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HTC-One-Verizon

Verizon customers have been patiently awaiting the release of the HTC One since it was confirmed in early June, and although the carrier promised it would be here “this summer,” we’re still yet to see a more specific release date. The device has now appeared in a leaked press image, which suggests it may not be available until September.

watch

Rumors about a coming smartwatch from Google were fortified this week when The Wall Street Journal reported that Google was, in fact, working on an Android-powered wristwatch, according to people familiar with the matter.

When the Journal starts talking about matters about which people are familiar, you can assume they’re reporting something more solid than rumor. We can move the Google smartwatch likelihood needle up to 95% at this point.

As a heavy user of Google services, I really want a great, Google-centric smartwatch.

But what would such a watch do?

I have a theory. And if my theory is correct, then we should be able to speculate about what the watch’s actual specifications, functionality and user interface will be.

First, the theory.

Jelly Bean latest Galaxy S4 Photoshopped

Leaked screenshots have surfaced that show a standard Snapdragon-powered Samsung Galaxy S4 (GT-IG9505) running Android 4.3 Jelly Bean. The firmware was allegedly intended for the “Google Edition” Galaxy S4 (GT-I9505G) and features build number JWR66N.S005.130625, and it will reportedly be made available to everyone this July.

BBM-logo

We had expected BlackBerry Messenger to make its debut on Android and iOS on June 27 thanks to T-Mobile U.K., but when it became apparent that the carrier’s announcement was incorrect, we started to wonder just how long BlackBerry would keep us waiting.

But during a quarterly earnings call this morning, CEO Thorsten Heins again reiterated the company’s plan to make BBM a cross-platform service “before the end of the summer.”

iPhone-iOS-7-vs-Android-HTC-One

While the iPhone has been slowly making its way to carriers all over the world since its release in 2007, there are still a number of major operators that are yet to offer it. One of those is China Mobile, the world’s largest carrier with over 800 million subscribers; and another is DoCoMo, a Japanese carrier that serves almost half of the country’s mobile market.

But DoCoMo isn’t at all concerned, even though it’s losing customers to other carriers that do offer Apple’s device. A company executive has acknowledged that the iPhone is an “attractive” device, but points out that it also comes with some disadvantages, and insists that the latest Android-powered offerings are just as good.

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