News written by Andre Yoskowitz (October, 2014)

According to new reports, Android co-founder Andy Rubin is preparing to leave Google and his current role as head of the company's robotics division.

Rubin is moving on to a found an incubator for hardware startups and his position will be filled by Google research scientist James Kuffner.

Google CEO Larry Page thanked Rubin for his time with the company, stating "I want to wish Andy all the best with what's next. With Android he created something truly remarkable-with a billion plus happy users. Thank you."

The high-ranking exec joined the company in 2005 when Google acquired Android. Before Android, Rubin worked with Danger (remember the Sidekick) before it was killed by Microsoft and also at Apple and WebTV (also acquired my Microsoft).

Rubin had been rumored to be leaving the company for the last couple of years, but has always denied doing so.

The Amazon Fire Phone was and remains a disaster for Amazon, and the company finally confirmed it by taking a $170 million loss in the last quarter.

Company senior vice president of devices David Limp has admitted this week that the device was mispriced. "We didn't get the price right," Limp says. "I think people come to expect a great value, and we sort of mismatched expectations. We thought we had it right. But we're also willing to say, 'we missed.' And so we corrected."

When the device launched, Amazon stuck to standard industry pricing, selling its base model phone for $199 with two-year contract, which it also foolishly made an AT&T exclusive. Within two months, in an effort to move stock, Amazon dropped the price to just 99 cents with contract.

Despite the price drop and significant OS updates since launch, Limp says the company still has $83 million in surplus unsold phones, a huge amount of excess inventory for a phone that is still having issues selling.

About 9 months after the company revealed its surprise acquisition of the smartphone and telecommunications equipment maker Motorola Mobility, Lenovo says the deal has cleared all regulatory hurdles and Motorola is "now a Lenovo company."

The deal was for $2.91 billion, a fraction of the $12.5 billion Google paid for the company and its patents in 2012. Google got to keep the patents and with them they have a formidable defense against Apple and others, so it is clear that they did not really care for the hardware business, at all.

Adds Motorola:

Today, Motorola Mobility becomes part of the Lenovo family of companies, and we are thrilled.

Over the past two years we have transformed Motorola by focusing on what matters most -- consumers. We've made huge strides in bringing the mobile Internet to millions of people around the world and improving their lives through exceptional technology, experiences and value. While we're proud of the progress we've made, we recognize that there is still much more we can achieve -- in innovation, reach and impact.

In Lenovo we have a partner that shares our mission and that brings global scale, a diverse product portfolio and a track record of seizing strategic opportunities and making the most of them. Together we will go farther, faster. With an impressive portfolio of smartphones, wearables and PCs, our two companies will be uniquely positioned to push the boundaries of choice and value, and bring exciting new experiences to people everywhere.

According to research firm IDC, Chinese smartphone startup Xiaomi is now the world's third largest smartphone maker - an incredible leap for a company that was founded just four years ago in 2010.

Thanks to sales of its new high-end Mi4 device, the OEM was able to jump ahead of Lenovo and LG, which are now tied for fourth. Samsung, even with falling sales, remains the clear leader followed by Apple, and both will be hard to pass.

Xiaomi has a massive presence in Asian nations, most especially China, but has a near 0 percent share everywhere else. The company's devices are not officially available in Western Europe nor North America, at least as of yet.

"Despite rumors of a slowing market, smartphone shipments continue to see record-setting volumes," said Ryan Reith, Program Director with IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker. "We've finally reached a point where most developed markets are experiencing single-digit growth while emerging markets are still growing at more than 30% collectively. In these markets, smartphone price points are making mobile computing possible where we once expected feature phones to remain dominant. This is great news for overall volumes, but the challenge has now become how to make money on devices that are quickly becoming commodity products. Outside of Apple, many are struggling to do this."

LG Display has unveiled a new 5.3-inch 1080p LCD panel that offers the narrowest bezel the world has seen yet, at just 0.7mm thin.

The company notes that the bezels are even more narrow now than a credit card, and LGD says they had to use a "Neo Edge" module processing and also "Advanced In-Cell Touch" tech.

"With the growing trend for large screen smartphones, customer demand for displays with a narrow bezel is increasing, because it enables users to enjoy the maximum use of screen area without compromising excellent grip and design," added Byeong-koo Kim, Vice President and Head of IT/Mobile Development Group at LG Display. "With this innovative product having many advantages, ranging from its narrow 0.7mm bezel and high resolution picture quality to its slim design and touch-embedded solutions, LG Display will continue to lead the growing market for large screen smartphones, meeting the expectations of customers and users by enhancing the quality of devices."

LG explains that their "Neo Edge" tech "uses an adhesive instead of double-sided tape to attach and completely seal the total area and edges of the panel's circuit board and backlight unit. Because there is no plastic guide panel to attach the panel and backlight, the Neo Edge technology helps achieve minimal bezel width, while blocking light leakage and being waterproof and dustproof."

Microsoft has announced its fitness platform today, Microsoft Health, rivaling new offerings from Apple and Google.

Reads the company's press release:

"The Microsoft Health platform includes a cloud service for consumers and the industry to store and combine health and fitness data to create powerful insights. Microsoft Health will be available for consumers from the new Microsoft Health app which launches today on Android, iOS and Windows Phone."

As you can see, Health is cross-platform, which is different from the iOS and Android-locked platforms of Microsoft's rivals, and should therefore, in theory, see a nice sizable amount of potential users.

Adds the release:

Microsoft Health will unite data from different health and fitness devices and services in a single, secure location. Once stored in Microsoft Health, you can combine the data you generate from different devices and services – steps, calories, heart rate and more – to receive powerful insights from our Intelligence Engine. At launch, our Intelligence Engine will share insights such as:

Which exercises burned the most calories during a workout
The recommended recovery time based on the intensity of a workout
The amount of restful vs. restless sleep
Over time, you will have the choice to combine your fitness data with calendar and email information from Office as well as location-based information and more. As you make more data available, the Intelligence Engine will get smarter and provide more powerful insights, such as:

Read more...

Although it has been rumored since he took over the helm of the world's biggest tech company following the passing of founder Steve Jobs, Apple CEO Tim Cook has finally confirmed he is gay, posting an encouraging article on BusinessWeek.

I will post the article here in its entirety and without comment except to say that it refreshing to see someone in power share their experiences with the hope that it helps others in the daily lives.

Says Cook:

Throughout my professional life, I've tried to maintain a basic level of privacy. I come from humble roots, and I don't seek to draw attention to myself. Apple is already one of the most closely watched companies in the world, and I like keeping the focus on our products and the incredible things our customers achieve with them.

At the same time, I believe deeply in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, who said: "Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?' " I often challenge myself with that question, and I've come to realize that my desire for personal privacy has been holding me back from doing something more important. That's what has led me to today.

Read more...

Outside of the highly-anticipated Nexus 6 (which no one can get their hands on, apparently), Motorola had another big announcement today, unveiling the Droid Turbo for Verizon.

The flagship Android device for the carrier packs high-end specs and will be available starting tomorrow.

Featuring a 5.2-inch QHD display (2560x1440 display), the device packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 quad-core processor clocked at 2.7GHz, 3GB RAM, 32GB internal storage (base model), dual cameras 2MP/21MP (including 4K recording) and a huge 3990mAH battery that should offer significant battery life even for heavy users.

At launch, the device will run Android 4.4.4 with an upgrade to Android 5.0 Lollipop in the cards in the near future.

With a two-year contract, the device will cost $199 (similar to the iPhone) or $25 per month if you use the Edge financing/early upgrade program.

Every year Google releases a new Nexus reference device and like clockwork the company has a botched launch every year, as well.

This year is no different as the company promised a 10/29 launch but did not provide a time. After the orders went live at 1:15PM (why?) the 32GB model of the phone, in midnight blue, sold out in 20 seconds to be followed by the white model in 45 seconds.

It is clear that Google has failed another launch, or has clearly not made enough units available for sale. The 64GB models still read as "coming soon" with no time frame for purchase.

Google, it is time to finally get this right and reward Nexus buyers. For the 5 people who were lucky enough to get one, the shipping time shows as 3-4 weeks.

Gaming giant Nintendo has returned to profitability this quarter thanks to strong sales of the blockbuster hit "Mario Kart 8" for the Wii U.

The quarter was so good that the company is now hopeful that it can be nicely profitable for its fiscal year for the first time in four years.

For the quarter ended September 30th, the company revealed a profit of 9.3 billion yen ($86 million) compared to a loss of 18 billion yen ($160 million) last year in the same period. A weaker yen helped contribute to the profit, added the company. The surprising quarter comes ahead of the expected good holiday quarter, which is a great sign for Nintendo.

For its fiscal year, the company forecasts a profit of 40 billion yen ($370 million), compared to a loss of almost the same amount for fiscal 2013.

