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U2's Bono says he's not sure he'll ever play guitar again and he has no one to blame but himself for the cycling accident in Central Park that left him hospitalized for months

On Jan. 1, the singer posted a detailed, A-to-Z-styled intimation of everything that's been going on since the accident.

"I promised myself I would be more mindful of my limits," he writes in the 6,211-word post that Bono says is "all the communication" he can manage for the first half of 2015

The post is a sort of a recap of the year, but it reads more like Bono's current mind-map. He touches on a myriad of subjects, including anonymity within the blogosphere — "if they are hiding, I'm not interested" — the band's fans — "we've always understood who was paying our wages" — and iTunes — "our album was to be like a bottle of milk dropped at the door of anyone interested in music and iTunes." Read more...

All about fair play , these Lions are.

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"Hand it over, froggy."

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Somehow, he got back up from this. But never be a kicker. This play has taken what was a Cotton Bowl blowout and left Michigan State with a chance to win.

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The Osbe Proton Sr. ski helmet has a removable visor that can be used instead of goggles. We put this striking design to the test.

Those looking to add a bit of extra modern flare to their Android devices can do so with a massive new collection of over 675 wallpapers. A vast majority of them play on the look and feel set by the Material Design standard and Android 5.0 Lollipop’s eye-popping UI.

The art style displayed on these wallpapers is reminiscent of Google through and through — clean lines and contours, flat topography and an explosion of color are all well-represented. Here are just a few of our favorites from the bunch:

And a whole lot more can be had on the Google+ page of J. Amourette, an AUDI employee who we imagine is rather enthusiastic about his company’s new partnership with Google to get Android Auto off the ground. Let us know if you’ll be grabbing any of these.

As the finals days of 2014 slip away, it is time to name the best Android smartphone of the year as voted on by your fellow Phandroid readers. Voting in this category was tight, and each of the top three phones could have easily taken home the award, but only one prevailed in the end.

Our 2014 Readers’ Choice Awards wrap up when we name the winners for Biggest Fail and Manufacturer of the year in the coming days. You can see all the winners so far by clicking here.

Honorable Mention: HTC One M8

With 265 total votes HTC’s 2014 flagship scores an honorable mention in this year’s awards. The One M8 was the first of the flagship releases from major Android manufacturers to be announced, but its quality design and slick software updates have made sure it has stayed foremost in many a user’s mind.

Read our HTC One M8 review

Runner-up: Nexus 6

The Motorola-made Nexus 6 edged out HTC One M8 by one vote to land in second place. A total of 266 votes were cast in favor of the Android 5.0 Lollipop flagship device. While it’s massive display size doesn’t appeal to every user, the prestige of the Nexus line makes the Nexus 6 a desirable smartphone for the Android purist.

Read our Nexus 6 review

And the winner is: Motorola Moto X (2014)

The second-generation Moto X took the top spot, but it was less than 20 votes that made the difference. The Moto X has been praised for its appealing design, powerful hardware, and unique approach to sales that offers consumers the chance to customize the look of their device.

Read our Moto X review

Here is the breakdown in voting for Best Smartphone 2014:

As Reddit the company struggled amid photo-hacking scandals and internal changes in 2014, the Ask Me Anything subreddit continued its incredible growth.

Drawing in an impressive number of celebrities looking to interact with a more connected audience, just about every A-list celebrity took questions from Reddit this year. From television stars like Amy Poehler to Internet legends like Bill Murray, its been hard to go a week without seeing an AMA for every taste.

This year also saw the creation of an AMA app, allowing users to connect with the subreddit in a totally new way. Read more...

Despite an ongoing hacking scandal and a launch that was canceled and only recently rescheduled, The Interview has managed to rake in $15 million since its online debut on Wednesday

The film's sales numbers were revealed in an official statement from Sony released on Sunday

"Through Saturday, December 27, including all of its online distribution platforms, The Interview has been rented or purchased online more than 2 million times," read a statement from Sony Pictures. "Total consumer spending through Saturday for The Interview online is over $15 million." Read more...

It’s Christmas day, and as a Phandroid reader we have little doubt you found at least one new gadget under the tree. Perhaps it’s the one gadget that just pushed your outlet space beyond the tipping point. You could run out and buy a bulky, ugly power strip, or you could pick up the PowerCube. This unique space-saving design plugs directly into an existing wall outlet and provides additional power sockets plus two USB ports for mobile device charging.

Buy the PowerCube Outlet Expander for $17.95 at AndroidArea.com

It’s small enough to throw in a bag and take with you as you travel. We all know how hotel rooms are prone to provide one too few outlets for all the computers, smartphones, and tablets we tend to drag along with us. Better yet, all of the PowerCube’s outlets are designed to not interfere or block access when a power cord or USB is connected.

With a resettable 15amp fuse, you even get peace of mind that your devices plugged into the PowerCube are safe from sudden surges All o that for only $17.95 thanks to this special AndroidArea.com offer.

Earlier this year Google surprised us with a prototype of their self-driving car. At first glance it looked more like a Fisher Price product than a highly sophisticated computerized vehicle. There was one thing that Google couldn’t make cute, and that was the bulky camera on top.

