Man uses online dating site to lure thief and recover stolen iPhone

Definitely a creative way to recover lost or stolen property, a Brooklyn man was able to get his lost iPhone back by using a fake OkCupid profile for bait.

Described in detail on his personal blog as well as a couple Reddit posts, musician Nadav Nirenberg accidentally left his iPhone in a taxi on New Year’s Eve on the way to a gig. After discovering that the smartphone was missing, Nirenberg attempted to repeatedly call his phone to connect with any person that may have found the Apple device. He also sent emails as well as left messages promising a reward if the phone was returned to him. After half a day of waiting for a response, Nirenberg came to the conclusion that the smartphone wasn’t going to be returned.

okcupid correspondence iPhone thiefOn the following day, Nirenberg discovered that the person using the smartphone was sending messages to local women though Nirenberg’s personal OkCupid account. It’s likely that the OkCupid online dating application installed on the iPhone was setup to be accessible without requiring a password each time to log into the service.

At this point, Nirenberg created a new email address and started a fake OkCupid profile under the name “Jennifer Rodriguez.” Posing as a young woman that recently relocated to Brooklyn, Nirenberg initiated a conversation with the person that was using his iPhone and was able to convince the thief to visit ”Jennifer Rodriguez” at his apartment building. After giving the thief the address in addition to an apartment number on a floor above his own, Nirenberg waited for the thief to arrive at his building. 

okcupid profile iphone ownerWhen the thief arrived at the apartment building with a bottle of wine, Nirenberg approached the man from behind as he was walking up the stairs.

Spotting his iPhone in the thief’s hand, Nirenberg asked for the phone back, offered the man $20 for his trouble and informed the thief that the police were on the way. Nirenberg offered the money in order to disarm the thief with a “peace offering,” however Nirenberg was also carrying a hammer in one of his hands for personal protection. 

The thief immediately returned the iPhone and quickly left the apartment building. According to Nirenberg, the thief only used the OkCupid online dating application and avoided other iOS applications like email, Facebook or his banking software. Mentioned within comments on Reddit, Nirenberg believes that the thief was likely his cab driver the night of New Year’s Eve, but he doesn’t want the man to lose his job over the incident. In addition, Nirenberg is looking into installing anti-theft software on his smartphone to avoid future mishaps. 

Anti-theft applications that provide the current GPS location of stolen mobile electronics can often lead to larger arrests for additional crimes. For instance, the Find My iPhone application recently led Florida police to a suspect that was linked to a variety of car burglaries in the area based off the stolen items recovered at the suspect’s home.

During mid-September 2012, the same tracking application led police to a TSA agent at the Orlando International airport that stole an iPad from an employee of ABC News during a sting operation. The agent in question was fired immediately by the Transportation Security Administration and video of the theft aired on ABC News.


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Drift Innovation releases mobile app for remote operation of HD Ghost action cam

The Drift App lets users control their HD Ghost action camera remotely from iOS and Android smart devices, including camera angle setups and video playback.

Recently we introduced you to Drift Innovation and its new HD Ghost action camera. Today the company announced an enhancement to the camera via the free downloadable Drift App for iOS devices and coming soon for Android. The app syncs with the camera’s Drift Datalink system for remote operation via the app. Users can set up camera angles, stream video playback, and share content through social media sites, giving users greater flexibility without having to go through the camera.

The Drift App connects directly through the camera’s built-in Wi-Fi. In addition to the aforementioned functions, users can also monitor battery life. Drift Innovation has posted a video on how the app works with the camera.

“Whenever you have the Drift HD Ghost mounted to a helmet or positioned somewhere out of reach, the mobile app is essential to frame your angle and ensure you get the best shot,” said Drift’s managing director John Rounds in a release. “The Drift App features extremely low latency so you can see exactly what the camera is looking at on your mobile device and line up shots instantaneously. The Drift HD Ghost also comes equipped with its own Wi-Fi network enabling users to stream and download pictures and videos on the spot, using their phones to upload content instantly to their favorite social media channels.” 

The 1080p-capable HD Ghost is part of the growing segment of sports/action cameras. Drift Innovation is differentiating itself from the competition by implementing into the HD Ghost a two-way remote control for easier access, Wi-Fi connectivity, continuous loop recording, and a tough Gorilla glass LCD. The Drift App is another solution they are adding to make the product more accessible.

Check out our interview with Drift Innovation’s head of R&D, Billy Bacon.


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Sony applies for RFID DRM patent that would block used games

Sony has applied for a patent on a hardware-based DRM technology that would let the company block second-hand games. Filed last September, the application (PDF) hadn't been published until this week and it's unclear if or when the patent will be awarded. The document outlines an "electronic content processing system, electronic content processing method, package of electronic content, and use permission apparatus" that "reliably restricts the use of electronic content dealt in the second-hand markets."

To accomplish that, Sony would outfit its retail game discs with radiofrequency tags and programmable memory chips. When inserted into a system, the disc would wirelessly collect unique information about the console. If someone attempted to play it on a different machine, the identifying data stored on the disc wouldn't line up and some form of block would be imposed, though the details are slim here.

Perhaps the block would be as straightforward as requesting a flat rate fee to unlock the game, but it might be more elaborate and lock only certain portions of the content. For instance, maybe it would allow access to the first level or two of a game or only prevent folks from playing multiplayer, such as the $10 "Online Pass" employed in recent years by EA and Ubisoft. Perhaps Sony wouldn't enforce anything outright, allowing developers and publishers to choose what content to block -- if any at all.

Of course, there's also the possibility that this patent will go unused, but many console gamers are concerned that won't be the case given the information purportedly leaked about Sony's next-gen console. Last March, Kotaku published details on the PlayStation 4, including a new measure that would block used games. At the time, folks took that to mean that the PS4 would require an Internet connection, but for whatever it's worth, that doesn't seem to be the case with Sony's proposed RFID DRM.


Source : techspot[dot]com

Get ready for ultra scratch resistant Gorilla Glass 3

Get ready for ultra scratch resistant Gorilla Glass 3

Tough but adorable

"Primitive" Gorilla Glass isn't and if an announcement Thursday about what its maker Corning has in store for CES 2013 is any indication, we should see some highly evolved products coming from the company.

The company plans to unveil Gorilla Glass 3 next week, a new glass composition that, according to an Engadget report, is markedly stronger than Gorilla Glass 1 and 2.

A Corning-made feature known as Native Damage Resistance is said to help stymy flaws and scratches and uphold the overall retained strength of the glass even after knicks and dings.

What that means for the scratch-prone phone owners out there is a glass that's three times more scratch resistant, shows 40 percent less visible scratches and commands a 50 percent overall retained strength increase after the glass is damaged.

Fiber time

Also coming to CES are Optical Cables by Corning, fiber-based, device-to-device connectors for Thunderbolt.

The cables are long, strong and take the transmission range of copper-based cables to school, Corning said in a press release.

Corning promised to reveal more on both products Jan. 7, so we'll bring you all the monkey business the company has planned for CES and beyond.


Source : techradar[dot]com

Optimus G2 teased by LG for possible CES debut

Optimus G2 teased by LG for possible CES debut

Will the Optimus G's successor show up at CES?

LG is putting its pre-CES hype machine in full gear at the last minute, launching a video teaser with hints of what it will show in Las Vegas.

The highlight of the teaser video is a very brief glimpse of a smartphone, which shows the sleek corner of a device with a thin bezel around the screen.

The smartphone shown is believed to be the LG Optimus G2, a rumored 5-inch follow up to the Optimus G.

