BGR Daily Breaking Stories

Daily Headlines FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2014

The best 2014 Black Friday smartphone deals we’ve seen so far Black Friday is still two days away but retailers have already started hyping the huge sales they’ll be having for personal electronics, including some of this year’s hottest smartphones. Below we’ve listed the best Black Friday 2014 deals we’ve seen for smartphones so far this year from a wide variety of big box retailers such as RadioShack, Walmart and Best Buy.  MORE → Warning: You may not want to root your Android phone after installing Lollipop While regular smartphone users who choose an Android device might not be as interested in customizing their mobile experience as more hardcore Android fans, there are plenty of buyers who chose Android over iOS or other mobile operating systems exactly because they have the liberty of doing more things on Android than on anything else, including rooting the device. However, this particular type of Android experience might forever change starting with Lollipop, as Google has made some important changes in Android 5.0 in the way Android is updated.  MORE → This might be one of Microsoft’s greatest homages to Apple Microsoft published a story on its Skype blog last week that was meant to highlight the power of its video chatting application. Per Cult of Mac, the video shows a recording of an orchestra playing in New York City over Skype, with its musicians actually being located in various subway stations. But inadvertently, the talented musicians were not the only stars of the show, as the Skype orchestra actually pulled everything off using only Macs and iPhones.  MORE → Use this Lollipop trick to tell Google exactly what you think of the Nexus 6 Whether you love or hate the Nexus 6 — or really, any Lollipop-equipped Nexus device — Google wants to know about it. Android Police has spotted a new feature in Nexus devices that have been Android 5.0 Lollipop installed that will let you send your personal review of the device directly to Google so it can get user feedback and presumably improve its future devices.  MORE → Apple says iOS 8 ‘Masque Attack’ has not affected a single person yet After researchers have uncovered a serious iOS 8 flaw that lets hackers substitute legitimate apps installed on an iPhone with malware apps meant to steal user data, prompting the U.S. government to issue a warning on the matter, Apple has commented on this type of attacked — dubbed “Masque Attack” — telling iMore the problem has not affected iOS users yet.  MORE → Good news, Nexus 4 owners, Lollipop is ‘locked and loaded,’ and it’s coming ‘soon’ After Google confirmed when launching Android 5.0 Lollipop that the older Nexus 4 handset will also be upgraded to its latest mobile operating system, a Googler said on Google+ that update version LRX21T is “locked and loaded,” Android Police reports, later explaining the update is meant to reach the Nexus 4 in the near future.  MORE → This could be Apple’s secret plan to rule the music industry with Beats Music It’s safe to say that Apple didn’t buy Beats primarily for its overpriced and overrated headphones. Instead, it’s more likely that Apple bought Beats because many of its executives — most notably Jimmy Iovine, Dr. Dre and Trent Reznor — all have extensive connections and influence in the music industry. With these influential music industry figures on board, argues Neil Cybart, Apple can create a music streaming service around Beats Music that will offer artists significantly more value than what they’re getting from Spotify.  MORE → The most important essay on net neutrality that everyone should read One of the worst things that can happen to net neutrality is that it becomes yet another partisan football where the entire issue boils down to whether you support free markets or government regulations. The reality, of course, is much more nuanced: Net neutrality is a regulation that has to be in place for the free market to function in the Internet age.  MORE → You can actually read the FCC’s internal emails about John Oliver’s hilarious Net Neutrality appeal Remember John Oliver’s enthusiastic appeal made on HBO’s Last Week Tonight a few months ago to Internet trolls to go to the FCC’s website and comment on net neutrality? Well, that particular show segment was so popular that it may have convinced thousands of Internet users to try to post a comment in support of net neutrality with the FCC, leading to a temporary crash of the website.  MORE → Video: Check out Samsung’s extended trailer for ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ One of the most hotly anticipated movies of 2015 is Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron — set to hit theaters next May — so it’s not really surprising to see Samsung post a special extended trailer for the upcoming movie on its Samsung Mobile YouTube page.  MORE →