Microsoft releases Windows 10 Mobile Insider Preview Build 14322 to Fast Ring -- here's what's new

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We may not have heard much about Windows 10 Mobile at Build 2016, but Microsoft is actively working on refining its smartphone operating system. Now, we have a new Insider Preview build, introduced to Fast Ring, which adds improvements and changes to Action Center, notifications, Cortana, Settings, emoji, Microsoft Edge, lockscreen, and more.

Windows 10 Mobile Insider Preview Build 14322, as it is formally known as, also comes with lots of bug fixes in tow, and a few known issues as well. Here is what you need to know about it.

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Tronsmart's five-port USB charger plays nice with your Quick Charge 3.0 devices [Review]

Tronsmart USB charger front

A multiport USB charger is a great tool to have if you need to top up the battery on a couple of devices at the same time. Finding the right one might prove a bit difficult though. There are lots of options available, featuring all sorts of configurations, and with support for different charging standards.

The Chotech six-port USB charger that I reviewed previously is a great all-around option that should keep most people happy for a long time, but for some folks the lack of Quick Charge 3.0 support may be a let down. So, if you have a device that supports Qualcomm's latest fast charging technology you will need to look at a different option, like Tronsmart's latest five-port USB charger which includes a Quick Charge 3.0-ready port.

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Meizu Pro 6 is a new flagship Android smartphone with 10-core processor

Meizu Pro 6

The Android flagships introduced so far this year feature an octa-core processor, typically a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820. Hardly anyone can argue that eight cores are not enough for whatever apps and games users might want to run. Meizu is an exception as with its latest high-end smartphone it is taking things up a notch.

Meizu's new Pro 6 is among the first, if not the first, smartphone to feature a 10-core processor, namely a Helio X25 chip with four Cortex-A53 cores at 1.4 GHz, four Cortex-A53 cores at 2 GHz and two Cortex-A72 cores at 2.5 GHz. On paper it looks much more impressive than a Samsung Galaxy S7 or HTC 10.

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Google Calendar now helps you to reach your goals

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It's not long since the Reminders feature arrived in Google Calendar on the web, a few months after it debuted in iOS and Android. Now Google is rolling out another new feature that makes it easier to find time to reach your goals -- whether this is indulging in a hobby a few times a week, or just trying to do some regular exercise.

Goals in Google Calendar is not about ticking items off your bucket list, but automating the process of adding reminders to your calendar without having to manually search high and low for the necessary time. Just indicate what you want to do, and how often, and the rest will be taken care of for you. But it gets better...

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Jewelery meets gadgetry in the Oukitel A8

Oukitel A8

Bluetooth tracking devices to help stop you forgetting your phone have been around for a while, but they've generally been quite functional in design, looking like a remote car key.

Chinese smartphone maker Oukitel is launching its own take on the lost phone finder with a new gadget that looks like a piece of jewelry but also functions as more than just an alarm to tell you you've left your phone behind.

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BlackBerry will release two mid-range Android phones in 2016

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BlackBerry will be moving back into the mid-range smartphone market in order to appeal to enterprise customers who were unable to justify the Priv’s $700 retail price.

John Chen, the company’s CEO, has revealed that BlackBerry is planning to release two mid-range Android smartphones during 2016. One will include a physical keyboard to appease fans of the company’s iconic handsets and the other will sport a full touchscreen to appeal towards consumers who have adopted the modern smartphone form factor.

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Meet HTC 10

Perfume HTC 10

Despite giving us some of the nicest high-end smartphones, HTC's sales have dropped sharply in the past couple of years. Today, the once-successful company is nothing but a shadow of its former self, posting revenue so low that it makes you wonder how much longer it can keep the lights on. Meanwhile, long time rivals like Apple and Samsung are watching their flagships fly off the shelves.

HTC has clearly made some mistakes, but its latest flagship is proof that things are taking a turn for the better. HTC 10 offers pretty much everything that you could want in a premium smartphone: high-quality build, top level hardware, cutting-edge features, the latest software and a competitive price.

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Immigration officials allowed to hack phones of refugees and asylum seekers

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The British government secretly rolled out powers that permitted the immigration officials to hack the mobile phones of asylum seekers and refugees, the Observer reveals. The Home Office has confirmed the hacking powers which have sparked outrage from privacy and human rights groups.