Mario Kart, while being a strong seller on its own, helped push new Wii U sales, as well, with unit sales doubling year-over-year to 1.1 million. By comparison, Microsoft and Sony are selling well over 1 million units of their latest consoles, per month, but Nintendo has excitedly raised their yearly forecast for Wii U sales to 3.6 million.

Investors will be happy by the results, as well. Nintendo's shares have fallen 80 percent since their peak in 2007 on the back of the wild success of the original Wii and DS handheld.

If you liked the movie "Real Steel," the time is at hand to help a new startup company called MegaBots to build 15-feet tall, 7 ton piloted robots to duke it out, in real life.

The company has started a new Kickstarter campaign asking for $1.8 million so they can build robots for a fight to the "death" shooting paintball guns that can fire at 120 MPH.

So far, the company has built prototypes of the upper body (showing off the pilot's chair), arms, and the weapons system.

If you donate $2500, you get to pilot one of the robots in battle and if you donate the highest $10,000 you get tickets to the event and your company's logo (or your website, name, etc) placed right on the robot for advertisement. If you want to own the bot and have tons to spend, you can donate $1 million.

Read more about MegaBots here.

As they do every year, the industry trade group RIAA has submitted its list of the top 50 "rogue" piracy sites to the U.S. government, and as usual the group has taken some liberties with its verbage.

For example, the group says this year in the filing with the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) that "We must end this assault on our humanity and the misappropriation of fundamental human rights."

In addition, the group believes that many of the rogue sites believe they are operating to aid freedom of speech and government censorship, which is not true as they are still stealing other's copyrights to do so. "Some observers continue to suggest that the protection of expression is a form of censorship or restriction on fundamental freedoms, and some pirate sites cloak themselves in the language of freedom to justify themselves--sites like The Pirate Bay." added Neil Turkewitz, the RIAA's EVP. "We must end this assault on our humanity and the misappropriation of fundamental human rights. If the protection of expression is itself a restriction on freedom of expression, then we have entered a metaphysical Wonderland that stands logic on its head, and undermines core, shared global values about personhood."

In 2012, a Hong Kong court authorized to seizure of over $40 million worth of assets from bigger-than-life Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom and he's still fighting to get it back.

Early that year, the U.S. government, in conjunction with authorities in Hong Kong and New Zealand, seized the site, arrested its top executives including Dotcom, and took servers, bank accounts and other assets. At the same time, Megaupload's Hong Kong offices were raided by officers, and Dotcom's home was raided, as well, where cars and other personal assets were taken.

Currently, the $40 million is being held under restraining order, but Dotcom's legal team is trying to have those funds set aside accusing the secretary of justice in the country of not being truthful when the the application to seize was presented.

"We are applying for [the order] to be set aside because the court has misrepresented the true position," Dotcom lawyer Gerard McCoy added. "Did the secretary for justice put his cards on the table face up? This application is a clear example of the duty either being ignored or simply misunderstood."

McCoy says the prosecution withheld information during the application process, most notably that Megaupload could not even legally be served with a criminal complaint in the U.S. due to not having a U.S. mailing address. "None of this was ever brought to the attention of the judge. It was all put to one side and never raised," McCoy said. If reports are true, it took the judge less than 20 minutes to authorize the seizure after the application was submitted back then.

Google's continued practice of tweaking their search algorithm to leave out results from popular torrent sites and other warez sites has destroyed traffic to those sites and services.

Search results to popular sites like The Pirate Bay, Torrentz.eu and Kickass.to have fallen at least 45 percent in the last week, while other less known sites have seen their SEO visibility fall as much as 97 percent, effectively killing any traffic to the sites through Google.

Google started their tweaks against DMCA violators in August 2012, and began downranking sites that received high amounts of piracy-related complaints. Last year, the search giant received over 224 million DMCA takedown requests and that number is going to be much higher in 2014.

"In August 2012, we first announced that we would downrank sites for which we received a large number of valid DMCA notices," added Katherine Oyama, Google's Senior Copyright Counsel last week. "We've now refined the signal in ways we expect to visibly affect the rankings of some of the most notorious sites. This update will roll out globally starting next week."

Chinese OEM Oppo has unveiled the world's slimmest smartphone, clocking in at just 4.85mm thick.

The new Oppo R5 beats out the previous record holding Gionee Elfie S5.1, which was 5.15mm thick. Oppo is well known for pushing the envelope with its phone and the new R5 still boasts impressive specs in the small casing.

R5 owners will get a 1080p 5.2-inch display, a 64-bit Snapdragon 615 SoC (octa-core quad 2.1GHz and quad 1.5GHz), 2GB RAM, and dual 5MP/13MP cameras (both featuring f/2.0 aperture lenses). The entire phone is just 155g, has a 2000mAh battery and does include LTE support.

On the downside, there is no microSD slot, no 3.5mm headphone jack and 16GB internal storage meaning you will have to use a bundled microUSB adapter for your favorite headphones.

Oppo says the device will also feature "phase-shifting material" to ensure that internal components remain cool (just like a PC motherboard). In addition, the device runs on Android 4.4 fork Color OS 2.0, which is similar to its predecessor but includes much better gesture support and all Android upgrades.

Ready for launch in December, the device sells unlocked for $499.

Potential Xbox One owners have received a gift from Microsoft this week, with the company offering the console and select bundles at a discount.

Beginning on Sunday, November 2nd, the console will be available for $349 in the U.S., a $50 discount. The deal is extended to special edition bundles, as well, including Assassin's Creed Unity, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and Sunset Overdrive.

"Fans don't have to wait for Black Friday this year to enjoy great savings on Xbox One. We're offering our best price yet, with unprecedented choices and value, so more people can play on Xbox One this holiday," said Yusuf Mehdi, corporate vice president, Microsoft. "We're gearing up for one of our biggest holidays ever and we are thrilled to offer fans up to $150 in savings on Xbox One and some of the biggest blockbuster games of the season."

Here is the full list, which truly includes some slick deals:

Xbox One Assassin's Creed Bundle for $349* ERP and Xbox One Assassin's Creed Bundle with Kinect for $449* ERP features what is shaping up to be the biggest, most intense Assassin's Creed game to date: Assassin's Creed Unity as well as Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag on Xbox One. The Xbox One Assassin's Creed Bundle with Kinect also includes Dance Central Spotlight.

Read more...

Amazon has announced the newest addition to their streaming lineup of devices: The Fire TV Stick.

The HDMI streaming dongle will directly compete with the popular Chromecast and Roku Stick and it will cost just $39. By comparison, the Chromecast costs $35 and the Roku Stick costs $49.

Most interestingly, Prime subscribers can pre-order the streaming stick for just $19 until Wednesday making it a pretty great value at the price.

Strangely, Amazon is selling its voice-search-enabled controller (just like the one that comes with the Fire TV set-top) separately for $29.99, but if you use the company's remote control app (which is free) you can still get voice search on your mobile devices. The device comes with access to popular Amazon features like Whispersync, X-Ray and a free month of Prime if you aren't already a member.

Different from the Chromecast, the Fire TV Stick acts more like a mini set-top box and will not have "casting" ability to mirror from the page you are on.

Although unconfirmed by Samsung as of yet, it appears that the new Android 5.0 Lollipop operating system will go live for Galaxy S5 in December.

The popular flagship device should begin its update rollout earlier in December with all users getting the update by the end of the month in all regions.

Google's latest update will also see Samsung update its TouchWiz UI to match the "Material Design" features that are key to the new OS.

The dev team PanGu has announced the launch of an iOS 8.1 jailbreak app, although as of writing it is very limited.

iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad owners with iOS 8-8.1 can use the tool, but it is SSH only (and only for Windows owners) without the Cydia marketplace installed. The average consumer or casual hobbyist usually needs their jailbreaking to be automated and easy, so most will stay away from this early tool but it is an encouraging sign and hardcore fans will be using it soon.

Cydia developer saurik also noted on Reddit that the team is aware of the new exploit and is working to get the store available soon.

If you are an iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 5s, 5c, 5, 4s, iPad mini 2, 3, iPad (4th gen)/iPad Air/iPad Air 2, or last-gen iPod Touch owner with iOS 8 can try it here.

Xbox One owners now have the first full-length trailer for the upcoming live-action series "Halo: Nightfall" produced by Ridley Scott of "Alien" and "Blade Runner" fame.

Microsoft teased the series over the summer, but now we have some actual dialogue and a look at the main characters (and enemies).

The new series revolves around agent Jameson Locke who is leading an investigation into biological weapons that are targeting just humans. Halo fans will recognize Covenant soldiers and some popular weapons including the energy sword. Locke is also the protagonist in the upcoming Halo 5: Guardians.

Antsy fans will be able to stream the first episode of the series on November 10th, a day before the official release of Halo: The Master Chief Collection.

Earlier this week, Microsoft announced their latest quarterly earnings, showing an overall strong report.

Of note, the company's Surface revenue and Xbox sales grew significantly, both doubling year-over-year.

