Apple looking at Australian fingerprint technology for NFC mobile payments

Apple looking at Australian fingerprint technology for NFC mobile payments

Apple is looking to make NFC payments more secure

Just as disappointment over the lack of NFC in the iPhone 5 is finally settling down, reports that Cupertino is working on including biosecurity in future iPhones for NFC payments is already making the current generation of Apple smartphone look dated.

According to a report in The Australian, biosecurity firm Microlatch is in discussions with Apple to include its fingerprint technology in future versions of the iPhone.

The technology, which uses patented fingerprint recognition "without the need for central processing or storage", meets stringent banking security standards and is set to work in conjunction with NFC payments for a safer digital wallet experience.

The revelation of Apple's plans comes courtesy of former Commonwealth Bank of Australia boss, David Murray, who is a lead investor in the Australian biosecurity startup.

Security is key

This announcement about Apple's focus on mobile security follows the company's acquisition of mobile security company Authentec in July for $US356 million.

With a focus on fingerprint security through both the Authentec and Microlatch deals, it seems evident that Cupertino is destined to incorporate some form of biometric security on future iOS devices, a decision that is sure to win it popularity in the corporate world.

It also shows that NFC is clearly seen as a mobile payments solution, with technology like fingerprint authentication overcoming the security fears surrounding smartphone payments.

Whether the technology will arrive in the iPhone 5S or the iPhone 6 is anyone's guess though.

Via: The Australian (paywall)


Source : techradar[dot]com

Rumor: Microsoft-branded Windows 8 smartphone on the way

Rumor: Microsoft-branded Windows 8 smartphone on the way

Follow my lead (credit: DeviantART)

Microsoft's lineup of OEM partners for Windows Phone 8 devices launching in October include Nokia, Samsung, and HTC, but the software giant may again be getting in on the hardware game.

Introducing a Microsoft-branded smartphone could be a way to jumpstart Windows Phone 8 in a crowded mobile OS marketplace, though it wouldn't necessarily represent a takeover of the hardware business enjoyed by the company's partners.

The move, first reported by BGR care of unnamed sources, would be along the lines of Microsoft's Surface launch. In a lead-by-example approach, the company is releasing its own Windows RT-running tablet later this month.

Adding to the speculation, a separate source has reportedly told China Times that Microsoft is planning to launch a "Surface" branded smartphone.

Analyst: Microsoft smartphone approach mirrors Google

A Microsoft-branded smartphone running Windows Phone 8 is still unconfirmed, but the strategy rang a few bells for analysts like Wayne Lam.

"Microsoft diving into this really makes sense," Lam, a senior analyst at IHS iSupply, told TechRadar. "We've seen Google take an interest in creating Nexus devices. They're there to create a new example, a new device, and new form factor."

However, Lam agreed with the popular sentiment that Microsoft's hardware interests stop there.

"They wouldn't be doing it to steal market share away from Samsung or HTC," he added. "They'd be doing it to showcase what the platform can do."

"Microsoft has traditionally not been a hardware company," Lam said of the company's 37-year-history. "But they're getting into a space where they have to set a hardware agenda."

Speculation points to 2013 release date

It looks as if Microsoft's "hardware agenda" won't be fully realized until next year, though. The Microsoft smartphone isn't expected in the first round of Windows Phone 8 devices, a second unnamed source told BGR.

Instead, there'll be five phone running the mobile OS at launch, and all are by key Microsoft partners: Nokia Lumia 920, Nokia Lumia 820, HTC Windows Phone 8X, HTC Windows Phone 8S, and Samsung Ativ S.

This gives Microsoft's OEM partners ample time - and the holiday season - to introduce their own Windows Phone 8 hardware.


Source : techradar[dot]com

MetroPCS and T-Mobile may merge if Deutsch Telekom has its way

The old saying goes, "If you can't beat them, join them," but Deutsche Telekom may be going another way. It's looking to join T-Mobile with MetroPCS to compete with Verizon and AT&T.

T-Mobile is often the forgotten option of the major wireless carriers. That might not be the case anymore if rumors out of Deutsche Telekom are true. Word from the German communications company today, as reported by Bloomberg, is it’s in talks to purchase MetroPCS and merge it with its T-Mobile network.

The reason behind Deutsche Telekom’s potential actions is simple: adding MetroPCS expands T-Mobile’s coverage to a scale that will be more competitive with mobile giants AT&T and Verizon. The proposed deal would give Deutsche Telekom the majority stake in the newly formed company. This is a particularly interesting move after its failed attempts to sell T-Mobile in its entirety to AT&T just over a year ago.

T-Mobile currently has a userbase of 33.2 million customers as of the end of June, putting it at less than 1/3 of AT&T and Verizon’s sizable subscriber chunks. MetroPCS is the fifth largest mobile provider (T-Mobile is fourth) in the United States with 9.5 million subscribers. While the merged company would still trail Sprint’s customer base, it’s the additional service area that is coveted. MetroPCS reaches 90 percent of the U.S. population and has a presence in 19 major markets, no small feat for a non-national provider. Of course, the subscriber addition wouldn’t hurt as T-Mobile has been hemorrhaging customers since the second quarter, likely in part due to its inability to secure a deal with Apple to sell the iPhone.

The news has been plenty good to MetroPCS shareholders, who saw their stocks shoot up by 17 percent, reaching as high as $14.51 in afternoon trading. Deutsche Telekom also got a little boost in the European market with shares rising 2 percent after merger talks were announced. It seems like the companies couldn’t be a better match, as both aim to provide affordable, alternative coverage with a worthwhile network. While all sides appear optimistic, the deal is anything but done. MetroPCS has been a merger target in the past for Leap Wireless and Sprint, but a deal has never gone through. 


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Microsoft Studios ramps up security as Xbox 720 release looms

microsoft durango

After a year of document leaks, Microsoft is upping security at its Redmond campus in the lead up to the Xbox 720's release.

The Xbox 720, or Durango, is already out in the wild and in developer’s hands. It has been for some time, as evidenced by the attempted sale of one unit back in July. It’s even been said that Microsoft is in the process of fine tuning production of the machine, since it’s been having trouble making the Xbox 720’s Oban microchip. The question isn’t whether or not the machine exists, but of when it will finally be released.

Based on activity at the company’s Redmond, Washington campus, Microsoft’s Entertainment division that houses the Xbox team is certainly gearing up to release something. Sources within the company have said that Microsoft has told employees that it’s greatly increasing security.

Microsoft Studios A, B, C, and D, all four of which house Xbox and Interactive Entertainment Business staffs, will now be restricted to many people, with only employees and vendors allowed to enter.

The company is apparently extra sensitive about leaked information regarding its future console plans. The release of a document detailing a 10-year plan for the Xbox brand as well as numerous patents have spurred the new measures.

Source: GeekWire


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Analyst: RIM sell-off could be more trouble than it's worth

Analyst: RIM sell-off could be more trouble than it's worth

A slice of RIM may not be an appetising prospect

With speculation continuing to mount over RIM's ability to continue operating, analysts have cast doubt over whether the company could attract buyers in the event of a sale.

The launch of the BB10 operating system is widely seen as the last chance for the BlackBerry brand to re-establish itself among the smartphone elite, before RIM decides if it should sell or break up the company.

However, even if RIM decided to shift all or part of itself, potential buyers might not be too enthralled by the prospect of taking on a myriad of problems, according to Credit Suisse analyst Kulbinder Garcha.

Garcha said that even the most resourceful buyer may struggle to turn RIM, which is currently engaging in wholesale job cuts amid falling sales and floundering share prices, into a winner once again.