Since 2013, immigration officials have not only been permitted to hack into migrants' phones and computers, but also to install surveillance equipment in homes and detention centers. With concern about governmental plans for the snooper's charter and the privacy invasion this entails, claims that the powers are needed to "deal effectively with all immigration crime" are likely to fall on deaf ears.

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Android gaining ground mainly at Windows Phone's expense

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Windows Phone sales took a dive in 2015, and it looks like the trend continues in 2016 as well. The platform is losing ground in major markets across the globe, according to a new report by Kantar Worldpanel ComTech. And Android is taking advantage of it.

In the three months ending February 2016, Windows Phone saw its market share drop considerably in five major European markets (France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Spain), and US and Australia, with Android adding the percentage points it lost under its belt. Things are looking better in China and Japan, however.

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Huawei's new P9 flagship features dual-lens Leica camera

Huawei P9 Plus

One of the things that separate flagships from the rest of the smartphone crowd is their camera performance. Consumers expect to take great photos and videos with a top of the line handset, so manufacturers tend to use premium sensors and lenses for their best offerings. And, sometimes, they team up with a household name in the field when they really want to woo potential buyers.

For its latest flagship smartphones, called P9 and P9 Plus, Huawei has partnered with famous camera maker Leica. That is not the only thing that's different about its camera, however, as the main highlight is actually its dual-lens setup, which, among other things, enables the device to capture depth information for that lovely bokeh effect.

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Full end-to-end encryption shows WhatsApp is serious about privacy

Messaging service smartphone WhatsApp

Encryption has been a hot topic for some time, but the battle between Apple and the FBI really brought it to the fore in recent weeks. In response to the FBI trying -- ultimately successfully -- to crack into the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone, WhatsApp was just one of the companies that promised to increase encryption.

Today the popular chat tool made good on its promise, enabling full end-to-end encryption; this means that calls, messages, photos, videos, files, voice messages, and group chats are all protected with end-to-end encryption. Importantly, this extra layer of security is enabled by default, leading WhatsApp to claim it is "a leader in protecting your private communication".

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Behavior ID strengthens mobile and web security

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Whether it's down to stolen credentials, weak passwords or bot-based attacks, the threat of an account takeover is one of the major worries for most users.

Mobile identity company TeleSign is launching Behavior ID, a new offering that enables web and mobile applications to measure and analyze a user's behavioral patterns to provide continuous authentication, even after the user has been verified with traditional security measures like passwords.

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Android can't make BlackBerry phones attractive again

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Realizing that it stands no chance of attracting consumers with BlackBerry 10 OS devices, BlackBerry last year released a smartphone that runs Android. Called Priv, it offers an interesting mix of business and consumer-oriented features that make it a powerful contender in the high-end segment. Many folks seem to like it, but just how much of a success is it?

Priv has what it takes to be a big seller. It has all the right features that consumers say they want in a BlackBerry smartphone: premium build, physical keyboard, large screen, enterprise-friendly apps and, last but not least, Android. You would think that by giving people what they've asked for the company would be struggling to keep up with demand. And yet, in its last fiscal quarter, BlackBerry only sold a very small number of Priv units.

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93% of UK mobile users have their location tracked every day

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Awareness of the privacy issues involved in using various devices and software has grown dramatically in recent years -- there can be few readers who do not know about the telemetry and privacy concerns surround Windows 10, for instance. But a new campaign by privacy-focused advocacy group Krowdthink aims to raise aware of the privacy implication of owning a mobile phone in the UK.

The 'Opt me out of Location' campaign aims to highlight the fact that nearly every single mobile phone owner in the UK (93 percent) has unwittingly signed up for a contract that permits their location to be tracked. More than this, the data collected allows providers to build up highly detailed customer profiles which Krowdthink warns leaves millions of users just one serious data breach away from having private data exposed to and abused by criminals.

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Losing selfies is a major concern for the majority of smartphone users

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Mobile memory experts Leef quizzed the UK population to see just how important smartphones are for them, and how often they back such devices up. It turns out, not so frequently. As a matter of fact, some people don’t even know what backing up actually means.

So here’s the thing. The quiz polled 1,000 smartphone users across the country, and more than half would be terrified of losing their smartphone, mostly because of "their selfies and other irreplaceable photos from their smartphone", the Leef report says.

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