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Electronic Arts has taken their EA Access gaming subscription service out of beta and officially launched the product for the Xbox One.

To start, the service is available in Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, UK, and the US.

The new service will cost $5 per month or $30 per year and give access to downloadable games through "The Vault," a small but growing collection of EA games. At launch, EA Access will have just four games: FIFA 14, Madden NFL 25, Peggle 2, and Battlefield 4, with the promise of more being added in the near future.

In addition to the cheap gaming on older games, EA Access members also get 10 percent off EA games and other content including DLC and free trials of new EA games up to five days before their retail dates.

You can buy passes to EA Access on Amazon and at GameStop.

Microsoft has sent out press invites for an event in which the company will launch a new Lumia Windows Phone.

Expected to be launched is the Lumia 730, described by Microsoft devices head Stephen Elop as the company's new "selfie phone" during an internal meeting.

In the invite, there is a picture of the camera in the lettering and the invite asks press members to "Join us for more face time," once again suggesting the front-facing camera will be key.

So far, if leaked Lumia 730 pictures are to be believed, the phone will have a 5-megapixel front camera, notably larger than most current high-end phones including the Galaxy S5, iPhone 5S and HTC One.

The event is scheduled for September 4th.

Microsoft, through its newly acquired Nokia, is looking to expand their presence to the emerging markets of Asia and Africa, unveiling the new $25 Nokia 130.

The company says the 130 is "an ideal handset for first-time mobile phone buyers, or for people seeking a reliable backup phone to complement their existing smartphones." The device runs on Nokia's own Series 30 OS, not Windows Phone, so the strategy is a bit different for Microsoft than usual.

Available in China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Vietnam starting in the Q3, Microsoft says it wants a bigger piece of the "estimated" 1 billion people around the globe that do not have a mobile phone, at all. The company also says that over 300 million phones priced under $35 are sold every year.

The phone is available in single or dual-SIM models, has a microSD slot for 32GB of extra video or music, and has a 1.8-inch display (non-touch of course) with a full 9-digit keyboard and a trackpad. Most notably, the phone has 36 days of standby time, at least 10 times higher than most smartphones.

Acer has announced their latest Chrome OS notebook, the Chomebook 13, featuring some killer specs for that type of device.

The device has a 1080p display, one of just three Chromebooks to ever feature Full HD, is powered by a Nvidia Tegra K1 processor, and starts with 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage. There is also a 4GB, 32GB model available if you are willing to shell out a little more cash.

Acer has moved to an all new design, as well, which is relatively light and thin, at 3.31 pounds at 0.71 inches thick. The notebook is fanless and there are two full sized USB 3.0 ports and a full HDMI port.

Perhaps most notably is the addition of the new quad-core K1 processor, which easily beats up on other Chromebook processors in nearly all benchmark tests. The K1 also includes a fifth "ninja" core to help throttle other cores when not in use, and supports 3D rendering and improved multitasking.

The promised battery life is 11 hours, which would be the best for a Chromebook yet.

Acer's latest is $299 for base and $379 with the increased space and RAM.

Lenovo has unveiled their latest flagship smartphone, the Vibe Z2 Pro.

The phone features a massive 6-inch QHD (2500 x 1600) display (490 ppi), is powered by a Snapdragon 801 processor clocked at 2.5GHz, 3GB RAM and a full metallic premium look. The Pro also has dual-SIM capabilities, and 4G LTE support.

Around back is a 16MP camera with a BSI sensor and OIS that can handle 4K video recording.

If you were worried about battery life, don't fret, it has a 4000mAh battery.

The Z2 Pro goes on sale in September at a yet unknown price.

Source:
PhoneArena

The team over at Popcorn Time has released the latest Android beta of the software, including some sure to be well-accepted features like free VPN.

Reads the latest post:

"Beta 2.1 is out and now you all can watch movies and TV shows with free VPN sponsored by Kebrum.com!!! Awesomeness.

Get it at: http://www.popcorn-time.se

What else is new on 2.1?

Support for Android 4.0 and above
Improved, faster download speed!!!
Support for many more devices which were not supported before. If it still doesn't work on your device, report it on: http://forum.time4popcorn.eu/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1098
Smoother watching experience
Many bug fixes (that annoying search function bug? Gone!!! Take that you bugger! ;-) )
improved Chromecast support
We're here for you guys, working, improving, changing, adding awesome features!
Popcorn Forever."

Popcorn Time is affectionately known as the "Netflix of Piracy" due to its ability of letting users quickly search and find any film they want and watch it in up to 1080p quality.

Sony has joined competitors in announcing large, curved 4K HDTVs for the mass market.

The consumer electronics maker has unveiled 65 and a 75-inch S90 models, both of which are less curved than existing LG or Samsung TVs. Sony says this helps for a more immersive experience and improved viewing angles for larger groups.

Powering the TV is an UltraHD Triluminos display with Sony's own "X-tended dynamic range" for darker blacks and better brightness. The TV also has advanced HD-to-4K upscaling capabilities, active 3D and even angled speakers and subwoofers for 4.2 surround sound.

If you are into "social viewing," there is a live football mode for tweeting and photo sharing while you watch.

Priced well out of the range of the average family, the TVs are expected to cost $5000 and $7500, respectively.