High effort for little reward?

"Any deal for [the] company is highly complex in our view, requiring simultaneous management of a declining business, as well significant restructuring, and as such an acquirer maybe be best advised to wait for [the company] to shrink meaningfully before making any potential move," Garcha wrote in a note to investors.

"A break up is possible," he added.

"[But] we question the quality of the underlying patent portfolio and also believe that converting RIM's existing network operations center for other OS platforms may require a high level of effort for minimal functionality improvement."

Garcha noted that BB10 may come too late to re-engage the dwindling BlackBerry user base and added that RIM's market share may drop as low as 2.5 per cent next year, further denting any sell-on value.

In a call-in with investors last Thursday, RIM revealed its built a revenue of $2.9 billion (UK £1.78, AU $2.78) this past fiscal quarter, up from $2.8 billion (UK £1.72, AU $2.68) during the previous quarter.

However, this figure is 31 per cent below what the company brought home during the same quarter last year, when that number landed at $4.2 billion (UK £2.58, AU $4.03).

TechRadar has reached out for a second opinion from the financial community and will update this story if and when we receive further analysis.

Do you there's still a chance that RIM can turn things around with BB10? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.


Source : techradar[dot]com

HTC One X vs HTC One X+: Spec showdown

HTC ONE VS ONEXPLUS Header

The HTC One X was a darling of the mobile phone world. The newly announced One X+ aims to continue the tradition of its predecessor while providing modest improvements.

HTC burst onto the Android device scene earlier this year with the HTC One X. Equipped with a sizable screen, powerful camera, and the bumping sounds of Beats Audio, the HTC handset won the praise of critics and consumers alike (including us!). Now the device is getting an upgrade, and a “+” in its name. The upgrade includes an update to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, a boost in internal memory, and an extra kick from a new processor. Will a change to the One X+ be a plus for you? Check out the full spec comparison chart below to help you make the call.

Also read our full review of the HTC One X and first look at the HTC One X+ announcement.


HTC one X vs one Xplus 4g lte

What it means: The HTC One X was anything but a lightweight — though, in terms of actual weight, it actually is quite light — when it was first came out. It continues to be a great budget option for smartphone consumers. The One X+ isn’t as much of an overhaul as it is a small step up across the board. Internal storage is doubled, the operating system is up to date with 4.1 Jelly Bean, and the processor moves up to a 1.7GHz quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3. Everything else gets a modest boost, with a slight upgrade to the front-facing camera and a bit better battery. If you own the One X and can’t live without 4G LTE access, this phone will feel about the same and just move a little faster. If you’re happy on your current network, there’s nothing here that is so enticing to make the switch a must.


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Mass Effect Trilogy and Mass Effect 3 Wii U demonstrate EA’s increasingly confused DLC plans

mass effect trilogy

By the end of November, Mass Effect 3 will have been released three times this year, each time with different DLC included in the package.

Mass Effect 3 is getting three separate releases this year. The original, divisive release from March is joined in November by two additional packages. The first is the Mass Effect Trilogy Edition set that fits in the original game, the 2010 sequel, and this year’s entry all in one package. Then two weeks later EA will release Mass Effect 3 as a standalone game on Nintendo’s Wii U, featuring tweaked play to account for that console’s tablet controller.

All three games are not equal when players take them out of the package though. The different editions of Mass Effect 3 all come with different arrangements of downloadable content. DLC pricing and releases from EA have already raised consumer ire in 2012, but the new Mass Effect 3 releases illustrate just how strange and confusing EA’s business is going to get going forward.

What’s included where: The Trilogy Edition will include, according to MCV, only some of the downloadable content available for the game. The PC edition of the original Mass Effect gets both its big expansions, Bring Down the Sky and Pinnacle Station, right on the disc, but these are absent on Xbox 360. Both Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 only come with their respective online passes, with all other DLC requiring a secondary purchase. No announcement on whether the PlayStation 3 edition is different the Xbox 360 version.

This version of Mass Effect 3 is strange since the Wii U version will include From Ashes, the story-altering expansion that went on sale the very same day as the game itself in March. The Wii U release will not, however, include the Leviathan expansion released in August.

Mass Effect 3 downloadable content has to date sold very well for Electronic Arts. Even as Internet commentators raged about the additional cost of From Ashes when the game came out, 40 percent of players still purchased the content. EA recognizes that there’s enough demand to support the secondary market. The problem is that EA’s confusing marketing of the game—three separate releases in a single year, all of which come with different content—will make it difficult for anyone to understand which version of the game they actually want.

Electronic Arts needs to unify its business going forward since cross-platform play is a central pillar of its design and business strategy. 


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

PR firm Reverb apologizes for kitten-based guilt trip

Kitten

A poorly-worded press release landed PR firm Reverb in hot water with gamers, and now the company wants to apologize.

Realistically, there’s no good reason for you to know of Reverb Communications. The company is one of many PR firms that promotes video games almost exclusively to the gaming press. You’ve likely seen the eventual results of these promotional pushes, but unless you get paid to write about pixelated characters for a living, we doubt you’d ever come in contact with Reverb in your daily life. That said, we’re about to give you a solid reason to remember the name, though we’re sure Reverb would rather you didn’t.

Yesterday morning the firm issued a press release entitled, “Vote Edge Of Space Through Greenlight And Save Some Kitties.” That seems innocuous enough as charity drives have become a rather common occurence in the gaming industry over the past few years, but on reading the contents of the release things take a decidedly morbid turn. Have a look at the second paragraph, reproduced verbatim so as not to lose any necessary context:

If Edge of Space is approved by October 15, 2012 through Greenlight, Reverb Publishing will donate $5000 to the Humane Society, which will go towards providing necessary care and safety to homeless cats. However, if the game doesn’t get approval, that money will disappear, like a puff of smoke in the uncaring wind, leaving poor kitties to survive in the harsh elements, be placed in harm’s way and possibly scheduled for euthanasia. The challenge is out there, and for a simple “yes” vote on Steam’s Greenlight consumers can actively take a role in saving the lives of kitties.  So, do your part, save some cats, and see a great space sandbox adventure get onto Steam’s platform. It’s a win-win!

While we were with the company in its efforts to promote Edge Of Space, a game currently hoping to earn enough votes on the Steam Greenlight service to actually be produced, our jaws dropped when we got to the second sentence. In only slightly vague terms, the company suggests that not voting for Edge Of Space might lead to the death of adorable animals. As an aside, this seems like a perfect time to point out that the German word “Fremdschämen” loosely translates to “embarrassment for the actions of others.”

As you might expect, the backlash to this press release was immediate. Outraged gaming journalists immediately flooded Twitter with tweets decrying the stunt as disgusting, and the company as heartless and manipulative. Gamers themselves picked up on this and contributed their own vitriol. Noticing how poorly their scheme had gone over with everyone exposed to it, Reverb immediately set about crafting an apology, and shortly thereafter the following missive was added to the Edge Of Space Greenlight page

Kitten -- small

Hey everyone! There has been a misunderstanding on the marketing side of Edge of Space. We do not support guilt voting in any way and our sincere apologies go out to anyone who felt that way. This was meant in fun, if anything, Reverb’s intent was to add a bonus; if we can make it to the top 10 by the 15th, we will help out a worthy cause. Understand that there is some dark humor in the game and they wanted to play off of that. We love CATS!!! That’s why we have them in our game to begin with! We have sugar bears too!!! So we like exotics.

