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A new report from BGR is suggesting that the rumors of alloy-framed Galaxy S5 smartphones exist might just be true. The report states that after two different cases popped up on Amazon recently, there will actually be two versions of the Galaxy S5 debuting next week. The report says that there will be the normal Galaxy S5, and then an alloy-framed model carrying the title Galaxy S5 Prime.

The Galaxy S4 Prime will feature a high-strength aluminum alloy chassis as well as quad HD Super AMOLED display which will measure in at 5.25-inches. Processing will be handled by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 2.5GHz quad-core processor or a Samsung 8-core Exynos chipset followed up by 3GB of DDR3 RAM. A new 16-megapixel camera will be on board with a 10-megapixel front facing camera for HD selfies. A 3,000 mAh battery, support for 4G LTE data speeds of up to 150Mbps, and Android 4.4 KitKat will also be featured.

In all honesty though, at this point, so many rumors are coming from every direction with different information each time, the best thing to do is just sit back and wait until Monday to see exactly what Samsung is showing off. We do know that the Galaxy S5 will make an appearance, and we do know that its camera and screen will be improved, and that Android KitKat will be on board. Everything else is up in the air at this point, and only time will reveal the true details.

NASA researchers are developing a humanoid robonaut, called Robonaut 2, which could be able to one day work with astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS). The Robonaut 2 is a $2.5-million device that will also be able to contribute to general tasks as well.

Robonaut research for medical purposes is still in its early stages, so don't expect the humanoids to be in space providing health support immediately. The R2's camera-equipped head lets controllers on Earth see a medical process, and the robonaut has extremely good dexterity so the appropriate amount of pressure could be used during treatment.

"I would say that within an hour I trained him more than with other students I'm working for a week, so I think that he's learning really fast," said Dr. Zsolt Garami, from the Houston Methodist Research Institute, in a recent interview with Space.com.

At some point in the next few weeks, Sprint will be issuing an update to the Samsung Galaxy Mega and Galaxy S4 Mini smartphones that will turn on a built-in feature that allows the phones to make and receive calls over Wi-Fi. This will effectively allow users to turn their smartphones into IP phones when connected to any Wi-Fi network, eliminating the need for an IP phone in your office or home.

Sprint says that the service will be free of charge for all Sprint customers, and that the IP calling will work with existing phone numbers so there is no need for a second account. When connected to a Wi-Fi network customer's calls will be routed over the internet instead of over the company's cellular network. This is expected to increase call quality and should lighten network loads considerably.

Sprint says that it will start the roll out with the Galaxy Mega and Galaxy S4 first before beginning the roll out to most Android-based smartphones on the company's network. No names have been given on which phones might receive the service next, but we suspect that most of the top-tier phones such as the Galaxy S4 and HTC One are on the shortlist. The concept of Wi-Fi calling is not new though as T-Mobile has been offering it since 2006. Industry analyst say that Sprint is prepping this service to help augment it's upcoming roll out of its upcoming HD Voice over LTE service which will see the current 2G Voice service discontinued.

Many regard Steve Jobs as one of the biggest visionary of our generation, and given his turn-around of Apple, and the success of the iPhone, iPod and iPad lines they may be true. Today the Washington Post outed the stamp commemorative postage stamp that will honor Jobs.. Additional honorees will be Elvis Presley and James Brown, both who have had stamps in the past.

In what should be a Today I Learned post on Reddit, the stamps are approved by a "Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee which is comprised of of a maximum of 15 members whose backgrounds reflect a wide range of educational, artistic, historical and professional expertise. All share an interest in the stamp program and the needs of the mailing public. An excerpt about the committee duties has been posted below.

Microsoft is always working on updates for the Xbox One and Xbox 360 game consoles. Sometimes those updates are for bugs that have surfaced, like the black screen bug the last Xbox One update added for some. Other times the updates for the consoles add new features.

Microsoft has announce that it has been inviting specific Xbox Live gamers to beta the next update for the Xbox One game console. The Xbox team is working on an update for the Xbox One for March. The users that are chosen by Microsoft will get some of the features of that update early.

