Mihăiță Bamburic

Samsung is pushing the size boundaries of phablets with a new device it unveiled today, called Galaxy W. The handset rivals small tablets, like the Google Nexus 7, in the display department, yet has the necessary hardware to work as a phone. Is it still a phablet though?

Thanks to devices like the Galaxy W, phablets and small tablets are two categories that clearly overlap when it comes to display size, and since there is no clear distinction between the two, other than, perhaps, the ability to make phone calls, it is difficult to define what the Galaxy W exactly is. But, before you go about answering that question, look at the marketing image Samsung provides for the Galaxy W. Next to one's ear it looks almost as big as that person's head. It seems to look far more natural in the hand, as a tablet.

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Samsung may be associated with Android thanks to the success of its Galaxy smartphones and tablets, but the South Korean maker is also invested heavily in Tizen. The latter powers its new smartwatches and, via a software upgrade, older models as well. And, today, we can add a new device to the powered-by-Tizen list, the Samsung Z.

The Samsung Z is Samsung's first Tizen-based smartphone, which, on the outside, looks much like the company's premium Galaxy handsets. It features a physical home button, placed between two capacitive keys (home and menu), and a faux-leather back with stitching patterns, like on the popular Galaxy Note 3. It even borrows the now-obligatory gold color trim.

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Style Jukebox is a cloud player that lets you upload your personal music collection to the cloud so you can stream it to your Android, iOS, Windows and Windows Phone devices. It is designed to work both online and offline, so users can listen to their songs even in areas without cellular coverage.

Style Jukebox has been offered in a free, albeit ad-supported, version as well as in a premium one, the latter of which comes with more storage space, support for a higher number of linked devices, and support for more file types. Now, following a new round of funding, the startup's co-founder Ionut Antiu tells me Style Jukebox is improving its free plan so users will no longer see ads.

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Last year, South Korean maker Samsung introduced a number of variations of its Android flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S4, among which was a ruggedized model designed to work in harsh conditions. Dubbed the Galaxy S4 Active, it could even shoot video and play music through headphones underwater.

The specs of the new Galaxy S5 suggest that Samsung put an end to the Active designation, as the smartphone comes IP67-certified out-of-the-box. This means it is both dust and water-resistant, which suffices for those who do not leave their Galaxy S5 in the desert, construction sites, fish tanks, hot tubs, lakes and the like. Samsung, however, seems to think a Galaxy S5 Active has its place, as the smartphone was just unveiled.

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Yesterday, South Korean maker LG unveiled its much-awaited and much-leaked G3 Android flagship. My colleague Brian Fagioli, who was in New York at the press event, is impressed by the new smartphone, saying "the experience is greater than the sum of its (awesome) parts".

Less than a day after its unveiling, the G3 is already available to pre-order at UK retailer Clove. And, if you want to get your hands on the smartphone as soon as it is available on the market, you have to shell out £499. That is about €615 for those who live in other countries on the old continent. Those who live outside of Europe can forgo paying VAT, and get the G3 for £415.83, that equates to roughly $698.

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Wireless charging is a convenient alternative to the old-fashioned way of topping up the battery in a mobile device, the latter of which entails a cable connection to a PC or wall charger. Lay the device on a compatible charging plate, that is plugged in obviously, and it will start charging. It is not as fast as some would like it to be, as the amperage is not as high as what wall adapters deliver, but is considerably faster than what a USB connection outputs. And have I mentioned it is extremely convenient?

With a Nokia-branded wireless charging plate -- which is based on the popular Qi standard -- I can charge both my Lumia 920 and Google Nexus 7, without having to deal with wires laying around, worrying that I might trip over one at night. Even though the benefits are obvious, not many smartphone manufacturers have fully embraced the technology, only offering the feature through optional (read: expensive) accessories. Take Sony, for instance, which just now offers a way for Xperia Z2 owners to get their wireless charging fix.

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Android is, undoubtedly, the mobile operating system to go with for those who are enamored with customization options. There are apps that make way for overclocking, change the look of homescreens, add nifty widgets to the lockscreen, or replace the lockscreen altogether.

The lockscreen is one area where a third-party replacement can make a huge difference in usability, if it can bring more information, usually available through the most-used apps and on homescreens, to the forefront. Celltick is touting its overhauled lockscreen app, called Start, can do just that.

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Windows Phone may not be as attractive of a target to hackers as Android and iOS are, but that does not mean users should rest easy. As the platform's installed base grows so will the risks. While the tiled smartphone operating system is fairly secure -- it has received the coveted FIPS 140-2 certification -- there are a number of basic security measures and tools that allow users to keep their personal information, and Windows Phone, safe.