The rumored handset is said to pack a 1920 x 1080 resolution display with 440 ppi, putting the 5-inch display to good use for a full HD smartphone.

LG's CES lineup

The teaser doesn't reveal very much else of LG's CES lineup, though that may be because some of it is already known.

Last month LG prematurely announced that it will debut new GA6400 and GA7900 Google TV-equipped television sets at CES. The GA6400 will arrive in 42, 50, 55, and 60-inch models while the GA7900 will have a more premium low-bezel design in 47 and 55-inch varieties.

LG has yet to officially confirm the Optimus G2, though a benchmark leaked last month indicates that it could arrive quite soon.

The prevailing rumor is that the Optimus G2 could launch as early as May 2013, which would help it compete against 1080p handsets on the way from other manufacturers.

With 1080p smartphones already expected at CES from the likes of Samsung and Hauwei, all signs seem to point at the LG Optimus G2 sitting along with them on the show floor. We'll know for sure on Jan. 7 at 8am PST, when LG holds its CES press conference.


Source : techradar[dot]com

Microsoft says Google ‘refuses’ YouTube app access to Windows Phone users

A Microsoft executive has said that Google executives are preventing the full version of YouTube's mobile app from being launched on Windows Phone.

We’ve previously heard that Google wasn’t planning on developing Gmail or any of its other apps for Microsoft’s Windows 8 platform. However, the search engine giant is also reportedly blocking a full-featured YouTube app from debuting on the Windows-themed OS as well.

Microsoft said on Wednesday that Google executives are preventing the Redmond, Washington-based company from offering “proper access to YouTube.”  Dave Heiner, Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for Microsoft, revealed this news through a blog post, acknowledging the importance of offering the video streaming app on mobile devices.

“This is an important issue because consumers value YouTube access on their phone,” Heiner wrote. “Yet Google still refuses to allow Windows Phone users to have the same access to YouTube and Android and Apple customers enjoy. Microsoft has continued to engage with YouTube personnel over the past two years to remedy this problem for consumers.”

This drama surrounding YouTube isn’t a new obstacle for Microsoft, as the executive revealed that the company has been struggling to resolve this issue for the past two years. As it stands, the YouTube app for Windows Phone is merely a limited version of the streaming service, considering Google doesn’t allow Microsoft access to YouTube’s full APIs.

The focus of Heiner’s argument in his recent blog post seems to be that Google executives are specifically responsible for this blockade; not the YouTube company as a whole.

“As you might expect, it appears that YouTube itself would like all customers – on Windows Phone as on any other device—to have a great YouTube experience,” he wrote. “But just last month we learned from YouTube that senior executives at Google told them not to enable a first-class YouTube experience on Windows Phones.”

Google responded to Microsoft’s accusations, issuing the following statement according to AllThingsD:

“Contrary to Microsoft’s claims, it’s easy for consumers to view YouTube videos on Windows Phones,” the statement read. “Windows phone users can access al the feature of YouTube through our HTML5-based mobile website, including viewing high-quality video streams, finding favorite videos, seeing video ratings, and searching for video categories. In fact, we’ve worked with Microsoft for several years to help build a great YouTube experience on Windows Phones.”

Oddly enough, a full-fledged YouTube app is present on one crucial Microsoft device: the Xbox 360. The app was released this past August and was part of YouTube’s new platform strategy to please fans when it comes to controlling the user experience.


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Marvel adds two more actors to potential Guardians of the Galaxy cast

Guardians of the Galaxy concept art

Michael Rosenbaum and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are the latest actors that Marvel Studios is considering for a role in the Guardians of the Galaxy cast.

Marvel Studios is slated to release a film adaptation of the Guardians of the Galaxy comic book series on August 1, 2014. This film is being directed by James Gunn, an auteur you’d most likely know as the writer of the excellent horror film Slither or for his work on Suda51′s Lollipop Chainsaw. Unfortunately that’s the sum extent of our knowledge on the film, and as such the best we have to get excited for are exclusive reports on which new actors Marvel Studios might be eyeing for the cast of this upcoming movie.

Two days ago Deadline Hollywood published one such report claiming that Joseph Gordon-Levitt has been added to Marvel’s potential pool of stars who might play the role of Peter Quill. Though the Guardians film would undoubtedly be focused on a team of heroes, Quill (aka “Starlord”) is seen as the lead in what Marvel considers “its next major franchise launch.” Gordon-Levitt has most famously been a member of excellent ensemble casts (Inception, The Dark Knight Rises), but in the recent Looper he held his own against Bruce Willis in a dual-lead film giving us great hope that he could certainly carry not just a film, but a potential big budget franchise.

Just yesterday however, Superherohype offered up a new report which claims that Michael Rosenbaum has also been added to the potential pool of Peter Quills. Rosenbaum you’ll remember as Lex Luthor on Smallville, and unfortunately not much else. He left the show at one point hoping to kickstart a film career that never really materialized. This will likely hurt him if he’s directly competing against an acclaimed film actor like Gordon-Levitt, but on the other hand, Rosenbaum certainly looks quite a bit like the original comic book character.

Interestingly, if either of these actors were to be given the role of Peter Quill, they would be leaping from the DC film universe to the Marvel film universe. As we mentioned, Rosenbaum’s most notable role to date is that of Superman’s nemesis Lex Luthor on Smallville, and Gordon-Levitt was recently featured in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises. Further, Gordon-Levitt has long been leading the pack of actors rumored to star as Batman in Warner Bros.’ upcoming Justice League film. The conspiratorially-minded among you might think that maybe Marvel wants to lock Gordon-Levitt into their next big franchise purely to prevent Warner Bros. from casting its preferred Batman, but we doubt the two studios know that much about what the other is really planning. In the end the casting directors have a long list of reasons to look at both Gordon-Levitt and Rosenbaum, and they’d probably just like to find the best actor for the role.

That said, we hope Marvel casts Christian Bale as Peter Quill. Not because Bale would be great in the role (he would), but because it would upset Warner Bros. in the most passive-aggressive way possible. Hollywood is basically just high school, right?


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Facebook adds VoIP and voice messaging features to Messenger – for Canadians only (for now)

voip fb

Facebook Messenger has been updated with VoIP and voice messaging, predictably inspired by messaging competitors LINE, WeChat, and Nimbuzz.

Facebook introduced a groundbreaking new feature today to its mobile messaging app. Launching first to Canadian users, the social network’s update to its messaging app will include a brand new voice messaging function that allows users to record and send messages Facebook friends.

Users in Canada that update their apps today will notice a record button next to the photo and camera button. To send voice messages, you’ll just need to press, hold to record, and release the button once you’ve completed your message to send it. WeChat users will already be familiar with this concept. To delete the message, you can slide your fingers to “push” it off screen.

Messaging is a space that’s heating up and becoming contentious among developers. For now the top recognizable messaging apps competing for the global market are Nimbuzz, WeChat, Whatsapp, LINE, and KakaoTalk, and Facebook wants to edge itself into this elite top crop of contenders. With 1.1 billion Facebook users, it has more than enough potential. Now it’s just a matter of building out new features.

The social network, in December, rid a requirement to sign up with a Facebook account to use its mobile messenger app. Instead Facebook opted for new users to sign up with a name and phone number to tear down a barrier it imposed on itself. After all no other messaging apps required users to login with Facebook, so why should Facebook? Shortly after, Facebook’s Poke app was released, guns blazing without a care for the obvious mimicry that it was of the popular Snapchat app. Snapchat loyalists voiced their alarm, and retaliated with one-star reviews of Facebook Poke. There were also a handful of rumors that Facebook would acquire popular messaging app Whatsapp, although they haven’t come to fruition.

