The LG G3 is only just starting to make an appearance here in the US, but with such gossip surrounding its successor you’d be forgiven for thinking it was old news already!

After what at least felt like an eternity in the dark, the LG G3 is slowly but surely making its way out in the wild in the US. Carriers are only just beginning to offer the official US version of the new flagship device, though there’s a slight sense of apprehension worming its way into the buying decisions of some consumers.

Why think twice about buying the best LG Smartphone that’s every existed?

Simple really – we might be seeing a better one in the very near future.

It’s becoming commonplace to churn out flagship after flagship on a pretty relentless basis these days. Not that LG has confirmed or denied anything so far, but it’s still being floated all over the place that the G3 could be destined to give up its crown in a matter of weeks to the unannounced G3 Prime.

The theory basically involves LG having decided to make a superior version of the G3 with the specs and features necessary to fend-off the Samsung Galaxy F, HTC’s next Superphone and perhaps even the iPhone 6. Why they didn’t do this with the standard G3 is anyone’s guess, but in any case it’s widely expected that a beefed-up version will make its debut very soon.

Not that it will represent a quantum leap forward – the LG G3 Prime is expected to feature the exact same QHD screen, an identical overall form-factor and the same cameras. The only differences will be a slightly faster CPU and maybe and extra 1GB of RAM thrown in for good measure.

Worth holding out for and perhaps paying a little extra for?

We’ll let you decided that one.

A research group has launched a campaign to find out just how many Facebook addicts dare go a full 99 days without their beloved social networks, having once again suggested that social networking is the root-cause of everyday discontent.

It’s a plain and simple fact…or at least so studies would suggest…Facebook makes you miserable. Not that Zuckerberg and his cronies are to blame directly of course, but it’s been proven time and time again that the world’s fixation with 24/7 social networking is little more than a curse to general wellbeing.

Why is this is the case? A variety of reasons, though experts suggest it largely comes down to the gaining of a completely unrealistic perspective into the lives of others. Facebook is used by about 99.9% of people to show off their best photos, brag of their best times and generally present their popularity and greatness to the world…all of which subconsciously causes their ‘friends’ to question their own happiness and merit.

Which of course begs the question – how much better would any of us feel if we binned-off Facebook for three months? Think about it; no having to pretend you like people you hate, no seeing your ex with a new partner far better looking than you and no more vile picture of you being tagged for everyone’s amusement.

That’s precisely what a new project/challenge called ’99 Days of Freedom’ is urging the public to consider. Cooked up by a Dutch research firm by the name of Just, the company suggests uploading a time-off picture and calling it quits for 99 days, during which time those signing up for the experiment will be polled on their happiness.

“Like a lot of Facebook users, many of us were bothered by reports of secret mood experiments,” said Merijn Straathof, Art Director for Just.

“As we discussed it internally, we noted an interesting tendency: Everyone had at least a ‘complicated’ relationship with Facebook. Whether it was being tagged in unflattering photos, getting into arguments with other users, or simply regretting time lost through excessive use, there was a surprising degree of negative sentiment,”

“Then someone joked, ‘I guess that the real question is, ‘How do you feel when you don’t use Facebook?’ There was group laughter, followed by, ‘Wait a second. That’s a really good question!'”

Of course there’s a big difference between signing up and actually going cold-turkey on Facebook for a month – we’d be inclined to bet that less than one in every dozen recruits sticks to their guns.

Target is offering a $100 discount – actually a $100 gift card – with any purchase of the iPad Mini 2 or the iPad Air, prompting fresh talk of each device’s respective successor.

It’s long been suggested that the iPad Mini 3 had been pushed back to a 2015 launch date, simply because Apple had much bigger fish to fry. What with the iPhone 6, the iPhone Air and the iWatch on the cards, analysts warned that the third-generation Mini hadn’t been invited to the 2014 party for purely logistical reasons.

However, there’s once again reason to believe that the device could well be on the cards for an early debut as yet another sign of current inventory clearance efforts has emerged. It’s not what you’d call a fire-sale as such, but Target is nonetheless suddenly offering a gift card worth $100 to anyone buying a current-generation iPad Mini or iPad Air.

And yes – that does mean the Retina iPad Mini 2, not the old one.