They will use the new features and provide Microsoft with feedback on the update via a private forum. Microsoft isn't offering any information on how it is choosing the people that will participate in the program. It does say that the users will be able to opt out of participating. That implies that the people don't have to ask to be part of the program.

Now that mini-PCs from companies such as ASROCK, ASUS and Zotac are catching up, SO-DIMM overclocking is something that would be interesting to see. G.SKILL did that using ASROCK M8 Barebone system.

G.SKILL managed to do just that, as they were able to overclock its ripjaws SO-DIMM 1.35V C11 2133 MHz to 2400 MHz 12-14-14-25 @ 1.35v.

ASROCK M8 is a barebone PC made for 4th Gen Intel series processors and uses Intel Z87 chipset. The system allows installation a single dual-slot video card with maximum dimension support of up to 290mm x 137mm x 43.5mm with up to TDP support of 200w. The unit also has 802.11 ac+ Bluetooth v4.0 support. M8 barebone system only includes a chassis, a 450w power supply, mini-ITX motherboard, fans and an optical disk drive. The rest of the components such as processors, memory kits and storage drive needs to purchased separately.

Microsoft's Office Web Apps was meant to take on Google's Drive / Docs services, unfortunately it seems like the masses never took hold of Office Web Apps the way we all adopted to using Google Drive. Microsoft seems to think that the issue lies within the service's branding, and this week made a major move to rebrand Office Web Apps to something that makes a little more sense.

The service is now called Office Online, something many feel that it should have always been named. Microsoft says that the new name more closely reflects what the actual product is, and is free to use for OneDrive users. The rebrand also includes a new URL, Office.com, which should go a long way in introducing new users to the service. Office Online is made up of Word, Outlook, OneNote, PowerPoint,Excel and more, and even includes Google Drive-like co-editing features. Microsoft has also refreshed the service with a wealth of new templates, and given the UI a handy drop-down toolbar to make life easier.

You might remember that Microsoft also rebranded its SkyDrive cloud storage service to the new name of OneDrive earlier this week. The renaming stemmed from a lost trademark battle with British Sky Broadcasting last year. OneDrive and Office Online sync up together just like Google Drive and Google Docs do, and users are given 7GB of storage space for free upon signing up. Additional space can be purchased, and 500MB of free storage is given with each user referral.

Many people out there are still using normal toothbrushes to keep their teeth clean. There are also a number of folks that have adopted high-tech toothbrushes to help keep their mouths even cleaner. Oral-B is one of the biggest names in electric toothbrushes and the company has announced that it will be showing off its most tech packed toothbrush yet at MWC 2014.

The toothbrush is the first to feature Bluetooth 4.0 technology inside. The Bluetooth tech inside the toothbrush interfaces with an app that runs on your smartphone. The idea is that the app can be programmed with the help of a dentist to help you concentrate on part so the mouth that need it.

The app also gives you feedback on how well you brush. That feedback includes how long you brushed and if you used too much pressure among other things. The toothbrush can be programmed with personal brush settings for target session length and preferred brushing modes.

After its failed Indiegogo campaign, many though that Canonical would be unable to bring the Unbuntu Edge to reality, but a new partnership with Meizu and BQ, little known mobile phone OEMs, to bring Ubuntu's mobile OS to production devices. While Meizu and Bq are unrecognizable by most US readers, the companies are global powerhouse. Unfortunately no availability at any US carrier has been announced, but Canonical did say that the devices would be available online at several stores as well as on Ubuntu.com.

Canonical says that the first Ubuntu smartphone will launch later this year, but I suspect that it may not be branded as or have all the features of the Ubuntu Edge we all fell in love with during the Indiegogo campaign last year. Unfortunately, with past Ubuntu smartphone deadlines being passed by months, I would not hold my breath on a timely release, and would realistically look for a launch near or after the holiday season this coming winter. If China-based Meizu and Spanish-based BQ can pull it off in a timely manner, then Ubuntu smartphones could quickly grow to take over lower tier operating systems such as Samsung's delayed Tizen, or even Microsoft's Windows Phone.