On top of the inconspicuous security features that Microsoft bakes into Windows Phone (such as app sandboxing, and exclusive access to the curated Store), users can leverage the built-in tool find my phone (read this article to find out how to use it), and various apps to step it up a notch. Well-known security firm Kaspersky focuses on the latter in a new blog post, listing five apps that "enhance security on your Windows Phone 8".

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Holding a device for ransom is a scary practice. Hackers seize control, and then ask the owner to pay a fee to unlock it. If the victim does not comply with their demand, there is little that can be done to regain access to private data, which may include sensitive information like bank account passwords, photos, work documents and so on. Some people cave in, paying the hackers. Others refuse and end up losing everything on their device.

Some Australian Apple users are reporting they are dealing with a hacker (or group of hackers) that goes by the name Oleg Pliss, that holds their iOS and Mac devices for ransom, demanding a certain fee (initial reports say $100) to relinquish control. Affected Apple devices have been locked through Find My iPhone, a tool that lets users track their enrolled iOS and Mac devices, basically rendering them useless.

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According to a new Kantar Worldpanel ComTech report, smartphone "fragmentation" is on the rise in Europe. Locally-emerging brands, like Huawei and Wiko, are giving established players, like Apple and Samsung, a run for their money, delivering comparable offerings at much lower prices. As the average selling price drops even further, the former are set to erode more of the latter's market share.

The report also suggests that some established brands, that have lost their way, are "showing resurgence" on the old continent. Dominic Sunnebo, the firm's strategic insight director, gives Motorola and Sony as example. The former has crawled its way back on Europe's radar with attractive smartphones like the low-cost Moto G and dirt-cheap Moto E, the latter of which is among the least expensive Android smartphones from a well-known vendor at £89 ($130 in US).

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Microsoft has talked a big game on becoming a devices and services company, but it was not until Office for iPad launched two months ago that the software giant's change of tune yielded something concrete for consumers, and its own customers, on rival platforms. It is the most important productivity suite to arrive on iPads in 2014 and, perhaps, the most important one since Apple's slate launched in 2010.

Microsoft has been praised for designing Office for iPad with touchscreen use in mind, making Excel, PowerPoint and Word powerful and easy to use on the small iPad displays, even without a keyboard as most Office users are accustomed to. It is clear this is not a quick porting job, and that the development process involved much more work. The Office team has a new blog post which reveals how Office for iPad was created.

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While wearables have yet to reach the popularity of smartphones or even tablets, shipments of bands reached an encouraging 2.7 million units in the first quarter of the year, according to a new report from analyst firm Canalys. The leader of the pack is Fitbit, with a dominating share of "nearly" 50 percent.

"Fitbit continued to ship most of the units in the basic band segment, despite the allergy-related recall of the Fitbit Force", says Canalys. The recall affected roughly one million units. "The issue was handled well and did not dramatically slow the company’s sales momentum", adds the firm. Fitbit outdid rivals like Pebble and Samsung, the last of which dominates the growing smartwatch landscape with the popular Galaxy Gear.

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The features of the new Microsoft Surface Pro 3 are impressive even when they are assessed individually. But they are even more impressive when grouped together in one single device, which might just be the first one of its kind that is actually the real deal -- it works as a tablet, it works as an ultrabook and it is good enough to replace both. At least that is what Microsoft is saying.

During the presentation event Microsoft made it clear the Surface Pro 3 is meant to compete with Apple's mighty 13.3-inch MacBook Air, more so than with the iPad. Make no mistake, this device is not a tablet in the traditional sense of the word. It is akin to a hybrid PC, much like the Surface Pro 2, due to its size, processor architecture and target market. So, because Microsoft made a big deal out of it being better than its ultrabook rival, how does it compare with the bigger MacBook Air?

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Microsoft just announced a bigger and badder Windows 8.1 hybrid PC, pitched by the company as a laptop and tablet replacement that outclasses Apple's mighty MacBook Air. Offered in five significantly different configurations, which range from an affordable $799 to an eye-watering $1,949, on paper the Surface Pro 3 looks like a device that can be used by undemanding users and professionals alike.

The Surface Pro 3, powered by Intel Core i5 processors, is said to launch on June 20, while the less powerful Core i3 and faster Core i7 configurations are expected two months later, on the last day of August. Interested buyers, however, can pre-order one now.

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After Microsoft finally unveiled the highly-anticipated Windows Phone 8.1 in early-April, Nokia announced three new smartphones running the new version of the tiled operating system. Two of them, the Lumia 630 and Lumia 635, are affordable offerings meant to conquer the entry-level market, while the Lumia 930 is much more expensive, competing against other flagships like the Apple iPhone 5s and Samsung Galaxy S5.

Of the three, the Lumia 930 interests me the most as a Lumia 920 owner looking to upgrade to a new, up-to-date Windows Phone. Unlike the Lumia 630, which went on sale last week, it will hit store shelves later down the road, starting in June. But, in Europe the flagship is already available to pre-order.

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