The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Samsung is planning a rugged version of its flagship Galaxy S 4 smartphone. In addition to a rugged Galaxy S 4, the WSJ reports that Samsung will also be debuting a new eight-inch tablet that is also designed to stand up to harsher environments.

The new devices are aimed at government and business users who need to be able to use devices in environments that aren't friendly to electronic devices. The Galaxy S 4 device, possibly known as the Galaxy S 4 Active, will be dust proof and waterproof, yet hopefully remain the look and feel of the newly released Galaxy S 4.

Samsung is also said to be working on a miniaturized version of the Galaxy S 4, one that would feature a screen of just 4.3 inches. This is tentatively set to launch in July.

VR-Zone has posted up a picture of what appears to be box art for the upcoming Intel line of processors known as Haswell. Intel is really pushing a conceptual computing and creativity aspect this year, so the box design definitely fits within that strategy. But, is it the actual box art?

The box art shown above departs from the typical box art used by Intel. For instance, the top part of the front of the box features a wider case-badge instead of the typical small badge. We likely won't know for sure until Haswell launches at Computex in early June, which we reported earlier today.

Nintendo has released an update for its Wii U gaming console. This update, claims Nintendo, brings with it better performance, decreased boot times, and decreased load times. The Wii U, while an innovative console, has failed to sell in quantities that Nintendo would be happy with.

Nintendo has published the following list of changes:

• The time required to start the Wii U console, launch built-in applications, exit software and return to the main menu, jump between applications, and jump between software and Miiverse has been reduced.
• While the Wii U logo is being displayed during the system startup, users can directly transition to the Wii Menu by holding down the B Button on the Wii U GamePad.
• Users can install games and applications from the Nintendo eShop in the background while other software is being used.
• When powering off during a download, Wii U will go into a standby mode, then power off when all downloads and installations are complete.
• Users can transfer and copy data between two USB storage devices in Data Management. This allows users the opportunity to upgrade or replace a current USB storage device that is connected to the Wii U Console.
• Users can control the priority of their downloads when downloading multiple items at once.
• Improved account selection when powering on the system now displays Nintendo Network IDs to clearly distinguish accounts.

At least one Google Glass Explorer Edition owner has been doing some digging. Jay Lee, a hacker who got his hands on a pair of Google Glass, managed to connect Glass up to Google's ADB software and dig through the debug data to find out what operating system and hardware was powering the wearable device.

According to the ADB printout, Google Glass Explorer Editions are running Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich. They are powered by an OMAP 4430 CPU, which is a dual-core in the same family as the processor used in the Galaxy Nexus smartphone. The ADB printout returned that the system has 682MB of RAM, though Lee believes it's more likely 1GB with some reserved for hardware.

We'll surely be getting more information as Glass gets into the hands of more developers and hackers. Until then, feel free to dig through the information Lee has posted on a Google Drive.

Apple has never been very good when it comes to Internet-based activities. MobileMe and other offerings by Apple have often fallen by the wayside as Google and others produced better--and cheaper--alternatives. Apple's iMessage service makes use of the Internet to transmit text messages between iPhones and other Apple devices.

Apple's iMessage is also suffering from an interesting, if not too problematic, glitch that results in the last word of phrases to be replaced with spaces. The glitch only affects certain phrases and it's not clear why the glitch is even occurring. Even more interesting, if you copy the message and paste it into the compose window, the full, unadulterated phrase will be shown.

To trigger the bug, you have to use certain phrases with a trailing space. For instance, "I could be the next Obama" results in Obama being removed and replaced with spaces. You can also try "the best prize is a surprise". If you find any other phrases that trigger the bug, let us know!

This morning a Russian publication has leaked specifications on a new Galaxy smartphone set to launch from Samsung. Known as the Galaxy Core, this smartphone is said to be built with the budget conscious in mind.

Rumor has it that the Galaxy Core will ship with a 4.3-inch 800x480 display and feature a 1.2GHz unknown processor. It is also said to feature 768MB of system RAM, which is a very odd number, considering convention is done in multiples of 512MB. The phone will supposedly handle photo capturing with a 5MP rear camera and will be dual SIM capable.

The smartphone is expected to ship with Android 4.1 and will run TouchWiz. The phone's specifications are very similar to those of the Galaxy S II Plus as well as the Galaxy Win that is set to release in China.

An official launch has not been set, but the rumor mill says that it should blast off in Russia next month at about 14,000 Ruble or about $450 USD.

It is just about time for all of those products that were shown off at CES to begin arriving on store shelves. Today Panasonic announced the release of its Lumix DMC-XS1 compact digital camera.