Surface revenue was up 127 percent YoY to $908 million for the fiscal Q1 2015, and Xbox console sales grew 102 percent to 2.4 million for the quarter. The Surface revenue increase should put to bed the rumors that Microsoft wants to shut down the tablets due to low sales.

"Customers are embracing our latest technologies from Surface Pro 3 and Office 365 to Azure and SQL Server," Microsoft COO Kevin Turner said in a statement. "Through great execution by our sales teams and our partners, we have been able to deliver our truly differentiated value to the marketplace."

Revenue in the Xbox division also increased by 58 percent as the Xbox One launched in 28 new nations throughout the world during the quarter. The Xbox One is clearly outmatched by the Sony PS4, which has outsold the console for 9 straight months, but the sales are still large and not expected to slow down anytime soon.

As an aside, Microsoft says they sold 9.3 million Lumia smartphones in the quarter, up just 5.6 percent YoY as the global smartphone race remains a two-horse race.

Spotify has unveiled a new "Spotify Family" plan that will allow up to four family members to share one account but keep their listening separate.

The whole family can now have their own recommendations, playlists and history and all listening habits separate from everyone else sharing the account.

Adds Spotify of the plan:

Premium for everyone. Everyone on the plan gets the full Spotify Premium experience. Listen offline. Play any song, anytime, on any device. No restrictions. No ads.

The more the merrier. Having a family can be expensive. But music doesn't have to be. With Spotify Family, you can add up to four family members to your account, and each additional user gets 50% off Spotify Premium.

No tantrums. No more fighting over what to listen to, and no more interruptions when someone else logs in and starts playing.

According to sources, Sony is preparing to slash its smartphone forecast once again, potentially a death knell for the company's turnaround efforts in the smartphone world.

If true, the company will slash its forecast from the current 43 million (for the year ended March 2015), and it will mark the third drop in the forecast since last April. The initial expectation was 50 million.

The company recently shocked investors and analysts by lowering its fiscal year earnings forecast to a loss of $2.14 billion, much higher than its original $400 million loss forecast.

Sony's latest forecast update is due to the company pulling its entry-level devices from emerging markets including China where they were complete flops. Besides being beat in the entry-level market by more popular and cheaper devices (like Xiaomi), the company cannot compete in the high-end, where Samsung and Apple continue with a duopoly.

The company confirmed Xperia devices will remain part of Sony's focus and turnaround efforts, but that they will only be high-end devices and that the company is no longer looking to take large global share, but just to stay relevant.

Apple reported their quarterly earnings today, crushing estimates in nearly all categories but especially in revenue and iPhone and Mac sales.

Thanks to the new launch of the iPhone 6 and the large iPhone 6 Plus, Apple had a strong quarter in which Apple CEO Tim Cook was even quoted as saying, "we're selling everything we make."

Overall, revenue increased to $42.12 billion, up 12 percent year-over-year, blowing out expectations of $39.85 billion. Profits were up to $8.5 billion, up 20 percent year-over-year, and also beating expectations. iPhone sales were up 16 percent year-over-year, to 39.3 million, and Macs were another big winner up 21 percent YoY to 5.52 million.

The iPad remained a drag, with sales falling 13 percent to 12.3 million as the tablet market has generally stagnated despite some innovations. iPods continued their long-standing phase out, but still saw 2.64 million in sales, down 24 percent YoY.

Likely the best news for Apple was the iPhone ASP (average selling price), which jumped to $602.92 from $561.06, suggesting a nice amount of sales of the iPhone 6 Plus, which carries a very large price tag that starts at $750.

Let's not forget that Apple also has $155 billion in cash, which by taken by itself would make the company one of the largest twenty tech companies in the world.

Activision has shown off the official launch trailer for the upcoming blockbuster smash "Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare," ahead of its global November 4th launch.

The game (via the launch post) "takes players to a future devastated by a global attack. Rising from the chaos is Atlas, a Private Military Corporation led by the cunning Jonathan Irons. With the most powerful military force in the world, Atlas has effectively become a superpower for hire. Playing as Jack Mitchell, suit up in an advanced exoskeleton and join a highly-trained unit committed to restoring order.

The exoskeleton carries over into Multiplayer, where an all-new movement system changes the way players traverse the terrain. Chain together boost actions like jump, dodge, and dash in a fast and fluid style of play. Equip all-new abilities and armaments in the revamped Create-a-Class. Earn additional weapons and gear through in-game Supply Drops, outfitting your operator in the deepest customization experience in franchise history."

In the trailer, you will also see your fair share of an evil but powerful looking Kevin Spacey.

Check out the trailer here:

Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth has announced the new monkey-themed name for the latest Ubuntu build (15.04), dubbing the operating system 'Vivid Vervet.'

Now, if you are not a huge monkey fan and have never heard of the breed (trust me, I had not), Shuttleworth explains that the Vervet is 'upstart' and 'volant' in nature, just like the new update.

Reads the founder's ever loquacious blog post: "In my favourite places, the smartest thing around is a particular kind of monkey. Vexatious at times, volant and vogie at others, a vervet gets in anywhere and delights in teasing cats and dogs alike. As the upstart monkey in this business I can think of no better mascot. And so let's launch our vicenary cycle, our verist varlet, the Vivid Vervet!"

The latest Ubuntu is set for release in April 2015.

If you want an interested read (think V from V for Vendetta), read Shuttleworth's post here.

Activision's new blockbuster "Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare" is about ready to launch and if you are a PC gamer you will need a decent rig if you want to get in the game.

Via the Steam official game page, we now have a full list of required minimums for the PC version of the game:

OS: Windows 7 64-Bit / Windows 8 64-Bit / Windows 8.1 64-Bit
Processor: Intel® CoreTM i3-530 @ 2.93 GHz / AMD PhenomTM II X4 810 @ 2.80 GHz or better
Memory: 6 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTS 450 @ 1GB / ATI® Radeon™ HD 5870 @ 1GB or better
DirectX: Version 11
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Hard Drive: 55 GB available space
Sound Card: DirectX-compatible

OnePlus' One device, the high-end $300 smartphone that has so far only been available to those with an invite from the company or from others that have purchased the phone, will soon go mainstream.

The company says pre-orders will begin next week, but with a major catch. Beginning on October 27th at 11am, the pre-order window will be only an hour long meaning you have a very short time to make sure your order gets in.

Says the company in their blog post: "We now have an exciting alternative to invites. With our pre-order system, you'll be able to place your order for the One and immediately be told the estimated shipping time. Starting today, for the seven days prior to pre-orders you will be able to arrange your shopping cart and save it just how you like it to ensure your checkout goes quickly and smoothly during the pre-orders hour. If you get an invite after submitting your pre-order, you can use it to skip the queue and get your device shipped right away."

In addition, the company will slash the prices of OnePlus One accessories during the one-hour sale, including the new JBL E1+ headphones at just $25.

Read more here.

According to multiple reports, Microsoft is preparing their fitness wearable device for release in the coming weeks.

The wearable will be a smartwatch that can also "passively track a wearer's heart rate and work across different mobile platforms."

Perhaps most importantly compared to current watches on the market, the Microsoft watch will offer battery life that should exceed two days with normal use. The top watches on the market, including the Moto 360, must be charged daily. In addition, the watch will sync with iOS, Android and Windows Phone, a huge boost for consumers that may have multiple devices with multiple operating systems. It also allows Microsoft to tap into a much bigger market of smartphone users, as Windows Phone remains a niche player.

Sadly, it is unclear what the company will sell the device for it, or what it will be named.

Source:
Forbes

343 Industries, the team behind the new 'Halo: The Master Chief Collection,' has said that the game uses all of the space of a Blu-ray disc and will require a massive patch just to be able to play.

On day one, the patch will be over 20GB and be required before you can play the title.

Says 343 Industries Executive Producer Dan Ayoub: "From the start, our philosophy has been to give Halo fans the best possible experience and not compromise the quality or features of the collection. The result is that Halo: The Master Chief Collection will take up almost all of the usable space of a single Blu-ray (45 GB), and we will also issue a content update at launch that is estimated to be 20 GB."

If you want to get ahead of the pack, and you've pre-ordered the game, you can get started on the download.

The game is set for release November 11th in the U.S. and the UK exclusively for the Xbox One.

Streaming music service Rdio has upgraded their entire library to 320kpbs AAC for premium subscribers, says the company, but free users will also get a quality boost.

The company had previously offered their library in just 96kbps MP3 as a default, but "Unlimited" $9.99 per month subscribers can choose between 64kbps, 96kbps, 192kbps and 320kbps in the settings now. Of course, the higher bitrate will require more data usage, so mobile users will have to keep that in mind. Free users can now use up to 192kbps.

In addition to the streaming, you can also choose the bitrate for offline listening downloads.

Rdio says the update is for all users, in all nations and is available now as a free update on the Web or via the iOS App Store or Google Play.

