Twitter discontinues TweetDeck app for Windows

TweetDeck has announce that it will discontinuing the Windows desktop app for TweetDeck. Going forward, Windows users will have to access TweetDeck from their browsers, by visiting tweetdeck.twitter.com. 

The desktop apps for Windows and OS X were created after Twitter acquired TweetDeck back in 2011. They were nothing more than the website inside a wrapper, so there wasn't a lot of reasons to use them to begin with.

Incidentally, the OS X app and the Chrome "app" continue to exist for now, and it's just the Windows app getting the axe. Perhaps the OS X app will be dropped soon too, since both platforms have native apps from Twitter now on their respective stores.

Twitter has also made it easier to log into TweetDeck now. If you're logged into the Twitter website in your browser, you will automatically be logged in to your TweetDeck.

More Canadian carriers are now offering BlackBerry Priv for $300 on-contract

Last month, we told you about BlackBerry Priv's Bell variant getting a price cut to CAD 299.99. While that deal is still active, more Canadian carriers have joined the party.

Aside from Bell, now Rogers and Sasktel are also offering BlackBerry's debut Android phone for CAD 299.99 on a regular two-year contract. FYI, all three carriers were selling the handset for CAD 399.99 (on contract) at launch.

If, however, you are planning to purchase the Priv outright, that will still cost you CAD 800 at-least (price may go up depending on the carrier of your choice).

Finally, Chrome mobile defaults to tab switching within the app

Google first introduced this feature with the launch of Lollipop on the Motorola Nexus 6 to show off the OS’ new ability to show individual app processes among other apps in the multitasking window. Although, putting Chrome’s tabs in the app switcher makes it so easy to lose a past tab and makes it impossible to clear all Chrome tabs.

As of version 49, the Chrome app no longer defaults this option of putting every single Chrome tab in the app switcher. Most people may not care about this, but this is more for people who are constantly getting new phones or always wiping their phones for a new custom ROM.

I personally did not like this feature and always disabled it upon setting up Chrome for the first time. I’m glad Google decided to change its mind about the option and I’m sure more people will appreciate it, although, many may not even notice the change.

Galaxy S7 has a native DPI setting, but it’s tucked away somewhere…

There is a way to access this hidden menu, perhaps Samsung intended to activate the setting in a future software update, but if you want your Galaxy S7 to display more content on the same size screen, you can follow these steps to do just that.

• Download Nova Launcher from the Play Store
• Long-press an empty space in the homescreen and find the Widgets section
• Choose the “Activities” widget and place it on any homescreen page
• Find “Settings” and then pick .DisplayScalingActivity
• Once the new widget shortcut appears, tap on it
• Choose between Standard and Condensed
• Enjoy more overall space around the OS, including those oversized statusbar icons that take up half the status bar

Sure, it’s kind of tedious, but hey, at least neither root nor ADB commands are required in order to enjoy a little more space for your Galaxy S7’s beautiful AMOLED screen.

Here is one example below, but check our more screenshots at the source link from XDA-Developers.

T-Mobile brings YouTube on as a Binge On content provider, after negotiation

After Google called out T-Mobile on sneakily throttling all of YouTube’s data over T-Mobile’s towers, T-Mobile got a lot of backlash for doing so without notifying YouTube nor its customers first.

The biggest reason why YouTube raised these concerns was because T-Mobile took it upon itself to throttle all video streams without notifying the provider (in this case YouTube). Content providers shouldn’t have to let its customers’ experience suffer just because a carrier happens to lower the quality of content being provided to the customer.

After further discussions and negotiations, T-Mobile and YouTube have reached an agreement. It would be in YouTube’s best interest to join Binge On as they now get millions of more views which, of course, means YouTube gets to show more ads. T-Mobile now has guidelines for content providers to decide whether or not they’d like for T-Mobile to optimize the video streams or leave them untouched.

Google said in its release: “We think these changes, which T-Mobile is making for all users and video providers on a non-preferential basis, can help ensure that the program works well for all users and the entire video ecosystem.”

If you don’t know what’s going on, Binge On was an initiative started by T-Mobile toward the end of last year which promised customers the freedom to watch all the video content they wanted at a reduced quality where it would not count against the subscribers data bucket.