That’s helpful, but Reverb apparently felt it could do a bit better in reassuring fans. Eurogamer asked Reverb about the debacle, and while describing this PR effort as “non-traditional” and saying that it “was taken the wrong way by some people,” the company also pointed out that it had planned to donate $5,000 to the Humane Society, regardless of how well Edge Of Space performs in Greenlight voting. “Even before the promotion was approved Reverb had decided to make a donation of $5,000 to the Humane Society today, this was just a fun way of drumming up some attention for the game,” the company claims. “The release was meant to grab attention and call readers to action, but we regret if we made anyone uncomfortable or angry with its content. Millions of stray cats enter shelters each year, with the yearly cost of humane shelters resting in the billions. Our wording may have been muddled, but our intentions are good.”

That comforting sentiment is somewhat in contrast to an almost combative comment left on the Edge Of Space Greenlight page by Doug Kennedy, Reverb’s vice president of business development. Again, this is verbatim:

I challenge anyone else on this board to make a donation to the Humane Society, I committed $5000, and we requested a vote of YES for the game. If anyone did their homework you would know we have made a variety of donations to animal organizations. if you don’t want to vote for the game I fully respect that, if times are tough and money us tight a “yes” vote would be greatly appreciated, provided the company continues to do well, we will continue to fund and support a number of animal organizations, either way its a win – win for the kitties. (Lastly, does anyone really think that that we were not going to make the $5000 donation, come on folks, seriously? I’ve been in the industry for 20 years, I remember when it was fun, lighten up a bit and appreciate the fact that a great organization like the Humane Society is getting a ton of attention and a nice contribution).

Having just witnessed this entire situation unfold in real-time, we’re a bit too exhausted to take sides on this issue. We invite you all to leave your opinions in the comments, while we’ll simply content ourselves with the fact that the Humane Society now has an extra $5,000 with which to feed and shelter its adorable, fuzzy charges.


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Global bank recommends Nokia be split and sold

Global bank recommends Nokia be split and sold

You're our only hope, Lumia 920

Global bank Credit Suisse downgraded Nokia from "neutral" to "underperform" on Monday, underscoring the Finnish phone maker's recent difficulty making a mark in an industry currently dominated by the likes of Apple and Samsung.

Despite Microsoft's backing with the Windows Phone platform, Nokia's devices have yet to have the impact of Android and iOS phones.

And though Nokia's current view is that "things are about to change," that change may not be for the better, according to Credit Suisse.

The bank has suggested that, in the long run, it might be best for Nokia if the company were divided up and sold to various buyers.

How much for that Nokia in the window?

Credit Suisse suggested as part of its forecast that Apple in particular may be interested in snatching up Nokia's considerable portfolio of patents and other intellectual property.

The bank also noted that Ericsson, Huawai, and ZTE may well have interests in Nokia Siemens Networks and other parts of the company.

Adding insult to injury, Credit Suisse pointed out the slim likelihood that any company would want to buy Nokia whole, explaining that breaking the company up and selling its various divisions separately may be the right long-term choice.

On the other hand, research and analysis firm Recon Analytics' analyst Roger Entner told TechRadar in an email on Tuesday that breaking up and selling Nokia would actually be "the worst case scenario" for the company, adding that he considers it "quite unlikely," though "not unprecedented."

Entner suggested that buyers snatching up disparate pieces of Nokia's business likely wouldn't come out on top anyway.

What about maps and Windows Phone 8?

Of course, Nokia's been stirring plenty of other pots, not least among them its considerable maps data, which the phone maker has openly claimed is superior to Apple's much-maligned Maps apps.

And the Finnish company just revealed two new Windows Phone 8 handsets, the Lumia 920 and Lumia 820, in September.

Combined, the new Windows Phone 8 devices could help alter Nokia's fortunes.

On the other hand, HTC's latest device announcement, the Windows Phone 8X, is being touted as the new flagship Windows Phone 8 smartphone, indicating that even Microsoft may be losing faith in Nokia.

But Entner reminded TechRadar that phones don't sell solely on being a "flagship" device.

"Look how much 'flagship device' did for the Nokia 800 in the US," he wrote.

He added that Microsoft is unlikely to let Nokia be broken up and sold, as Nokia's failure would be "devastating" to Microsoft's business.


Source : techradar[dot]com

Skype teams up with Wicoms to offer free Wi-Fi in UK

Skype teams up with Wicoms to offer free Wi-Fi in UK

Free Skype Wi-Fi coming up and down the UK and Ireland

Skype is bringing free Wi-Fi hotspots to stores, cafes and restaurants across the UK and Ireland after hooking up with wireless provider Wicoms.

Users will be able to access the hotspots through the existing Skype Wi-Fi app and will be able to sign in using their Skype ID without paying for access as they may have to when using Skype Wi-Fi at airports.

Businesses will have to pay to offer the connectivity at a flat rate of £9.99 a month, along with the cost of a £49 Wi-Fi router. Companies signing up in October will get a free month and a free router.

Skype Wi-Fi will be powered by the established Wicoms wireless network with businesses able to register with immediate effect.

Universally accessible

Shadi Mahassel, programme manager for Skype Access said: "Simplicity is at the heart of everything Skype does. We believe that internet access should be available to everyone in a simple and affordable way.

"Our partnership with Wicoms enhances our ability to make Skype universally accessible and expands on our WiFi strategy, which today provides paid WiFi access at over one million locations worldwide."

Wicoms says the accord will help physical shops to compete with their online counterparts by engaging with customers through their smartphones.

Owen Geddes, MD of Wicoms said: "We're helping brick and mortar retailers effectively compete with online retailers.

"By working with a globally trusted partner like Skype to provide Free Skype Wi-Fi on-premise, business owners and high street retailers can open a dialogue with potential customers and encourage sales conversion with the power of the mobile phone."


Source : techradar[dot]com

Best Cheap Phones

Best Cheap Phones

We pick our favorite affordable smartphones on the four major US wireless carriers. These phones may be cheap, but they're still good.

Everyone loves a bargain, especially in the current economic climate. That’s why we’ve prepared a delectable feast of cheap smartphones for you to peruse. Grab any of these options with a two year contract and the carrier will subsidize your handset so you won’t have to splash out. You’ll need a plan anyway so it’s well worth taking advantage of the best smartphone discounts.

We’ve scoured the best cheap phones from the big four with a maximum price tag of $100 and an attractive minimum of free. These smartphones may be cheap but they are no slouches when it comes to performance.  

Galaxy Nexus ($100 on Verizon)

Galaxy Nexus google android cheap smartphone

Screen: 4.65 inches, 1280×720 pixels
Specs: 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB RAM, 32GB storage
OS: Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean)
Camera: 5MP rear, 1.3MP front
Connection: 4G LTE, 3G HSPDA
Price: $100 with two-year contract

Description: If you want a vanilla Google experience and the latest version of the Android platform then the Galaxy Nexus will be a real temptation. It also has a nice large screen, it’s fast, and it supports the latest features like 4G LTE and NFC. You can’t add storage but with 32GB to play with who needs to? The camera might not look great on paper but shutter speed is great. The only other downside is the average battery life. If you like a big screen and stock Android this is a good deal for $100.

Read our Galaxy Nexus review to find out more.

Samsung Galaxy Stellar (Free on Verizon)

samsung galaxy stellar android cheap smartphone

Screen: 4 inches, 480×800 pixels
Specs: 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1GB RAM, 8GB storage
OS: Android 4.0 (ICS)
Camera: 3.1MP rear, 1.3MP VGA front
Connection: 4G LTE, CDMA
Price: Free with two-year contract

Description: I know what you’re thinking – a 4G LTE phone with a dual-core processor for free on a two-year contract, what’s the catch? In the case of the Galaxy Stellar the display is pretty average, there’s no NFC, and the camera is a complete dud. Other than that this phone is great value for money. If you want 4G LTE, a fast processor, and decent battery life, then you’ll struggle to find a better deal than this.

