Box Ups Free Cloud Storage to 50GB for Android Users

Cloud storage provider Box normally hooks users of its unpaid accounts up with a free 5GB. For a lot of users, that much will be plenty, but for those of you with some heftier storage needs, we've seen a couple promotions so far that gave owners of certain phones a big bump in how much free space they're allotted. While you could have gamed the system by having your handset misreport its manufacturer, today there's a far more legitimate way to get your hands on that same kind of storage space; along with releasing an update to its app, Box has announced that Android users who log-in between now and March 23 will see their Box accounts permanently upgraded to 50GB. 

The big news here is clearly the order of magnitude increase in free storage capacity, but the Box app itself gets a few tweaks, too. There's increased language support, the ability to move the app to your microSD card to save space, and a new comment system. You'll now be able to upload files from your phone in batches, as well as invite other users to collaborate with you on a file. 

Box 1.6.0 is available in the Android Market now. We haven't heard of any plans for Box to run a similar promotion for iOS users. 

Microsoft Ads to Feature "Smoked by Windows Phone" Results

A couple weeks ago, we learned that the "Smoked by Windows Phone" smartphone speed runs the company introduced at the CES were making their return, with Microsoft's Ben Rudolph bringing the competition to Microsoft's retail locations across California. Just like before, Ben would put the platform's reputation on the line as he faced-off in challenges against other smartphone users, seeing who could complete certain common tasks the fastest. Beating Rudolph would net the winner $100, but losers would have to admit their defeat on-camera. Now it's time for Microsoft to share some of those showdowns with the rest of us, announcing plans to turn Smoked by Windows Phone into its next advertising campaign. 

When Windows Phone faced-off against challengers at the CES, Rudolph managed to come out on top 88% of the time. After going up against the public in Microsoft's retail stores, his win-rate has climbed even higher, and Rudolph's been managing to emerge victorious 19 times out of 20. 

After hearing from Windows Phone fans that they'd love to see these contests featured more heavily, Microsoft has decided to make them the focus of its next ad campaign. Over the next several weeks, we should have plenty of opportunities to see confident Android, iPhone, and BlackBerry users go home with their tail between their legs after making the mistake of challenging Ben Rudolph. 

LG Brand-New Android Lineup Gets Filmed (Video)

With the Mobile World Congress just about to commence in Barcelona, it should be no surprise that the companies preparing to demonstrate their latest handsets have been getting their gear together in preparation of the show. That much smartphone hardware all together in one place is just making it more and more likely that bits and pieces will leak out a little early, giving us some teases of what we can hope to see once things really get started. Italian site Telefonio recently found itself with just such an opportunity, and has managed to capture plenty of pictures and video of LG's recently-announced lineup of Androids. 

LG's been very busy this week, formally revealing phones like the Optimus 4X HD, 3D Max, Vu, LTE Tag, and its trio of L-series phones; maybe "busy" is actually a bit of an understatement. As such, Telefonio really lucked-out with getting access to these LG handsets, and managed to snap more images than we could ever hope to show you here. For the highlights, though, check out the video clips below, giving us some of our first hands-on looks at these just-announced models. 

We'll be bringing you our own first-hand reactions to these LG phones as we start our MWC coverage, and with commentary in English, to boot. If you just want to get a quick first look, or you happen to speak Italian, here's a good starting place: 

Will the Nokia 801 Introduce Symbian Carla?

Earlier this month, we heard about the Nokia 801, a rumored Symbian smartphone, but we really haven't been able to get a good read on the handset. At first, there was a rumor that we'd only see one new Symbian, so news of multiple upcoming models had us wondering where the truth really was. Then there was the mystery of what would be the follow-up to Nokia's N8, which is now looking likely to be the PureView 808. Lastly, we had the picture of the supposed 801 itself, which was clearly just compiled from pre-existing Nokia images. Still, there were some strong voices claiming that the 801 was very much real, so we resigned ourselves to await further news. Today, some new rumors surface around the 801, claiming to reveal some additional details about its release plans. 

Supposedly, the 801 would be the very first Nokia to graduate from Belle to Carla, the next revision of the once-Symbian OS. We've already seen evidence of work on Carla thanks to bug-tracker postings made on Nokia's developer site. According to today's news, Carla is still very much under construction, and that's why we haven't heard more about the 801 just yet, and why it's not expected for the MWC. To get a chance to see the handset, assuming it truly exists, we'll just have to keep waiting. 

HTC Connects With Users Through New Official Blog

As we bring you news about smartphones and tablets, we have to think critically about where the latest rumors are coming from: if they're worth bringing-up to you, and how confident we feel about the information itself. That's why it's great to hear about things straight from the horse's mouth when at all possible. HTC has just given itself a new official mouthpiece – one we're hoping will become a great resource for fans of its smartphones – in the form of a new blog. 

Obviously, we won't be seeing the latest leaks here, nor a lot of speculation on upcoming HTC hardware, but it still should give the manufacturer a new tool to keep us updated on its latest work. We can probably look forward to HTC using the blog to discuss things like news about software updates, insight into its design process, and what the company is up to with its latest business ventures, like the Beats Audioconnection. 

The blog shouldn't replace any existing support resources, but it will still give users a chance to ask questions about what might be coming next from HTC and get an officially-sanctioned response. Right now, the sky's the limit for what HTC might do with the site, so we'll be keeping a close eye on it to see just how it ends up developing.