Typically, when you think about a plug-in hybrid car performance isn't something that comes to mind. The majority of hybrids on the market today are aimed at being green and sipping fuel with no thought of performance at all. Think Toyota Prius or Ford Fusion Hybrid. Volkswagen has unveiled a new plug-in hybrid that offers fuel efficiency and impressive performance.

The Golf GTE isn't going to compete with a sports car, but it is certainly more exciting than a Prius. The GTE is a plug-in hybrid with a battery pack that can recharge from a wall outlet in only 3.5 hours. The car has a 1.4L 148 hp turbo direct-injected engine.

The car also has an electric motor producing 101hp. Combined the car has 201 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque. That equates to a top speed of 135 mph and a 0-62 mph time of 7.6 seconds. The car can also drive for 31 miles on electricity only and reach a top electric speed of 81 mph.

Jolla has been working to bring a new smartphone and operating system to market for a while. The first Sailfish smartphone was benchmarked back in November 2013. Those phones hit Finnish carrier DNA at roughly the same time. Jolla is now talking about its plans for the future.

Jolla says that Sailfish OS has reached version 1.0 and is now ready to ship globally. The operating system has been updated three times since it landed in Finland. Jolla will push out a fourth update for Sailfish in March.

"We're very excited to announce this. We've been working hard together with our user community to make the user experience of the Jolla smartphone and Sailfish OS effortless and distinct. We believe that Jolla now offers a truly viable option for all smartphone users. Naturally we are not stopping here, as we continue to provide monthly software updates to Jolla devices and Sailfish OS," says Marc Dillon, Co-Founder and COO of Jolla.

A company called ART+COM Innovationpool GmbH (ACI) has announced this week that it has filed a patent infringement suit against Google. The suit has to do with Google allegedly infringing on a patent that ACI holds. The patent in question is # RE44,550. The title of that patent is "Method and Device for Pictorial Representation of Space-related Data."

ACI takes issue with how much Google Earth looks like its Terravision service. Terravision is the commercial implementation of the patent at the heart of the case. ACI says that Terravision was developed a decade before Google Earth.

Looking at the image here, it is clear that the Terravision service and Google Earth are very similar in how they look. ACI also says that it has issue with some of the executives at Google, particularly Michael Jones, CTO of Google Earth, and Brian McClendon, VP of engineering for Google Maps.

Don't you just hate it when you are out somewhere and you want to connect to a public Wi-Fi network, but you need the login details and all that? It can get annoying when you need your e-mail or Facebook fix.

Well, it looks like the folks over at Google might have a fix for that, in the form of a new app that would "automatically authenticate and connect to its free hotspots inside Starbucks stores or wherever they are available". Google has started this already, moving itself into Starbucks franchises across the United States, replacing AT&T as the official Wi-Fi partner.

Still, logging into a Google hotspot still requires authentication. This new app that Google is working on, would retain your Google account information, logging you in automatically as soon as your phone is near the hotspot. We might not see the app released, ever, but it would be nice of Google to maybe bake this into the next release of Android.

The Microsoft Xbox One next-generation game console is getting hammered by the Sony PlayStation 4, and it's possible an official price cut could be coming soon. Both e-tailers and brick and mortar stores already are offering discounted prices or strong incentives to try and woo consumers to purchase the struggling Microsoft console.

If customers purchase the Xbox One from WalMart, the large box retailer will throw in one free game with the transaction. Meanwhile, Target is now offering up a gift card worth the same amount as one free game title for customers looking to make other purchases.

It's a shame to see the Xbox One struggle so early, and it's going to take games such as Titanfall and other high-profile titles to help boost sales. Microsoft officials recently said it doesn't plan to launch cheaper models, or officially cut prices at the moment, though that obviously could change quickly.

According to OpenSignal's State of LTE report for Q1 2014, Australia leads the pack in terms of the fastest LTE/4G speeds in the world. Australia's leading ISP, Telstra, is helping to drive that back home for the country.

The OpenSignal report looks at countries all across the globe, analyzing their 4G networks to see who has the best coverage, speeds and carriers. 17 countries in total were compared, with Italy coming in second place, and in second-to-last, the United States. The average download speed experienced in Australia was 24.5Mbps, while the US trailed behind with just 6.5Mbps.