It’s only been 7 months since that first model and Google has already finished a more “complete” prototype. The new one has a fresh coat of paint, real headlights, and all the things a real car needs. But the biggest difference is that camera on top. It has been majorly slimmed down and looks a lot more attractive.

Google says they will be using this new prototype for testing this Holiday season. Next year they hope to get it out on real roads. Now, when can I buy one?!

[via Google+]

See past editions of Android Wallpaper

Welcome back to another edition of Android Wallpaper. The last few weeks have been Holiday-inspired, but now we’re getting back to normal. Cities can be loud, crowded, and generally unpleasant. They can also be majestic, beautiful, warm, and inviting. We’re hoping you side with the latter.

We have 6 HD wallpapers with different views of cities, and you don’t even need a taxi to find them. To get one of these wallpapers on your phone, tablet, or even PC, simply tap or click on the image to see it at full resolution. Let us know which one is your favorite, and be sure to share a screenshot if you use one of these wallpapers!

Push new Android Wallpaper to your Android device with our Pushbullet channel.

See past editions of Android Wallpaper

We’ve all heard the song. “Over the river and through the woods, to Grandfather’s house we go!” This poem was originally written about Thanksgiving, but it works just as well this time of year. Our wallpapers this week are all about the river and wood the author had to traverse to visit her grandparents. Many of us will be making similar trips for the holidays.

For your viewing pleasure we have 6 HD wallpapers to guide you home. To get one of these wallpapers on your phone, tablet, or even PC, simply tap or click on the image to see it at full resolution. Let us know which one is your favorite, and be sure to share a screenshot if you use one of these wallpapers! Enjoy, and Happy Holidays!

Push new Android Wallpaper to your Android device with our Pushbullet channel.

The Camellia Bowl has been rough for officials and coaches. This shot to the face resulted in a bloody mess of a nose.

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In case the Ravens forgot, they're getting handled by the Case Keenum-led Texans. Arian Foster helpfully directed them to the scoreboard. (He's also thrown for a touchdown today.)

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Dominic Raiola, the Detroit Lions center who has a reputation for being a prick , intentionally stepped on Bears defensive lineman Ego Ferguson's ankle today. Cool.

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All about fair play , these Lions are.

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It’s been awhile since we last saw a major update to Instagram — especially when it comes to new additions to the photo sharing social network’s filter set. With applications like VSCO Cam offering a mind-numbing amount of filters, Facebook-owned Instagram finally saw it fit to throw their users a bone by adding 5 new filters: Slumber, Crema, Ludwig, Aden and Perpetua.

Okay, those names alone wont paint a very good picture at what to expect when the update goes live in the Play Store later today, so here’s what you can look forward to:

You’ll also notice a slightly tweaked UI in the folder menu (more iOS 8-ish) with blurred out photos and the first letter of the filter being shown. Have to admit, we liked the old way better. Scrolling to the end, you’ll find a new “Manage” button where you can sort and remove the filters you commonly use / don’t like.

It’s still too early to see if this update fixes any of the upload quality issues Android users have been experiencing since the app’s inception but don’t get your hopes up.

Instagram for Android version 6.12.0 is available starting today on Google Play. You can either wait for the update to hit your Play Store, or download the update from us via the link below. Cheers.

Download: Instagram 6.12.0

In case you didn’t know, it’s the one-year anniversary of OnePlus, and they’re doing something a little special to celebrate. For starters, they’ve put on another opportunity to buy the OnePlus One without an invite. Both the Sandstone Black and Silk White are available if you’re still in the market for one of the best values in mobile. We’re sure the opportunity won’t last long so be sure to take advantage right here if you aren’t keen on waiting for an invite.

Any new company doesn’t come without their bumps and bruises as they grow, and OnePlus isn’t shy about reflecting that. They talk about all the things they’ve learned over the past year in their blog post and video (embedded above), and it’s definitely an interesting watch if you’re even remotely interested in how the company came to be. OnePlus is also doing a giveaway that’ll give you a chance to win a OnePlus One for wishing them happy birthday on Vine, so be sure to partake if you’re feeling lucky.

To top all that off, the company has introduced their next big accessory — it’s a power bank. A quick $15 gets you 10,000mAh of juice that can be used to charge your smartphones, tablets or any other USB-based devices that need charging. It comes with two different 5V2A ports which should provide a fast enough current to get your smartphones juiced in a reasonable amount of time.

Finally, OnePlus is giving you a chance to help name the company’s own-built ROM that they’re working on (which we won’t be hearing about until early 2015, unfortunately). You can enter the contest here, and the winner receive a trip to Hong Kong to meet the OnePlus team, a OnePlus One and the aforementioned power bank. Not a bad deal at all. Let us know if you’ll be taking advantage of any of this.

Google has started updating its 3D models of buildings in Google Earth and Maps, and the details on the ones we've seen are nothing short of stunning

According to Google rep Susan Cadrecha, the first cities to receive the new imagery are New York City and San Francisco (including Bay Area).