Nintendo has announced that their popular new blockbuster "Super Smash Bros." for 3DS sold over 705,000 units in just 48 hours of sale.

The gaming giant made the announcement of Friday, and there is a good chance the game is well over 1 million given that it was released two weeks ago. Nintendo also noted that 135,000 copies were sold completely digitally via the Nintendo eShop.

As is standard with hit games, SSB helped increase console sales, as well, with 3DS handheld sales increasing 55 percent month-over-month to just over 140,000.

Nintendo is expected to have another hit on their hands when the Wii U version hits on November 21st in North America and then in December for Japan and Europe.

Over time there has been a clear convergence of Google's Android and Chrome operating systems and a new executive change seems to suggest that even more is yet to come.

Google VP of engineering for Android Hiroshi Lockheimer has now been put in charge of overseeing engineering for Chrome OS, as well.

Since 2013, both teams have been under the direction of Sundar Pichai, whose title is now SVP of Chrome, Android and apps. If Chrome OS and Android are eventually merged, it would certainly make it easier for developers, many of who have different versions of their popular apps for the different operating systems.

Sources say the change heavily suggests that Android is the future, which makes sense given the global brand awareness of Android and the operating system's recent expansion into smartwatches, TVs and car dashboards.

Thanks to new documents that have passed through the FCC, it appears that Google is working on a second-generation Chromecast, although there do not appear to be any killer new features.

In fact, a Chromecast team member posted to Reddit that "most users won't notice a difference" when the update hits. His post, in full, said: "No plans for big announcement on this one. Mostly because it will have the same features as the original and most users won't notice a difference."

While there are still many questions remaining about the hardware, but what we do know is that the device will still connect via HDMI and a microUSB cable, and will have built-in 2.4GHz 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi. Interestingly, the report does mention 5GHz Wi-Fi support, but it does not appear to have been tested yet.

In addition, the second-generation model is likely to have a slightly improved CPU or at least more RAM, but we will learn more soon.

We didn't have a set release date for the new Sony SmartWatch 3 - the first from the company to use Android Wear, but at least now the launch seems imminent.

Google has put the SmartWatch 3 up in the Google Play Store, including the price at $249 and the words "Coming Soon."

The company says the watch will work as a standalone and will also sync to your Android Wear capable smartphone for better functionality.

Sony's SmartWatch 3 has a 1.6 inch 320 x 320 LCD touch display, a stainless steel body, and IP68 dust and water-resistance. Under the hood is a quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 chip at 1.2GHz, 512MB RAM and 4GB internal storage. As is standard, the device has Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 BLE, NFC, GPS, an ambient light sensor, accelerometer, magnetometer and a gyroscope. Most importantly is the microphone which allows for voice control.Better than other current devices, the SW3 has a 420mAh battery good for 48 hours of usage. The watch is also extremely light at 38 grams.

The company has also stuck with the "athletic" look of its past smartwatches, but at that price it will likely have a hard time competing with more elegant devices like the Moto 360 and LG G Watch R.

Check out the Google Play page here.

According to Sony, the blockbuster game 'Destiny' helped move consoles, with PS4 sales tripling month-over-month.

"Destiny broke PlayStation Network sales records across several categories, taking the top spot for pre-orders, day one sales, and week one sales," added the consumer electronics giant. "One month after the game's launch, engagement among PlayStation fans continues to soar, as Destiny is the most-played title on the PlayStation 4 system with 125 million hours of gameplay."

Without providing figures, Sony says PS4 had its biggest month of the year in September, and it remained the top console in the U.S. although the Xbox One also likely saw a boost from the game.

'Destiny' came with exclusive branding for PS4 fans, including exclusive features and Sony is also offering a Destiny bundle that includes a white PS4 and dual shock controller.

CBS has launched their own subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service, dubbed CBS All Access.

All Access costs $5.99 per month and will offer thousands of episodes of popular CBS shows, include back catalogs. Current season shows will have the episodes available the day after they air, and some shows will have past seasons. In addition, there is a library of "classic CBS series" and local CBS stations can be live streamed in 14 metro markets.

CBS says the service will be available through all major digital platforms, and will also be available on desktops and via mobile apps. CBS CEO Leslie Moonves added: "CBS All Access is another key step in the company's long-standing strategy of monetizing our local and national content in the ways that viewers want it."

The service will "complement" CBS's offerings on other streaming services, like Netflix, and the company also admits that the service is certainly not for everyone. "If you are interested in a large bundle of channels that has a lot of various things in it, you may not be a subscriber to this service. But if you're deeply interested in one, two or many of our shows, getting our content outside of your home or buying earlier access to our content on mobile devices, then you're one of our superfans and you're going to convert," added the media giant.

Not one to be outdone by rival Marvel, DC Comics has announced 10 new superhero films over the next 5 years, with the goal of creating an interconnected universe for their popular characters.

Marvel's Cinematic Universe has brought an almost overwhelming amount of films in the past half decade, with no end in sight.

Here is DC's lineup

2016: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (Batfleck, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman and the Suicide Squad)
2017: Wonder Woman and Justice League Part One
2018: The Flash and Aquaman
2019: Shazam and Justice League Part Two
2020: Cyborg and Green Lantern

Yesterday, Google unveiled their new line of Nexus devices: The 6 smartphone, the 9 tablet and the Nexus Player for streaming media.

The search engine giant has also revealed the first official ads for the devices, keeping with the new "tag lines" for each individual hardware. The giant Nexus 6 smartphone will give consumers "space to explore" while the Nexus 9 was built for "movers and makers." The Nexus Player is "entertainment tailored for you."

Google will make the Nexus Player and Nexus 9 available for pre-order tomorrow, followed by the Nexus 6 on October 29th. Read more about each device at our dedicated posts: Nexus Player, Nexus 9 and Nexus 6

According to Netflix, streaming subscribers will soon have access to every episode of "Friends."

The popular show, which ended in 2004 after a 10 year run on NBC, followed a group of friends living in "NYC" and turned actors like Jennifer Aniston and Courtney Cox into household names.

Netflix says the episodes will be made available starting on January 1, 2015.

Earlier today, Google introduced its Android 5.0 Lollipop operating system, to be released soon on the new Nexus 6 and Nexus 9.

Motorola, a close partner of Google, was the first to announce which ones of their devices will get the update.

The devices are as follows:

It's finally happened.

Time Warner, parent company of HBO, has confirmed that the popular movie and show channel will offered as a standalone web-only streaming service starting next year, allowing cable cutters to get access without needing a cable/satellite TV subscription.

HBO CEO Richard Plepler said the company is preparing to launch a "standalone, over the top" version of HBO in 2015, but left consumers with little other details.

Reads the press statement: "So, in 2015, we will launch a stand-alone, over-the-top, HBO service in the United States. We will work with our current partners. And, we will explore models with new partners. All in, there are 80 million homes that do not have HBO and we will use all means at our disposal to go after them."

Currently, HBO Go allows mobile, set-top and computers users to stream the popular original content and movies anywhere but it also requires them to have an HBO channel subscription. Having a premium channel subscription also means having a monthly TV package, which is never cheap.

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings commented on the news, saying that HBO Go going standalone was "inevitable" and will not affect the streaming service's booming content library.

Android L is finally here, officially coined as Android 5.0 Lollipop.

The updated operating system has been long-awaited, ever since Google offered an in-depth preview of the new "Material Design" features at its I/O event over the summer. As always, Nexus owners will get the update first, and this includes the new Nexus 6 and 9, as well as the older Nexus 4, 5, 7, 10 and Google Play Edition devices.

Material Design is Google's way of unifying the operating system across phones, tablets, TV, and smartwatches and visually the interface has a cleaner more bold design, better colors, better animations, better multitasking abilities and better voice and gesture support.

Although it was relatively easy to do so before, Google says Lollipop will allow songs, photos, apps and recent searches to be seamlessly and effortlessly synced between all of your Android devices. The lock screen can be customized "so only certain people and notifications get through. When it's important, respond directly from your lockscreen." This is a great feature especially if you are working, and those emails from retailers can wait until later.

The dialer has been revamped, a much needed fix from Android 4.4 where it just frankly did not work well. Google says a new battery saver mode will give you 90 more minutes when you need it most, and Google has also activated multiple user accounts and guest user modes. From a security standpoint, you can now lock the device with a trusted paired device, like your watch and Android comes with a full kill switch, making the phone useless to thieves. Google has implemented "Factory Reset Protection," which requires a password before it can be reset, by anyone. When paired with remote lock and remote wipe, the phone is a brick when stolen. Additionally, as expected, Android L has full encryption by default, just like Apple's latest.

Google kept the hits coming today after announcing their new flagship tablet and smartphone, introducing a streaming set-top box that aims right at the heart of Amazon's Fire TV.

The new Nexus Player is built by partner Asus and will give Google ecosystem fans a chance to stream their favorite content, run Android apps and play Android-based games. Just like the Fire TV, Google's latest includes a remote with a built-in mic for voice control and search, and an optional $39 controller allows you to play hundreds of games on the big screen.

