Apple, Samsung, LG and HTC’s newest smartphone-peddling rival is none other than Microsoft. As the biggest software company on the planet continues to increase its focus on hardware, it is now tasked with building Windows Phone’s global market share almost entirely on its own. In an effort to get things moving in the proper direction at the high end of its newly acquired smartphone lineup, Microsoft on Thursday announced a new promotion: Buy a new Lumia Icon, Lumia 1520 or Lumia 1020 and get $65 worth of games and other content for free.

In terms of a breakdown, the deal includes nine popular Gameloft games such as Asphalt 7 and Assasin’s Creed – Altair’s Chronicles, worth a total of $40, and then a $25 voucher that can be used to purchase movies and other videos in Microsoft’s on-device store.

The new deal is available in 39 countries including the United States and it runs from now through June 30th. More details can be found on the Lumia website, which is linked below in our source section.

For more on the specific Lumia smartphone models this promotion applies to, check out our Lumia Icon review, our Lumia 1520 review and our Lumia 1020 review.

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At the beginning of the year, we christened Sunset Overdrive one of our most anticipated games of the year, and one of the Xbox One exclusives that might sway some of the undecided gamers Microsoft’s way. Sunset Overdrive comes to us from Insomniac Games, a developer that has been a champion of Sony’s home consoles since Spyro the Dragon released on the original PlayStation in 1998. After a successful run on the PlayStation 3 with both the Ratchet and Clank series and the Resistance trilogy, Insomniac has jumped ship for Microsoft this generation, bringing its first new title exclusively to the Xbox One.

Until now, the only footage we had seen of Sunset Overdrive came in the form of a pre-rendered cutscene at Microsoft’s E3 2013 press conference. Nearly a year later, Sunset Overdrive is back with actual gameplay, showing off the bright, colorful locale that is Sunset City, which has sadly been overrun by mutants after an energy drink launch party led to the end of the world.

Sunset Overdrive appears to take cues from some of the most popular franchises in the industry, including Tony Hawk Pro Skater, Prince of Persia, Infamous and Insomniac’s own library. Featuring a fully-explorable open world, traversal is the key to survival — your character is able to run along walls, grind on power lines and grapple on to zip-lines in order to gain a tactical advantage over the masses of energy drink-overdosed mutants (the OD’d, as they’re known in Sunset City) which roam the streets below you.

Check out the full gameplay trailer below, and prepare for plenty more information about Sunset Overdrive in the weeks leading up to E3.

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A new study looking at iPhone and Android users reveals that iOS device owners are likely to have flown at least once in the past year, own stock and prefer wine to beer, Re/code reports. Meanwhile, Android users are more likely to take the bus, have eaten at McDonalds last month, and prefer tobacco and beer. Android users also describe themselves as religious, the study says.

Interestingly, the Battery Ventures study reveals that no matter what mobile operating customers choose, they’re just as likely to own a gun. Also, iPhone and Android users are equally likely to own a home.

Battery Ventures’ Jonathan Sills, who conducted the study, further told the publication that many differences go away when the user base is adjusted for income. Even so, such demographics differences may be useful to airlines or car companies looking to advertise their respective businesses on mobile devices.

This isn’t the first time a study has looked at the preferences of these two particular groups, which count members in the millions. For example, last year, studies have revealed that iPhone owners are more loyal than Android users, and that iPhone owners tend to consume more mobile data than Android users.

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Are you a tough guy or gal who loves traversing the open terrains or who works in a heavy-duty industry like construction? Do you require a smartphone that can take a beating and keep on taking Instagram pictures? If so then you might want to check out the new Cat B15 smartphone built by tractor manufacturer Caterpillar that’s been specifically designed to be “a tough, rugged phone that means business.”

To show just how tough the B15 is, Catepillar has posted a video of the new device being dropped from 35 feet into the air into a pool of water and then being pulled out and run over by one of Caterpillar’s Cat 277D Multi Terrain Loaders.

From an aesthetics perspective, the Cat B15 obviously isn’t as pleasing to the eyes as an iPhone 5s or an HTC One (M8) as it features a very thick frame with awkward-looking corners that make it look like it won’t fit very comfortably in your pocket. That said, if you’re buying the B15 you don’t care if it looks pretty or feels comfortable in your hand — you want it to survive lots of wear and tear.