The trend, clearly, is that Facebook is hell bent on launching its own features following mobile trends. The strategy is built on popularity rather than innovation.

Announced alongside voice messaging, Facebook is releasing a calling feature that will enable “free” calls that won’t tap into your minutes, but use your data instead. We’ll have a hands on with the new app in the near future, which should launched stateside soon as well. 


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Minecraft XBLA tops 5 million in sales

Minecraft

Hours before the end of 2012, the Xbox Live Arcade version of Minecraft hit a very impressive sales milestone: 5 million units sold to date.

At this point it’s safe to say that the Xbox Live Arcade iteration of Minecraft is a success. This is a game that was released in May of last year yet was still capable of selling 453,000 copies on Christmas Day alone. Then, this morning, developer 4JStudios tweeted the following:

On New Year’s Eve 2012, Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition passed 5 million sales!

On average, that’s roughly 714,000 copies sold each month since its debut; more copies in a single month than most Xbox Live Arcade games will ever sell. Given the $20 price tag attached to Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition, the game has been generating $14,280,000 each month for a total haul of about $100,000,000 so far. Of course, that’s all before figuring in the amount of cash generated by the game’s various DLC additions. All in all, it’s doing very well for an indie game with the visual fidelity of an early Nintendo 64 title.

Despite this new milestone, Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition lags far behind its PC/Mac analogue. That game boasts more than nine million copies sold to date. On the other hand, it’s also been available for years, while the Xbox Live arcade game has only be on the market for months. Xbox Live gamers suffer for this as the content found in the Xbox Live game lags months far the content in the PC/Mac game, yet it appears that when given the option people seem to prefer playing Minecraft on an HDTV from the comfort of their couch over staring at a computer screen and tapping away at a keyboard.

Whichever iteration of Minecraft you prefer, the best news in all of this is that the game’s massive sales stats effectively guarantee that Mojang and 4JStudios will continue to build more and more content for their respective versions of Minecraft. That’s doubly sweet news given that neither the Xbox Live nor PC/Mac incarnations of the game require players to pay for new content. We have no idea when the success of Minecraft will start to wane, but in the meantime we’re more than willing to enjoy the fruits it bears. Especially when said fruits allow us to breed animals and fight dinosaurs alongside our ugly, blocky huts.


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Facebook testing free VoIP calling through its Messenger app

Facebook testing free VoIP calling through its Messenger app

You don't get to 500 minutes without making a few phone calls

Facebook took another step towards total global domination on Thursday when the social network revealed it was testing a new feature for its Messenger app.

In an effort to appease its users, and potentially gain even more, Facebook is now trying out free voice calling over WiFi through Messenger.

Though it is currently limited to the iOS version of the app in Canada, Facebook hopes to roll out the feature to Android users, and other territories, soon enough.

For now, those of you outside of the Great White North, and not using iPhones, will have to make do with the limited ability to send short voice messages via the app.

Facebook's FaceTime

Even though this feature is only in the testing stages, and doesn't offer video conferencing, Facebook has an immense opportunity to capture a lot of users for voice over IP calling.

Services like Skype and Vonage already offer similar service, but don't have quite the customer base Facebook does with its hundreds of millions of users.

If this feature was ever to move out of the test phase, the potential for Facebook to change how its users communicate with each other is huge.

Facebook has run more than a few tests in various markets before, with severalstill currently ongoing for many users.

As interesting as Facebook's previous trials were, none had quite as much game changing potential as this free WiFi calling.

There's no telling when or where Facebook will be trying out this new venture next, but if the response is strong from this initial phase, it might not be long until phone bills are a thing of the past for Facebook users.


Source : techradar[dot]com

Panzer Dragoon successor Crimson Dragon appears and disappears on XBLA

panzer dragoon

Two and a half years after Microsoft first announced Crimson Dragon, a spiritual follow up to the classic Sega series Panzer Dragoon, the game still isn't out. A demo appeared on XBLA this week, but was taken down almost immediately by the the company.

Back in September 2010, Microsoft tried to convince core gamers that the then-unreleased Kinect would be good for more than family-oriented games like Kinect Sports and Dance Central. It debuted a host of games from some of Japan’s most revered game designers at the Tokyo Game Show that month. The most promising of those games was Project Draco.

Later renamed Crimson Dragon, the game was developed by Yukio Futatsugi, the creator of Panzer Dragoon. Nearly two and a half years later, the game still isn’t out but a demo of it mysteriously appeared on the Xbox Live Arcade in Japan this week. It was promptly taken offline, but not before a number of players got their hands on it.

A number of videos of the demo appeared on YouTube after Microsoft took it offline on Monday. The videos show a game that looks and sounds very much like the Panzer Dragoon games that inspired it. It is also the same demo of the game that Microsoft had on hand at the PAX East convention in March 2012.

Crimson Dragon was originally scheduled to come out in Japan this past summer but it missed that date and Microsoft failed to give an update. Speaking with Eurogamer in December, Microsoft said it was still in the works.

Crimson Dragon on XBLA was initially slated for a June 13, 2012 release in Japan, however this release has been delayed,” said the company, “We don’t have a release date to share at this time, but we’re excited about Crimson Dragon’s progress, and we are continuing to work on it with the teams at Grounding and LandHo.”

To date, the Kinect games shown by Microsoft at Tokyo Game Show 2010 have been widely panned and were commercial failures. Grasshopper Manufacture’s Diabolical Pitch was initially shown as Codename D. It came out on XBLA in April 2012 and racked up a Metacritic score of 56. That’s a significant mark up from Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor, the Capcom game that appeared at the same show and released in June 2012 to unanimous scorn. Our own Earnest Cavalli gave the game a 4 out of 10 in his review.

While Crimson Dragon still doesn’t have an official release date, Microsoft has released a mobile game related to it called Crimson Dragon: Side Story. The Windows Phone game is a 2D shooter similar to Gradius but, naturally, with dragons in it.


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Decoding Serial Numbers Reveals 370,000 Nexus 4 Smartphones Sold


Google and LG haven’t been particularly forthcoming when it comes to the sales figures for the Nexus 4 smartphone, but a little snooping around seems to reveal that somewhere in the neighborhood of 400k units have been shipped and sold. I’m sure that if they increased production, that number could be much larger given the current demand.

So, how did estimates arrive at this number? The endeavoring enthusiasts on the XDA Dev forums have worked to crack the meaning of the serial numbers of their Android smartphones. Just as you can figure out what each position in the VIN of a car can mean–in terms of chassis code, country of origin, and so on–the same can be said about the smartphone.

For instance, the first digit of the serial number on an LG-produced Nexus 4 reveals the year of manufacture. A “2″ indicates 2012. The next two digits are the month, so “211″ would mean November 2012 as the manufacturing date. This is followed by a letter, with K indicating Korea and C indicating China; that’s for where the phone is made. A little further down the serial number is a three digit code indicating the unit’s position in that month’s batch.

The XDA people put all this information together and they’re estimating that 70k units were made in October, 90k in November and 210k in December. That adds up to about 370k. It’s noteworthy that some people found their phone was manufactured after they ordered it too. TechCrunch has a little more of a breakdown of the serial number too, if you’re curious about your Nexus 4.



Source : mobilemag[dot]com

Samsung confirms Tizen smartphones coming in 2013

Samsung confirms Tizen smartphones coming in 2013

Samsung looks to forge its own path in 2013 (credit: Tizen Talk)

While there have been numerous reports during the past year claiming Samsung was readying its own smartphone line-up using the Tizen operating system, the South Korean company hadn't made any official announcements.