Perhaps most importantly, the device is Google Cast-ready, meaning you can mirror your desktop and "cast" movies and apps to the big screen from your mobile or computer. The device runs on Android TV, the first device to use the operating system first confirmed back at the Google I/O event in June.

Most of the standard apps you'd expect are available like Netflix, Hulu Plus and Plex but HBO Go is notably absent just like it is on Amazon's box.

The little, round device is also pretty powerful with a 64-bit 1.8GHz quad-core Intel Atom processor, 1GB RAM, 8GB of internal storage and Imagination PowerVR Series 6 graphics. It connects via HDMI for 1080p picture, and has built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The set-top costs $99 and goes on pre-order October 17th with a launch date on November 3rd.

The largest of the trio of devices unveiled today by Google is the new Nexus 9 tablet, built by HTC.

HTC, which has struggled to make a hit Android device in the past years, has been given the reigns on Google's latest tablet, an 8.9-inch device that will fit snugly between the company's 7-inch and 10-inch models from 2013.

Somewhat strangely, the 8.9-in. IPS LCD display will have a 2048-x-1536 resolution (4:3 aspect ratio) which Google says is part of the company's "new focus on productivity." Under the hood is the crazy powerful Tegra K1 64-bit processor, and 2GB RAM. Having tested the K1 on the Nvidia gaming tablet, I can tell you that the processor flies and is very impressive.

HTC has added dual front-facing stereo speakers for improved audio playback, and added their own BoomSound audio software enhancements. The 6700 mAh battery should give you 9.5 hours of active use, lower than the Retina iPad Mini but much improved from the Nexus 7.

Running on the new Android 5.0 Lollipop and all its features, Google has included a "tap to wake" option that was seen in the past on LG's tablets as 'Knock On." You have to tap the screen twice to turn on the display without needing to hit the power button.

Google took the wrapping off their latest flagship device: the Nexus 6 built by Motorola.

Although most of its specs and even its design had been leaked in the past weeks, Google and Motorola still had a few tricks in store for what should easily be the most powerful smartphone ever created.

First, to the specs. The Nexus 6 features a massive 5.96" 1440x2560 display (493 ppi), nearly an inch larger than the Nexus 5, and is powered by the top of the line quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 CPU clocked at 2.7 GHz and an Adreno 420 GPU and 3GB RAM.

A huge 3220 mAh battery should give you juice for the day but Motorola has taken it a step further by including a Motorola Turbo Charger which promises to give you 6 hours of battery life with just a 15 minute charge.

Google has upgraded the camera from its predecessor Nexus, as well, going with the 13 MP + OIS + HDR+ camera found on the latest Moto X. For sound, Moto has added dual front-facing stereo speakers for much improved music and speaker phone playback. The design is similar to the Moto X and the colors available at launch are midnight blue and white.

Of course, the Nexus 6 will launch with the new Android 5.0 Lollipop with Material Design, for which we will have dedicated article up tonight.

Evan Blass, of the now retired @Evleaks Twitter account, has posted a supposed image of the upcoming Google Nexus 6.

The Motorola built Android reference device is expected to have a giant 5.92-inch QHD display and the image shows off much of what we have heard in the past few days about the device.

In the image, we see a slate metal band and the volume rocker and power buttons have been moved to midway down the device to make sure that people can actually use one hand to turn off their screen. The device is also running Android L, which is expected to launch the same day as the new phone.

Although there have been zero official confirmations for a release date, the Nexus 6 smartphone and Nexus 9 tablet are expected to launch as soon as next Tuesday.

Not known for his subtlety, T-Mobile U.S. CEO John Legere has weighed in on Apple's recent 'Bendgate' scandal in which a handful of consumers complained that the new iPhone 6/6+ could be bent rather easily.

The scandal went viral although many had a hard time replicating the "bending" with normal use. Legere did not mince words, claiming that "bendgate" is utter "horse sh**."

He then went on to add: "The video of the guy that's [intentionally bending the iPhone 6 Plus]--and if you could have seen his face, he probably would have been purple. The thing moves a little bit? Are you s---ting me? I mean, when was the last time you took any other...this is an amazing supercomputer in your hand. What the f--- are you putting it in your pants and sitting on it for?"

Here is Legere's full video from his speech at GeekWire Summit 2014:

French startup carrier Iliad Group has ended their plans to try to acquire T-Mobile US.

In July, the carrier submitted an offer to become majority shareholder of the U.S.' fourth-largest wireless carrier, but was rejected outright by T-Mobile's board. Besides having a relatively inexperienced team, there were also questions about how Iliad could raise the funds necessary to acquire the stake.

Iliad says T-Mobile would not even entertain any new offers:

At the end of July 2014, Iliad confirmed its interest in the US market and that it had submitted to the T-Mobile US board of directors an indicative offer to purchase a 56.6% stake in the company. This offer was rejected by the T-Mobile US board despite the significant premium offered.

Following this offer rejection, Iliad put in place a consortium with two leading private equity funds and Tier-1 international banks allowing it to improve significantly the terms of its offer by enhancing the cash amount and increasing the share of T-Mobile US' capital to be acquired from 56.6% to 67%.

This new offer, at about USD 36 per share (cash + share of value creation), would have fitted into Iliad Group's strict financial policy in terms of indebtedness and dilution. Iliad had the ambition to accelerate T-Mobile US' transformation, notably by saving more than USD 2 billion of cost annually. This transaction would have created significant value for both Iliad's and T-Mobile US' shareholders.

Sony has released the first trailer for the PlayStation Plus's exclusive original series, entitled "Powers."

Powers "tells the story of homicide detectives Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim, who are ordinary detectives working on cases that just so happen to involve people with extraordinary powers. As we speak, the show is filming in Atlanta under the showrunning genius of Charlie Huston, the critically acclaimed crime novelist" reads the PS blog.

The drama is based on a graphic novel of the same name.

Netflix has been incredibly successful with their original programming while Microsoft has failed to create a memorable show for the Xbox. It will be interesting to see how Sony fairs, but given their fanbase there seems to be an above average chance of success.

Microsoft has announced that over 1 million consumers have registered to be part of the Windows Insider program that allows for earlier beta testing of the upcoming Windows 10 operating system.

Says the software giant: "Over the weekend, we hit 1 million registrants for the Windows Insider Program. That equates to a lot of people using the Windows 10 Technical Preview and sending us feedback. How much feedback? Over 200,000 pieces of user-initiated feedback have been submitted to us via the Windows Feedback app from Windows Insiders like you."

Of course, this doesn't necessarily equate to 1 million users actually downloading the OS to test, but Microsoft's Joe Belfiore says a significant portion have. Of note, 36 percent of users have tried the OS's Technical Preview in a virtual machine, while the rest have actually installed it on a hard drive.

Many of the testers are using the OS for more than just a simple test here and there, with 68 percent launching at least 7 apps per day and 25 percent launching at least 26 apps per day.

The team behind the popular Popcorn Time software has returned with a vengeance, just days after their domain was taken down.

According to the team, the domain was taken down due to a legal investigation in Belgium, without any prior notice.

Reads the email from the team:

THIS WILL NOT BRING POPCORN TIME DOWN!! We are writing you this to tell you that we are back with a new domain:

http://popcorn-time.se/

And to send a message to those who are trying to take us down, that not only will Popcorn Time live forever (!!!) but it will, as we promised all along, change the world of online movie watching and will make anonymity an inseparable part of this world.

This is our vision, and our fulfilling this vision after this attack, will be the sweetest revenge of all.

This is only the beginning for us. It's not over till the fat lady sings and there are no fat ladies around here!!!

The Raspberry Pi continues its success, selling scale that was never expected by its founding team when the computer board went on sale in 2012.

Sales are now in excess of 3.8 million, with the microcomputer expected to hit 4 million sales before the end of the year. The Pi Foundation said in 2012 that they did not expect to sell over 10,000 boards during the lifetime of the microcomputer, so the sales are incredible and ongoing.

Over the summer, the company upgraded the board for the first time in years, releasing the B+, adding more USB ports and expanding the amount of GPIO pins. The RAM was also increased.

Netflix has confirmed that subscribers that want access to 4K streaming content will have to pay $11.99 per month for their subscription, a large increase from the standard pricing.

Subscribers who signed up before May 9th, 2014 pay $7.99 per month for access to the streaming catalog including HD, while those who signed up after pay $8.99. If you were already signed up for 4K, you will be grandfathered in until August 12th, 2016.

Netflix has the most 4K content available to consumers, and recently just added the hit show The Blacklist and the kid-friendly Smurfs 2 to the list. What else is great about the plan is it allows 4 devices to play simultaneously, compared to just 2 for the standard plan.