Specs for the device include a 4-inch touch display, a 5-megapixel camera, a dual-core 1GHz processor, a 2,000 mAh battery and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean — in other words, the device’s specs are pretty dated.

You can watch a video of Caterpillar’s torture test for the phone below.

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One day the well of iPhone 6 mockup images will dry up, but today is not that day. Nowhereelse.fr shared another set of photos on Twitter this Thursday, giving us a fresh look at what could be the future of the Apple smartphone. The first set comes courtesy of Inner Exile, a China-based smartphone case retailer. The iPhone 6 mockup appearing in the four photos provided by Inner Exile appears to be a silver iPhone, strikingly similar to the photo that we covered earlier this week. This time around, we get a closer look at the phone from multiple angles, showcasing the reworked button placement, the curved body and the larger display.

The second image, which can be seen above the article, appears to give us another look at the space gray iPhone 6 mockup, which first appeared online just a few days ago. It’s apparent just how thin the iPhone 6 will be based on the leaked schematics that have led to these mockups.

Based on previous reports, we won’t see the iPhone 6 in person until this fall, but with the countless mockups and renders that have flooded the Internet recently, it’s probably safe to assume that someone has managed to create a nearly identical clone. We’re still waiting to see physical mockups of the 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch phone side by side.

Read more here: Boy Genius Report

One day the well of iPhone 6 mockup images will dry up, but today is not that day. Nowhereelse.fr shared another set of photos on Twitter this Thursday, giving us a fresh look at what could be the future of the Apple smartphone. The first set comes courtesy of Inner Exile, a China-based smartphone case retailer. The iPhone 6 mockup appearing in the four photos provided by Inner Exile appears to be a silver iPhone, strikingly similar to the photo that we covered earlier this week. This time around, we get a closer look at the phone from multiple angles, showcasing the reworked button placement, the curved body and the larger display.

The second image, which can be seen above the article, appears to give us another look at the space gray iPhone 6 mockup, which first appeared online just a few days ago. It’s apparent just how thin the iPhone 6 will be based on the leaked schematics that have led to these mockups.

Based on previous reports, we won’t see the iPhone 6 in person until this fall, but with the countless mockups and renders that have flooded the Internet recently, it’s probably safe to assume that someone has managed to create a nearly identical clone. We’re still waiting to see physical mockups of the 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch phone side by side.

Read more here: Boy Genius Report

Gee, what a shock: Your Snapchat snaps don’t really “disappear forever” after all. The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday announced that it had reached a settlement with Snapchat in which it said that Snapchat’s marketing claim that any pictures sent over its app would “disappear forever” was simply misleading. One issue, says the FTC, is that Snapchat’s “disappear forever” promise is one that it simply cannot keep, especially when there are several third-party applications out there let you capture and keep any pictures and videos sent over the app.

But that’s not all: The FTC also says that “Snapchat stored video snaps unencrypted on the recipient’s device in a location outside the app’s ‘sandbox,’ meaning that the videos remained accessible to recipients who simply connected their device to a computer and accessed the video messages through the device’s file directory,” which means that even if you discount third-party apps, Snapchat should have known that it couldn’t promise all of your snaps would be completely erased.

As part of the settlement, Snapchat will need to change how it markets its service so that it no longer misrepresents “the extent to which it maintains the privacy, security, or confidentiality of users’ information,” the FTC says.

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After another dismal year of console sales, Nintendo is finally looking to broach uncharted territory in order to give its floundering business a much needed boost. Bloomberg reports that Nintendo is preparing to launch new consoles in emerging markets as early as next year, potentially capitalizing on China’s recently lifted ban on game consoles. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, China’s game industry could generate $10 billion in sales in 2015.

Nintendo President Satoru Iwata said in an interview that the consoles released in emerging markets would be entirely new products, as opposed to budget rehashes of the Wii U and 3DS. “We want to make new things, with new thinking rather than a cheaper version of what we currently have,” Iwata said. “The product and price balance must be made from scratch.”