On Thursday, Samsung revealed in a statement to Bloomberg that 2013 would indeed be the year the open-source OS phones would arrive.

"We plan to release new, competitive Tizen devices within this year and will keep expanding the lineup depending on market conditions," Samsung stated.

The news comes just days after the Daily Yomiuri reported anonymous sources told the paper the Samsung would unveil the first Tizen phone in Japan through NTT Docomo.

Samsung still hasn't even shown off a proper model of its Tizen smartphone, so it comes as no surprise the company still didn't reveal an exact date or even a time frame for its release.

Go your own way

Though Samsung has seen some incredible success in 2012 running Google's Android OS on phones like the Galaxy S3, the company is clearly looking to become a bit more self-reliant in 2013.

Samsung sold 55 million smartphones during the third quarter of 2012, leading all its competitors like Apple and Nokia by a wide margin.

Tizen will be faced with plenty of challenges in the coming year, particularly considering Android dominated the market with a 72.4 percent stake.

While it's true Samsung was the number one selling Android device maker, there's no telling if consumers will follow the manufacturer when it strikes off on its own.

Even if Samsung helped contributed to a large portion of that number, there are no guarantees the new OS will be able to make waves amongst the likes of iOS, Windows Phone 8, and BlackBerry 10, each of which is vying for a much smaller piece of the pie.


Source : techradar[dot]com

Google dodges FTC antitrust lawsuit with changes to search, patents, ads

Google and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission have reached an agreement that brings to end a two-year antitrust investigation of the Internet search giant. Both Google and the FTC are calling the settlement a win.

Google has agreed to change a number of its search and advertising business practices as part of a settlement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. The agreement brings to close the agency’s years-long antitrust investigations of the search giant. The unsurprising settlement means Google will not be sued for antitrust violations, and is widely considered a “win” for the Internet company.

“The evidence the FTC uncovered through this intensive investigation prompted us to require significant changes in Google’s business practices. However, regarding the specific allegations that the company biased its search results to hurt competition, the evidence collected to date did not justify legal action by the Commission,” said Beth Wilkinson, outside counsel to the Commission, in a statement. “Undoubtedly, Google took aggressive actions to gain advantage over rival search providers. However, the FTC’s mission is to protect competition, and not individual competitors. The evidence did not demonstrate that Google’s actions in this area stifled competition in violation of U.S. law.”

Google’s FTC settlement, summed up

Patents: As part of the settlement, Google has agreed to allow competitors to use patents pertaining to smartphone, tablet, and computer technology that Google acquired in its acquisition of Motorola Mobility (PDF). Google has also agreed to drop all applicable patent lawsuits in U.S. federal courts and the International Trade Commission, and will attempt to settle future disputes over the use of its patents through out-of-court, third-party negotiations.

Ads: In separate letter of commitment to the FTC (PDF), Google agreed to make changes to its AdWords platform that will allow advertisers to more freely use competing advertising services. “Advertisers can already export their ad campaigns from Google AdWords,” wrote David Drummond, Google Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, on the company blog. “They will now be able to mix and copy ad campaign data within third-party services that use our AdWords API.”

Search: Finally, Google has agreed to allow websites to remove their content from Google commerce services, like Flights, Shopping, or Hotels, that may compete with their own businesses. Google promises to honor the requested opt-out within 30 days of receiving notice. Websites that choose to remove their content from Google’s aggregating services will still appear in Google’s standard search results, and those websites’ Page Ranks will not be affected by the opt-out, Google says.

In a statement, FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said that the “changes Google has agreed to make will ensure that consumers continue to reap the benefits of competition in the online marketplace and in the market for innovative wireless devices they enjoy.”

What Google’s changes mean for you

So, what does this all mean for us, the consumers and users? Well, not too much. Google services will probably become a bit less useful, with companies like Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Expedia expected to pull the opt-out card. We’ll also likely see more smartphones and tablets that include technology controlled by Google (though many of us likely won’t even know it). And that’s about it.

In other words, this is a much bigger deal for Google (e.g. it avoided an antitrust lawsuit) and the FTC (it was able to say it did something to knock Google’s dominance down a notch).


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Ubisoft wants to add Ghost Recon to its film production slate

Ghost Recon

As with Assassin's Creed and Splinter Cell, Ubisoft's Ghost Recon franchise will be hitting theaters at some point in the near future.

Despite the critical and financial failures of almost every video game to movie adaptation released to date, Ubisoft is determined to translate its most popular (read: lucrative) gaming franchises into big screen cinematic films. In October we brought you word that Ubisoft had joined forces with New Regency Productions to bring Assassin’s Creed to theaters. Then, in December, we reported that the same duo would be putting a Splinter Cell film into the production pipeline. Now, it seems that Ubisoft hopes the Ghost Recon franchise might follow the same path.

The LA Times recently published an article detailing how the Ubisoft/New Regency partnership hopes to avoid the pitfalls that have crippled so many game-to-film adaptations in the past. It’s a good read (though perhaps a bit overly optimistic), but the focus of this story is contained in a single sentence toward the end of the piece. “Baronnet is also putting together a pitch for a movie based on the Ghost Recon games about a special operations military squad,” it reads.

The “Baronnet” mentioned in that line would be Jean-Julien Baronnet, CEO of Ubisoft Motion Pictures. As head of Ubisoft’s movie wing Baronnet has long been the driving force behind Ubisoft’s theatrical dreams. We think its important here to point out that Baronnet is a businessman, not a game designer or film director, so while his enthusiasm for these projects is apparent (or at least really well faked), we’re growing increasingly concerned that Ubisoft may be attempting to do too much, too quickly, to the detriment of these films’ overall quality.

Think of it this way: Ubisoft Motion Pictures is only two years old. In that time it’s built up a solid collection of employees whose various skills could very well facilitate a quality video game film. In the last few months, Baronnet has been pushing actual film projects into the pipeline at a tremendous rate. We’ve yet to see any actual output from Ubisoft’s movie wing, yet in the past few months Baronnet has begun work on at least three separate movie projects. There’s no attempt to prove the studio’s abilities in front of a live audience or any effort to ease into the rigors of the Hollywood game; just a blind desire to get these movies made in what Baronnet considers to be a novel fashion for the beleaguered subgenre known as “video game movies.”

Don’t get us wrong: We hope the Assassin’s Creed, Splinter Cell and Ghost Recon movies are awesome cinematic triumphs, but given the failure rate of movies based on games, Ubisoft Motion Pictures’ relative inexperience in the field of filmmaking, and the rate at which the company takes on new projects, we’re running out of justifications for how any of this might work out for the best. At most we’re hoping these movies aren’t a colossal financial failure, thus dooming Ubisoft Motion Pictures. Despite our fears in this case, we like the idea of a video game company controlling production of movies based on its games.


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Nokia's Lumia 920 successor rumored to be thinner and lighter

Nokia's Lumia 920 successor rumored to be thinner and lighter

The Lumia 920's polycarbonate body is (arguably) quite attractive

A report on Thursday claimed that Nokia is planning a high-end successor to the Lumia 920 with a thinner and lighter form thanks to a new aluminum body.

The existing Nokia Lumia devices all use polycarbonate, making them thicker and heavier than they could be with aluminum instead.

The new aluminum Lumia smartphone, which will reportedly be similar in specs to the 920, is currently known only by the code name "Catwalk," possibly because of its attention-grabbing body.

An aluminum frame could make the Lumia 920 successor thinner and lighter, yes, but it could also come with some drawbacks.

