BGR Daily Breaking Stories

Daily Headlines THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

Is Google less afraid of hackers than Apple? Google and Microsoft both took a stance against hackers when partnering up with Sony to release The Interview on Christmas Eve, something Apple wasn’t so eager to do. But for Google, this move might be a lot more important than simply making its voice heard when it comes to defending freedom of speech and angering hackers in the process, Reuters reveals. Furthermore, the move shows that Google and Microsoft might be less scared of hacks than Apple is — the iPhone maker reportedly refused Sony’s request to list the movie on iTunes in a rush, even after the White House intervened.   MORE → This great free app will instantly stream photos from your iPhone to any smart TV or PC How many times have you been in a group setting trying to show photos on your iPhone to several people at once? They all crowd around you but no one has the perfect vantage point, and you try to shift your phone around with each swipe so that everyone can see each image. In fact, it’s Christmas Day today and families are gathered together, so many of you have likely experienced this very scenario at least once in the past 24 hours alone. Next time you want to show off photos on your phone, you’ll be better prepared. Why? Because we’re about to show you a terrific free app that will add AirPlay-like photo streaming to any smart TV, tablet or computer around you, making it shockingly easy to display your photos in a packed room.  MORE → Sony to take on Apple’s ‘iPad Pro’ with its own 13-inch Android tablet Sony is the latest company rumored to be working on a much bigger Android tablet, joining Samsung’s existing 12-inch model and preparing to compete against Apple’s upcoming 12-inch “iPad Pro” tablet. A new report from Digitimes says Sony is aiming to release its large tablet in the first half of next year, with the device supposed to head to mass production soon.  MORE → This is why Microsoft and Google went ahead and released ‘The Interview’ After canceling The Interview in the wake of the recent hack attack and following threats received from hackers, Sony was able to release it around Christmas Day, as originally planned, partnering up with various theaters. But at the same time, Sony also partnered with Microsoft and Google to quickly for a simultaneous release online and in theaters, which is unprecedented for a movie of this size.  MORE → There’s now hope that your older Samsung phone will be updated to Lollipop Samsung is slowly starting to update its top Android handsets to Android 5.0 Lollipop, with the Galaxy S5 having already received Lollipop builds in certain regions, and the Galaxy Note 4, Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy S4 also having been confirmed to be getting Lollipop updates in the near future. Now, GSM Arena discovered that even older Samsung devices will receive Google’s Material Design overhaul and other Lollipop features in the near future.  MORE → The single most important feature every Android Wear user should know about If you find an Android Wear device under your tree this year, the very first thing you’ll want to do is make sure you know how to control which apps are allowed to send you notifications. After all, if your wrist vibrated every time someone favorited one of your tweets, you’d get pretty annoyed very quickly.  MORE → A simple security oversight was responsible for the massive JPMorgan Chase hack Earlier this year, JPMorgan Chase was the victim of a massive data breach, but the attack might have been avoided if the bank had installed a “simple” security fix, The New York Times reveals. Apparently, an unsecured server on the bank’s computer network was targeted by hackers, who then were able to steal personal data belonging to tens of millions of Americans.  MORE → Samsung just gave you an awesome reason to buy one of its TVs Are you in the market for a gorgeous new TV? Are you also interested in playing the latest generation of console games? If so then Samsung and Sony have an amazing deal for you. CNET reports that Samsung and Sony are working together on a new program that will let anyone who buys one of Samsung’s web-connected TVs play PlayStation 4 games on it, even if they don’t own a PS4.  MORE → Leak: Here’s what voice calling will look like when it’s finally added to WhatsApp WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging solutions on the planet. It’s so popular, in fact, that Facebook recently paid $22 billion to acquire it. There’s no question that WhatsApp was a pioneer that amassed a gigantic user base by being among the first companies to do a good job of bringing BlackBerry Messenger’s functionality to a cross-platform app. But unfortunately, WhatsApp has not done a good job of keeping pace with newer offerings in terms of adding popular new features to its app. We have known for quite some time that WhatsApp has plans to add a voice calling feature, which is something that has been included in other mobile messaging apps for quite some time. Now, however, a new leak will at least show us what voice calling is going to look like in WhatsApp once it finally arrives.  MORE → LG G3 catches fire, burns a massive hole in its owner’s bed With all due respect to Amazon, it looks like LG might have released the year’s real fire phone. A Reddit user who goes by the name of s-blade has posted some pictures showing what happened when the battery in his sister’s LG G3 exploded and caught fire on her bed.  MORE →

To view in your browser, click here.