Latest news

It appears the Walkman brand is not dead just yet.

Sony has unveiled new Walkman devices, the high-end ZX1 and the F880 series.

Both media players have 1GHz dual-core processors, 854 × 480 touchscreens, WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC, and "S-Master HX" digital amp along with HQ audio playback (192kHz/24bit) in AIFF, ALAC, FLAC and WAV. Both players run on slightly modified Android 4.1 bases and have access to the Google Play Store.

The ZX1, with its 4-inch screen, has 128GB internal storage and will be priced out of this world at 75,000 yen ($750 USD) when it launches in December.

A more budget-conscious option, the F880 has a 3.5-inch screen and 16,32,64GB options priced between 27,000 and 40,000 yen ($270-$400).

According to multiple sources, Motorola is planning the Moto DVX as a lower-cost followup to their popular Moto X flagship.

The device will be similar to the X, but only include the option for four interchangeable backplate colors as compared to the hundreds of different options available through the Moto X Moto Maker store.

Motorola's latest will be launched for lower-cost carriers, such as regional Republic Wireless, at the end of October.

Besides the lack of colors, the device is also expected to lack LTE support, and the design is expected to be "less polished."

The move follows CEO Dennis Woodside's recent comments that Moto X is a brand and there was the possibility of other devices to follow.

Toshiba has revealed their latest high-end gaming laptop, the Qosmio X75.

The device has a 17.3-inch 1080p display, a fourth generation Intel Core i7 processor, 8GB RAM, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770M discrete graphics chipset with Optimus technology and 3GB of DDR5 video memory.

For storage, the X75 has an SSD boot drive, a 1TB hybrid hard drive, and a Blu-ray Disc re-writable optical drive.

In addition, the X75 packs quad Harman Kardon speakers and UltraHD (4K) output via HDMI.

If you are a video editing professional (or even an enthusiast), Toshiba has pre-loaded Adobe Photoshop Elements 11 and Adobe Premiere Elements 11.

U.S. officials have said this week that Iran hacked or attempted to hack into unclassified Navy computers repeatedly over the past few weeks.

The officials say the attacks were brought by hackers working for the government or by groups approved by Iranian officials.

Government officials says the most recent incident was for the week starting September 15th, before a security update was put in place.

To date, Iranian-backed hacking groups have targeted U.S. banks and computer networks running energy companies. Attacking the military directly would be an escalation in the cyberwar. In the most recent case, the attackers "penetrated an unclassified computer network that is used for email and the service's internal intranet," officials added.

Fortunately, the officials said they believed that no information of significant value was stolen.

"We take these attempts seriously and work to learn lessons from every one of them," a department spokesman said.

Delta airlines has confirmed it will be distributing Microsoft Surface 2 tablets to pilots and Nokia Lumia 820 smartphones to flight attendants.

Nearly 19,000 flight attendants will receive the Windows Phone devices, and it is unclear how many pilots will receive the upcoming tablet.

Says the airline: "In less than two years, Delta cockpits will be paperless as we roll-out the Microsoft Surface 2 tablet running Windows 8.1 RT as our company-issued device. The 757/767 fleet will be the first to make the transition with the 777, 747 and MD88 as fast followers. Look for an announcement from Delta and Microsoft in the coming days about our partnership on the initiative."

Delta currently allows pilots to bring their own iPads, but it wants "current iPad Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) users to transition to a company-issued device."

French authorities have announced that they are fining Google over $400,000 for data privacy violations.

The National Commission on Computing and Freedom (CNIL) says Google has not satisfactorily responded to requests to be more upfront about how the search giant collects data from its users.

Regulators had also wanted Google to give users a chance to opt out of having their data centralized.

The CNIL said it will now launch formal sanction proceedings, and that the process could take a few months.

Google spokesman Al Verney quickly responded to the charges: "Our privacy policy respects European law and allows us to create simpler, more effective services. We have engaged fully with CNIL throughout this process and will continue to do so going forward."

The fine itself is laughable, as Google makes $400,000 in profit roughly every 20 minutes.

Microsoft has begun building its own cloud gaming service to compete with Sony's Gaikai.

The company showed off an internal prototype this week, demoing Halo 4 running from the cloud on Windows Phones and PCs.

Latency on a Windows Phone is down to just 45ms, say sources, and even better on PC.

Rival Sony will be using Gaikai streaming technology to make PSOne, PS2 and PS3 games available to owners of the upcoming PS4 and the PS Vita starting next year.

For the time being, Microsoft has stressed the service is just a prototype but it may eventually be launched for the Xbox One and other Windows devices. Microsoft's senior director of Xbox, Albert Penello, recently said in an interview that "We just have to figure out how, over time, how much does that cost to deliver, how good is the experience."

Valve has announced "a different kind of gamepad" this week, the Steam Controller.

The controller uses two circular trackpads rather than standard D-Pads or buttons.