Motorola Droid Razr M ($100 on Verizon)

Motorola Droid Razr M cheap smartphone

Screen: 4.3 inches, 540×960 pixels
Specs: 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1GB RAM, 8GB storage
OS: Android 4.0 (ICS) upgradeable to 4.1 (Jelly Bean)
Camera: 8MP rear (LED flash, 1080p rec), 0.3MP VGA front
Connection: 4G LTE, 3G HSDPA
Price: $100 with two-year contract

Description: The recently released Motorola Droid Razr M is a powerful Android smartphone at a very affordable price. It is a svelte, unfussy design. The processor, the display, and the camera are all perfectly respectable without setting the world on fire. The really big selling point for the Droid Razr M is the battery life. If you’re sick of running out of juice then you’ll be pleased to hear that the 2,000 mAh battery in the Razr M will see you through the day, even with heavy use.

Check out our hands-on video with the Motorola Droid Razr M.

iPhone 4 (Free on 2 year contract)

apple-iphone-4s-white-front

Screen: 3.5 inches, 640×960 pixels
Specs: 1GHz single-core processor, 512MB RAM, 8-32GB storage
OS: iOS 4 upgradable to iOS 5
Camera: 5MP rear, 0.3MP VGA front
Connection: 3G HSDPA
Price: Free with two-year contract

Description: Fans of Apple don’t have to break the bank for the iPhone 4 and it really isn’t that far behind the 4S. If you can live without Siri, you’ll still enjoy seamless integration with the iOS ecosystem giving you access to a world of entertainment through iTunes. In the Retina display you’ll also enjoy one of the best looking screens around. The design is minimalist beauty and Apple always squeezes the most out of the specs so, even though it looks underpowered compared to some of the competition, it performs well. You can get it from Verizon, AT&T, or Sprint. The iPhone 4S is now available on three major carriers for $100 with a two-year contract.

Read our iPhone 4 review.

 

Samsung Focus 2 ($50 on AT&T)

Samsung Focus 2 front

Screen: 4.0-inch AMOLED, 480×800 pixels
Specs: 1.4GHz single-core processor, 512MB RAM, 8GB storage
OS: Windows Phone 7.5
Camera: 5MP rear (LED flash, 720p rec), 0.3MP front
Connection: 4G LTE, 3G HSPA+
Price: $50 with two-year contract

Description: The original Focus was a popular Windows Phone device and the Focus 2 is a welcome update with a nice, big AMOLED screen and 4G connectivity. It runs WP 7.5 (Mango) which delivers a lot of what was missing in the first WP release. The Metro UI is very intuitive to use and this device offers a solid experience without ever really blowing your socks off. However, for $50 its a good value for the money. You can pick one up at AT&T. Read our Samsung Focus 2 review.

 

Samsung Galaxy S2 Skyrocket ($100 on AT&T)

Samsung-Galaxy-S-II-Skyrocket

Screen: 4.5 inches, 480×800 pixels
Specs: 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1GB RAM, 16GB storage
OS: Android 2.3 with Samsung TouchWiz 4.0
Camera: 8MP rear (LED flash, 1080p rec), 2MP front
Connection: 4G LTE, 3G HSPA+
Price: $100 with two-year contract

Description: The Galaxy S2 was the phone of the year for many people in 2011. It took the world by storm but was late to the party in the States. With top of the range specs, the S2 really pushed things forward on the Android platform. This smartphone is really powerful and the display is gorgeous. The Skyrocket variant boasts a slightly larger screen and adds 4G LTE connectivity into the mix. In terms of flaws, the cheap-feeling plastic construction is the usual gripe. By any standards this is still a great deal. Check out our review of the Samsung Galaxy S2.

 

HTC Vivid ($50 on AT&T)

Screen: 4.5 inches, 540×960 pixels
Specs: 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB RAM, 16GB storage
OS: Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread) upgradeable to 4.0 (ICS)
Camera: 8 MP rear (LED flash, 1080p rec), 1.3 MP front
Connection: 4G LTE, 3G HSDPA
Price: $50 with two-year contract

Description: Ice Cream Sandwich, version 4 of the Android platform can be found on this AT&T offering. The specs are solid; you’ve got 4G LTE connectivity; and the large display is worthy of the Vivid moniker. This smartphone boasts features galore in a slim and stylish package with an easy open sliding back panel. At just $50 the Vivid is serious competition for the Skyrocket on AT&T and Android fans have a tough decision to make.

 

LG Viper 4G (Free on Sprint)

LG Viper 4G LTE front

Screen: 4 inches, 480×800 pixels
Specs: 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB RAM, 2GB storage (microSD)
OS: Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)
Camera: 5MP rear (LED flash), 0.3MP front
Connection: 4G LTE, CDMA
Price: Free with two year contract

Description: A solid, budget Android option from LG, the Viper has a couple of killer features to elevate it from the “free on contract” crowd. The display and the processor are respectable; the camera and lack of Android 4 are disappointing; but the 4G LTE and NFC support are enough to make it tempting. It’s well above average for a device in this price bracket, but you’ll want to check Sprint coverage in your area before you make this your next smartphone. Take a closer look in our hands-on LG Viper video.

 

Samsung Galaxy Exhilarate ($30 on AT&T)

Samsung Galaxy Exhilarate cheap smartphone

Screen: 4 inches, 480×800 pixels
Specs: 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, 1GB RAM, 4GB storage
OS: Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) upgradeable to 4.0 (ICS)
Camera: 5 MP rear (LED flash, 720p rec), 1.3 MP front
Connection: 4G LTE, 3G HSDPA
Price: $30 with 2 year contract

Description: This is a solid smartphone considering the low up-front price tag. The touchscreen display is good and you’ve got support for the 4G LTE network. It also claims some eco-friendly credentials with an energy efficient charger and a rear-housing made from 80 percent recycled materials. It is capable of recording 720p video but otherwise the camera is a weak point. It runs Android 2.3 but the good news is that you can update to Android 4.0 (Ice Cream sandwich) by connecting the phone up to Samsung Kies. This is pretty unbeatable value for an Android smartphone at AT&T.

 

HTC Radar (Free on T-Mobile)

HTC Radar 4G front

Screen: 3.8 inches, 480×800 pixels
Specs: 1GHz single-core processor, 512MB RAM, 8GB storage
OS: Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango)
Camera: 5 MP rear, 0.3MP VGA front
Connection: 4G LTE, 3G HSDPA
Price: Free with two-year contract

Description: When it comes to raw power this WP 7.5 entry is definitely the slowest device on our list. You can’t expect cutting edge tech for free and, despite its modest specs, the Radar from HTC is an accessible smartphone. It’s an attractive device with good build quality and Microsoft’s platform certainly has something different to offer when compared to Android or iOS. As a free option at T-Mobile with a two year contract, this should pop up on the radar of anyone seeking their first smartphone. Check out our HTC Radar 4G review.

