Asha and Series 40 "feature" phones (read cheap, crappy phones) may be taking their last breath -- Microsoft plans to kill them off by the end of 2015 -- but it's never too late to try spicing things up by changing the default browser, eh? This is precisely what's happening with the ill-fated handsets, along with the Series 30+ range, as Opera Mini replaces the current Xpress Browser. Despite the seemingly short-lived nature of the deal, Opera Software is upbeat about the arrangement as, undoubtedly, will any poor blighter suffering with one of these handsets.

What is there to look forward to in the browser switch? Like other versions of Opera Mini, the version replacing Xpress Browser benefits from built-in compression that reduces data usage and helps to speed up web browsing. The deal will come as something of a surprise to many, and it has come rather out of the blue. Starting in October, Asha, Series 30+ and Series 40 handset owners will start to see notifications inviting them to upgrade, and newly produced handsets will come with the browser pre-installed.

The pressure got to him last time, so how will developer Dong Nguyen cope if his new mobile game Swing Copters takes off?

Flappy Bird was downloaded more than 50 million times and was the number one free game in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store charts before Nguyen pulled it in early 2014 sparking petitions, suicide hoax stories and death threats.

Chromebooks are amazing computers. Part of the genius of Google's Chrome OS is its lack of freedom; a seemingly crazy statement, I know. You see, users cannot install software locally, which in turn, also blocks viruses and malware. In other words, limitations become a strength from a security standpoint. However, sometimes the limitations of the OS are not a positive, but a negative.

For business users in particular, using Chrome web apps exclusively is a non-starter. Sure, some small business users can get by, but many large companies rely on specialized software -- mostly for Windows. Today, Windows programs come to Chromebooks -- sort of. Google announces that Citrix Receiver is coming to Chrome OS. Will this massively disrupt the business market?

The NFL season is about to get underway, though pre-season games are already in full swing. The Score wants to bring you all of the action with its latest "mobile-first" update, that includes lots of enhancements for fantasy team owners, as well.

The app is multi-sport, so don't worry if you’re a fan of baseball or basketball instead. This update announcement, though, focuses on the season at hand. The new version promises to "provide the most detailed, comprehensive, in-depth football data found on a multi-sport mobile app".

Software-defined networking (SDN) enabling the wireless LAN (WLAN) can help deliver a consistently high performance of critical business applications and simplify unified management of wired and wireless networks. However, to do this effectively, WLAN vendors need to provide solutions that offer immediate benefits to the IT department without any additional training or a "rip-and-replace" of existing controllers and access points.

It also means that these solutions must truly embrace the open architecture approach to SDN enabled by OpenFlow and advocated by communities and industry organizations like the Open Networking Forum and Project Open Daylight.

Gartner says that 3D printers will be used to print medical devices in just two to five years. According to Pete Basiliere, research vice president at Gartner, in the next half decade "3D printing of medical devices will offer exciting, life-altering benefits that will result in global use of 3D printing technology for prosthetics and implants".

However it could be a decade before consumer level 3D printing reaches the mainstream. Basiliere continued, "over 200 startups worldwide are developing and selling consumer-oriented 3D printers, priced from just a few hundred dollars. However, even this price is too high for mainstream consumers at this time".

Rdio, one of the top streaming music services, and SoundHound, an ace at recognizing what music you're listening to, are teaming up to bring better integration to customers. The two companies are announcing a new agreement that will bring them together in a unique way, allowing customers to utilize the two in tandem.

Beginning now, the latest SoundHound update will begin placing tagged songs into a playlist titled, appropriately enough, "Soundhound". This playlist will be accessible from within your Rdio account. The new service is named "Connect to Rdio".

There are thousands of image viewers available for Windows, and the chances are you already have more than you need. Does the free Honeyview have anything to make it worth a download? Let’s see.

One immediate plus is that the program comes from Bandisoft, developer of the excellent free archiver Bandizip, and a firm that knows exactly what it's doing.

When it comes to Chrome OS, the Chromebook reigns supreme. In fact, Google's operating system is viewed by many consumers as a laptop-only affair. However, the Chromebox has existed for quite some time now; it just has not caught on with consumers as much as the portable versions. The mini desktop form factor always feels like an afterthought when discussing Google's operating system.

It is understandable for people to pass on the Chromebox. You see, a Chromebook with HDMI or DisplayPort can also function as a desktop when connected to a large monitor, keyboard and mouse. In other words, why would a consumer or business user tether themselves to a desk rather than having the option to go portable? There are many reasons; business users may have requirements that a computer does not leave a location. For home consumers, one of the most important reasons is style and design. A Chromebox takes up little room on a desk and looks attractive; more than a laptop with a mess of wires. Today, Acer drives this point home by announcing the Chromebox CXI series -- super-slim, sexy and very functional.

Official Windows Phone apps are steadily growing in numbers and quality, as more and more developers support the platform and improve their existing offerings. PayPal is the latest top title to get a much-needed revamp.

Based on my experience, PayPal for Windows Phone was in dire need of a major upgrade, as it failed to provide the same features that Android and iOS users get. Fortunately, according to PayPal, much has changed with the latest version, suggesting that the subpar experience is a thing of the past now.

As thousands of students prepare to return to university over the next few weeks, new research by security ratings company BitSight shows that this is a busy time for hackers too.

The researchers found that Ivy League schools, for example, see a 48 percent increase in the number of malware infections during the academic year from September to May.

Even though 4G is undoubtedly the better technology for data consumption, in most markets across the globe 3G is still prevalent. The lower cost as well as the broader device selection certainly helps the latter remain attractive to consumers, at least until 4G is as readily available.

South Korean maker LG is keen to supply 3G-toting handsets going forward, as it announces the new Android-based L Bello and L Fino smartphones. The two, which are aimed at price-conscious consumers in "growing 3G markets", are said to pack solid specs, so let us take a look at what they have to offer.

Microsoft’s Bing Maps team has made a major update to its service, adding Streetside views (its version of Google’s Street View) to 64 new cities, and 3D maps to 29 new cities.

Among the new cities gaining Streetside views are Atlanta, Boston, Denver, Las Vegas, and Chicago. All of the Streetside additions are in the US. The new list of 3D cities also focuses on American locations, including Atlanta, Denver, and New Orleans, but Copenhagen in Denmark and Toronto, Vancouver and Victoria in Canada are also included.

Samsung has a new option for music fans with the addition of the Light Box mini to its line of Level premium audio products that doubles up as a microphone when calls are received.

The new speaker is 30 percent slimmer than its predecessor, the Light Box, and despite this it still provides the same high level of sound that is expected from Samsung’s Level products.

SanDisk has announced a new SSD solution with a range of capacities from 120GB upwards, and an enhanced SSD Dashboard.

The SanDisk Ultra II SSD, which is based on X3 NAND Flash technology, offers claimed sequential read speeds of up to 550MB/s and write speeds of up to 500MB/s. SanDisk has also incorporated nCache 2.0 tech which is a two-tiered caching architecture that helps on performance and endurance fronts. The Ultra II SSD is also shock resistant.