Aluminum vs. polycarbonate

Several other high profile devices, including Lumia 920 competitor HTC Windows Phone 8X and Samsung's Galaxy S3, use polycarbonate for their shells as well.

Others, including the iPhone 5 and HTC One S, sport aluminum on their chassis.

Polycarbonate is considered quite well-suited for mobile devices, being relatively lightweight and scratch-resistant. Nevertheless, aluminum could be a step up.

On the other hand, let's not forget that it was the iPhone 5's scratch-prone aluminum back that caused so many problems back in October around the smartphone's launch.

Three new Lumias total

The Verge also claimed on Thursday that Nokia has two other new Lumia handsets planned to debut this year as well.

The site's sourcing was minimal, though, so it's not clear where this information comes from.

Little more is known about any of the new Lumia devices, besides that The Verge expects them all to be introduced in 2013.

TechRadar has reached out to Nokia to find out whether it would like to share any more information, but the Finnish company has yet to respond.


Source : techradar[dot]com

Smart TV game company takes on Ouya with tiny Android console GameStick

Ouya

Ouya won't be the only Google Android based video game console vying for people's attention in 2013. Smart TV game company PlayJam has announced its own cheaper alternative, the GameStick.

The headline making, Google Android-based video game console Ouya is due out before the end of 2013 but it won’t be alone in the market. Just in time for the Consumer Electronics Show, a number of new consoles have been announced. Ouya won’t just be competing with Nintendo Wii U, Microsoft’s next Xbox, and Sony’s next-generation PlayStation but other Android-based consoles as well. Chief among them: GameStick.

The social and casual game platform maker PlayJam opened a Kickstarter campaign on Wednesday looking to raise $100,000 to fund the development of GameStick. PlayJam describes GameStick as “the most affordable, open, and portable TV games console ever created.”

The proposed Android game console is little more than a controller and a small dongle roughly the size of a USB flash drive that plugs into a television’s HDMI port. (The prototype controller and console are pictured above. The company claims that around 200 existing Android games will work with the GameStick and its controller, while developers like Disney and Dead Trigger makers Madfinger are planning to support the platform. At $79, the console undercuts the $99 Ouya. PlayJam is aiming to have the device out to customers by April.

GameStick uses the Jelly Bean version of Android and uses dual-core CPU and GPUs developed by ARM with 1GB of memory. Storage memory is somewhat limited, with just 4GB of flash storage inside the stick and 8GB of micro-SD card memory.

There’s definitely interest in GameStick. PlayJam passed its $100,000 goal just over 24 hours after opening the Kickstarter campaign, funds from more than 1,000 backers. That’s hardly the $8.5 million raised by Ouya last summer, but it’s still a market. What’s really working in PlayJam’s favor is its background in the Smart TV industry. Its platform is used for games on a number of manufacturer’s televisions, including LG, Samsung, and Sony. It’s also got a decent pedigree in the games industry. Criterion (Need For Speed: Most Wanted) co-founder Adam Billyard is the company’s current chief technology officer.

Ouya is also scheduled to come out in April, and with a lot more press behind it, PlayJam’s GameStick has some catching up to do. With CES just days away, it’s likely these two won’t be the only Android consoles gunning for audiences this year.


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

How Journey turned the gaming and art worlds upside down … by entwining them

From a few rough drawings to becoming one of the most talked-about games of the year, the tale of how Journey came to shake up the gaming community is a journey itself. Art director Matt Nava talked with Digital Trends to share how the team pulled it off, and why video games are finally gaining legitimacy as art.

On paper, Journey should have been a minor release. It was a digitally downloadable game that took just a few hours to complete, released by an independent developer with only two previous releases, and it was exclusive to the PS3, which limited it audience. Yet from the moment Journey appeared in March 2012, there was something special about it.

Despite these humble beginnings, the game went on to collect scads of awards, landing on almost every “best of” gaming list imaginable. It became the fastest-selling game on PlayStation Network in North America, and even landed a Grammy nomination for Best Score for a Visual Media category, the first video game to ever receive such an honor. The game was a hit, but beyond the commercial and critical reception, Journey was clearly a work of art. Roger Ebert be damned.

But with a project like this, developed by a small team of around 12, it needed to work on all levels to succeed. Austin Wintory’s soundtrack had to be memorable. Jenovah Chen’s direction needed to be perfect. Nicholas Clark, Bryan Singh, and Chris Bell’s design needed to be spot on. But before any of that could happen, the art design needed to be exceptional. It needed to convey the message and melancholy mood of the world, and it needed to do so in a way that made the full use of the PS3 hardware, without costing the independent developer more than it could afford.

Somehow, all the pieces came together. The look of the game borders in iconic, fitting seamlessly with a brilliant multiplayer mode that doesn’t allow you to speak with the other player or communicate with them beyond the most rudimentary ways. It also has several distinct visual areas that all come to life. It all worked out. Of course, that’s easy to say now that the game has been released.

As the art director of Journey, Matt Nava was responsible for much of the look and flair of the game that went on to receive such high esteem. He made it look easy, as if the game was always in his mind, beginning to get out. Of course the truth is far less poetic, and far more grueling.

“It was a real big, blank canvas,” Nava says, looking back. “We didn’t know what it was. All we had was this basic idea of making this multiplayer gamer where the point wasn’t to kill each other, but to work together and have this bonding experience with people online that you don’t even know. Beyond that, it was a kind of an amorphous thing, and we had no idea if it was going to work, so there was this kind of ambiguity.”

During the design process of the game, Nava created hundreds of different designs for the character, the world, you name it. Only a small portion of the early concept art actually made it into the game, which recently prompted the release of the book, The Art of Journey.

Written by Nava with a foreword by author Chris Melissinos, it chronicles both the development of the game and Nava’s artwork. It is a must-own for any fan of the game, or anyone interested in one of the fastest growing – and most often overlooked – forms of art being produced today.

While nongamers may not grant Journey’s art the same level of respect that they might a classical painter along the lines of Rembrandt or Van Gogh, the approach those masters of old took wasn’t that far removed from what game designers are doing today.

Regardless of the time period and medium, any artistic endeavor exists to tell a story. Sometimes that is derived from conveying an emotion, or simply by striving for beauty, but there is a story to be had, even if it is a very singular and personal one that the artists embed in the work, and the person experiencing it re-interprets to fit their own sensibilities. Modern audiences certainly take away a different message from Renaissance art commissioned by the Church than the people of that time did, but neither interpretation is right or wrong.

Although video games remain an unconventional medium, and the constantly changing nature of the technology that drives the industry make its products feel transitory, the work and thought behind art in a video game is no different today than it was for painters hundreds of years ago.

“Those classical masters were making art that had to communicate, it had to convey a message, it needed to tell a story,” Nava said. “A lot of it was for the Church, showing scenes from the Bible for people that couldn’t read and things like that. But because they needed to communicate, their art needed to be refined in a certain way and they developed these amazing techniques for doing that. Video games do the same thing.

“They need to convey a message, they tell a story or they communicate gameplay with visuals and audio. So that kind of tradition of having these art techniques and using these tricks to create depth or motion with imagery and poses of characters translates directly. So I think it is kind of this continuation in a way, of that same tradition, of creating imagery that has meaning and message.”

Nava has an interesting view of the world of art. His father, John Nava, is a painter and tapestry maker whose work can be seen throughout the West Coast. The elder Nava cemented his place in art history thanks to a series of well-known tapestries adorning the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, California.

