Oculus Rift facing shipment delays; company offering free shipping to make up

Oculus Rift shipments started more than a week ago, with the company's co-founder and CEO Palmer Luckey himself making the first delivery. Sadly, the company has now revealed that it's facing component shortages due to which estimated shipping dates for some of the pre-orders have been impacted.

However, to make up for the inconvenience, the company has said that it'll be covering shipping and handling costs for all the existing orders. Here's an excerpt from an email sent out by Oculus to several developers and consumers:

"We're working hard to up-to-date ship windows, and you should expect to see your order status updated on oculus.com by Tuesday, April 12. Although many Rifts will be arriving on schedule and in line with original estimates, we'll be covering the shipping and handling costs for all orders placed through today."

Auto cancellation issues affecting some Vive pre-orders; HTC working on fix

HTC received a lot of pre-orders for its Vive virtual reality headset, but the company is facing issues while processing them. In a blog post on the matter, the company revealed that some of the pre-orders have been affected by auto cancellations, something which happened "due to processing issues with financial institutions."

"We’re actively working to resolve this, and have already reinstated orders for some customers," HTC said. "We want to assure our customers that we’ll work with them to process their payment so they can receive their Vive when they were expecting it."

The company is also encouraging customers to contact their financial institution to notify them of upcoming charges. In case of any related query, you can also contact HTC at +1 888-216-4736 or online at Vive Support (hit the link below).

Microsoft Lumia 650 spotted listed on Amazon India

Just a day after it was launched in the United States and Canada, the Microsoft Lumia 650 has been spotted listed on Amazon's India website. The device is being offered by a local retailer with shipments beginning April 30.

As for the price, the white model carries a tag of INR 16,599 ($250), while the black one will set you back INR 16,700 ($252). Both variants offer dual-SIM capabilities.

It's worth mentioning that Microsoft is yet to officially announce the Lumia 650 in India, although it is expected to happen very soon. In case you don't already know, the handset was first unveiled back in February, and has been available in Europe for quite a few weeks now.

Weekly poll: LG G5 vs Samsung Galaxy S7

Yes, we know we sort of did that already, and the G5 lost. But last time around it was just after announcement, and now that the reviews are out, there's firmer ground to make an informed opinion. That, and also now it's the LG G5 versus the non-edge Samsung Galaxy S7.

The smartphones are priced identically, share some of the hardware (particularly if you're in the States, where the S7 comes with a Snapdragon 820 inside) and are overall two of the best handsets you can buy.

Only they couldn't be more different. The G5 is the quirky one - you can dismantle it, it has friends, there are two cameras on its back with different FOV - it's unlike any other.

The Galaxy S7 is the more conservative type - evolutionary design, cold glass on both sides, single lower-res cam (but with large fast-focusing pixels), sizeable battery - it means business.

So which approach do you prefer?

New Microsoft Band 2 update brings ability to add more tiles, create challenges

Microsoft has rolled out a new update to its Band 2 fitness wearable that brings some new features such the ability to add more tiles and create challenges, as well as regular bug fixes. The update is available for all major mobile platforms.

With the new update, you can now choose up to 20 tiles to appear on your Microsoft Band 2 start strip. In addition, the app now also lets you create challenges - for activities like steps, cardio minutes, runs, and bike rides - between you and your Facebook friends who also use the Microsoft Health app.

The update also brings along the ability to choose apps that can send notifications, allowing you to only get notified from the apps that you care about most - this feature is only listed in the change-log of Health app's Windows Store listing.

Poll results: iPhone SE gets a cold reception

We hadn't had that in a while. Recent Hot-or-not polls have invariably ended with a stamp of approval, but not so with the latest iPhone SE.

Apple's super mini (which, at 4 inches in diagonal, was ironically the size common sense dictated a few years ago) only managed to entice 42% of our readership, and naysayers were 3 out of 5 people.

Then again the iPhone SE doesn't need to be loved by all, just by those who want a compact phone that can be used comfortably with a single hand. And that the SE delivers.

