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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Samsung has yet to release an Android 4.4 KitKat update for many of its devices that should be compatible with Google’s latest mobile operating system version, but SamMobile has obtained a leaked internal document that lists the KitKat rollout schedule for some Samsung smartphones. Interestingly, the document reveals that the international version of the Galaxy S3 (GT-I9300 model) will not get KitKat anytime soon, as Samsung is experiencing problems – the Sprint Galaxy S3 model has already been upgraded to KitKat though, with other LTE versions of the phone supposed to get it this month.

The Galaxy Note 2 LTE model will also be updated to KitKat in May, followed by the Galaxy S4 Mini, Galaxy 4 Mini LTE, Galaxy Note 3 Neo, Galaxy Grand 2, Galaxy Mega 5.8 and Galaxy Mega 6.3 in June.

As for the GT-I9300, Samsung’s documentation says that the phone’s update has been canceled due to “unsolved problems.” According to a different screenshot sent in by the same tipster, the international Galaxy S3 model may have a TouchWiz problem, “which is stopping the device from loading system apps,” rather than a RAM problem – the GT-I9300 only has 1GB of RAM, while the U.S. models come with 2GB of RAM.

Screenshots of the leaked internal Samsung documents follow below.

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Apple has not entered the megapixel camera war that other smartphone makers are engaged in and has instead preferred to improve picture quality in its iPhones without increasing the number of megapixels of the main camera. In the future, Apple may further ignore megapixels, a new patent application discovered by AppleInsider reveals, as the company has found a way to offer iPhone users a super-resolution camera mode without actually needing to increase megapixel count in future iPhone versions.

The patent, titled “Super-resolution based on optical image stabilization,” reveals that with help of an optical image stabilization (OIS) camera and an image processing engine, the iPhone would be able to stitch multiple images together and create high-resolution pictures.

“[This patent describes] a system and method for creating a super-resolution image using an image capturing device,” Apple wrote in the patent’s abstract. “In one embodiment, an electronic image sensor captures a reference optical sample through an optical path. Thereafter, an optical image stabilization (OIS) processor to adjust the optical path to the electronic image sensor by a known amount. A second optical sample is then captured along the adjusted optical path, such that the second optical sample is offset from the first optical sample by no more than a sub-pixel offset. The OIS processor may reiterate this process to capture a plurality of optical samples at a plurality of offsets. The optical samples may be combined to create a super-resolution image.”

iPhone users will be able to choose between taking regular pictures or select a “Super resolution mode” menu that would allow them to capture photos that exceed the camera’s megapixels.

It’s not clear when such a camera feature will be available on an iPhone, as inventions described in patents and patent applications do not always make it into upcoming devices.

Some rumors said that the iPhone 6 will have an 8-megapixel camera just like its predecessors, but that it would pack OIS support. However, a more recent report said that this year’s iPhone would not have an OIS rear camera. Without an OIS camera that would ensure the smooth and automatic movement of the camera’s lens, a super-resolution feature as described in this patent application would not be possible.

Oppo has its own way of capturing high-resolution images, that far exceed a phone’s capabilities. The Find 7 can take 50-megapixel shots with a 13-megapixel camera.

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One new flagship Android phone that’s been flying under the radar so far has been the LG G3, which isn’t too surprising since last year’s LG G2 was met with an underwhelming response. However, many of the leaks we’ve seen on the upcoming G3 have given us hope that LG is really going to step up its game for its new flagship phone by building a device that takes a lot of cues from its highly acclaimed Nexus 5.

GSMArena has obtained some leaked photos of the G3 that show us a shiny gold version of the device that looks very enticing. LG has changed a couple of things from a design perspective that make the G3 look nicer than the G2 overall and the most notable one is the flatter version of the rear navigation button that LG tried to unsuccessfully tout as an important differentiator for the G2. And although it’s tough to tell definitively from the picture, the new device appears to have a metal case, which would be a welcome change from the plastic LG typically uses on its devices.