From an early age, the younger Nava was a student of art. American illustrators like Howard Pyle became influential as he developed his own style, and he took inspiration from all sources, including video games. Fumito Ueda, the designer of Shadow of the Colossus and Ico, was one influence for Nava, along with the relatively primitive art style of Nintendo 64 games, in all their polygon-drenched glory, to that list.

Following high school, Nava was accepted into Otis College of Art and Design, one of California’s most prestigious arts schools. With a list of alumni that reads like a who’s who of 20th century artists, fashion designers, and experimental designers, the school is well known for its ability to change with the times.

There Nava met Jenova Chen, co-founder of thatgamecompany, which had recently released the game Flow. Chen developed the game with Nicholas Clark as part of his master’s thesis. Flow was as much a concept as a game, but it quickly went on to be the most downloaded game on the PlayStation Network in 2007, and won several awards for best downloadable game.

The two remained in contact following Nava’s graduation, and after a few animation gigs, Nava was invited to join thatgamecompany as the art director for the studio’s second title, Flower.

Flower proved to be another success for thatgamecompany, and helped to solidify the studio’s growing reputation for creating games that challenged the traditional concepts of art. They were not typical games built around gameplay, but rather they were experiences built around cultivating a particular mood or emotion. While that type of reputation is one that most developers would kill for, with it comes a tremendous amount of pressure and responsibility.

Flower was starting to get some really good reviews – there was a lot of hype about it, and it was kind of casting this big shadow on us,” Nava recalls. “Could we make something bigger than Flower – better than Flower – that would satisfy the people who enjoyed [it]? And how could we make something even more meaningful, or different. How could we make something that would feel like it was part of the TGC franchise, but also new and exciting? It was a big challenge.”

For TGC, when approaching a game the first step is to consider and define what message and mood the game is meant to convey to the gamer. Everything then comes from that genesis.

“The main thing that we want is to convey a message, or to convey a mood or a feeling to the player,” Nava said. “I think that is the most important thing to begin with.”

Once the main themes and goals were established, the work fell to Nava, who was responsible for all the concept art, as well as all the texturing. Working closely with the team from the start, Nava and TGC came up with the general idea, and then he went to the drawing board – quite literally. From there he created dozens of conceptual pieces by hand. Most were sent back, but little by little, piece by piece, the game began to take shape.

The PS3 is a powerful system, and yet there were still technical limitations to consider. Things like rendering shadows remain a sticking point for most games, which required imagination. The PS3 is technically capable of rendering those shadows, but it was simply a matter of priorities. Programming shadows would be costly and time consuming, and it would have taken away from other aspects, like the lighting effects, and sand physics.

“We found what the limitations were, and we designed the game around them and spent our time working on the things we could do really well,” Nava said.

Of course, those that have played Journey will know that the game is very much left open to interpretation. There were certain guideposts to help you along and to give you a few ideas as to the nature of the world, the character, and what your quest is, but the game – like any good art – allows you to fill in certain blanks and inject your own interpretation of what it is. This was very much intentional, and solidifies the reputation that TGC has earned.

“What we wanted to be was kind of this universal thing. What we found was that the best way for us to achieve that was by letting different people interpret it in their own way and come away with something that’s meaningful to them personally,” Nava said. “To get there, as a team we built this whole back story to the world and we had a lot of detail and all this stuff, and we used that as a guiding principle to make sure the world felt cohesive. But we left out a lot of the strict details of this world that we built, and left areas open to interpretation, so that we could achieve that universal quality where people could take away their own thing.”

This concept was so ingrained in the making of Journey that it even infected the developers themselves, and led to several spirited debate.

“Even on the development team itself there were different interpretations about the game, and that was something we were OK with. That is what we wanted our players to experience.”

After three years of development, Journey was ready to ship. It was immediately greeted with near universal acclaim, further increasing the reputation of thatgamecompany, enough so that Sony even released a collection of the developer’s three games on a single disk, as well as a handful of games designed as part of a competition. The Journey Collection even has commentary tracks for the games.

Nava hopes to continue in games and further expand into animation as well. At some point in the future, he’d like to create his own IP with friends. For now though his focus on gaming, even as the industry seems to be pushing away from artistic design and more towards photo-realism.

In a way, the photo-realistic approach is almost easier. The more realistic something is meant to look, the more it can be judged as a success or failure on a technical level. Building a world based on a creative, abstract vision requires an intense amount of teamwork, as well as a group all working on the same level. Striving for photo-realism in a game is something that can be measured by anyone working on the game, but to create a world based on creativity and imagination requires trust in the rest of the team.

“When you are actually trying to do something that is unique and illustrative and artsy, that comes from the mind of one person,” Nava offered. “To really get the whole team to understand that, it takes a lot of communication. And that’s why I think it happens a lot more with smaller teams.”

Hyper-realistic titles remain the lifeblood of the industry, and the driving force that continues to challenge developers. But on the fringes, away from the traditional gameplay, there are games like Journey that point to new possibilities, new ways to play, and even new ways to think about gaming.

Journey is potent ammunition in the battle to establish games as legitimate art. It may be one of the best examples that video gaming has potential as a medium for artistic expression, not just thrills.

The success of Journey has shown that there is an audience for games like this. They enrich us as gamers and improve the overall industry. They may also be some of the most compelling art being created in any medium today.


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Welcome our robot overlords: U.S. has more internet-enabled devices than people

Is it possible to be too connected? The U.S. says no, as internet-enabled devices now outnumber people in the country. Smartphones and tablets are leading the way in what is clearly the biggest sign of the singularity we've seen yet.

We had a good run, humans, but it’s pretty clear at this point our demise is inevitable. According to the Chinese calendar, 2013 is the year of the snake, but it’s looks like it’s more likely to be the year of the robot. The United States officially has a larger population of Internet-connected devices than it has people, according to an NPD report shared by BetaBeat.

The U.S. has a population of around 315 million people, but a staggering 425 million devices connected to the Internet. This statistic likely makes us the most connected society in the world, or possibly anywhere else, aside from maybe some alien race that has advanced beyond the need for physical forms of communication. Only they could surpass our waning interest in actual face-to-face interaction.

Leading the way in the internet-connected revolution are, not surprisingly, desktops and laptops with 183.8 million units accessing the world wide web. Smartphones account for 133 million, and tablets trail gaming consoles (39 million) to come in fourth at 31.8 million. Aside from the increasingly easier access to internet options, even in rural areas, the growing prominence of portable devices has played a huge factor in the sizable increase in items accessing the internet.

No matter how you slice up the numbers, the majority of us probably have more than one device connected to the internet right now. If you’re fearful of the inevitable robot uprising that will occur because of this, fear not: The robots will likely get distracted trying to figure out why the Internet has more cat .gifs than useful information on it. We will strike as they ponder and process our collective ridiculousness.


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

MSI debuts Quadro WorkStation with Nvidia Quadro K2000M Graphics

With CES just days away, MSI is getting a head start by launching its Quadro Workstation laptop with Nvidia's Quadro K2000M graphics chip.

Looking for a serious productivity powerhouse that can run CAD while you travel? MSI has announced a new option in this limited market: the aptly named Quadro WorkStation. It packs Nvidia’s latest Quadro K2000M graphics chip along with a Core i7-3630QM processor and 12GB of RAM.

The system is derived from the company’s GT60, a 15.6-inch gaming laptop. This means the Quadro WorkStation is a beefy system with serious performance potential. It weighs in at 7.7 pounds and is up to 1.8 inches thick. The emphasis is on work instead of mobility.

Graphics performance from the GPU should be roughly equivalent to a GT 650M. That puts the system behind the pace of the standard GT60, which is equipped with a GTX 670M. The performance gap is compensated by Quadro drivers optimized for 3D design software. It’s a common trade. Raw performance is lost in exchange for stability and driver support.

