HTC’s ‘Uh-Oh’ Protection is desperate — and awesome

HTC announced the One M9 several weeks ago, and the response has been tepid from most corners of the Internet. Samsung is getting much more attention for the big changes it’s making to the Galaxy S6 this year. HTC needed an angle to get people excited about the M9 again, and now it might have one: HTC Uh-Oh Protection will offer one free phone replacement within the first year, no questions asked. Is it a little desperate? Maybe, but it’s also potentially awesome if you’ve got a bad case of butter fingers.

Let’s imagine you have a Samsung Galaxy S6 and break the screen. You just made a multi-hundred dollar mistake, unless you’re paying monthly for phone insurance (which has its own drawbacks). With the One M9, you can give HTC support a ring, and a new phone will be dispatched with overnight shipping to replace your busted one. You send the old one back after you get it. This requires a $299 hold on your credit card, but you don’t have to go without a phone.

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Switch to iPhone, get money: Apple may offer gift cards to Android users who defect

Apple already gives some assistance to new customers switching over from Android, helping them move their photos, contacts, email accounts, music, and so on from their Android phone to a new iPhone. Soon, according to a report on 9to5Mac, that assistance could include cold, hard cash—well, cold hard gift cards, anyway.

Citing unnamed sources, 9to5Mac claims Apple will launch a trade-in program, wherein you turn in your smartphone—even an Android smartphone—and receive a gift card. This program is still unconfirmed (I’ve reached out to Apple PR for comment), so we don’t have details on when it’ll start or how much Android switchers can expect to get.

The Apple Watch launches next month, and an Ipsos survey recently found that up to 60 million American adults are at least considering buying one—and almost 13 percent of that chunk doesn’t already own an iPhone, meaning they’re considering buying an iPhone and an Apple Watch together. Apple is probably anticipating at least a small bump in iPhone sales (which are already fantastic) when the Watch debuts.

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Samsung Galaxy S6 to start at $250 in Canada, while Apple hikes iPhone 6 prices on falling loonie

Samsung announced Canadian pricing today for its new flagship phone line, the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge.

And while Apple is substantially upping the prices of its iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus with the falling Canadian dollar, Samsung appears to be keeping its prices in line with its typical flagship releases.

The Galaxy S6 starts at $250 for a 32 gigabyte version with a two-year contract, with the S6 Edge a hundred dollars more at $350. With no contract, the same phones are $750 and $850.

The 64GB S6 is $360 for the S6 with a contract, $860 with no contract and $460 for the S6 Edge with a contract and $960 with no contract.

The 128GB S6 is $470 with a two-year term, $960 without; the Edge is $570 on a two-year term and $1,070 with no contract.

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The HTC One M9 finally has a release date – but not in the U.S.

The HTC One M9 is by far one of the best Android phones of the year, even if HTC may have lost the battle with Samsung at MWC 2015, at least when it comes to the attention received by their latest mobile devices during the show. Samsung’s Galaxy S6 models, and especially the S6 edge, surprised the audience, being completely new designs, while the HTC One M9 is more of a refinement of last year’s top HTC phone.

Even so, the HTC One M9 will certainly impress many potential buyers, and the phone already has a release date and pricing details for Taiwan. More interestingly, ePrice reports the phone will be available in two distinct versions, when it comes to storage.

According to the Taiwanese site, HTC has set a release date for both a 32GB version (the one that was announced in Barcelona, Spain) and a 64GB model. Both devices will start selling on March 16th, as confirmed by HTC North Asia general manager Dong Junliang, with prices set at 21,900 TWD (or $693) and 23,900 TWD (or $756), respectively.

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Samsung Galaxy S6 and Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge review, including video, prices, specs and comparisons

Update: We've fleshed out the display section with results from DisplayMate's testing, and explained the S6's new UFS 2.0 storage technology. See the relevant section for more details

As expected, Samsung released not one flagship smartphone, but two at its MWC launch event in Barcelona: the Samsung Galaxy S6 and the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge. And, just as expected, the phones represent a significant departure for Samsung in the design department, with both boasting a metal and glass construction reminiscent of the iPhone 4, and an attention to detail previously missing from its flagship handsets.

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Sony confirms Android Lollipop update will be released only for Xperia Z series smartphones

Users of Sony's Xperia Z series smartphones are in for a treat, as the Japan-based technology giant has revealed that the Android 5.0 (Lollipop) update will be released only for that series.

Replying to a query posted by an Xperia smartphone user, Sony tweeted that the Android Lollipop will be officially rolled out only for the Xperia Z series handsets, and not for other Sony smartphones.

The smartphone maker also apologised to other Sony smartphones users, notably the Xperia E and Xperia M series, as these users would not receive the Android Lollipop update.

Sony's latest update adds meat to earlier reports that indicated an impending Android Lollipop launch for the entire Xperia Z smartphone family.

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HTC releases two One M9 teaser videos

As you might start to expect after officially announcing their latest flagship phone at MWC this week,HTC has released a couple teaser videos for the HTC One M9. One of which is narrated by the man behind the Iron Man mask himself, Robert Downey Jr.

Both videos are, as mentioned, simply teasers. The first gives a few close ups, then simply shows the new 5-inch phone floating in space. Aside from this being an official video from HTC, it feels an awful lot like the fan renders of the One M9 we saw a little while back. Just the phone without many unnecessary embellishments.

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