Currently, the company requires you to have a minimum of 25 Mbps download speed, and a 4K TV from a limited list from Samsung, LG, Sony, and Vizio. The content may not be worth the extra $4 to some, as the only content available now are Breaking Bad, the latest season of original series House of Cards, Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters 2, a nature documentary and the aforementioned Blacklist and The Smurfs 2.

(Pic via FPHD)

As always, if we see a decent deal we like to post it here for our readers, and once again it looks like the Sony PlayStation 4 is on sale ahead of the holidays.

Available through BuyDig via eBay (meaning possibly no sales tax for some states), the console is available for $360, discounted off its standard $399 price tag.

The console remains the most popular of the current-gen, beating out rival Microsoft Xbox One on a monthly basis.

Check out the deal here: eBay

Google has launched a new Chromebooks for Work subscription service for enterprises that want to use the Chrome OS-based Internet-connected notebooks and also receive access to Google's Chrome OS management features and technical support.

There are a couple of different options for businesses looking for the management features. You can either pay $150 upfront for access, or you can choose to subscribe for $50 per year per device. If a business has a longer-term (3-5 years) replacement cycle, the upfront payment option could work best, although you cannot transfer licenses to any other Chrome OS device except one of the same model. The subscription allows you to transfer the license to any Chrome OS device.

As expected, the annual licensing is only available for Chrome for Work customers, and not schools or other educational institutions.

Crunch also explained some of the new features of the enterprise support. "The most important new feature for many of the businesses that want to adopt Chromebooks is likely support for single sign-on. With this, enterprises can use their existing sign-on service like CA SiteMinder, Microsoft AD FS, Okta, Ping Identity, SecureAuth, and SimpleSAMLphp (basically, services that use the SAML standard) to allow their employees to log in to their Chromebooks now. With this update, businesses can now also easily provision their devices with client certificates for accessing 802.1X EAP-TLS wireless networks and mutual TLS-protected web resources. Admins can use Google's management console to manage these certificates and distribute them to their users. Aruba Networks, Cloudpath Networks and Aerohive Networks have already implemented these features."

New Google head of social media Dave Besbris has denounced rumors that Google+ could be getting downsized in light of the abrupt departure of former boss Vic Gundotra.

"We're the largest we've ever been," Besbris said. "We're actually very happy with the progress of Google+, [Larry Page] said this at the time that Vic transitioned that he's going to continue working on building this stuff, that he's very happy with it. The company is behind it."

The interview is longer and has some nice tidbits, but mainly, Besbris has made it clear that there are "pre-conceived notions" about the social network that Google is fighting to remove. In the past, Google forced users to sign up for Google+ just to be able to access more important services (like Gmail, Drive, etc) but now "I only want people to use the software when they want to use the software," added Besbris.

Google+ remains a requirement for commenting on YouTube videos, but you no longer need to have your real name attached to the account. Using Hangouts also does not require Google+ anymore.

As is standard every few months, Sony has scheduled PlayStation Network maintenance in which many services will be unavailable.

In North America, the maintenance is scheduled from 10 AM to 5 PM PST on October 13 and in Europe from 6 PM BST until 1 AM BST on Tuesday, October 14.

Sony listed all the services that will be down during the maintenance time:

PlayStation Store on all devices
PlayStation Network Account Management
PlayStation Network Account Registration
Entertainment services
Online gameplay

Google will unveil their massive Nexus 6 in the coming weeks, says the WSJ, seemingly confirming weeks of rumors and leaks from Android-based media.

Built by Motorola, the Nexus 6 (codename Shamu for the giant killer whale) will have a 5.9-inch QHD screen, larger than even the iPhone 6 Plus and the Samsung Galaxy Note.

Design-wise the device will be similar to the newly released Moto X, and it will include a large 3200 mAh battery, dual 2MP/13MP cameras and will work with Motorola's turbo charging. Moto says just 15 minutes of charging will give you "8 hours" of life, although it is unclear if that means standby time.

There is little else known about the phone's specs except that it will launch with Android 5.0 Lemon Meringue Pie.

Xbox One owners who don't want the digital download - your wait is over: Minecraft is almost ready for retail shelves.

The physical disc will be available for $19.99 in stores starting November 18th, and just like with the downloadable copy, you can transfer your Xbox 360 data over to the current-gen console.

Last month, Microsoft acquired Minecraft maker Mojang for over $2 billion, promising to keep the game available on all major consoles and operating systems, and adding new Xbox One and Windows Phone versions.

According to a Mojang dev, the company was already working on the port for Windows Phone, even before the major acquisition. Tommaso Checchi tweeted some photos of the "Pocket Edition" of the game listed in the app menu of his Lumia 635. Notably, that phone only has 512MB RAM, so the game should work on all Windows Phone 8 devices.

Added the dev: "Btw, here's another reason we've been pretty busy... The port is in the first stages though. It's kind of slow now and needs optimization, so in full Mojang style the release date is "soon"™. And nobody forced/threatened us if you're wondering! Actually, we started before the whole Microsoft thing :)"

Likely, the game is a few months away, but Windows Phones and Minecraft fans have something to look forward to.

HTC has released its rumored action camera, the "Re," its first device outside of the wireless mobile arena.

The waterproof camera will rival the GoPro Hero line, and will help HTC move away from its reliance on smartphone sales, which have been weak for the company for years now, including 12 quarters of declining sales.

With its strange design and a single wide-angle lens with 16MP sensor, HTC says the device is for consumers that may not be going on as crazy adventures as GoPro users. The device also has built-in Wi-Fi for quick uploading and live streaming to YouTube through a partnership with Google.

"This is the first time we have introduced something significant beyond the smartphone, and we want to see a continuation of that," Chief Financial Officer and head of global sales Chang Chialin.

At $200, the Re is significantly more expensive than the new entry-level GoPro Hero, but also half the price of the high-end GoPro Black4. It will be available via the major U.S. carriers, Best Buy, HTC's own site and eventually through Amazon and other retailers.

E-commerce behemoth Amazon will open their first ever physical store location this holiday season.

The pop-up store will be right near the Empire State Building in New York City, in a prime tourist area for the busy holiday months.

Reports say the store will act as a "mini-warehouse, with limited inventory for same-day delivery within New York, product returns and exchanges, and pickups of online orders." This gives the potential for a customer to order in the morning and pick up their item later that same day with just a quick train ride.

Most likely, Amazon will also showcase their Kindle hardware, allowing customers to actually try them out like Apple does in-store.

One thing is clear from the reports, however: Amazon is using the store as an experiment and their is no big plan to open retail shops around the U.S. Depending on the success, their could eventually be a rollout.

Source:
WSJ

Evan Spiegel, CEO and founder of Snapchat has confirmed that the service will be getting ads in the near future.

Speaking at a summit, Spiegel said "People are going to see the first ads on Snapchat soon. We think they're pretty cool."


The ads will integrate into Snapchat's Stories feature, but users can opt out of seeing them. The ads should not show up when sending normal messages to each other. Stories is a feature that lets users send snaps to fill out event "stories" like a football game or party. It is likely that companies can find targeted stories to place ads in.

Spiegel also confirmed that the ads would not be targeted by user using personal data.

It seems that if you are a current iOS user who likes to play classic games via game emulators, your time with those games is running short.

The new update will kill the "date trick" loophole that allowed anyone to install third-party emulators and unapproved apps by rolling back the date on the iPad or iPhone.

Reads the post from GBA4iOS, a popular Game Boy emulator app that required the date trick to operate because Apple does not allow it in the App Store:

Apple, it appears, is setting their eyes on the emulators community, starting by making the now-famous 'Date Trick' completely obsolete in an upcoming update. iOS 8.1 beta was seeded to developers yesterday and it's already causing panic among some iOS emulator aficionados. It was reported to me almost immediately by a source that the date trick wasn't helping at all in installing GBA4iOS 2.0 - that's when worry started to set in and I decided to investigate.

The 'Date Trick' fuels the emulator communities nowadays. Our website, iEmulators.com, relies on this to continue distribution and updates. Without it, everything looks bleak. Without GBA4iOS 2.0, everything seems... well, not-fun. Will iOS 8.0.2 become our perpetual purgatory so that we can continue to enjoy these things?

Read more...

One of the biggest pieces of business tech news on Monday was the surprise bankruptcy of sapphire display supplier GT Advanced.

The company, which was worth $1.5 billion on Sunday night and is Apple's only sapphire crystal supplier, declared bankruptcy on Monday, catching investors off-guard. The company's stock fell 92 percent on Monday, only rebounding slightly since then. The company has a value of $175 million now, with many expecting that Apple will try to step in and help. Apple was equally as surprised as investors, at least according to their filing: "We are focused on preserving jobs in Arizona following GT's surprising decision and we will continue to work with state and local officials as we consider our next steps," read the updated regulatory filing.

