It was the device that Android geeks had been dreaming of. A phone stuffed with all the best hardware, run on a clean, fast interface that does away with any bloatware.

When Google unveiled plans to sell a version of Samsung’s popular Galaxy S4 with its stock Android interface on Wednesday, many Android fans must have got their credit cards out ready to spend. The bigger question, though, is whether this is the start of a trend – a good one.

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The Samsung Galaxy S4 is one great phone when it comes to hardware like its 5-inch Super AMOLED screen. Yet, by packing in a whole of features – including some crapware – the Korean phone maker may make you pull your hair out in frustration at times.

How do you get get a “clean” Android interface, without all the clunky bells and whistles? Here are some suggestions. …

Who says it’s boring in the technology world?

Today has proven to be the day for many technology firms to launch some of the most fascinating products and services. It seems also like a good day for the Linux inventor, Linus Torvalds, to move across to the “dark side” to Microsoft. …

Well, it’s better late than never.

Samsung finally released an Android Jellybean update for the original Galaxy Note smartphone yesterday in Singapore, bringing with it a number of new features offered on its current generation of phones.

The software update, available to users over the air or via a PC connection using its Kies software, can also be obtained at the Korean phone maker’s stores in Singapore. …

I consider myself a pretty heavy user of Google Reader, and wake up every day to hundreds of unread items. In addition to the freshly pressed articles, there are older unread stories piled up over the years.

Yet, I can’t remember the last time I actually logged into the Google Reader website. Its interface seems like a relic of the past, and its features have remained stagnant for some time now. Google last gave the portal a proper update way back in October 2011, and added only the ability to +1 articles in Reader.

Instead, I rely on the countless third-party apps out there taking advantage of Google Reader’s API to present my feeds and stories in far more pleasing ways.

But that’s still not perfect. Does manually subscribing to individual feeds not seem archaic in today’s buzzword-filled Web landscape? Thus it is no surprise really, despite the howls of protest, that Google is ending the Reader service come July. …

Days after HTC unveiled its 2013 flagship phone – the One – the company’s Singapore representatives met up with the media here to share a number of near-final versions of the quite stunning phone.

If I had doubts about the HTC One earlier, I now can say it’s clearly raised the bar for all its rivals. Not only is the camera unusually good, the build is top-notch and the Sense interface seems intuitive. …

 (photo credit: HTC)

There’s a new contender for the hottest Android phone and it’s HTC’s One smartphone just unveiled moments ago in London and New York.

It comes with an almost edge-to-edge 4.7-inch Full HD screen and a number of new features such as an “UltraPixel” camera that promises to shoot better pictures in low light.

Also in this slim 143-gram frame: a new Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 quad-core chip running at 1.7GHz, 2GB RAM, 32GB or 64GB storage and a handy 2,300mAh battery. The Taiwanese phone maker appears to have pulled out all the stops for 2013, after having a tough 2012. …

The next time you can’t find a boutique or restaurant at one of Singapore’s dozens of shopping malls, take out your phone and let it guide you there.

Google has started providing indoor maps to Android phone users in Singapore this week, after first releasing the feature in the United States in 2011. …

Users of the Sony Xperia V smartphone in Singapore, along with those in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany and Switzerland, have started receiving the Android “Jellybean” software update that brings a smoother interface and a number of new features.

By releasing the Android 4.1.2 update, the Japanese phone maker seems to have improved on its somewhat spotty track record of updating its phones.

In Singapore, the Xperia V had arrived in stores last month with the slightly dated “Ice Cream Sandwich” version of the Google Android operating system.  …

My eager hands finally gripped the long-awaited Nexus 4 when the DHL man arrived with it at my doorstep on Christmas Eve last week.

Now, after a week of using Google’s newest branded phone, I have to say it’s a very satisfying upgrade from my previous Samsung Galaxy S II, which was itself a great phone I had used for more than a year.

The Nexus 4, however, is not without its issues, though on the whole, it’s hard to fault a phone that truly punches above its weight in terms of its price. I had paid S$490, including tax and shipping from the United States for the phone, which is not sold in Singapore yet. …