There is of course a caveat attached to the deal by way of the fact that it ends today – July 12. It’s a tempting enough deal in its own right, but in conjunction with reports that the new-generation iPads are set to go into full production before the end of the month, you can’t help but wonder whether Target knows something we don’t.

These kinds of clearances often tend to be accurate signs of an imminent device launch, which in the case of the iPad Mini 3 once again adds credence to talk of 2014 arrival.

In terms of what to expect when and where the newbies touch down, it’s looking like a tale of incremental upgrades as opposed to anything truly revolutionary. With no new screens, no big changes to form factor and no quantum leaps forward in styling, it’ll be down to one or two performance tweaks and the addition of iOS 8 to make all the difference.

Currys and PC World execs have thrown their weight behind the Gear Fit by suggesting it will be the number-one seller this Christmas. By contrast, the Moto 360 placed no better than ninth.

Everyone has their favorite when it comes to the devices likely to see by the barrel-load this Christmas. Obvious choice including the likes of the PlayStation 4, the iPhone 6 and the iPad Air 2 pretty much go without saying, but how about the Samsung Gear Fit?

The South Korean tech gurus haven’t exactly had the best of luck with wearables so far, though as far as one gigantic UK retailer is concerned, the tides are about to turn. It may only the be the early days of summer right now, but Currys and PC World has already put its name behind the Gear Fit as the best-selling device this holiday.

And by best-seller they really mean it – they’ve predicted it to take the number-one top-spot for sales of Christmas.

For reals?

The retailer expects Samsung’s fitness focused Gear Fit wearable to be this year’s number one best-seller, although the firm thinks it will face some stiff competition, with the Fitbit Force and Garmin Forerunner 15 wearables ranking second and third on the list. Continuing the fitness theme, the Nutribullet juicer is in fourth place.

“Customers are focusing on their health and fitness more than ever before and portable technology is very much the future as busy customers want to be able to do more things remotely and conveniently,” said mobile computing head for the brand, Rupert Nichols.

“We have seen a steady rise in sales of wearable technology but we expect to sell a lot more units this Christmas as everyone will want to trim up in the New Year.”

By contrast, the firm thinks that the coach-potato community won’t make its mark in nearly as big numbers, meaning that the Google Chromecast dongle will come out with a paltry sixth-position.

“We’ve noticed that connected devices are increasing in popularity this year,” said computing head Simon Exton.

“Consumers are looking for that something extra that makes their lives even easier to lead, and smart products like the Chromecast tick all the boxes.”

Even more weirdly, the Moto 360 Smartwatch which has largely been tipped for greatness…at least comparatively speaking…isn’t expected to place better than ninth on the firm’s holiday top-seller’s list.

That being said, given how Currys and PC World wrongly predicted in 2013 that the Xbox One would outsell the PS4, we’ll leave it up to you to decide how much faith to place in this year’s crystal ball readings.

Google is furthering its push into the living rooms of every Android user on Earth, having release a new Chromecast update to support content streaming from compatible Smartphones and Tablet PCs.

Google WILL make its way into your living room – let’s get that straight right now!

The push by major tech brands to get into the front rooms of every home in the US has never been fiercer, with all manner of set-top boxes and dongles flying out pretty much on a daily basis. Google has unsurprisingly taken things a step or two further than most, having just introduced a Chromecast App update that brings all new wireless fun and games to Android device owners.

Long story short – if you’re the proud owner of a TV with Chromecast and an Android Smartphone or Tablet PC, you’ll now be able to transmit anything from said mobile gadgets directly to the big screen and its speakers and whatnot. It’s pretty much the same feature that already exists on computers with Google’s Chrome browser, but it’s hard to deny that bringing it to mobile increases its appeal about a million times over.

Chromecast HDMI sticks are already popular enough – this update could well tip them over the edge.

As for the big question as to how well the new streaming feature will work with Android games, it’s still a bit of an unknown. Google didn’t offer any real information as to the app update’s gaming potential, instead limiting its spiel to the promise of standard ‘app’ compatibility and use.

We’ll wait and see what the trusty reviewers and critics have to say…over to you, guys!

In an effort to ensure future-readiness as the world’s silicon chip business wavers, IBM has announced a five-year $3 billion project to develop and ready super-efficient carbon chips.