Casio's WSD-F10 rugged Android Wear smartwatch will be released on March 25

Back in January at CES Casio unveiled a new smartwatch running Android Wear. The WSD-F10 is being called a Smart Outdoor Watch by its maker, and its ruggedness certainly allows Casio to go with that moniker.

See, this device is water resistant up to 50 meters, and it's tested to military standard specifications to ensure it can withstand many rugged activities. And today Casio announced its release date as well as how much it will cost.

The Smart Outdoor Watch WSD-F10 will be out on March 25 for $500. You'll be able to purchase one from Casio's online store, Amazon, the Google Store, or REI - in red, green, black, or orange.

It sports a 1.32-inch 320x300 dual layer LCD touchscreen, which can switch from color to monochrome to boost battery life. Speaking of which, Casio claims the watch will get you through one day of normal use and should last more than a month in the battery-saving Timepiece mode.

Michael Kors gets into the smartwatch game with an Android Wear offering

The latest brand to enter the rapidly crowding smartwatch fray is Michael Kors. The fashion company has announced the Michael Kors Access today at Baselworld. This will be its first ever smartwatch, launching at some point "this fall" with Android Wear on board.

The watch will be offered in many different iterations, two of which you can see in the pictures below. It will have exclusive Michael Kors watch faces, interchangeable leather and silicone wristbands, as well as "glamorous versions for women and sporty versions for men", according to the official press release.

The Access wearable will start at $395, and unfortunately those are all the details that we have about it right now. Then again, that probably makes sense considering its launch is many months away still. So we have no specs to speak of at this point, though a 'flat tire' like design stands out for the watch's screen - something that is reminiscent of Motorola's 360.

Samsung Galaxy TabPro S with Windows 10 is out in the US tomorrow for $899.99

Samsung announced the Galaxy TabPro S tablet running Windows 10 at CES in January, and we've already seen it going on sale throughout Europe at the beginning of this month. And now it's finally time for it to become available in the US as well. Almost, anyway.

It's set to be in stock at Best Buy starting tomorrow, priced from $899.99. It will also be offered by Microsoft stores beginning on April 4.

The TabPro S is a 12-inch 2-in-1 detachable tablet with a 1440p AMOLED touchscreen, a sixth generation Intel Core M dual-core processor clocked at 2.26 GHz, 4GB of RAM, two 5 MP cameras (one on the front, one on the back), and a 5,200 mAh battery. It's just 6.3mm thin and it weighs 693g.

It has two storage options, 128GB and 256GB, and there are versions that also get LTE Cat.6 connectivity built-in. It runs either Windows 10 Home or Windows 10 Pro, depending on which particular SKU you choose. The keyboard comes bundled with the tablet, so there's no need for a separate purchase here.

Sony is still making a profit on each PlayStation VR unit, even at the $399 price poin

A couple of days ago Sony finally announced the official pricing for its upcoming PlayStation VR headset. And, at $399 (or £349 in the UK), it turns out it's actually cheaper than many have anticipated. It surely is much more so than some rumors have claimed - the $1,500 figure was thrown around a lot at one point, while a retailer leak made us think about $500 as an option too.

So, understandably, many have been worried that Sony will be making a loss for each PlayStation VR unit sold, somewhat akin to what the situation was when the PlayStation 4 console launched. However, the Japanese company just wants everyone to relax.

According to Shuhei Yoshida, head of Sony Worldwide Studios, the company is not going to lose any money selling the VR headset. It's probably not making a handsome profit on it either, but it will be enough to "invest in promotion, doing trials, developer support", the exec said.

Apparently Sony's expertise in creating hardware helped cut costs a lot, but not at the expense of the overall experience. "Especially because virtual reality is so new, we wanted to do it right first time. We waited until we could use cutting edge tech like 120Hz OLED displays - that doesn't exist anywhere, we custom made it for PS VR", Shuhei Yoshida went on to say.

The PlayStation VR will become available in October, along with around 50 games supporting it.