However, a new report claims that Apple may have inadvertently pushed the company into bankruptcy. Reportedly, GTAT did not meet a required metric and Apple withheld the last portion of its loan to the the company. Says the report: "Apple had agreed to four prepayments to GT totaling $578 million -- contingent on meeting certain technical requirements -- to buy equipment for the facility. Apple didn't pay the final $139 million of its prepayment loans because GT didn't meet those technical milestones."

Topped by Apple and Google, the tech world once again dominated Interbrand's 'Best Global Brands' rankings.

Interbrand calculates the ratings by combining the company's "financial performance of the branded product and service," their "role in influencing customer choice" and "the strength the brand has to command a premium price or secure earnings for the company."

Apple retained the top spot with a value of $118.9 billion, followed closely by Google at $107.43 billion. Following a 21 and 15 percent rise, respectively, the list has two $100 billion companies for the first time in history.

"Apple and Google's meteoric rise to more than USD $100 billion is truly a testament to the power of brand building," said Jez Frampton, Interbrand's Global Chief Executive Officer. "These leading brands have reached new pinnacles--in terms of both their growth and in the history of Best Global Brands--by creating experiences that are seamless, contextually relevant, and increasingly based around an overarching ecosystem of integrated products and services, both physical and digital."

IBM took fourth place at $72.24 billion, followed by Microsoft at $61.15 billion. Other tech giants near the top of the list were Samsung at #7, Intel at #12, Cisco at #14 and Amazon at #15.

According to the hit or miss Taiwanese supply chain source Digitimes, Microsoft may be preparing to pull the plug on its Surface tablet line.

The sources say sales of the high-end Surface Pro 3 are not as high as the company would like as Microsoft has a hard time convincing consumers that they can replace their laptop with the tablet.

If accurate, the site says Surface Pro 3 sales may not even hit 1 million units, a key milestone that would indicate at least some viability.

In addition to the low sales, the report says Microsoft has not been "very aggressive" about Surface Pro 4 development and is more "likely to terminate" the line entirely. Following price cuts, the 2nd-generation Surface seems to be selling decently well, adds the site, although they estimate that the first and second generation tablets have combined to hit Microsoft with a $1.7 billion loss since launch in 2012.

Thanks to a leaked manual, we have specs and images of the upcoming Moto Droid Turbo, the latest in Verizon's "Droid" lineup.

The manual does not reveal all the specs, but we have enough to get a solid picture. The device runs on Android 4.4 with Moto's little helpful UI additions like Voice, Display, Assist and Connect. The smartphone has a QHD 5.2-inch display, a 21MP camera, Qi wireless charging and Turbo Charger support. In addition, the Turbo is said to have a "high-capacity long lasting battery."

It is unclear when the device is scheduled for launch, but Motorola is also expected to releases the Nexus 6 in conjunction with Google in the next week, so the month of October could be busy for the revived smartphone maker.

Last month, the company unveiled its Moto X refresh, the highlt-anticipated Moto 360 smartwatch and the cheap yet powerful unlocked Moto E.

Source:
Motofirmware

Nintendo fans rejoice: The Wii U version of 'Super Smash Bros' finally has its release date.

The console version will be released on November 21st, a couple of months after the 3DS saw its own version launch. That game has already sold 2.8 million copies.

Using a $20 adapter, the game can use classic Gamecube controllers and Nintendo is selling Smash Bros-themed GameCube controllers for $30 if you want to go all out.

The game features 36 popular Nintendo characters and a plethora of new weapons and environments.

Just a couple of weeks after the iPhone 6 (and 6 Plus) survived the highly over-exaggerated 'Bendgate,' Apple has a new problem: "Hairgate."

Users are now reporting that the device catches your beard and other hairs and pulls them out.

Supposedly, the hairs get trapped between the aluminum and glass of the devices.

Of course, this latest "scandal" is overblown and not too serious, but something to keep in mind.

Amazon has announced that The Washington Post is now available as a free app for Amazon Kindle Fire tablet owners.

CEO Jeff Bezos acquired the newspaper last year, so the move is not too surprising.

The new app was developed by a group within TWP, and will offer a curated selection of news and photos. Free and pre-loaded for Kindle Fire owners, the app will also be available as a free download for iOS and Android tablets, although you will have to pay for a monthly subscription if you are not using an Amazon device.

Bezos purchased the paper for $250 million last year, picking up a legendary news outlet that was consistently losing tons of money. Since then, readership is up 60 percent and Bezos has actually hired 100 new reporters and other staff. Many believe the content has significantly improved since the acquisition.

Source:
BusinessWeek

Plex has announced the official release of its Plex for Xbox One, the first updated personal media app for the next-gen consoles.

In addition, there is a a Plex for Xbox 360, although it is not available today but should be "soon." Plex is software that allows the streaming of videos, music and photos to a wide range of devices and is compatible with Mac, Windows 8, Linux, iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, many popular NAS devices, and others.

Plex CPO Scott Olechowski says the Xbox One platform was the most requested by fans of the service: "Plex for Xbox is an exciting milestone in our continued effort to help people enjoy their personal media, wherever they happen to keep it, on all of their screens. It also happens to be the platform most requested by Plex enthusiasts, and we have worked hard to design an experience that will delight them and Xbox fans alike."

For current Plex Pass subscribers, the apps are free but they will be available to non-subscribers for a one-time purchase price, likely at $9.99.

A few of the key features:

Your Plex Media Server makes your media library look beautiful by automatically collecting and displaying artwork, content ratings, plot summaries, and more for your media. Now, Plex for Xbox provides a new experience in your living room with a bold presentation that feels right at home on Xbox.

Jonathan D. Hall, former indicted hacker and president of Future South Technologies has confirmed that many major web properties have been infiltrated using the Shellshock vulnerability.

Shellshock was made public last month, and the bugs allow attackers to possibly gain unauthorized access to a computer system via an unpatched Unix Bash shell.

Reads Hall's post:

"Yahoo! Has been HACKED, and all your information with them is now in danger! All stemming from them not keeping up with technology and failing to patch a world-known vulnerability! This document is being released due to several high profile companies being infiltrated using the recent Shellshock vulnerability, and what I have deemed as an improper response, or lack thereof, to resolving the issue from certain key companies contacted, as well as the FBI. Amongst the affected companies are Yahoo! and Lycos, major players and names in the technology world. This breach affects ALL of us in one way or another, and it's crucial that this problem be resolved with haste. The FBI took the information down and went on their way. Yahoo! has not responded at all. I've attempted to email them, call them, and resorted to contacting Marissa Mayer directly via both email and Twitter, neither to which I have received a response as of yet. The ignoring of this issue is grossly negligent and even almost criminal. As such, I felt that for the safety of anyone using these services, it would be best to publicly disclose as much information as needed to get them moving and working towards resolving the issue before things get worse."

HP has confirmed this weekend's big rumor that it will split into two separate businesses.

The struggling PC and Printer business will remain as HP, and the faster growing corporate hardware and services business will become Hewlett-Packard Enterprise. Both companies will be public, and existing shareholders of HP will be not face any tax consequences.

This is the second re-organization for HP since Meg Whitman became CEO. In 2012, the company made printers a focus and combined the PC and printer divisions.

Whitman will remain on as CEO of Enterprise, and chairman of computer and printer while head of PC/Printer operation Dion Weisler will be CEO.

"Our work during the past three years has significantly strengthened our core businesses to the point where we can more aggressively go after the opportunities created by a rapidly changing market," said Meg Whitman. "The decision to separate into two market-leading companies underscores our commitment to the turnaround plan. It will provide each new company with the independence, focus, financial resources, and flexibility they need to adapt quickly to market and customer dynamics, while generating long-term value for shareholders. In short, by transitioning now from one HP to two new companies, created out of our successful turnaround efforts, we will be in an even better position to compete in the market, support our customers and partners, and deliver maximum value to our shareholders."

According to sources, Yahoo plans to use some if its Alibaba proceeds to buy a stake in popular messaging app Snapchat.

Yahoo owns a 22 percent stake in the company valued at $46 billion (before taxes), and CEO Marissa Mayer recently confirmed the company would be selling half of its shares.

Snapchat does not make any money but will be valued at around $10 billion in its next funding round. It is unclear how big of a stake Yahoo is looking to take.

The messaging app allows you to chat with friends and also send pictures that disappear in a matter of seconds.

Source:
Reuters

Tech giant HP could be on the verge of splitting in two, says a new WSJ report, a move that could help the struggling company to better focus and re-invent itself.

The company has struggled greatly in the computer and mobile areas, but still brings in over $100 billion in revenue per year and has over 300,000 employees despite the recent announcement that 30,000 employees would be laid off in a cost cutting move.

A split would separate the struggling computer and printer businesses from its fast-growing and much more profitable corporate hardware and services operations.

Over the past few years, investors have grown louder in their call for a split of the company or a full sale of the PC and mobile businesses. The corporate services division provides computer servers, networking and data storage to businesses, a much higher margin endeavor.

After the split, current CEO Meg Whitman will become CEO of the enterprise company and stay as chairman of the PC business.