If we compare the speeds with the last report taken, the US was sitting at 9.6Mbps, and is now reaching an average download speed of 6.5Mbps. Australia on the other hand, has increased from 17.3Mbps to 24.5Mbps.

Technology to bring 3D printing closer to the mass market is accelerating, though most 3D printed items tend to be rather small in size. To help demonstrate the effectiveness of printing larger items, BigRep, a company founded in 2014, opens the door to printing items such as furniture. The device is launching worldwide at large trade shows, and begins shipping in two months, with a $39,000 MSRP.

The BigRep One can print full-scale objects in sizes up to 45x39x47 inches, and has the ability to print plastics, nylons, Laywood (wood fibers mixed with polymers), and Laybrick (something similar to sandstone-type of material).

"We know that the need for 3D prints has increased enormously in the creative industries among architects, artists and inventors, among others," said Lukas Oehmigen, BigRep founder, in a press statement. "We have developed printing technology that lowers costs by about 90%, opening the door to a new dimension. Clients may now affordably produce life-size, three dimensional objects."

Google has a new initiative called Project Tango, which comes in the form of a prototype Android smartphone that learns, and maps the world around it. Project Tango is in developers' hands so that they can truly harness the technology Google is working on.

Project Tango is capable of learning the dimensions of rooms and spaces, just by being moved inside of them. So if you're walking through your bedroom or lounge room, the smartphone would learn the shape of your home and its rooms. The point of this? Google could eventually give you very precise directions to a particular point through Maps or Navigation.

The new project comes from the Advanced Technology and Projects Group, one of the special pieces of Google and Motorola's puzzle that it kept through Lenovo purchasing Motorola from Google. Johnny Lee, leader of Project Tango says: "The goal of Project Tango is to give mobile devices a human-scale understanding of space and motion".

With the 2014 Mobile World Congress just around the corner, some of the major players behind the scenes in the mobile device world are beginning to release info on what can be found under the hood of the next-generation devices we will see showcased next week. Broadcom has just unveiled its newest System on Chip (SoC), that is designed for the smartwatch segment of the market.

The new BCM4771 GNSS System on Chip is designed to fix some of the power-hungry issues with GPS on current SoCs on the market. Built on a 40nm process, the chip features a new GPS sensor hub that us designed to not only shrink the component size, but greatly reduce the power draw of the device when used in applications where a small battery may be the only option. This comes in quite handy for devices like smartwatches and smart glasses, where batteries are typically in the 300-500mAh range. Broadcom says the device will launch in late March and will arrive in retail devices by the end of the summer.

Mobile app infections in the Google Play app store have increased almost 400 percent from 2011 to 2013, according to online security group RiskIQ. Just three years ago, there were around 11,000 malicious apps available in the store, but that drastically increased to at least 42,000 by 2013, with Google trying to continue to fight back.

Around 12.7 percent of apps in the store are said to be compromised, with less than a quarter of the apps removed. The following categories were targeted the most: personalization, entertainment, education/books, media/audio video, and sports apps, according to RiskIQ.

"The explosive growth of mobile apps has attracted a criminal element looking for new ways to distribute malware that can be used to commit fraud, identity theft and steal confidential data," said Elias Manousos, RiskIQ CEO, in a press statement. "Malicious apps are an effective way to infect users since they often exploit the trust victims have in well known brands and companies they do business with like banks, insurance companies, healthcare providers and merchants."

Several days ago, we told you about Microsoft's plans to release new audio and video accessories for the Xbox One in early March, and today the final piece of that puzzle was officially unveiled. Today Microsoft confirmed the existence of an official Xbox One Media Remote, something we first saw leaked on Amazon last week.

The official Xbox One Media Remote features white backlit keys that are motion activated, which illuminates them as soon as you pick the remote up. Other features include a OneGuide button for the built-in Xbox One TV feature. Channel up and down buttons, and a touch-sensitive navigation pad is on had as well. Microsoft says that the remote will be priced at just $24.95 and will release world wide in early March, confirming the timeline we mentioned in our original post.