 

Samsung Galaxy S2 (Free on T-Mobile)

samsung-galaxy-s-ii-att-front

Screen: 4.5 inches, 480×800 pixels
Specs: 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1GB RAM, 16GB storage
OS: Android 2.3 upgradable to Android 4.0
Camera: 8MP rear (LED flash, 1080p rec), 2MP front
Connection: 4G LTE, 3G HSPA+
Price: $50 with two-year contract

Description: The delay in the Samsung Galaxy S2 hitting American shores afforded carriers the time to offer updated variants. T-Mobile’s version has the same slightly larger display and 4G support that the Skyrocket on AT&T offers, but it’s a full $50 cheaper. This smartphone is a sleek Android powerhouse. Considering it also boasts NFC and an Android 4 (ICS) update, you’ll have trouble looking beyond it if you’re in the market for a cheap Android option. Learn more in our Galaxy S2 review.

 

LG Spectrum ($50 on Verizon)

LG Spectrum front

Screen: 4.5 inches, 720×1280 pixels
Specs: 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1GB RAM, 20GB storage
OS: Android 2.3 upgradable to Android 4 (ICS)
Camera: 8MP rear (LED flash, 1080p rec), 1.3MP front
Connection: 4G LTE, CDMA
Price: $50 with two-year contract

Description: Slim pickings on Verizon for bargain hunters with refined tastes. The pick of the Android bunch has to be the LG Spectrum. It’s not the best looking slab on the market but that display is stunning. This is also a powerful piece of kit that will serve you well for a long time to come, especially once that Android 4 update rolls out. If you’re looking for a big, high resolution display then the Spectrum offers maximum bang for your buck. Check out our hands-on LG Spectrum video.

 What do you think of our best cheap phones list? Did we miss something? Let us know in the comments below.


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Windows 8 cloud gaming service Agawi’s promising future on the Xbox 720

xbox cloud gaming

Agawi, a small cloud gaming service, is strengthening its presence on Windows 8, the operating system that will power the Xbox 720.

Cloud-based streaming video game services will define the next round of video game consoles. OnLive may have failed, but that doesn’t mean the business isn’t heating up. Sony acquired Gaikai in July, and CEO Kaz Hirai is already talking about cloud gaming’s place in the future of the PlayStation brand. Square-Enix has its own browser-based service called Core Online. Cable companies like Time Warner and Comcast, meanwhile, are turning to cloud gaming as a way to compete with consoles. The field is filling up. What about Microsoft?

Agawi could be the streaming video game service of choice for the Xbox 720.

The cloud gaming company, whose name is an acronym for “any game anywhere instantly,” is actively looking to partner with browser-based MMO and social game developers to push games on Windows 8 in time for its launch later this month. It’s actually already partnered with Microsoft, using the Windows Azure cloud computing platform as the base of its service.

The Agawi Game Partnership Gold program the company started this week is intended to bulk up the game options for Microsoft’s fledgling Windows 8 platform—which many game developers aren’t keen on—but also to further tie it to Microsoft.

Why is this pertinent to Microsoft’s next Xbox? The code-named Durango, or Xbox 720, is confirmed to be yet another of Microsoft’s consumer devices that will run on the Windows 8 operating system. Microsoft general manager Brian Hall said as much in August while discussing Outlook.com in an interview, confirming that next version of the email app “coming out with Windows 8, with the new version of Office, with the new Windows Phone, and the new Xbox.”

Since Agawi already has experience running its service on multiple platforms, it seems like a perfect fit for Microsoft’s home console. The only question is whether or not Microsoft will adopt it as a core Xbox 720 feature. Microsoft is hiring cloud gaming engineers at the moment. It began actively hiring former OnLive employees following the company’s closure in August. “We are eager to speak to individuals and teams affected by the OnLive transition,” read a posting from Microsoft, “With the stunning success of Xbox/Kinect and accelerated growth of this business, we looking to add key players who want to make a real impact in creating groundbreaking new products and services.”


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

UK Network peace treaty will bring nationwide 4G in summer 2013

UK Network peace treaty will bring nationwide 4G in summer 2013

O2, Vodafone and Three put differences aside

Customers on Vodafone, O2 and Three will be able to join EE users on 4G LTE networks by the end of summer 2013 thanks to a new peace agreement between the carriers.

Following crunch talks with culture secretary Maria Miller on Tuesday, the networks have put legal differences aside to ensure that EE cannot get too far ahead in the race for faster mobile connectivity.

EE, which owns Orange and T-Mobile, plans to launch its 4G LTE network next month and will offer next generation speeds for devices like the Apple iPhone 5 and maybe a 4G version of the Samsung Galaxy S3.

The new agreement between the remaining networks comes following a failure to prevent EE getting the jump-start, and will mean the long-awaited spectrum auction can now be brought forward to January.

'Hugely beneficial for UK'

Ofcom, the UK's communications regulator, had initially planned to hold the auction in February or March, but now all parties will be able to press on with establishing the infrastructure once the spectrum has been allocated.

Following the agreement, Miller, who recently took over from Jeremy Hunt as culture secretary, said: "Delivering 4G quickly is a key part of our economic growth strategy.

"I am grateful to the mobile operators for their co-operation in bringing forward vital 4G services. The open and collaborative approach taken between the government and the mobile companies will have hugely beneficial results for UK business and investment.

"We anticipate that 4G services will boost the UK's economy by around £2-3bn."

Clearing TV signals

Once the spectrum has been allocated, it will be up to mast company Arqiva to clear the spectrum, which was being used for digital TV services, so it can be replaced by 4G connectivity.

Ofcom has now brought the deadline forward to May for that task to be completed. This will then enable the networks to roll out the 4G LTE networks months ahead of schedule.

O2 CEO Ronan Dunne said expressed frustration at the delay, but pointed towards the future.

"Everyone is pleased that we've made this progress," he said. "it's just a little bit frustrating that it's taken so long. Before our various interventions we didn't have a genuine level playing field and we risked a 4G digital divide."


Source : techradar[dot]com

iOS 6 adoption booming despite Apple Maps troubles

iOS 6 adoption booming despite Apple Maps troubles

High compatibility with certain devices may explain adoption figures

Apple's most recent OS release, the divisive iOS 6, hasn't gone off without a hitch, but the update's issues haven't stopped tons of Apple fans from upgrading their devices during the last half of September.

iOS 6 was pushed out to compatible versions of the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch on Sept. 19, and within one day, 15 percent of those devices were running the new OS, according to data from advertising and research firm Chitika.

The most contentious aspect of Apple's new iOS 6 is easily the Apple Maps app that replaced Google Maps. It's been criticized for its inaccurate data and generally sloppiness.

Nevertheless, iOS 6 adoption during the new OS's first two days of availability reportedly occurred 122 percent faster than iOS 5 upgrades when that OS version was released in 2011.

iPhone vs. iPad vs. iPod touch

According to Chitika's figures, which the firm deduced by tracking millions of users' mobile ad data from Sept. 18 to Oct. 1, iPhone users are the leaders in iOS 6 adoption.

Up to 60 percent of iPhone users have already upgraded to the new iOS 6, while that number falls to 45 percent for iPad users and 39 percent for iPod touch users.

As Slashgear pointed out, though, more hardware versions of the iPhone are compatible with iOS 6 when compared with the various iPad and iPod touch models, which may explain the higher upgrade rate for iPhone users.

iOS 6 is compatible with the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and iPhone 4S, and comes standard on the iPhone 5, though some features - like Siri - may be missing on older devices.

On the other hand, any iPod touch released prior to the 4th gen iPod Touch won't vibe with iOS 6, and even the original iPad can't be upgraded to the new OS. So those lower adoption rates shouldn't come as a surprise.

The loyalty of Apple fans

Apple's switch to its own internal maps app has caused quite a controversy, with Apple CEO Tim Cook publicly apologizing and even suggesting that iOS 6 users go with a competing maps app - like one from Microsoft or Google - for now.