That said, we’ve seen leaked pictures of the G3 that show it with both plastic and metal rear casings so it’s entirely possible that LG will release two versions of the device much as Samsung has been rumored to release both the plastic Galaxy S5 and a metal Galaxy S5 Prime.

You can see one of the gold LG G3 leaked pictures posted below and you can head over to GSMArena to check out more.

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Spare change can get pretty annoying. If you’re like a lot of people, you’ll let it pile up in your pocket until one day you unload it all on some poor convenience store clerk to pay for a six-pack of beer and a bag of chips. However, a soon-to-be-released smartphone app called Acorns has come up with a solution to this problem: It will let you automatically invest any spare change you have into a diversified portfolio.

In a Mashable article on the app published a couple of months ago, Acorns cofounder Jeff Cruttenden explains how the app “simulates” producing spare change from credit card purchases by rounding your total up to the nearest dollar and investing the leftover amount into your portfolio. The app was designed to make saving and investing as unobtrusive as possible — instead of making sure to set aside regular savings from your paycheck, you can just use on the app to generate a constant stream of small savings every time you buy something with it.

The fee for using the service will be 1% of what you earn through your portfolio and on top of that it will charge you a flat fee of $1 per month for using it. That said, if it helps you save and grow money, it could easily be worth it. The app is set to launch sometime this quarter and you can sign up for news alerts for both the iOS and Android versions of it by going to Acorns’ homepage.

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It’s time to be blunt: If you’re not using a password manager to help ensure that your online passwords are as secure as possible, you’re crazy. Hackers are lurking around every corner of the Internet, devising new schemes and plotting new attacks. Ensuring that your passwords are complex and unique for each and every Web service you use is the absolute least you can do to protect yourself.

But how will you remember all of those complex passwords? That’s where OneKey Pro comes in.

Created by app developer Appxy, One Key Pro is a universal iOS app that will work on both the iPhone and the iPad. Like other password managers, OneKey Pro lets users choose a single password that is needed to access the app. Then, usernames, passwords and other data for an unlimited number of online and real-world accounts is stored within the app.

More information from the app’s description:

With OneKey, you don’t need to remember all the usernames, passwords, web addresses and those boring information in modern life. OneKey provides a safe and simple way to store and manage all your passwords and private information. It can save your credit card details, PINs, bank accounts, notes, web site logins…etc in a highly secure position.

OneKey uses 256bit AES encryption to protect your passwords, accounts, credit cards and more. You can trust that no one else will have access to your most important information.

Secure:
– Secure storage for passwords, usernames, PINs, credit cards and bank info.
– Strong 256bit AES encryption.
– Time-out locks to protect the app from prying eyes.
– Optional auto-lock protects your passwords from hackers.
– Backup and restore data via Wi-Fi and Dropbox at anytime.

Easy to use:
– Standard templates for fast data entry.
– Customize categories and all the details.
– Mark any records as Favorite for quick access.
– Provides search and sort to manage your records.
– No limitation on the number of records.
– Clean and nice interface.

OneKey Pro is typically $4.99 but it is currently available for free for a limited time.

The app’s one big shortcoming compared to rival apps is that there is no desktop companion software, which could lead to a whole lot of manual typing. For the low price of $0 though, it’s hard to complain — and the app is still perfect if your primary device is an iPhone or an iPad.

A link to OneKey Pro’s App Store page can be found below in our source section.

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Google is rumored to be prepping an 8.9-inch Nexus 8 or Nexus 9 tablet – the name of the device is not clear yet – for launch later this summer, and Myce speculates that the tablet has been spotted online already in a Chromium issue tracker report. The device has codename “Flounder,” which is an oceanic fish, and an indication that it may be a device part of the Nexus family considering that previous Nexus devices were also named after fish internally.

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“I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple’s $40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong,” late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs is quoted as having said. “I’m going to destroy Android, because it’s a stolen product. I’m willing to go thermonuclear war on this.” According to a top patent attorney at Samsung, however, the patent war will soon end and Apple will have accomplished nothing.

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