B&H lists HTC One M9 with March 25th release date, quickly removes date from website

HTC was only comfortable sharing a “mid-March” release window for the HTC One M9 during their Mobile World Congress unveiling last week, but one retailer might have shed some light on a more pointed release date ahead of time.

B&H prematurely listed the device with a March 25th sale date and a price tag (an expected price tag, mind you) of 9.99. And for what it’s worth they’ve since updated their website to remove any mentions of price or release dates.

So is March 25th the big day? It could be, but it’s important to remember that information through retailers isn’t always accurate. There are a couple of different possibilities you should consider:

• If March 25th is accurate, it might only be accurate for B&H. There’s a chance that the HTC One M9’s release date could be sooner or later elsewhere.


• Retailers often use placeholder information when they don’t have a clear idea, so the March 25th date could have been a bold shot in the dark by B&H.


• The sale date isn’t necessarily the same as the shipping date, so even if  B&H begin taking orders on March 25th that doesn’t mean the device will ship that same day.

Whatever the case may be, B&H certainly didn’t want us to know this information and they’re probably chastising the person who made the mistake of putting it out there this early. We’ll still have to keep our eye out for official release information from HTC and the world’s carriers, but this early sighting lets us know that the company’s ambitious mid-March deadline might not be hard to meet.

[via PhoneArena]

SEGA removes After Burner Climax and Jet Set Radio from the Google Play Store

It was last week SEGA announced that they’d be removing a few key titles from across various mobile app stores as a result of some sort of quality control guidelines. According to SEGA, these titles — which they wouldn’t call out by name — no longer met their “standards” and would be pulled with the possibility of returning in the future.

Today, SEGA made good on that promise as we’re finally seeing the first few titles disappear from the Play Store. Surprisingly, it wasn’t as bad as we thought. Looks like it was only After Burner Climax and Jet Set Radio SEGA gave the axe (at least for now), with the rest sitting pretty on Google’s virtual store shelves. iOS users weren’t so lucky however, and saw classics like every Super Monkey Ball title, Virtual Fighter 2, Streets of Rage, and more.

Both of the titles carried a price tag which wasn’t too bad considering they were full games with no in-app purchases. While it’s a shame to see them go, glossing over their Play Store ratings showed incompatibility with numerous Android devices. Seems SEGA didn’t want to put too invest any more time (or money) in getting these titles up to speed. It’s a shame, these were some of the better ones.

Anyone who had paid for and downloaded the games on a previous device should be able to still find them in your Google Play Store app for re-downloading whenever you like. For everyone else, well… you missed out.

[SEGA titles on Google Play]

New Google Keyboard update can sync your dictionary across devices, removes a few features in the process

A new update to the official Google Keyboard app is hitting the Play Store today. The update brings with it a handful of useful new features, while removing a few you may not even miss. Or then again, maybe you will. The update — now on version 4.1 — adds the ability to sync your personal dictionary with your Google account, so you can share it across devices (or take it with you when you upgrade to something new).

Simply select “Google Keyboard Sync” from the new Accounts & Privacy setting followed by the Google account you’d like to backup your dictionary to, and you’re all set. The new privacy setting also allows you to delete your cloud data, or opt out of Google’s statistics should you feel the need. Oh, and for those that prefer typing on physical keyboards (like one of those fancy Bluetooth ones), emoji are now fully accessible by pushing the alt key.

As for things that have been removed, Google no longer allows you to swipe entire phrases by sliding your finger down to the space bar. Can’t say we’ll miss. Another feature you’ll no longer be able to select is the auto-correction aggressiveness, now replace by a single toggle to enable it or not. Previously, the Google Keyboard allowed to you choose the auto-correct level — modest, aggressive, or very aggressive (our favorite) — and while we have no idea what it is now by default, it seems you’re stuck with it.

One feature we’re not seeing the split keyboard for tablets that was introduced in Android M. We’re sure Google is working on it though and are confident it will pop up in a future update. You can update to the new Google Keyboard 4.1 by visiting the Google Play Store, or manually download/install the app right here.

Google Keyboard (Playboard) | Google Keyboard (Play Store)