The laptop’s gaming roots show through in standard features like premium speakers, a Killer-brand network card, and a multi-color backlit keyboard. These extras are joined by three USB 3.0 ports, one USB 2.0 port, and HDMI 1.4. A Blu-ray read/burn drive and a 750GB mechanical hard drive are included, but solid-state storage is not available at launch.

Consumers and professionals will have to pay $2,099 to grab the Quadro WorkStation. Though that seems like a lot, some mobile workstations carry similar price tags while boasting less impressive graphics. MSI’s offering at first glance appears to be a value alternative. 


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Samsung ups the ante with Intel, plans for Tizen smartphones

Tizen, the magical cross-platform, open-source OS, hopes to reign as king in the world of Linux, and Samsung has just upped the ante for the OS with plans for smartphones in 2013.

While we’ve known and loved Linux flavors of all shapes and sizes for years, there has yet to be a truly multi-platform and open-ended platform quite like Tizen. The multi-platform Linux experience, backed by both Intel and the Linux Foundation, is now also getting the green light from South Korean manufacturer Samsung, and promises to be the one Linux distro to rule them all. Samsung is planning to release several Tizen devices this year.

“We plan to release new, competitive Tizen devices within this year and will keep expanding the lineup depending on market conditions,” a representative of Samsung told Bloomberg today.

While Google’s Android continues to be a favorite among smartphone owners everywhere, Tizen promises to be like nothing you’ve seen yet by offering a 100% open-source platform for anything from smartphones to GPSes, TVs and computers. The entire platform will be seamless across the dozens of devices you own, and now with the support of hardware heavyweights like Intel and Samsung, it’s sure to be something worth seeing once it hits high gear in late 2013. The project is the culmination of years of partnership among the many companies that make up the Linux alliance, and may very well change how we look at consumer electronics forever.

Tizen doesn’t debut on the consumer shelf for probably another few months, and will make its way to Japan before stopping off in America. Between Android’s Jelly Bean, Canonical’s Ubuntu OS, and Tizen, it looks like Linux is getting more love than ever in the world of consumer electronics – but which one will truly reign as king in the coming months? 

Oh, and did we mention Tizen can run Andoid apps?


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Sony patent describes tech that will block used games on PlayStation 4

sony orbis

Even though the video game industry is relying more and more on digital distribution, rumors suggest that the PlayStation 4 will still use discs for games. There will be one change, though: Players may not be able to play used games.

In the past few months, the rumor mill surrounding Sony’s next video game console has largely churned out details about the device’s architecture. Industry sources and prognosticators have turned their eyes towards the horsepower in the PlayStation 4, or Orbis if unnamed developers are to be believed about its name. At the beginning of the year, though, the rumors focused on what games Sony’s machine would play, not what they’ll look and sound like. The consensus then: Sony was trying to find a way to block used games from working on the console. Now a newly published Sony patent hints at how the next PlayStation will keep you from playing second hand games.

Sony’s patent, filed in September and published Thursday, describes the “Electronic Content Processing System and Use Permission Apparatus.” Here’s what it’s for:

“According to the present embodiment, realized is the electronic content processing system that reliably restricts the use of electronic content dealt in the second-hand markets,” reads the patent, “As a result, the dealing of electronic content in the second-hand markets is suppressed, which in turn supports the redistribution of part of proceeds from sales of the electronic content to the developers. Though in the following description a game application (AP) is exemplified as the electronic content, the present embodiment is similarly applicable to various kinds of electronic content such as an office suite, images, and music content.”

The technology described would not just block the use of many used game discs in a Sony console, it might even prevent players from bringing a game over to a friend’s house to play, because it would marry each individual game a user ID like a PlayStation Network account or even the RF identification in a specific console. In the case of a user ID, you would have to sign in each time you used the game disc in a new machine. In the case of an RF link, you simply couldn’t use the game on another machine.

If this seems impossible because it’s incredibly user unfriendly, remember that Sony is no stranger to such policies. The PS Vita is a prime example. Each Vita memory card, expensive proprietary technology on its own, can only be tied to a single PlayStation Network ID. Many Vita games like Uncharted: Golden Abyss, require a memory card to even function. If two people are going to share a Vita, they need multiple memory cards. This patent is a logical next step.

Source: NeoGAF


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Introducing Yet Another Unique iPhone Gaming Case, the WynCase

Not too long ago we covered news about Flipside, a unique iPhone case that also doubled as a gaming controller. Now it seems another similar effort has hit Kickstarter, this time under the name “WynCase”.

While also a unique design, the WynCase is quite a bit different from the Flipside case, and not just because of the looks. The WynCase doesn’t use Bluetooth for connectivity, instead covering a small portion of the screen of older iPhones in order to transmit touch signals whenever you press certain buttons.

Keep in mind that it doesn’t work quite right with the iPhone 5 from the sounds of it, though.

As far as the design itself is concerned, the WynCase has a minimalist approach that certainly looks like it belongs next to official Apple products. Once they start shipping officially, the case is said to cost around $35, but if you pledge early you can reserve one for just $30.

What do you think of the WynCase, like it or not?



Source : mobilemag[dot]com

Huawei Ascend G330 review

Huawei Ascend G330 review

Huawei had a big winner on its hands in the form of the Ascend G300, a phone launched back in the spring of 2012 exclusively through Vodafone in the UK.

Arriving at just under £100 when bought alongside a PAYG SIM card, it offered a surprisingly well made phone with a decent 4" display.

It quickly gained a huge following among those looking for decent Android performance on a budget, replacing the Orange San Francisco as the top choice for those looking for a great combination of power, style and a price tag substantially less than today's high-end models.

Huawei Ascend G330 review

Now Huawei's looking to repeat the trick with the Ascend G330. It's not an entirely new phone, but you get a faster, dual-core processor and a slight external redesign that dumps the G300's silvery style for a more traditional all black approach.

It's still a nice, weighty little phone, with Huawei doing a good job of making a 4" display fit the hand well. It's not what you'd call stylish, though, with Huawei seemingly intent on cloning the cheaper Samsung models of a couple of years ago.

Huawei Ascend G330 review

The display's a high point, though. It's bright and sharp and offers the same 480x800 resolution as the old Ascend G300. Icon text is pretty clean and crisp, plus it's perfectly usable outdoors if you stick the brightness up to full whack.

Huawei's also beefed up the camera spec by a factor of two, adding a front-facing camera along the top edge of the G330. That's the telltale sensor there beside the Huawei logo.

Huawei Ascend G330 review

The G330 also comes with a proximity sensor in the front to deactivate the display when you're on a call, plus a sensor to adjust the display's brightness automatically.

Button and hole location is unchanged on the Ascend G330, so you won't require lengthy rehabilitation should you be upgrading. The 3.5mm jack and a nice, chunky, easily locatable power button are on the top edge with the USB connector on the bottom, plus the volume up/down toggles on the left.

Huawei Ascend G330 review

Android fans will be pleased to see a normal SIM slot and a micro-SD card hole beneath the G330's back cover, which is a relatively flimsy and bendy plastic affair.

At least it's easy to lever off, though, with even the most chewed of finger nails able to fit under the slot on the top edge and pop the case open.

Huawei Ascend G330 review

The G330 is a nice phone to hold. The rubberised back is grippier than the slippery silvery finish of the G300, making it feel a little more glued to your fingers. Build quality is mixed.

The display's solid, smooth and responsive, as are the three capacitive buttons, but it tends to creak a bit when you're pressing the power and volume buttons.

