Goldgenie offers 24ct gold-plated iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus

Choice is always good for consumers even if those consumers are looking to spend thousands of pounds on a gold-plated iPhone. We've seen Amosu's offerings now it's time to look at what Goldgenie has to offer to people with an aversion to non-noble metals.

You can get either an Apple iPhone 6 or an iPhone 6 Plus in one of three versions.

First up is the Luxury Gold Elite option, which coats the iPhone with 24K Gold, Rose Gold or Platinum. The iPhone itself can be White or Black, the front is unmodified and visible. The second option adds Swarovski crystals that completely coat the Apple logo.

Then there's the Limited Edition Gulf Elite where you can get the Coat of Arms of your country: Kuwait, Iraq, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE. These come in the same 24K Gold, Rose Gold or Platinum options but are limited to 99 of each finish.

Whichever edition you go for you get a choice of 16GB, 64GB or 128GB storage. However, considering you're paying £2,500+ you might as well at least get the 64GB version. The 128GB version can be as much as £400 more expensive than the 16GB.

Your new gold iPhone will arrive in a luxury Cherry Oak finished box. And if you made the grave mistake of purchasing a regular iPhone, Goldgenie can have it gold-plated for you.

Hit the source link to visit Goldgenie's website and keep in mind if you have to ask about the price, you can't afford it.

New Samsung smartwatch to have fingerprint scanner

This year, Samsung's definitely been active in the nascent smartwatch space. It unveiled the Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo (both pictured below), Gear Live, and Gear S so far. But next year the company may be taking its smartwatch efforts to the next level.

According to a report out of Samsung's home country of South Korea, at Mobile World Congress 2015 (in early March) we could see a new wearable that will come with a built-in fingerprint scanner. And in what would be a first for a Samsung device, it may not require a swipe to register your fingerprint.

Aside from featuring that sensor and not relying on a smartphone for secure authentication purposes, this yet-unnamed smartwatch is also to sport some simple payments functionality. This will be developed by Samsung in partnership with PayPal. The two companies have already teamed up this year to enable making payments with the Galaxy S5's fingerprint sensor, so the new smartwatch venture would be a natural extension of that relationship.

The whole thing has been reportedly confirmed by "a high-ranking official at Samsung Electronics". Synaptics is also involved, thanks to its biometric know-how.

The system will send promotional offers to your smartwatch from nearby stores (based on location), so you can pick what you want to buy even before entering a shop. It will be available in over 50 countries worldwide.

Obviously the point of all this is for Samsung to be able to respond to the Apple Watch, which will become available early next year too. Samsung is clearly hoping that the built-in fingerprint scanner will give its next smartwatch the edge compared to Apple's first offering in the space.

And the payment capability is meant to take on Apple Pay, which for starters will only be available in the US.

Jolla’s smartphone will launch in India on September 23

Jolla will officially begin selling its Sailfish OS smartphone in India in four days, on September 23. The Finnish company delivered the news on its official Facebook page.

As initially announced, Jolla’s first handset will be offered on the vast market through a partnership with the online retailer Snapdeal. The latter will be the exclusive retailer for the Jolla smartphone in India.

Considering the recently announced Android One family of smartphones, as well as the second generation Moto G, we reckon that pricing will be key factor for any success Jolla can possibly achieve in India. Here’s hoping that the aging yet characterful device won’t be stuck between the increasingly more capable entry-level Android devices and the high-end smartphone establishment.

Samsung sold one million Galaxy S5 units in Germany

Samsung announced that it sold one million Galaxy S5 units in Germany. Coincidentally (or not?), the Korean giant delivered the news about its achievement the same day Apple iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plusbecame officially available (Germany is one of the markets where Cupertino’s devices launched today).

The impressive number of units related to devices actually sold to customers, not just shipped to the company’s retail partners. The millionth Galaxy S5 buyer got treated to a €500 voucher from Samsung to mark the special occasion.

Samsung shipped 10 million Galaxy S5 units worldwide in just 25 days after launching the device. The manufacturer typically doesn’t comment on device sales figures outside of its home market.

Google’s insane new requirement forces app developers to list a physical address

In a new mandate, Google is requiring developers of paid apps or apps with in-app purchases to list a physical address on their app details page. Jared Rummler, of JRummy Apps, pointed out the change in a new Google+ post today. He included a screenshot of the new requirement informing developers that, as of September 30, developers of paid apps or apps with in-app purchases will need to include a physical mailing address in the app details section.

The requirement doesn’t give any sort of argument to support the new change, making it even more controversial. While Google has had access to developers’ addresses for a long time, they were only available to find if you purchased the app and then went into your Google Wallet account and looked at the details of the purchase. This new change makes it far easier for spammers and others to find a physical address for developers.

One of the issues surrounding the change is that developers already frequently get spam through email. Throwing a physical address out there in the open could cause spam to come to their home and even allow others to find them in their own home. Jared Rummler points out the example of this very week when a disgruntled customer emailed him, threatening his life because he believed that JRummy worked for the government and stole his personal information. That in itself is enough to turn you against the new requirement.

Android L will keep your device more secure by enabling encryption out of the box

n a world where government snooping is becoming normal, companies are finding new ways to combat the invasion of privacy. One of the simplest ways to do this is by offering encryption for the contents of a device. Google has been offering encryption on some Android devices since 2011, but it’s always been shut off by default and hasn’t been easily accessible to turn on, leading very few to take advantage of it.In light of last year’s onslaught of NSA leaks and surveillance allegations, Google is taking a further step in Android L. Device encryption will be enabled out of the box, foiling any plans to access the device’s contents without a password. This should prevent police forces and other law enforcement officials from accessing a phone’s content. While the feature won’t come until the release of Android L, it’s good to see Google being proactive in security.

Sony Xperia Z3, Z3 Compact are “coming soon” in the US

It looks like users in the United States will soon have the opportunity to get their hands on the Sony Xperia Z3 and the Xperia Z3 Compact. The freshly announced handsets are listed as “coming soon” on Sony’s official website.

Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact shares the same status as its smartphone relatives. There is no exact timeline on the launch of the trio of high-end devices – we reckon that they will be available in time for the holiday shopping season.

T-Mobile already confirmed that it would offer Sony Xperia Z3 in the US. The device is also rumored to hit Verizon as Xperia Z3v. Sony Xperia Z3 Compact on the other hand, will likely be available factory unlocked.

Announced during IFA earlier this month, Sony Xperia Z3 and Xperia Z3 Compact offer top shelf specs, tucked into sleek, waterproof bodies. You can check out our detailed review of the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact over here.