Earlier this week, Netflix announced that it had signed a deal with Adam Sandler for four feature length films that will be available first on the streaming service, skipping a theatrical release.

Sandler and his Happy Madison Productions will work on the films, which will be exclusive to Netflix and be available in all 50+ countries the service is available. Sandler says he will produce and star in the films.

The move is a huge deal for both parties, as Sandler is a big name in the Hollywood world, even though his recent films have been critically panned. Altogether, Sandler's films have a lifetime gross of over $3 billion. Netflix says Sandler's films are always incredibly popular when they are available for streaming.

"When these fine people came to me with an offer to make four movies for them, I immediately said yes for one reason and one reason only ... Netflix rhymes with Wet Chicks," Sandler said in a statement. "Let the streaming begin!!!!"

"People love Adam's films on Netflix and often watch them again and again. His appeal spans across viewers of all ages -- everybody has a favorite movie, everyone has a favorite line -- not just in the U.S. but all over the world," added Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos.

According to sources, Apple is planning a "special event" on October 16th in which the company will reveal new iPads.

Besides the updates to the iPad line, the company is also expected to show off new iMacs computers and a full launch of OS X Yosemite.

The new event will be more "laid back" than last month's iPhone release event, say the sources - meaning most likely no U2 performance this time around.

There are not likely to be any "game-changing" announcements, but a new Retina iPad Mini is expected with Touch ID, and a gold color is expected to be added to the iPad Air line, which will somehow get even thinner.

Apple needs to reverse the trend the iPad has been facing, which is stagnating sales. Last quarter, sales actually fell 9 percent year-over-year.

Redbox Instant, the streaming service built as a joint venture by Verizon and Redbox, is going the way of the dodo.

The company's service will shut down at 11:59 PM PST on Tuesday, and users can continue to stream films or use kiosk credits for the next couple of days.

In their release, the company confirmed that the streaming service was a failure, explaining that "the service is shutting down because it was not as successful as we hoped it would be. We apologize for any inconvenience and we thank you for giving us the opportunity to entertain you."

All users who have paid for a monthly subscription but did not receive a full month of service will get a full refund. Refunds will be credited on October 24th.

Redbox added that the app for your smartphone, smart TV, set-top box or game console will go inactive and then be deleted automatically from your device.

There have been quite a few rumors circulating this week that there could be a large tech merger in the near future.

Reportedly, major Yahoo investor Alternative Investment Management & Research SA sent letters to Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer and SoftBank Chairman Masayoshi Son, discussing the benefits and synchronization of the two companies as one.

SoftBank was the recent recipient of a massive windfall from its investment in Alibaba. The company invested $20 million for a 30 percent stake when the company was just getting started, a stake that is now worth about $70 billion. Yahoo can also thank Alibaba for most of its value, owning a 22 percent stake in the company valued at $46 billion (before taxes). Yahoo has little else in marketable assets, but still remains a popular portal and a popular source of content like news.

If true, the move would not be SoftBank's first foray into the American market. Last year, the company became majority shareholder of struggling wireless carrier Sprint, paying over $20 billion to do so.

SoftBank is one of the largest carriers in Japan and the company's founder and CEO is well known to be aggressively seeking acquisitions.

The team behind Popcorn Time has unveiled the latest update for the Android version of the popular software.

Updates are a bit smaller than previous releases, but many movie fans will be happy with subtitle support for TV shows, and subtitle support for Chromecast.

Says the company:

So what's new?

Subtitles support on Chromecast!!! Yes, you've all been asking nicely for a while now, we promised that it was in the works, and here it is!!! Now you can watch Popcorn Time from your Android on your TV screen with subtitles!! Woohoo :)

***DESKTOP USERS: Since Google blocked our subtitles on Chromecast solution, we've been working very hard on finding a work around which will bring back the subtitles support on Chromecast for you all. We're happy to say that we found a way to make this work and this solution will be released in a few days, so stay tuned!!

Subtitles for TV shows!!! Yes, you've all been asking nicely for a while.. ;-)

Favorites!! Mark what you want to watch so you can queue it up and watch it later!! Just click the <3 in the movie/TV show details view and it's added to your favorites list. Don't want it there anymore? Just give it a long "click" and it will be removed.

Read more...

According to a new report, Google tried to buy Cyanogen Inc, the makers of the popular and fast custom Android ROM, CyanogenMod.

Allegedly, Cyanogen's CEO said that Android boss Sundar Pichai "expressed interest in acquiring the firm" but Cyanogen declined, citing its fast growth and want for independence.

While on the surface the report makes sense, when digging deeper it doesn't really make any.

Cyanogen admits that the company is not making any real revenue, and if Google is looking to acquire for talent which is what is often done when acquiring startups - well, Google has no shortage of talented engineers. Google could want to buy Cyanogen to shut it down, but at just 1% of all Android installs, Cyanogen is hardly a scary competitor.

Most likely, Cyanogen's venture capital backers reached out to Google as they look to cash out, but it led nowhere. There have been rumors that Microsoft, Amazon and Yahoo all looked into acquiring the company, but its founders are said to have been only accepting a $1 billion valuation.

According to Bloomberg, Apple will add a gold colorway to boost iPad Air sales, and release their rumored 12.9-inch iPad Pro next year.

The iPad Air is expected to see its second-generation model unveiled this month, and gold will join silver and gray as available color options.

While nearly every product at Apple has seen growth, the iPad has seen its sales stagnate and actually decline year-over-year.

Perhaps more notably is the report states Apple will release its alleged iPad Pro, which sports a gigantic 12.9-inch display, next year.

Amazon and Disney are on the verge of settling their two-month old dispute, with new Disney movies now available again for pre-order on the e-tailer's site.

The issues were aplenty. Among the negotiations were pricing, promotion on Amazon's homepage and media pages, and which one of the companies should cover any losses that may occur if Amazon price matches a competitor's price.

As of writing, new films like "Guardians of the Galaxy" "Maleficent," "Million Dollar Arm," "Planes: Fire and Rescue" and "The 100-Foot Journey" are all available for pre-order, a welcome site for fans.

Disney is not the only major media company in a fight with Amazon. Time Warner had similar issues in May that were resolved, and the e-commerce giant has been negotiating with book publisher Hachette for over six months over ebook pricing. Amazon has limited pre-orders and slowed down delivery of the company's popular books in an effort to gain leverage. It has worked as authors have increasingly complained about their sales nose diving without Amazon on board.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has teased today that the company's upcoming "D" car will be unveiled next week, on October 9th.

Musk said nothing more than "about time to unveil the D and something else" while adding a teaser photo.

It is still unclear what the D will be, and especially what the "something else" will be, although there have been numerous rumors.

Tesla has been long rumored to be introducing a "budget sedan" or a smaller SUV, either of which can be the aforementioned D.

Netflix has announced its first original full-length feature film - a sequel to 2000's hit 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.'

Called 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend,' the feature film will be released in only IMAX theaters and on Netflix the same day. It is expected to be released where IMAX screens are available, most notably in the U.S. and China.

The film will keep its star, Michelle Yeoh, and premiere in late August, 2015.

"Fans will have unprecedented choice in how they enjoy an amazing and memorable film that combines intense action and incredible beauty," said Netflix's head of content, Ted Sarandos. "We are honored to be working with Harvey Weinstein and a world-class team of creators to bring this epic story to people all over the world and to partner with IMAX, a brand that represents the highest quality of immersive entertainment, in the distribution of this film."

The movie extends Netflix's existing relationship with The Weinstein Co., where it is already the exclusive provider of Weinstein's shows. The movie is said to have a relatively small budget of $20 million.

As a headsup for our readers, the Amazon Fire TV is still on sale, albeit for a limited time.

The e-commerce giant dropped the price last week from its standard $99 to $84, a decent price cut for the popular set-top box.

Afterdawn did a comprehensive review of the set-top earlier this year, which you can read here: Review: The powerful streaming, gaming set-top Amazon Fire TV

If you are interested in the device, check it here.

Apple has confirmed rumors and given Chinese consumers a set date for when they can get their iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

The new flagship devices will reach the Chinese mainland on October 17th, available via Apple online, retail stores and through carriers.

Both devices finally received approval to be on the TD-LTE and FDD-LTE networks in the nation.

"We are thrilled to bring iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus to our customers in China on all three carriers at launch," said Apple's CEO Tim Cook. "With support for TD-LTE and FDD-LTE, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus customers will have access to high-speed mobile networks from China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom for an incredible experience."

Pre-orders begin on October 10th, with release on the 17th.

The suggested price for the iPhone 6 is 5,288 (RMB) for the 16GB model ($860 USD), 6,088 (RMB) for the 64GB model and 6,888 (RMB) for the 128GB model ($1112 USD). The 6 Plus is even more expensive at 6,088 (RMB) for the 16GB model, 6,888 (RMB) for the 64GB model and 7,788 (RMB) for the new 128GB model ($1268).