Microsoft officially starts Windows 10 Mobile rollout for older devices

The big day has finally come, as rumored mere hours ago. It's not a development version anymore, it's not a beta, it's not a test rollout, it's not meant for Windows Insiders only, it's the real deal. Microsoft has just announced the start of the rollout of Windows 10 Mobile to older smartphones that are currently on Windows Phone 8.1. Needless to say, this has been many months in the making, and from this point on updates should be hitting phones left and right.

The update is headed to these smartphones, though each one may get it on a different date (and where Microsoft/Nokia isn't the manufacturer, things are up to that particular company when it comes to timing): Lumia 1520, 930, 640, 640XL, 730, 735, 830, 532, 535, 540, 635 1GB, 636 1GB, 638 1GB, 430, 435, BLU Win HD w510u, BLU Win HD LTE x150q, MCJ Madosma Q501.

Unlike what usually happens with over-the-air releases, there is something you need to do to ensure you get Windows 10 on your device (if it's one of the above, of course). That is to download Microsoft's UpdateAdvisor app from the Windows store. This will confirm that the update is on its way. Once you open it and it does that, make sure you check the "Enable Windows 10 upgrade" option and tap on Next. Then when it says it's ready to upgrade, just tap Done.

Only after you've gone through this procedure does it make sense for you to go to Settings > Phone Update and check for updates. If you've completed all the aforementioned steps, then you'll receive a notification once the OTA has reached your particular handset. If you have a Lumia the new software will probably arrive sooner than if you carry another brand, but nothing's 100% certain in this regard. One thing is clear, though - Windows 10 Mobile is finally on its way to a smartphone near you.

Windows 10-powered Microsoft Lumia 550 now selling for $120 in US

The Microsoft Lumia 550 has received a price cut in the United States, where it is now being sold for as low as $119.95. Electronics retailer B&H photo is selling the Windows 10 device at that price.

What's worth mentioning here is that the $120 price is only for the white-colored variant of the handset - the black version is listed on B&H Photo's website for $129.95, which is still $9 less than the device's usual price.

A quick look at Microsoft's US online store reveals that the Redmond, Washington-based company is also selling the device for $139. As for B&H's promo, the retailer just says that there's limited supply at this price.

In case you missed, the device also recently received a price cut in the UK.

Nextbit cancels CDMA version of its cloud-focused Robin smartphone

Waiting for the US CDMA version of the Nextbit Robin "cloud phone?" Well, there is some bad news: the variant has been cancelled. This means that those hoping to use the Robin on Verizon or Sprint's network are now out of luck.

"We are unable to ship a CDMA version," said Nextbit's CEO Tom Moss in a post on the San Francisco-based company's official website. He also explained in detail the reason behind the decision. Here is what he said:

As you can imagine, we were in a rush. The Kickstarter campaign is only 30 days long, and it wasn’t until the second week of the campaign that we realized the demand and started the investigation. Because of this, we had to go with the best information we could get before the campaign was over, and over time it turned out that this information was not accurate. What people at the carriers, in good faith given our need for quick answers, thought would take “weeks” has turned into “months”. What they thought would cost “hundreds of thousands of dollars” has turned into “millions”. And we’re still not there. The goal posts are still being moved, and at this point, we think it is better to cancel this version rather than continue to try and make progress with no clear answers to offer regarding when we would actually be able to ship.

We first realized there was a big delta between what we originally thought and reality in January. It should have been sooner but to be honest a big part of the problem is how long it takes just to get the right information (and in some cases, what we were doing was a “one-off” for the carriers and they didn’t even decide themselves yet how it would be treated until as late as a week ago). Even then, we believed we could recover and launch in March. Then new information came up and it became April. We really thought that would be it, but yet again, we were wrong. We should have known better. We were not sufficiently doubtful of what we were told given everything we already knew from our experience at previous companies. We were too optimistic, too bullish, and as a result we have to deal with our biggest fear, disappointing you, our supporters. This is bad for you, and this is bad for us. The best we can do is send you this explanation with our sincerest apologies, and try to make sure you don’t suffer any financial loss in addition to the disappointment of not receiving a CDMA Robin.

All CDMA backers will get complete refund within the next 48 hours. In addition, they'll also get a 25% discount code which can be used with a purchase from the company's online store.

In case you aren't already aware, the GSM variant of the Nextbit Robin went on sale in February, and was sold out within a day.