In fact, it seems based on some data that 24 out of 25 users took that advice to heart.

But it's already been posited that iPhone users feel more brand loyalty than users of other smartphones, which may explain why they're choosing to upgrade their devices to iOS 6 despite the uproar over sloppy maps data.

Then again, maybe they just can't stand the little red badge on their settings app that won't go away until they upgrade to the new OS.


Source : techradar[dot]com

Team Ninja thanks Dead Or Alive 5 fans with free DLC costumes

Dead Or Alive 5 Christie DLC costume

If you picked up Dead Or Alive 5 the game's developers would like to reward you with 11 free downloadable costumes.

Yesterday afternoon a tweet appeared on the official account of Team Ninja, the Tecmo Koei development group responsible for the Dead Or Alive series of fighting games. It reads, “またDOA5を購入頂いた皆さんへの感謝の気持ちとして、本日は無料DLCを準備しています。続報をお待ちください。 # DOA5.” For those of you who can’t read Japanese, Google Translate offers the following English-language version, “As gratitude to everyone who purchased a DOA5, today I have to prepare the DLC free of charge. Please wait for further news. # DOA5.” It’s a bit stiff, but you get the idea: Team Ninja wants to thanks those who’ve supported its latest title with free downloadable content. Great, right?

Unfortunately, neither that tweet nor any of the others that followed it offered any word on what that DLC might be, or when it might appear on either the Xbox Live Marketplace or PlayStation Network Store. At the time we were left to assume that Team Ninja was talking about a future release of downloadable content that we’d have to wait weeks, if not months to actually see for ourselves. That idea didn’t last very long though, as a brand new, totally free pack of downloadable costumes is now available to Xbox 360 owners (and coming to the PlayStation 3 later today).

We just pulled down the nearly 70MB costume pack from the in-game Xbox Live Marketplace browser, and can confirm that it both exists and is free of charge. Likewise, we can also offer this pack’s official description, courtesy Microsoft: “A free pack of 11 costumes for the unique characters of Dead or Alive 5. This pack includes costumes for Kokoro, Zack, Helena, Bayman, Gen Fu, Christie, Tina, Mila, Akira, Sara and Pai.”

That’s great news, right? Who can resist free stuff? Though we are quite happy to see Team Ninja express its affection for fans through downloadable extras, we’re left wondering why the company would release a pack with 11 new costumes. That’s just such a random number. Dead Or Alive 5, it should be noted, includes 23 fighters, so this DLC pack effectively ignores over half the cast. Then again, if you remove Alpha-152 (the unlockable boss character whose aesthetic is best described as “a naked, liquid green Kasumi”), the “First Time Pack” — that’s its official name — covers exactly half of the characters in Dead Or Alive 5. Does that mean that Dead or Alive 5 publisher Tecmo Koei and Team Ninja have plans for a second free pack of costumes for the remaining fighters? Or maybe that the company will use this initial free DLC to  draw in customers before offering up that still hypothetical second DLC pack for five to ten dollars? We’ve reached out to Tecmo Koei with these questions and will update this piece as necessary with anything we might hear back.

In the meantime, go download the free DLC costume pack! It’s not every day that a video game developer flouts capitalism by giving stuff away, and as you can see from the above image, these new costumes proudly continue the Dead Or Alive tradition of stuffing pretty ladies into horribly ill-fitting clothing. We called it “spectacle” in our recent review of Dead Or Alive 5, but we’re sure you can imagine a few other words to describe it.


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

NBA 2K13 review: The return of the king

NBA 2K13 review

2K Sports is back with its annual NBA offering, NBA 2K13, and the developers can rest easy knowing that the crown is still theirs.

With no other real basketball competition to speak of, 2K Sports’ NBA 2K13’s biggest rival isn’t another game or another publisher, but rather complacency. The last two offerings were good. Beyond good in fact, they were exceptional. They took the beleaguered video game niche of digital basketball games and turned it into a genre defining series. With great gameplay and in-game content that reads like a fan’s childhood dreams come to true, the bar was set so high that trying to continually improve upon it annually mean the series is eventually destined to hit a point where the law of diminishing returns takes hold. That point is likely still coming, but it won’t be this year.

NBA 2K13 isn’t as flashy as 2K11 or 2K12. There isn’t that one big feature that will grab the headlines like last year’s NBA’s Greatest Mode, or the previous year’s triumphant return of Michael Jordan. Instead, this year’s major conceit is that the game is produced by Jay-Z. That may be enough to appeal to some fans on its own, but it won’t carry the game in the same way that Jordan did. Thankfully, it is just one piece of the overall package, and it’s a good package at that.

The major changes to this game come in two forms: first is the new MyTeam feature, which is an interesting way to get people to play online, while the second is the Control Stick, which gives you an entirely new option of how to play. Of the two, the Control Stick is by far the most important addition.

Overall though, the game remains very similar to its predecessor, just with more options. But when the series is already one of the best sports franchises around, there is very little need to go messing with things in order to create a masterful sports offering.

Meet Your New Best Friend, Your Right Thumb

As I mentioned, the biggest addition to the game is the right thumb stick. You may be familiar with it from such games as all of them, ever, but the right analog is a completely new animal for this series. the Control Stick improves your handling, creates new ways to move, and changes how you shoot. Learning it is both important and demanding, but not required if you prefer the traditional style. Strangely, there is no real tutorial to introduce you to this new way of playing. It isn’t the first time a sports game has tried something like this, but it may be one of the best. It initially feels counterintuitive to hold left on the analog to shoot at the basket on the right, but it will initiate a fade away, which makes sense. 

NBA 2K13There is a new feature called the Legends Training Camp, where you spend in-game credits — or VC — on training sessions with eight NBA Legends ranging from a few members of the Dream Team to older era Hall of Famers like Bill Russell and Jerry West. Each legend teaches you a different set of moves, and earns you attributes. It’s helpful, but it will take you a lot of play time to earn enough VC to purchase them all, making it an interesting tool, albeit one you won’t be able to fully use until you’ve progressed deep into the game.

However you do it, whether you use the Control Stick or the traditional scheme, learning the moves is something that you should make the effort to do. This will not be an easy task. To give you an idea, there are six full pages of instructions – all small print — in the game’s manual, and only a few of these are the basics; most are things like commands while making post moves. Most can just pick up the game, play, and have fun, but there is a deep game here that you’ll need to learn to tackle the higher difficulties and make your mark online. 

Bieber vs. Jordan?

Although the game may be missing a single marquis new feature to plaster on the box (beyond the Jay-Z brand), there is no denying that this game is bursting with content. As always there is an exhibition mode, of course. The legendary teams that were unlockable in last year’s offering are available immediately and can be played online, and they are joined by the Dream Team and this year’s Olympic Team USA. It is an ultimate All-Star team for both eras. It is a fairly minor addition, but a good one.

NBA 2K13 Dream TeamThere is also a 2K Celebrity team with several well-known names, all beefed up for basketball. It is a bizarre world we live in where you can see Lil Bow Wow and the cast of the Jersey Shore going head to head, and even hanging with Michael Jordan and Larry Bird. A little piece of me died inside when Justin Bieber stole the ball from me while I was playing as John Stockton. Maybe the Mayans were right.

MyCharacter Redux

The RPG-like create-a-player, aka MyCareer, is much the same from last year — to a fault. You pick your position, go through the draft complete, then join your team and try to earn your way to the starting lineup. During each game you have mini-objectives that appear randomly, and you are always trying to improve your teammate rank – or at least you should be. Following the game you earn VC based on your performance. With that VC you can buy new attributes including signature moves, which can be assigned as soon as you meet the criteria – a certain dunk rank is required to by a particular dunk, for example – and this makes a huge difference in making your player stand out, especially when you take him online.