Not only that, but the iPhone SE packs most of the hardware of the current Apple flagship iPhone 6s. Do show us a 4-inch Android smartphone with the chipset the maker uses in its regular-sized top-end model.

Report says Samsung will start selling foldable smartphones in 2017

We already know that Samsung is working on a foldable phone (internally dubbed Project Valley), and we've also seen some possible designs. Last we heard, there were rumors of it launching in January this year - that obviously didn't happen. Now, it looks like the device won't be coming this year.

A new report from Samsung's home country of South Korea is claiming that the company will start mass-producing foldable displays by end of this year, with foldable smartphones arriving next year.

The report notes that Samsung's foldable device would be a 5-inch smartphone in folded form, and would become a 7-inch tablet when un-folded or opened. Past rumors have suggested that the company is testing both Snapdragon 620 and 820 for its Project Valley smartphone, while RAM will be 3GB.

LG G5 can now be purchased from all Big Four US carriers

If you recall, we've already told you about LG G5's availability on AT&T. However, if AT&T isn't the carrier of your choice, you'll be glad to know that the flagship smartphone is now available for purchase from all major US carriers, including the Big Four ones.

While AT&T has the handset listed for $689, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint are selling it for $624, $630, and $576, respectively. US Cellular is also carrying the device, selling it for $585.

As for colors, aside from Verizon and T-Mobile - which only have the silver/titan and silver/gold options - all other carriers have the full range available.

As far as promos are concerned, while all carriers are giving away a free battery and battery charging cradle, some are running additional promos as well. For example, AT&T is giving away the LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition LTE smartwatch for $99.99 on a 2-year agreement and T-Mobile is offering a free LG 360 CAM accessory.

AT&T Galaxy J3 (2016) launch confirmed for May 6, pricing revealed

While there have already been credible leaks about it, the AT&T variant of Samsung's Galaxy J3 (2016) has now been officially confirmed. The carrier says that the device will be available for purchase next month - May 6 to be precise.

As for the price, you'll be able to grab the AT&T Galaxy J3 (2016) by agreeing to pay $5.67 per month for a total of 30 months on the carrier's Next 24 installment plan. Sadly, the handset will only be available in white color option.

For those who aren't aware, the device is already available for purchase in the US as Virgin and Boost Mobile have been selling it since January.

Google Photos lets you search with emoji

Google has added the ability to search through your Photos library using emoji.

The emoji search works pretty much like text search. The search engine tries its best to match photos with the entered emoji. As you can see in the image above, searching for a tiger emoji pulled up the one picture of a tiger I had in my library.

The search should work best for animals, vehicles, or food emoji, but for anything else you'd have to bust the standard keyboard. While it did seem like an April Fools' prank at first, it does work, and you can try it out for yourself.

OneDrive's iOS client now lets you download multiple photos and videos in one go

Microsoft has updated OneDrive's iOS app, bumping it to version 6.13.1. The update brings new features such as the ability to download multiple photos and videos in a single attempt, as well as some regular bug fixes.

"Save 1, save 2, save 10! You can now save as many photos and videos as you’d like back to your camera roll. Simply select the files, tap the Share command and there you will find the mythical Save Photos and Videos option," the change-log reads.

As for bug fixes, they are related to issues with VoiceOver and albums. Finally, those having sync issues will have to just shake to send feedback, and a Microsoft engineer will investigate the issue for you.

Verizon Galaxy S6 getting April security patch already

While we already know that Verizon's Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 edge have started receiving Marshmallow updates, it has now come to light that the update also includes the latest Android security patch, at-least for the S6.

Yes, the Verizon Galaxy S6 is getting the April security update, even before the Google Nexus devices or the BlackBerry Priv. Not to mention that this month's patch has not even been officially announced by Google yet.

For those thinking how is that possible, it's worth mentioning that manufactures get access to a security patch 30 days before it's officially announced by the Mountain View, California-based company. So, if they are able to prepare the update within this period, an early roll out is very well possible.