Windows 8 is no better than Microsoft's much-maligned Windows Vista, at least in the eyes of Samsung memory chip division president Jun Dong-soo.

''The global PC industry is steadily shrinking despite the launch of Windows 8," said the senior Samsung executive today at the COEX InterContinental Hotel in Seoul.

"I think the Windows 8 system is no better than the previous Windows Vista platform."

Jun laid the blame for stagnant PC sales at Microsoft's doorstep and said that the PC industry would gradually phase out, in a grim forecast picked up by The Korea Times on Friday.

Not exactly putting the Win in Windows 8

Samsung is heavily cutting production of PC memory chips, according to Jun, who sees the market as volatile and cyclical.

That feelings are backed up by data from research firm IDC, which recently reestimated PC shipments for 2013 from 2.8 percent growth to 1.3 percent growth.

With just 345.8 million PC shipments projected by this IDC data, the firm echoed Jun's comments, citing "underwhelming reception to Windows 8" as well as tablets undercutting PC sales.

Not even the vast marketing effort by Microsoft has been enough for its new operating system.

The company committed up to $1.8 billion (about £1.2 billion, AUD$1.76 billion) to promote Windows 8, but has seen "little life" since the Oct. 26 launch.

Microsoft, meanwhile, has said that its Windows 8 sales on "on par" with those of Windows 7 during its first three months of availability.

The future of Samsung

Taking all of this into account, Samsung will be focusing on mobile memory for tablets and smartphones.

''The market will see a supply-and demand balance in the second quarter and Samsung expects more demand in the latter half for mobile DRAMs, which are more profitable than conventional chips,'' Jun told The Korea Times.

However, the even-handed executive said that Samsung is waiting to check consumer demand even for smartphones and tablets before it finalizes its investment plans in more facilities.

''Sony, Taiwan's HTC, Nokia and LG Electronics are very aggressive in their smartphone businesses, increasing the demand for mobile DRAM chips," he said, calling out some of Samsung's biggest rivals.

"But we should check out whether the demand is real or false. That's why Samsung is hesitating to finalize this year's investment.''

One smartphone that my spur that "real" consumer demand for the industry is the Galaxy S4, a phone from none other than Samsung.

That Samsung Galaxy S4 is expected to be the company's next big announcement scheduled for next week, Thursday, March 14.

Lenovo only recently unveiled its K900 smartphone, with an expectation it would arrive in China in the coming months.

Among other features, the Android-powered 5.5-inch phone is slated to come packing the processing prowess of the Intel's new Z2580 dual-core processor.

While all eyes are on the impressive K900 - a phone that is yet to arrive on shelves - it appears Lenovo has been busy crafting some additional smartphones with similar specifications.

Curiously enough, this leaked duo of devices share almost as much in common with several HTC designs as they do with Lenovo's own device.

HTCopycat

The two leaked Lenovo phones, the S920 and S820, were spotted by MyDrivers, which revealed not just the first images, but also the first details on specifications.

Both of the phones are expected to include the quad-core MediaTek MT6589 processor, and run Lenovo's modified version of Android 4.2: Jelly Bean.

The S920 will feature an admittedly mondo 5.3-inch screen, with a centered camera with single flash plashed to the right of the lens.

If you look closely at the image, you can find some definitive inspiration from the HTC One X present, as the backs of the two devices are, besides the color, eerily identical.

The same could be said of the S820, which has fewer details available, but with it's rear panel has a startlingly coincidental appearance to the HTC One S. That bright orange gets us thinking about HTC's Windows Phone 8 offerings, namely the 8S and 8X.

Ladies love Lenovo

Very few other concrete facts about either of Lenovo's devices exist at the moment, though the manufacturer clearly has a market in mind for the S820.

According to MyDrivers, the S820 is going to be marketed as the next fashion phone for women.

Both smartphones are slated to release in China first, and there's are no guarantees either device will make it to other markets. It gets a little harry when there's a chance your devices could be confused for a competitors product. Just ask Samsung.

Interested in playing a city building game that isn’t weighed down by always-on DRM, a lack of modding and a lack of terraforming? Turns out, you aren’t the only one as a group of ragtag developers that have worked on games like Borderlands 2, Darksiders 2, F.E.A.R. and Quake 4 feel the same way. They have banded together to develop a new city building game called Civitas and have taken to Kickstarter for funding.

The team says their game will cover a number aspects including terraforming the land, zoning the land for your city, building structures that make up your city and managing all aspects of the city. The latter includes things like transportation, utilities, emergency management, natural resources and commerce. The game will also include a full-featured day / night system for added realism.

The developers claim they want to build a community as well as an amazing game and will be asking for feedback from beta users through the entire development cycle.

A pledge of just $15 guarantees you one digital download copy of the first release version of Civitas. You’ll also have your name put on the game’s website and in the title’s credits as a contributor. A $25 donation gets you into the game’s beta program will full access to all updates and revisions as well as the above mentioned perks. Estimated delivery of the game is currently set for November 2013.

Civitas needs to meet a goal of $250,000 in order for the game to reach production. As of writing, nearly 1,400 backers have pledged more than $40,000 and with 24 days to go, things are looking hopeful for the budding city simulator.

While some phone makers are chopping prices to make devices more affordable, BlackBerry has no desire to compete in the budget phone arena, CEO Thorsten Heins said this week.

At a conference in Waterloo, Ontario, Heins bluntly addressed the fact that BlackBerry has no current plans to release phones costing $50 to $60 (UK£33 to £40, AU$49 to $58) or lower.

"This is not BlackBerry," he declared, as reported by Bloomberg.

That said, the Canadian phone maker will launch cheaper devices for developing markets like India, where it sells the BlackBerry Z10 for $800 (UK£530, AU$780). The newly-renamed fruity firm just won't dip quite as low as phones from Asian rivals like ZTE and Huawei.

To reiterate

Heins's pronouncement adds to a point made by BlackBerry European MD Stephen Bates to TechRadar in February.

"We've brought out these high-end devices as a statement of intent - to demonstrate vividly the new BlackBerry," Bates said. "But we don't see us getting to the entry level tier for some time; certainly not this year."

Indeed, BlackBerry's focus has been locked on high-end smartphones since the launch of BlackBerry 10.

Compare that to Nokia: the high-end market not being what it had hoped, Nokia recently announced several more affordable phones, including the Lumia 520.

Heins reported that the expensive Z10 sold out in India after just two days, so maybe BlackBerry won't have the same problem there.

The Z10 is still making its way out across the globe, with a U.S. release date rumored for March 22. We'll know soon enough whether BlackBerry's higher-price strategy pans out or not.

Crysis 3 hasn't even been on shelves for a month, but it's already available with a 33% discount ($39.99) via GameStop as well as 30% off directly through EA, including the Digital Deluxe Edition which includes Crysis 2: Maximum Edition for $55.99. Meanwhile, Steam has Max Payne 3 for $13.59, Origin offers the Mass Effect trilogy for $25, GameFly knocks half off various Call of Duty titles and Green Man Gaming has a "limited" offer of Dishonored for $32.99 as well as War of the Roses, Killing Floor and Red Orchestra 2 for $4.99 each.

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