To see them, either view them in Google Earth or enable the Earth View mode in Google Maps

Some of the most impressive examples are the recently finished Freedom Tower as well as the Statue of Liberty in NYC and the Bay Bridge in San Francisco.

Google updated Maps in May 2013 to include 3D imagery from Google Earth. The new imagery, as you can see in the comparison below, is much more detailed than the old one Read more...

A breathtaking weather phenomenon turned the Grand Canyon into a cauldron of soupy cloud cover on Thursday

The rare scenes were caused by a temperature inversion, which involves cold air filling the canyon while warm air lies above it, trapping the fog in place since the denser cold air hugs the ground.

The result, a layer of low-lying clouds, or fog, produced the spectacular sight and turned the canyon into a sea of clouds. Those clouds appear to lap at the edges of the canyon in the video below (from Thursday), filling the canyon to the brim with only the tiniest edges of walls peeking out. Read more...

OMG! Hold on and watch this incredible bit of skiing through a crazy narrow slot.

Chromecast users have been treated to a new update which adds a couple of cool new features. The first standout is that the Chromecast app for phones and tablets has undergone a Material Design makeover. Nothing terribly groundbreaking there — you’re likely spending more time casting than looking at the actual app — but it’s nice to have something pretty to look at every time you  do venture into the app.

Alongside that, Google has also hooked folks up with an improved guest mode, allowing folks to hop onto your Chromecast and cast content without having to go through the hassle of jumping onto your WiFi network.

Finally, Google has delivered their experimental screen casting feature to many more folks. The feature was only available to a very few select people prior to the update, but should be accessible by a significant amount more now. Google still warns that the feature isn’t ready for prime time and that it may not perform as well as you might expect it to, so keep that in mind before you go cursing their name. The download is sitting in the Google Play Store so trot over there and grab it as soon as you can.

Just when you thought John Legere n’ friends were going to give Verizon and AT&T a break for the holidays, the #4 largest carrier in the US (that’s T-Mobile) announced a new Family Plan that’s sure to make the big dogs squirm.

The new family plan gives customers unlimited talk, text, and data for only $100 (that’s 2 lines), undercutting family plans offered by anyone in US by a huge margin. Additional lines can be added for $40 per line. Data sippers with larger families will also find the 4-line $100 family plan making a return, and comes with 10GB for everyone to share.

Keep in mind the new plans is only available for a limited time, so you might want to check T-Mobile coverage in your area before jumping ship. The new plans will be offered to both existing and new customers starting tomorrow and we can’t wait to see how Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint launch their counter offensive.

UPDATE: Here’s some of the fine print to go along with the promotional pricing from T-Mobile:

“The 4 Lines for $100 promotional data feature returns to the normal 1GB max-speed per line in January 2016, and that the 2 Lines for $100 data feature has a hotspot/tether cap at 5GB.”

[T-Mobile]

As part of a $19 million settlement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission over unauthorized in-app purchases, Google is now sending out email notices to customers that may have been affected. Pretty much anyone who made an in-app purchase between March 1st, 2011 and November 18th, 2014 is eligible for refund and can request one after reviewing purchases made on their Google account.

“We understand some parents might have been charged for in-app purchases made by young children who did not have permission to make those purchases. As a result, we’ve added tools to help parents avoid unauthorized in-app purchases by their young children. We are also offering refunds in certain cases in line with our agreement with the FTC.”

You wont have to rush either. Customers have until December 2nd, 2015 to request refunds on any in-app purchases their kids made without their knowledge. Or you know, anything you regret paying for after a drunken evening on the couch.

Hangouts just got a pretty big upgrade this morning to kick off “Update Wednesday,” folks. Googler Rhett Robinson detailed the update on Google+ and gave us a pretty hefty list of new things to look forward to once it finds its way to Android devices over the course of the day. Here’s everything that’s new:

• Stickers, with an initial collection of 16 different sticker packs to use in your conversations. Think emojis, except bigger, better and more expansive.
• New video filters for video calls, including sepia, vignette, black and white and more. All accessible by simply swiping left or right during a video call.
• Use your phone number with your Hangouts account to help friends find you more easily.
• Last seen timestamps to know when, exactly, a contact was last active on Hangouts.
• Smart suggestions will prompt you to respond to common messages with relevant information. Example: someone asking “where are you” will let you share your current location immediately with the tap of a button.

Something not mentioned in Robinson’s notes, but apparent in the few screenshots provided, is the presence of Material Design (or at least hints of it throughout the app’s action bar). The post did note that there were other surprises to be had that he didn’t expound on, so it’s possible this is the big design upgrade we’ve all been waiting for.

Unfortunately the update doesn’t seem to be hitting devices yet, but Google is expected to roll it out later today through the Google Play Store. Keep an eye out on that update button and get ready for some great new features that should make Hangouts more of a joy to use than it already is.

Don't freak out — nobody is levitating here.

Tomas Nunuk and his friend made an unexpected change to their itinerary while hiking in the High Tatras Mountains in Slovakia last month

Snowy conditions forced the duo toward a lake where they were stunned to find that it was completely frozen but the ice was crystal clear and so pristine that it tricks your eyes into looking like you're walking on water