NBA 2K13After a game you are taken to the post-game interview, which is the same as last year. Exactly the same. Many of the lines your character will speak are lifted right out of the last year’s game. It’s even the same voice actor. The endorsements are essentially the same with a few changes, and even the training exercises are familiar. If you played last year’s offering, you will quickly feel a sense of déjà vu.

The MyPlayer feature is a highlight of the game, and it is something all new players to the series should experience. The new signature moves are interesting, but bulking it up from last year for the fans that sunk hour upon hour into playing multiple seasons would have been appreciated.

There is a new MyPlayer feature that allows you to buy fancy clothes and accentuate your player, but it is fairly shallow compared to the actually gameplay.

The Good, the Bad, the Mamba

The Association mode returns, of course, and offers all the trappings you’d expect of a detail heavy franchise mode. Pick your team, manage the players, play the games, and draft/trade/sign to fill holes as you lap the seasons and go into another and another. It is comprehensive, albeit exceedingly familiar.

It would be nice to have seen more originality here as well. At this point, all sports games have an association-like mode. The name is different, but if you’ve played any of them, regardless of the sport, you’ll instantly know what to expect here. If you are looking for originality though, the MyTeam has you covered.

When you first fire up MyTeam, you are given a random offering of average players, a playbook, a court, and a coach. You then jump online with your Bad News Bears-like squad and take on others at an equally low level to earn tokens and work your way up a ladder. It can be disorienting at first to have no super stars to go to, but it also means that the matchup is more or less fair. To get better, you just need to keep at it. It certainly isn’t as sexy as playing through Jordan’s best moments or as nostalgic as playing classic games, but it is deeper than both.

MyTeam

The more you play the more VC you earn to purchase better players, or you can earn them by completing certain challenges like winning a few games. You can also purchase the players with real cash, although that feature is currently locked, and will remain locked until the season starts on October 30. This is something that will raise a few eyebrows. It is definitely more fulfilling to unlock the best players around on your own, but the cost in VC for buying the players is so high that the temptation to pay for them may be stronger than the patience to unlock them for most. That will be a personal decision though. 

MyTeam was the thing I was most skeptical about when I first fired up the game, and yet it turns out to be one of the most addictive and compelling features of the new game. Having devoted a clinically alarming amount of time to the last two iterations of the NBA 2K series, I may have been more the target audience for this mode than someone that is new to the franchise, but it is a worthy feature.

If you are looking for something different though, you can head to the blacktop and go 1v1, 2v2, up to 5v5. Pick your players from any of the teams (although you need to unlock superstars with VC tokens) and play to 21. Along with all of that, you can also take command of a current NBA player and take charge of them in the same manner you would your created player. The camera shifts to lock on that individual, you only play in the moments that person is in the game, and you earn points for them. You don’t have the press conferences or endorsements, but you can play as anyone from Kobe to a rookie.

Post up on the World

The online side of things is about what you expect form a game like this, meaning it has about everything you could think to jam into it, including online tournaments with real prizes through the partnership with Virgin gaming. You can jump online for a quick match and use any team, including the Greatest teams from 2K12,  join with another player to take on two others in an exhibition, or you can take your association online to compete against the world.

NBA 2K13 reviewThis year you can also bring your created player over and join in 3 on 3 blacktop games with five other real people. In all of the games I played, I experienced maybe a half second of lag that meant nothing to the game. The connectivity is smooth, and there are games for all level of skill.

The game also features a huge amount of connectivity through NBA.com. You can play real matchups as you could in previous games, and as the real season goes on, you’ll be able to read news, headlines, and follow your favorite team. It is all stuff that is expected at this point, but it is still cool to see, especially if you are already an NBA fan. There is also the shoe collection, which offers plenty of collectible shoes with attributes your character can wear, but more importantly it has a shoe creator that you can transfer into the real world. Create your shoes in the game and buy them in real life. It is a completely pointless example of connectivity, and yet it is actually kind of cool.

Jay-Z presents

The presentation is also as good as ever. Clips of the actual arenas are augmented with recreated introduction animations that are accurate to the real things. Halftimes are highlighted by ads of upcoming games, and the commentary throughout is insightful and won’t repeat for a long time.

The faces are still a bit hit or miss, with some like Kobe looking fairly representative of the real life players, while others like Lamarcus Aldridge look a tad more generic. This is a minor concern though, since the character animations are of far more importance, and NBA 2K13 looks great here. It is only a minor upgrade from last year, but that is more credit to the series as a whole than a criticism of a lack of innovation — it didn’t need much work. The players are fluid, and the physics are accurate. Rarely did I see a ball magically go through a player or anything like that, and when a player blocked out you could tell where they were pushing against their target. The collision physics look solid as well, and bodies move as they should when they are affected by the momentum of another player.

NBA 2K13The soundtrack has received a healthy amount of attention as well thanks to Jay-Z, who is credited as an Executive Producer. His influence is all overNBA 2K13’s presentation as well as the sound. Games begin with a combination of music video and animation, and there is a distinctive style to the look of the menus and backgrounds that you can credit to him.

The music is, of course, very good, but there are only 24 songs. They are all good, but a few more would have been nice, especially when you only hear the opening of most as you jump through menus. Being able to add you own music to key moments helps a lot though.

Conclusion

2K Sports does a masterful job of shaking off the demon of complacency by adding enough to makeNBA 2K13 feel fresh without undermining what made the game great in the first place. There are instances where the game recycles last year’s release, and the MyTeam feature may not be a substantial replacement for those that want the “wow” factor of including Jordan’s highlights or the NBA Greatest matchups, but this game has plenty to offer. In fact, it is so packed with content that it will take a while to even realize how deep it really is.

NBA 2K13 reinforces something I’ve believed for a while now: the NBA 2K series is the best sports franchise on the market right now, bar none. There is a danger that the series may begin to rest on its laurels and slack on the innovation, but that time is certainly not here yet.

Score: 9 out of 10

(This game was reviewed on the Xbox 360 using a copy provided to us by the publisher)


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Google updates Gmail with option to search inside attachments

Gmail’s already powerful search functionality received a small but significantly useful update today. As reported by the Google Operating System blog, the popular webmail service can now search inside more file types attached to messages. Previously, if someone sent you a text file or an HTML document, Gmail indexed its content, but it couldn't index other popular attachment formats.

Now Google is adding support for .pdf files, .doc documents, and .ppt presentations. Some old attachments may not be indexed yet but that will presumably change in the next few days and weeks. To search inside attachments simply add the prefix “has:attachment” before your search query. You can also limit queries to specific file types by typing "has:attachment filename:extension" into the search field -- entering “has:attachment filename:pdf” and some keywords will restrict your search to PDF files, for example.

Gmail is one of the top three email services in the world but whether it has blown past Hotmail and Yahoo depends on who you ask. According to Google, the service counts more than 425 million monthly active users as of June 2012, up from 350 million in January. However, puts the figure significantly lower at 289 million. The market research firm says Hotmail is still ranked first with a little over 324 million unique users in June, down 4% from last year, and Yahoo is second with a little over 290 million users in the same timeframe.


Source : techspot[dot]com

Is Russia’s Yandex beating Google at its own game?

Yandex (window open)

It's not a household name in America, but in Russia, Yandex beats Google in search, and it's now launching its own app store and browser.