It's a little bit bland and there's nothing to love or get excited about, but for £10 a month you can't really expect glassy backs and spangles and a chassis built by robots on the International Space Station. It's all about what it can do internally.


Source : techradar[dot]com

Samsung introduces two new Series 7 computers in advance of CES

Prior to the big showdown in Las Vegas, Samsung has announced the release of the Series 7 Chronos and the Series 7 Ultra laptops.

Ahead of its appearance at CES 2013, Samsung unveiled two new additions to its Series 7 line of PCs: the Series 7 Chronos, and a new Series 7 Ultra. The goal of the Series 7 line, according to the company, is to offer a combination of mobility and fit for consumers’ lifestyles. David Song, Samsung Electronics’ senior vice president of IT and mobile communications, said the new PCs are indicative of the direction Samsung is taking its computers in 2013. 

The Chronos offers a thinner and lighter form factor than past models, with a chassis less than an inch thick and weighing in at a shade over 5 pounds. It offers a new software called RAMaccelerator that can maximize performance and increase browsing and app speeds by 150 percent. The Intel Core i7 processor can hold up to 16GB of memory, and the machine can have up to 1TB of storage. Chronos has 10-finger touch capabilities so that the owner can interact directly with the screen as well as navigate by trackpad. The 15.6-inch screen has a 1920 x 1080 resolution, and the laptop is supported by dedicated 2GB external graphics. You can also expect 11 hours of battery life. 

The new Ultra is the first of its kind in Samsung’s Series 7 line. The owner can opt for an Intel Core i5 or i7 processor with up to 16GB of RAM. Like the Chronos, the Ultra can be equipped with ten-finger touch capability. The touch controls add an extra fraction to the computer’s weight and dimensions, with the bulkier model clocking in at 0.7 inches and 3.6 pounds. Chronos has full 1920 x 1080 HD resolution for the 13.3-inch screen. According to the press release, Chronos was designed as a multimedia powerhouse, with a wider and brighter display than previous Samsung Ultrabooks and a viewing angle of 178 degrees. It also has the option of 4G LTE connectivity for those who want extra mobile speed, and it will supply about eight hours of battery life for working on the go. 


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Microsoft’s Xbox strikes back at Nintendo TVii with R2 acquisition

Microsoft came out on top of a bidding war between itself, Apple, and Google for control of home automation technology company R2 Studios. The purchase says a great deal about the future of the Xbox.

Microsoft continues to expand its home entertainment empire. The Xbox 360 is already positioning itself as the set top box of the future, growing its base of video and television apps at an increasing rate—Xbox Live saw 40 new entertainment apps released in December alone. Even though Windows 8 hasn’t yet connected with audiences, it’s positioned to link the world of Xbox console and PC for an all-encompassing home entertainment business. The Xbox 720 may be more than just a hub for entertainment in the home, though. Based on Microsoft’s latest corporate acquisition, it could be an interface for all home appliances.

The Wall Street Journal (via Venture Beat) reported on Thursday that Microsoft acquired the startup id8 Group R2 Studios for an undisclosed amount. The purchase ended a small scale bidding way for the company between Apple, Google, and Microsoft.

Those tech giants wanted R2 for its home automation technologies, as well as the patents related to them. Blake Krikorian, founder of streaming media tech company Slingbox, opened R2 Studios for business in 2012 moving into the realm of smartphone and tablet apps that control various appliances. R2 released just one app as an independent company, R2 Control for Creston, which turns handheld devices into remote controls for any Creston automation system. (Creston creates systems for controlling lighting, heat, etc. in homes and businesses.)

According to the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft wants R2 first and foremost for the Xbox brand, likely to enhance the nascent Xbox Smartglass. More people would probably use Xbox Smartglass if it could control their home entertainment set up and even the lights in their living room rather than just showing them an IMDB page for movies rented from Xbox Video.

Microsoft’s interest in R2 and its patents is only logical. The video game console business has already started to push beyond content. Nintendo’s new Wii U console is a prime example. The GamePad’s most innovative feature is arguably its dual service as both game controller and television remote. The combination of television control, the fledgling Nintendo TVii service unifying both streaming and live television access, and game remote gives the Wii U great prominence in a family living room. With Microsoft’s grand designs on competing (or partnering with) cable companies, R2’s tech will likely be a key component of the next Xbox. 


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Samsung Confirms it Will Release Tizen-based Smartphones in 2013

It seems that Samsung has now confirmed it is going to be releasing several handsets running on Tizen in 2013. Samsung isn’t providing much details on what the phones might look like or when they will arrive, but they do confirm that Tizen is a focus in 2013.

With Samsung doing quite well in the Android world, why branch out? A lot of it is about not being too reliant on one OS. They also are afraid that Google could start giving Motorola better treatment and offers in the near future due to the fact that Google now owns them.

The bottom line is you never know what the future will bring as so being invested in more than one path isn’t a bad thing. That’s exactly why Samsung is (sort of) supporting Windows Phone as well. It’s hard to say what Tizen will bring to the table and if anyone will even care, but it is very good news for the OS effort to have such a major player on its side.

Are you interested in Tizen? Or do you feel the mobile world is too crowded for it to stand a chance?



Source : mobilemag[dot]com

Hands-free PC control device The Leap partnering with Asus

the leap

The Leap will now come bundled with some select Asus computers, and that's only the start of the company's coming OEM announcements.

windows-8-dropcap

Less than a week into 2013, some of the most exciting technology on the market has a major announcement. Leap Motion, makers of revolutionary gesture control device The Leap, are partnering with Asus to ship PCs bundled with the gadget that allows for gesture-controlled computing.

In addition to the partnership, co-founder and CEO Michael Buckwald tells me that the company has raised a $30 million B series. He says the funding will help Leap Motion keep up with demand – of which there is plenty. “We’re in mass production right now,” he says. “We’re producing hundreds of thousands to millions of devices.”

While working on partnerships with OEMs and developers remains a clear focus, The Leap is a consumer-facing product that anyone can pre-order. “We’ve been blown away by the interest,” says Buckwald. He tells me credit cards won’t be charged until the company starts filling orders, which should be early this year.

It’s been less than a year since we were first introduced to The Leap, and there have been some small structural changes. The final unit is smaller than the one we originally saw, and it has a larger field of view. “You could be sitting in a front of a computer and anywhere you move your arms and hands, The Leap can track,” Buckwalkd tells me.

The standalone accessory is how Leap Motion is going about packaging its technology now, but the team is open to change. “We really want this to be ubiquitous and we’re focused on the peripheral as well as embedding this technology into a wide spectrum of devices,” he says, listing smartphones, tablets, and even cars as gadgets that could integrate the company’s gesture control system into their hardware.

The Windows 8 push makes The Leap – and the many competitor gesture control services hitting the market – an even more interesting, intriguing feature. PCs that use The Leap will also come with access to its app ecosystem (which is home to apps built from the ground up, as well as existing ones that are rewritten to take advantage of the hands-free system).

With CES less than a week away, we are absolutely going to see a big push in hands-free PC control – and it’s only the start. Leap Motion isn’t alone here: Elliptic Labs will be at the show demonstrating its gesture control technology that’s embedded into laptop screens, and smaller companies like Fluttr have also made headway here. Clearly, reimaging how we interact with our computers is changing, and the mouse and keyboard are being (somewhat) put on notice.

“We think the answer to what comes next is not about one sensor or about one type of input,” Buckwald says, also promising we’ll hear more OEM announcements in the near future regarding bundling and integrations. 


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

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