Featuring a 16.1MP imaging sensor, the Lumix DMC-XS1 is a very formidable entry into the compact point and shoot camera market. A 24mm 5x zoom lens brings everything into focus up front, while a 2.7-inch TFT display on the back lets you check for the perfect capture.

The Lumix DMC-XS1 is capable of 720p video capture at 30 FPS. A 690mAh rechargeable battery is also stuffed inside the 17mm thick package, which should provide for about 300 images, before needing to be recharged. Panasonic has created 10 unique case designs for the Lumix DMC-XS1 which should appeal to the younger market.

This morning Google implemented changes to its terms and conditions to ensure that apps can no longer push updates from outside the Google Play Store. This update comes not long after both Facebook and Adblock Plus began pushing updates to their apps independent of Google and Google Play.

"An app downloaded from Google Play may not modify, replace or update its own APK binary code using any method other than Google Play's update mechanism", reads the new sentence in Google's terms and conditions.

While this change will have very little effect to Facebook, it seems like another major roadblock for Adblock Plus who was using the independent update method to keep its banned app updated.

This morning Sony has released a new video that shows off its DualShock 4 controller. Sony mentions that they worked tirelessly with developers to create a next-generation controller that is truly the best it can be.

While the DualShock 4 may look similar to its predecessor in form, the whole controller has been fine-tuned with improvements made to the analog sticks, the sensitivity of the triggers, as well as a new light bar on the front of the controller that tells the PS4 your position in the room and adjusts your split screen, relevant to your location.

A new touch pad has been added to the controller, as well. Sony says that this was a major request from game developers and features multi-touch sensitivity and is comfortable to use with your thumbs or fingertips. Additionally a speaker has been added to the controller that is said to bring forth a new dynamic of sound to gameplay.

Rounding things out is a new "Share" button that when pressed instantly allows the user to capture a screenshot of an epic kill, or even begin recording video of the gameplay.

After a very successful first quarter for the Snapdragon 600, Qualcomm is moving forward with production on its next-generation system on a chip processor for mobile devices. A Qualcomm exec has confirmed with Engadget that the Snapdragon 800 is expected to move into mass production beginning late May.

Based around the Krait 400 architecture, the Snapdragon 800 is a quad-core beast that could likely see clock speeds as high as 2.3GHz with very low power consumption. An internal Adreno 330 GPU will be capable of 4K playback at 30fps. 802.11 B/G/N Wi-Fi, USB 3.0 and 4G LTE are also built into the chip, alongside a quick charging circuit and voice command capabilities.

Qualcomm is keeping quiet on which handset manufacturers have placed orders and as such, there is no official word, or speculation on which upcoming smartphones will feature the new SoC. We will tune an ear to the market as always and report back once we get word on any upcoming devices featuring the Snapdragon 800.

This morning Intel announced via its Facebook page and Twitter account that it would be unveiling its next-generation Core processor family at Computex on June 4th. Codenamed Haswell, the new processor family is no secret at this point, though.

Haswell architecture is designed to optimize the power savings and performance benefits from the move to FinFET transistors on the improved 22nm process, and feature a fully integrated voltage regulator, moving the power scaling duties from the motherboard and onto the processor itself.

The new king of speed is said to be the Core i7-4770K, which is a quad-core, eight thread 3.9GHz beast. While the middle of the road low power consumption chip is said to be the Core i5-4670T that runs four cores at 3.8GHz.

Our own Anthony Garreffa posted a complete lineup of the upcoming Haswell processors back in December.

Last week I covered a story about Intel's CEO Paul Otellini predicting that Microsoft Surface tablets would soon see a price drop to $200. Now we are hearing a different story coming out of Intel, and the word is that it will be Android based notebooks that will sell at the $200 price point.

In an interview with CNET, Intel executive VP Dadi Perlmutter said that the $200 touchscreen devices will predominantly be Android based notebooks running on Intel's Atom mobile processors. While this news is still quite exciting, I still believe a $200 Microsoft Surface tablet would see massive sales. On the other hand, I will still be all in for a $200 Android based notebook.

When asked about Microsoft selling $200 tablets, Perlmutter had the following to say:

"We have a good technology that enables a very cost-effective price point. The price of Windows 8 laptops depends on how Microsoft prices Windows 8. It may be a slightly higher price point."

We've seen a great quarter from many companies dishing out smartphones, with Q1 2013 being the first time that smartphones outsold cellphone shipments across the world, according to industry analyst IDC.

216 million smartphones with computer-like features were sold for the three-month period compared to 419 million total, meaning smartphones represented 51.6% of shipments. ZTE and Huawei took two of the top five slots, pushing Blackberry and RIM out in the cold.