Google may dominate Internet search in most of the world, but there are exceptions. One, of course, is China, where Google has largely backed out and relocated its services in Hong Kong to dodge China’s mammoth Internet censorship regime.

But Google is also way behind in another world market, and it’s huge — at least in geographic terms: Russia. The Russian search market is strongly dominated by Yandex, and the company also has its fingers in most of Google’s other core businesses, from image search and shopping to social networking and cloud services. Although Yandex is not be a household name outside Russia and some former-Soviet states, the Russian market can bring a huge influence to Europe. After all, in terms of sheer number of users, Russia represents Europe’s largest Internet market.

Now Yandex is applying more pressure on Google, announcing its own Web browser, its own Android app store, and a new deal with nemesis Apple to supply mapping data.

What is Yandex, and why should you care?

Russia is different

Yandex logo

The most-visited Web site in Russia isn’t Facebook, Google, YouTube, Yahoo, or Wikipedia. It’s Yandex. Yandex is by far the dominant player in the Russian search market. Where Google is used to commanding two thirds to three quarters of the Internet search market around the world, in Russia the situation is reversed: Yandex accounts for about 60 percent of the Russian search market, and Google tops out at about 25 percent. The comparison used to be even more one-sided: Google has recently gained some ground due to a recent surge in popularity of its Chrome browser.

Yandex traces it roots all the way back to 1990 when its two Arkadys (Arkady Volozh and Arkady Borkovsky) founded a company called — wait for it — Arkadia. Arkadia made MS-DOS software for helping classify patents and other goods. A tiny niche? Yes, but Arkadia’s software featured a full-text search facility with strong support for Russian morphology, which made a strong base for Yandex’s future business. In 1993 Volozh and pal Ilya Segalovich came up with the term “Yandex” to describe their text search technology: The name is a bilingual pun on “index.” They rolled Arkadia into another of Volozh’s company’s (Comptek), which extended the search Russian-language search capabilities, focusing on Russian-language literature and classics. By 1997, Comptek launched the Internet search portal yandex.ru, and in 2000 that was separated out as a standalone company headed by Arkady Volozh — who still runs the company today as CEO. In short, Yandex was operating Internet search before Google existed, and back when Yahoo was a hand-curated index getting search results from AltaVista.

Like other search engines, Yandex gets most of its revenue from selling ads. The Yandex.Direct advertising network it launched in 2001 is loosely analogous to Google AdWords. But that’s just one of many similarities. Yandex jumped into digital mapping in 2004, and in 2005 started launching localized search services for the Ukraine. It launched a photosharing service analogous to Flickr, email, a social networking service for professionals loosely parallel to LinkedIn, added traffic data to its mapping capabilities, and launched an online payment service to compete with the likes of PayPal. Yandex also refined its core search capabilities, adding sophisticated image searching along with “MatrixNet” technology that tries to juggle a huge number of factors in ranking search results for user. It recognizes context: If most people searching for “Lord of the Rings” want the movies, not the books, Yandex will rank results about the movies higher. In 2010, Yandex also launched a real-time search capability that crawls the Web in real time to quickly make news, social networking posts, and rapidly updated information quickly searchable. Oh, and there’s an English-language search engine too.

Does all this sound familiar? These are many of the same search issues where Google and Bing have been duking it out — and Yandex has its fingers in a wide variety of other successful businesses besides. How successful? When Yandex finally decided to go public in early 2011, its IPO raised $1.3 billion. At the time, that was the biggest IPO since Google in 2004. Last year, Yandex pulled in $20 billion in revenue. While that’s a little more than half Google’s revenue, but Yandex does it with only about 3,500 people. With the acquisition of Motorola Mobility, Google has exploded to over 50,000 people.

Now Yandex is making some more moves that ought to have Google taking a much closer look at what’s happening in Russia — and perhaps Europe.

Building a better browser?

Yandex Browser (translation)

As of Monday, Yandex is in the Web browser business. The brand-new Yandex browser is available now for Windows and Mac OS X and offers cloud-enabled services like machine translation, a unified address and search bar, and quick access to locally-relevant information. The interface is highly reminiscent of Google Chrome — no surprise considering Yandex built the browser on Google’s open-source Chromium project. It also partnered with the fellow Russian company Kaspserksy to warn about potentially hazardous sites and downloads.

To speed up its browser, Yandex has inked a long-term partnership with Norway’s Opera Software for Opera’s Turbo technology, which runs pages through cloud-based servers to compress and rejigger them for speed. (Amazon does something similar with the Silk browser in its Kindle Fire tablets.) For folks with slow or unreliable connections, that Turbo technology could give the Yandex browser a major edge. And if acquiring features from Opera doesn’t seem like a selling point to North American ears — where Opera is at best an also-ran in the Web browser arena — remember that Russia is different. Opera (and Opera Mini) have historically been a major presence in the Russian market — and by some accounts is still the leading browser.

Google Play? No: Yandex.Store

Yandex.Store (Android, Yandex Maps)

Launching a browser isn’t the only way Yandex is looking to keep Google at bay: It’s also launching its own Android app market called Yandex.Store. The marketplace will initially carry nearly 40,000 apps when it launches later in October; again, that’s in part due to a partnership with Opera, where it’s picking up content licensed for the Opera Mobile Store. But the Yandex.Store isn’t just a new outlet for Opera’s mobile offerings. Yandex has inked deals with MegaFon (one of Russia’s largest mobile operators) to use Yandex.Store as a whitelabel storefront for smartphones and tablets, and has also arranged for Yandex.Store to come pre-installed on devices from 3Q, text, and Pocketbook as a native app. Of course, Yandex.Store integrates with Yandex.Money — the online payments system that’s one of the most widely-used in Russia, unlike Google Checkout — and also supports mobile billing, and in-app purchases.

Yandex is positioning its own app store as another “building block” in its mobile strategy, which already includes cloud storage, maps, email, and both local and Internet search. In other words, it’s trying to cover all the same bases that Google covers with its core Android apps. Yandex.Store won’t be able to compete with Google Play or Amazon’s Appstore in western markets — but it could do a good job of keeping Google Play or Amazon’s Appstore from getting a strong foothold in Russia. Especially since Yandex is already a leading online payments operator.

The enemy of my enemy is…

Yandex mapping data in iOS 6

Yandex also isn’t afraid of hopping into bed with Google’s frenemies. Now that Apple has booted Google Maps out of iOS 6, the Wall Street Journal and other outlets are reporting that Yandex is making a deal with Apple to supply mapping data for Russia — that will apparently include mapping information supplied to iOS users both inside and outside Russia. According to reports, the deal will also include location-based search capability. iOS 6 (and Siri) make extensive use of data from Yelp and other providers to show information on local businesses and points of interest — in Russia, that information will apparently be supplied by Yandex. Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

Does Google need to worry?

Globally, Yandex doesn’t yet represent a significant threat to Google or other western Internet giants. After all, Yandex is essentially a non-entity outside Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. The only country that wasn’t in the former Soviet bloc where Yandex has a significant presence is Turkey — and that only got started about a year ago.

But the success of Yandex — and its obvious intentions to keep Google at bay — highlight the complexities technology companies face trying to run global operations. From a North American or even Western perspective, it’s easy to think that search is all about Google and Bing, mobile is all about Android and iOS, and browsers are all about IE, Firefox, and Chrome. But the world just isn’t that simple. If there’s one thing the success of Yandex — and companies like Alibaba and Baidu — prove, it’s that innovations in Internet and mobile technology aren’t turning the world into a global village. Tech companies will always have to worry about how things will play in Peoria — or Moscow.


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

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