As Nintendo struggles to reclaim the audience that made the Wii a smash hit in 2006, many critics and analysts have suggested that Nintendo should look into mobile gaming to supplement its home console business. Iwata has heard these suggestions, but believes that “the smartphone market is probably more competitive than the console business,” and after 30 years in the console business, transitioning to mobile would be very difficult.

Of course, just because Nintendo doesn’t plan to develop full mobile titles doesn’t mean the company is unaware of the potential for second screen functionality. Nintendo will be releasing a Mario Kart TV companion app for Mario Kart 8, allowing players to watch videos and track their progress on their mobile devices.

With fresh hardware for emerging markets and a long-awaited dive into mobile apps, Nintendo is finally showing signs of life. Hopefully these new strategies, along with the release of Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, will give the company a chance to recover.

Read more here: Boy Genius Report

After another dismal year of console sales, Nintendo is finally looking to broach uncharted territory in order to give its floundering business a much needed boost. Bloomberg reports that Nintendo is preparing to launch new consoles in emerging markets as early as next year, potentially capitalizing on China’s recently lifted ban on game consoles. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, China’s game industry could generate $10 billion in sales in 2015.

Nintendo President Satoru Iwata said in an interview that the consoles released in emerging markets would be entirely new products, as opposed to budget rehashes of the Wii U and 3DS. “We want to make new things, with new thinking rather than a cheaper version of what we currently have,” Iwata said. “The product and price balance must be made from scratch.”

As Nintendo struggles to reclaim the audience that made the Wii a smash hit in 2006, many critics and analysts have suggested that Nintendo should look into mobile gaming to supplement its home console business. Iwata has heard these suggestions, but believes that “the smartphone market is probably more competitive than the console business,” and after 30 years in the console business, transitioning to mobile would be very difficult.

Of course, just because Nintendo doesn’t plan to develop full mobile titles doesn’t mean the company is unaware of the potential for second screen functionality. Nintendo will be releasing a Mario Kart TV companion app for Mario Kart 8, allowing players to watch videos and track their progress on their mobile devices.

With fresh hardware for emerging markets and a long-awaited dive into mobile apps, Nintendo is finally showing signs of life. Hopefully these new strategies, along with the release of Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, will give the company a chance to recover.

Read more here: Boy Genius Report

The HTC One (M8) is a great phone. In fact, we recently called it the best Android phone in the world. While the design is the most obvious plus for the M8, HTC’s new and improved front-facing BoomSound speakers mark another area where HTC’s flagship phone shames rival handsets. As good as BoomSound is on the M8, however, Sprint’s special Harman Kardon edition promises sound that is somehow even better. Does it deliver? Sprint sent us one a couple of weeks ago so we could find out for ourselves.

Here’s the short answer: Yes, the sound on Sprint’s HTC One (M8) Harman Kardon edition is better than the sound on the standard version of the phone.

Sprint’s tweaked M8 features sound that has been tuned by the audio experts at Harman Kardon, who certainly has a reputation that precedes them. This special version features the same amplified speakers and BoomSound cavities as the standard model, but the sound is much fuller and the clarity is improved.

Even better, Sprint’s Harman Kardon edition M8 ships with a set of Harman Kardon AE-S earbuds at no additional cost. These bass-heavy buds deliver sound like no other headphones we have ever seen ship with a smartphone. Combined with HK’s tuning, this smartphone is an audiophile’s dream.

The AE earbuds normally retail separately for about $80.

Sadly, there is a trade-off with this special version of the HTC One (M8): Unless you’re a fan of black and gold, the look of this phone is a little jarring.

HTC and Sprint have a history of making very poor design decisions when they get together. The worst by a landslide was the EVO 4G, but depending on your taste, the M8 Harman Kardon edition could be a close second.

The back is dark black aluminum with a brushed finish that attracts fingerprints like nobody’s business. Then, the metal inserts on the front are bright gold. Sadly, I wasn’t quite able to capture just how gold they are in the images here.

Some people might be into the look, and for them, the HTC One (M8) Harman Kardon edition smartphone is a fantastic option. If you left your love of black and gold back in the 1980s though, this phone is a tough pill to swallow.

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