Adds the company, "Driven by the player's thumbs, each one has a high-resolution trackpad as its base. It is also clickable, allowing the entire surface to act as a button. The trackpads allow far higher fidelity input than has previously been possible with traditional handheld controllers. Steam gamers, who are used to the input associated with PCs, will appreciate that the Steam Controller's resolution approaches that of a desktop mouse."

What Valve wants to do is make "whole genres of games that were previously only playable with a keyboard and mouse" playable in the living room. "In addition, games like first-person shooters that are designed around precise aiming within a large visual field now benefit from the trackpads' high resolution and absolute position control."

Additionally, the new controller also features "a new generation of super-precise haptic feedback, employing dual linear resonant actuators. These small, strong, weighted electro-magnets are attached to each of the dual trackpads. They are capable of delivering a wide range of force and vibration, allowing precise control over frequency, amplitude, and direction of movement."

After a year of speculation, China has officially approved plans to lift a long-standing ban on video game consoles in the nation.

The move is part of a broader plan that the State Council has approved for the free-trade zone located in the Chinese city of Shanghai.

China originally banned the consoles in 2000 mainly due to concerns over the effect of violent international games.

There is a condition of the newly approved plan, however, and that is that game developers must set up operations within the Shanghai free-trade zone.

Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft will now have a much bigger market to cater to with their next-gen consoles.

A week after the company pre-announced some parts of their quarterly earnings, the company reported another three months of heinous sales.

For the fiscal Q2 2014, BlackBerry had just $1.6 billion in revenue and reported a loss of $248 million. Revenue was down from $2.9 billion year-over-year, an almost shockingly high drop.

The company sold just 5.9 million smartphones to end users, and sadly most of them were older BlackBerry 7 devices, such as the Bold, which was released over two years ago.

Last week, BlackBerry announced it would take a writedown of nearly $1 billion due to an excess of Z10 inventory.

"We are very disappointed with our operational and financial results this quarter and have announced a series of major changes to address the competitive hardware environment and our cost structure," said CEO Thornsten Heins.

As previously rumored, Microsoft will indeed buy back your used iPhone for at least $200 in Microsoft Store credit.

To take advantage of the deal, all you have to do is "bring in your gently used iPhone 4S or iPhone 5 and get a minimum of a $200 gift card to the Microsoft store."

The company does the same for iPads, as well.

If you are looking to move away from Apple and into the world of Windows Phone, the deal could be good, especially if you have the old iPhone 4S, which is now three generations old.

The deal ends November 3rd.

HTC has announced that it will be selling back its remaining stake in headphone/audio tech company Beats Electronics.

The company will sell its remaining 25 percent stake for $265 million, making a large $85 million profit for a two year investment.

In addition, Beats will repay a $150 million promissory note, plus any accrued interest.

Two years ago, HTC took a 51 percent stake in the company for $300 million, and they began integrating the tech into their smartphones and even bundled some lower-end Beats headphones with many of their devices.

HTC, after having a number of extremely profitable years and market share growth, has collapsed, with shares falling over 90 percent since 2011. The company even warned that it may have its first quarterly loss since 2008.

In an effort to become relevant again, the company has hired Robert Downey Jr. to promote its smartphone brand through a new marketing initiative.

Netflix has announced that all subscribers will now have access to the highest quality streaming quality, 'Super HD.'

The SHD stream had previously been ISP-dependent.

As Netflix says, "this means that the great TV shows and movies on Netflix will look even better on HD screens with a higher bit rate stream, Super HD, that applies less compression to the 1080p image."

The streaming giant continued, "Netflix uses 'adaptive streaming' to dynamically adjust the video quality based on the available bandwidth. This means that the ability to receive Super HD depends on broadband quality and performance. Netflix members who subscribe to an ISP with a direct Netflix connection will get the best experience."

It is important to note that only a smaller percentage of titles even have the option of the higher quality streams.

As of this morning, Apple has pushed an OTA update to the Apple TV, adding new content.

The first app, Major League Soccer (MLS) will allow users to watch soccer games live.

In addition, Apple has added Disney Junior, which includes numerous shows aimed at kids.

Each channel will have its own fans, especially parents with younger children and sports fans. Over the last few weeks, Apple has added many new features to the device, including iTunes Radio, the Disney Channel, The Weather Channel, Vevo, and more.

Samsung has confirmed that they have region-locked the Galaxy Note 3 phablet, an extremely restrictive practice.

Being region-locked means buyers in Europe will not be able to use an American SIM when they travel (or vice versa, of course) and will have to stick with Wi-Fi or pay roaming fees.

UK retailer Clove first brought the fact to light, before Samsung confirmed the practice. Clove posted: "If you travel internationally (outside Europe) and usually insert a local SIM card when in those countries, the Note 3 will NOT be able to use the local network. It will lose all mobile connectivity with the exception of emergency calls. For example, if you travel to the USA and insert a SIM card issued in the USA, you will not be able to use the Note 3 for any voice calls, text messages and mobile data connection. It will work via a WiFi connectivity only."

Without a doubt the move is a black mark for Samsung, as there is no consumer-friendly reason to ever region lock a device, especially an unlocked one on the GSM standard.