, Lumia Icon features Verizon's logo. And we all know that big red is not exactly quick with updates.

In fact, despite being a Verizon exclusive, Lumia Icon is long gone from the carrier's portfolio. Talk about support there! The only Windows Phones Verizon sells now are HTC One (M8) for Windows and Samsung ATIV SE. Still, Lumia Icon will at least get Lumia Denim, which is based on Windows Phone 8.1 Update 1, quite possibly before any other high-end Windows Phone in US.

Continue reading →

Consumers looking to purchase their first smartphone have so many options to choose from that the only way manufacturers can differentiate is by giving their devices more upscale, standout features. In a time when 4G LTE is on the rise, faster data speeds would certainly qualify. And with the 2015 Moto E, Motorola is finally giving its future customers just that.

Yes, folks, the 2015 Moto E will arrive packing 4G LTE cellular connectivity, at a price that is similar to its predecessor's. And it will run Android 5.0 Lollipop out-of-the-box.

Continue reading →

Most people may be inclined to think that today is just another Monday, but tech enthusiasts all around the globe know better. That's because the second Monday of February is when we celebrate Clean Out Your Computer Day. It's time for our PCs and laptops to get some well-deserved TLC, folks!

Of course, Clean Out Your Computer Day shouldn't be only about plain-old computers. Our mobile devices are just as important, so feel free to include them too! Here are some of the things you can do on Clean Out Your Computer Day.

Continue reading →

There is no doubt in my mind that Microsoft really wants to make Windows 10 available for as many Windows Phone 8.1 devices as possible. The software giant envisions a future when "the idea of asking 'What version are you on?' will cease to make sense" -- that can only be achieved by getting existing users on board through software updates.

However, it would seem that hardware limitations are getting in the way. The vast majority of smartphones running Windows Phone 8.1 are low-spec devices, packing just 512 MB of RAM. Their meager hardware may not be able to handle all of Windows 10's features, according to Microsoft's Joe Belfiore.

Continue reading →