As one of the world’s biggest and most important suppliers of traditional PCs and components, IBM is having a tough time right now. Any decline in global PC shipments means a huge knock to IBM’s performance and reputation – its hardware arm having recently announced a 23% sales decline compared to the same quarter just last year.

However, the company remains confident that its future in the industry will be one of strength and resilience, having announced a $3 billion five-year investment in the R&D of new-generation chips. IBM’s primary goal is to increase the efficiency of its new-generation chips by making them smaller, faster, more stable and generally more resistant.

“The message to our investors is that we are committed to this space, we believe there is great innovation possible that will be necessary in world of big data analytics, said IBM senior VP Tom Rosamilia.

“These are essential ingredients in delivering the kind of performance the world will demand. The world is demanding it now and will continue to demand it for the next 10 years.”

Silicon chips are no longer producing the kinds of returns that facilitate the research and development of more capable silicone chips as new technology demands. As such, IBM’s status as the only company that’s currently pumping huge sums of money into the development of carbon chips could put it head and shoulders above its rivals and establish it as the only future-ready chipmaker once the technology is fully readied.

Analysts from Gartner have predicted that tablet PC sales will for the very first time overtake those of conventional PCs by the end of 2015 – a shift spurred by the growing affordability of solid slates.

It might be some time before we see the complete and total demise of the PC industry as we know it, but things are slowly but surely moving toward an era when traditional machines play second-fiddle…maybe even third.

The latest roundup of current figures and projections from Gartner make for rather worrying, if entirely unsurprising, reading for the world’s major PC makers. The global decline in PC shipments may decelerate slightly in 2015, but by that time tablet PC sales will have already overtaken total annual PC sales for the very first time.

The likes of Samsung, Apple, LG and Asus are all set to score big – Lenovo, Toshiba and HP by contrast will have to further their shifts to fondleslabs if they’re to remain relevant.

Over the new 12-months or so, Gartner expects to see a pretty bug uptake of new PCs across corporate markets due to the time being ripe for upgrades. However, even with slightly better performance it is still apparently inevitable that tablet PCs will shoulder past traditional machines to rule the roost.

In specifics, Gartner reported that a total of 206 million tablet PCs were sold in 2013, which came in a full 35% below total global PC sales. By the end of 2014, well over 250 million tablet PCs will have shipped worldwide and the lead held by PCs will shrink to just 17%.

As for 2015, analysts with Gartner see a further 60 million tablet PC sales added to the annual tally, which would mean approximately 4 million more unit sales than global PC shipments – the first time slates will have taken the lead over standard computers. One of the key reasons for the ongoing spike could be the growing affordability of solid workhorse machines churned out by tablet PC makers – buyers are said to be increasingly favoring practicality and affordability over power and prestige.

Google’s sudden silence on the subject suggests that the release date for Google Glass may once again have been pushed back several months.

For those not already scared to death by the idea of Google Glass and planning to buy the uber-goggles once they hit the shelves for real, best not to hold your breath for the time-being. Google may have conformed some time ago that Glass would hit the shelves in its final consumer guise some  time this year, but with the way things are looking right now, 2105 seems a safer bet.

It was hardly surprising that Google execs weren’t too keen to talk about Glass during I/O last month for the simple reason that it wasn’t once of the core focus products of the event. However, the Mountain View company has once again been reached out to this week and still won’t give any genuine indication as to when or if Glass will make an official appearance before the end of the year.

Moreover, they made it clear that there’s still a fair bit of work to be done to ready the final release version.

“Right now we’re focusing on feedback from explorers, and we’ll launch the device when we’re ready,” Computerworld quotes Google’s Timothy Jordan as saying.

“All I know is that we’re having a great time building new experiences and hearing what consumers say and going from there.”

When the curious creation first began leaking its way out, Google made it clear that a 2013 launch was on the cards. This was then followed by a long spell of silence on the matter, leading ultimately to a sudden though rather quiet changed to a promised 2014 release date.

As far as Moor Insights & Strategy analyst Patrick Moorhead is concerned, all signs are pointing to a repeat performance.

“Google is attempting something very, very aggressive — a computer on your face,” wrote the analyst.

“There are big technical, as well as social, challenges. This comes with the territory,”

After owning Glass, I would say it needs a lot more work to make it a viable product. I’d say 2014 is a possibility, but not probable,”

“Google doesn’t want to commit to 2014. It’s high risk.”