Samsung improved their lead from Apple in smartphone shipments in the quarter, from 29% to 32.7% in Q3, leaving Apple slipping from 21.8% to 17.3%. Sony dropped out of the top five entirely, where LG jumped up and scooped position number three with 10.3 million units shipped.

Nokia's relationship with Microsoft hasn't taken off as much as most thought it would when it was announced, but the relationship itself is a big deal. The man behind this relationship, Steven Overman, has left Nokia.

Overman was the vice president for global branding and marketing strategy with the Finnish company, and was responsible for drafting the partnership with Microsoft, as well as handling the marketing for Nokia's Lumia and Asha smartphones.

He joined Nokia in 2010, coming from a position at Lowe Worldwide where he was in charge of a marketing team that handled Nokia's account. Nokia have pushed out some great marketing campaigns, but have struggled against the juggernauts that are Apple and Samsung. Lumia Windows Phone shipments increased to 5.6 million units in Q1 2013, up from 4.4 million in Q4 2012.

Cyberthreats are the new way of slowly removing citizens' privacy, and now the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is preparing to deploy a very powerful new version of their EINSTEIN intrusion-detection system that is built to detect attacks and malware, especially when it comes to e-mail.

But because this new version of EINSTEIN is able to read electronic content, it is raising privacy concerns. DHS has recognized this, and have just issued a "privacy impact assessment" on what they're calling EINSTEIN 3 Accelerated, the intrusion detection and prevention system that is expected to be made available as a managed security service from ISPs to monitor the ".gov" traffic to and from civilian agencies and Executive Branch departments.

The DHS has said that EINSTEIN 3 might be able to collect "personally identifiable information" (PII) in some instances where this network security system will not just monitor but also prevent threats by clocking traffic in order to detect a cyberthreat or potential cyberthreat.

US ambassador to Australia, Jeffrey Bleich, has reached out to his official Facebook page telling Australians to stop pirating popular HBO show, Game of Thrones. He wrote:

As the ambassador here in Australia, it was especially troubling to find out that Australian fans were some of the worst offenders with among the highest piracy rates of Game of Thrones in the world.

The comments came on April 23, marking the 17th annual UN World Book and Copyright Day. He added:

I realise that fans of Game of Thrones who have used illegal file-sharing sites have reasons. They will say it was much easier to access through these sites, or that they got frustrated by the delay in the first season, or their parents wouldn't pay for a subscription, or they will complain about some other issue with copyright laws. But none of those reasons is an excuse - stealing is stealing.

LG have had a great first quarter, shipping record numbers of smartphones, but it looks like their end of year goals are set to have them see even more success.

Yoon Bu-hyun, vice president of LG's mobile business, has confirmed that the South Korean electronics giant are set to launch a smartphone with a flexible OLED display before the end of the year. This may sound great in practice, but the entire smartphone won't be flexible. There aren't any flexible batteries or other components available, but it will be the first consumer device to feature a wraparound display.

We should expect LG's flexible OLED smartphone sometime in Q4 of this year.

The government is thirsty for content removal according to Google, who says they've seen a huge increase in the amount of content removal requests in the past year.

Google have reported that government content removal requests have increased from 1,811 in the first half of last year, to 2,285 in the second half of the year. 39% of these takedowns were related to cases of alleged defamation, with 18% of the takedown requests said to be related to privacy and security concerns, says Google.

Google have also added that they received "a request to remove a YouTube video that allegedly defames the President" of Argentina "by depicting her in a compromising position". There was also a "request from legal representatives of a member of the executive branch" of Israel's government "to remove two YouTube videos for alleged defamation". South Korea also chimed in, with a "request to remove a YouTube video that allegedly defamed a presidential candidate".

AllThingsD has an exclusive report that Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer has just joined the Jawbone board of directors, the company behind those wireless headsets, Jambox speakers and the Up personal fitness wristbands. AllThingsD's report comes from 'sources at the Silicon Valley Internet giant'.

The Yahoo CEO has already sat in on a Jawbone board meeting, according to the same sources. Mayer had been talking to Jawbone about becoming a board member before she even became the CEO of Yahoo. Mayer will fit in well, as her previous job at Google had her working with products, aesthetics and high-level design.

Having Mayer sit in on the board will help Jawbone in more ways than one, as she'll bring her experience of scaling businesses from small to large, as well as her deep technical expertise.

Google have just pushed out an update to the Chrome Beta for Android, which increases page rendering performance and fixes some frequently occurring crash issues. The full list of changes is as follows:

• 179250: Black screen during load on Huawei tablets
• 224379: Cannot scroll images after zooming in
• 226193: Blue line displayed below the omnibox
• Improvement to page rendering performance
• Fixes for some frequently occurring crashes

You can read more on Chrome Beta for Android, and download it, from the Google Play Store.