Microsoft has confirmed that its Windows Phone Store now has over 300,000 apps and games with "hundreds more" being added on a daily basis.

The company hit its last milestone, 200,000, in December 2013, so the growth rate has certainly increased in the last year.

Windows Phone is still missing many of the more popular iOS and Android apps, but the gap has been closing. Both of the bigger stores have over 1 million apps and games and are priorities for developers.

If a new leak is to be believed, the upcoming Nexus 8 tablet will have awesome specs to go along with the latest Android operating system.

It has been long rumored that HTC's "Volantis"/"T1"/"Flounder" tablet is really the next Google Nexus device, and we now have alleged specs for the Volantis.

The device will have a 2560 x 1600 resolution 8.9-inch display, right in between the Nexus 7's 7-inch display and the Nexus 10's 10.1-inch display and more in line with newer high-end form factors.

Under the hood, the tablet will be powered by a 64-bit Nvidia Tegra K1 processor (which kills the competition, see our review here) and 4GB RAM. Additionally, it has an aluminum body, premium compared to the rubber and plastic of its other iterations. Volantis will launch with Android 5.0 "L"

The device's cameras will also get an upgrade, up to 1.6MP/8MP.

Pricing and availability has not been confirmed but expect $399 and a launch in October.

Samsung and Barnes & Noble have sent out a press invite for an event on August 20th in which the two companies will officially launch their co-branded Galaxy Tab 4 Nook.

The companies are holding the event at B&N's flagship Union Square retail store in NYC.

Back in June, the companies revealed they were developing the GT4Nook, with an August launch date. The company's own Nook tablets were sales failures, and last year B&N announced it was partnering with bigger OEMs to build any future Nook-based products.

There are likely to be more announcements at the event, which only generally promised "to bring together the best of both worlds."

Samsung's Galaxy Tab 4 has a 7-inch 720p display, 1.5GB RAM, a 1.2GHz quad-core processor and dual cameras.

Microsoft has selected an end-of-life date for older Internet Explorer browser versions, giving users until January 12, 2016 to use all versions before IE 11, if they want to keep up-to-date security that is.

The tech giant will no longer provide security updates for the browsers or any other tech support after the date, if you are using IE 8-10, which many corporations still use despite being heavily outdated.

In its post, Microsoft lists the reasons to update anyways, including speed, usability, security and third-party developer support. "Protection against malicious software increased from 69% on Internet Explorer 8 in 2009 to over 99% on Internet Explorer 11.," adds the company, a huge difference.

If you are unsure how to upgrade, Microsoft also created a few sites to help with the migration, including one for consumers, one for enterprise and one for developers.

Read more or get updated here.

Microsoft's hit Surface Pro 3 will be available to a lot more people in the near future.

The company has announced that the tablet will be available in 25 new nations by August 28th.

Australia, Austria, Belgium, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Korea, Luxembourg, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand and the UK will all have the tablet available by the end of the month, with most taking pre-orders starting this week.

Many of the countries will also see sales just in time for the back to school season.

Netflix has finally overcome HBO in subscriber revenue, reporting $1.146 billion in revenue for the last quarter compared to $1.41 billion for HBO.

The streaming giant has 48 million paid subscribers, and 35.1 million in the U.S.

HBO has 127 million paying subscribers in total, but that includes HBO 2, HBO Family, Cinemax and more.

Says Netflix CEO Reed Hastings: "Minor milestone: last quarter we passed HBO is subscriber revenue ($1.146B vs $1.141B). They still kick our ass in profits and Emmy's, but we are making progress. HBO rocks, and we are honored to be in the same league. (yes, I loved Silicon Valley and yes it hit a little close to home.)"

Book retailer Barnes & Noble is now working with Google for same-day delivery of books in some metro areas including Manhattan in New York, West L.A. and San Francisco.

Market leader Amazon offers local delivery in some areas, and now B&N (with some help from a tech giant), is looking to challenge them with a low cost alternative.

"We think we're going to get new customers and incremental sales" through the deal says Barnes & Noble chief merchandising officer Jaime Carey. "The speed to market they are offering our customers and their customers is really incredible."

Google added: "We're excited that people in San Francisco Bay Area, West LA and Manhattan will be able to use Google Shopping Express to get same day deliveries from Barnes & Noble, joining our existing retail partners like Target, Costco and Staples."

The news comes on the heels of Amazon's expansion of their same-day delivery service, adding new locations in NYC, D.C., Philly, Dallas, Baltimore and Indianapolis. Amazon delivers much more than just books, however, at $5.99 for Prime subscribers.

For the new partnership, Google Shopping Express members get free same-day delivery and non-members pay $4.99.

According to a new report, Microsoft is working on bringing a retail store to Fifth Avenue in New York City, near the now iconic Apple "cube" on 59th and 5th.

The tech giant is negotiating a deal at 677 Fifth Ave. near 53rd St., right in the middle of a plethora of high-end luxury stores.

At 8700-square feet over two stories, the space was previously occupied by fashion brand Fendi, which has since moved on to Madison Ave. The deal will not be cheap for Microsoft, with prices topping $3000 per square foot for ground floor space on Fifth Ave.

Microsoft still has a small retail presence on the east coast, but has been expanding rapidly into metropolitan areas like Boston, New York and Philadelphia. Microsoft only has one other retail store in Manhattan.