Microsoft has sold 2 million Xbox One consoles to date, maintains ‘record-setting’ pace
After crossing the one million mark in 24 hours, it took 18 days for Microsoft to sell another million of its shiny new console. The folks in Redmond have announced that the Xbox One has officially eclipsed sales of two million with an average of over 111,000 units being sold per day since its November 22nd luanch. Just over a week ago, Sony posted news of a 2.1 million dollar sales tally for the PS4 in November while Microsoft informed us of some zombie-killing stats. Even still, both consoles are pretty hard to come by this holiday season.
Filed under: Gaming, Microsoft
Source: Xbox Wire
Spotify tablet streaming goes free — if you don’t mind sitting through a few ads
We can’t say as we were particularly taken aback by today’s Spotify announcement, after all someone spilled the beans the other week (thanks a lot, The Wall Street Journal) – but we trekked through a cold New York City morning to Spotify headquarters all the same. As anticipated, the company used the occasion to announce a free version of its tablet streaming service. Of course, nothing in this life is truly free, right? As such, the streaming offering will be ad-supported, much like the non-premium version of its desktop offering.
Ek kicked things off by rattling off some impressive numbers, including 1.5 billion playlists created (with one and a half million made each day) and 4.5 billion hours of music streamed last year, before launching into the big news of the morning. The new version of the service will work with both Android and iOS tablets and plays along nicely with the company’s new Connect offering, so you can play that music through some of those high-end compatible speaker systems. You’ll be able to access your playlists through your tablet devices, but beyond that the exec didn’t break down the service too much, save for saying that it’s “the same as the desktop experience.”
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Software
Spotify goes free on mobile devices though the magic of shuffling
Today’s Spotify announcements are all about free – but it’s not only tablets that are getting some love from the company. CEO Daniel Ek took the stage to announce that there will be a free version for any device that can access the service. The caveat here is that this is a new version of the app based around shuffling. So, things aren’t quite so random as Pandora – you can actually listen to the artist you want, but you can only do so by shuffling through the artist’s catalog. There’s always a trick, right? The good news, however, is that you can skip through songs you don’t like and add songs you do to a playlist.
Filed under: Software
Sony patent hints at a touch-enabled PlayStation Move controller
Sony’s PlayStation Move controller has helped bring motion-enabled gaming to PlayStation consoles for over three years, but hasn’t exactly set the world alight. To better compete with Microsoft’s controller-less Kinect and Nintendo’s Wii motion accessories, the company has been looking to extract more functionality from its wireless joystick, as evidenced in a recent filing with the US Patent Office. The patent, entitled “Flat Joystick Controller,” describes a controller not dissimilar to the PlayStation Move handheld we’ve come to know and kinda love, but Sony hints that an upgrade could come in the form of a touch-sensitive surface on the front of the handle.
The company says the new controller “enables control for a variety of applications and simulations while providing an intuitive interface,” allowing gamers to better control in-game characters and select elements without having to alter their grip. While the patent suggests Sony is only experimenting with the feature, similar to the hybrid DualShock/PlayStation Move controller patent it filed last year, we know that the company mulled an all-touch PS4 controller before settling on the DualShock 4, indicating that touch still has a big part to play in PlayStation’s future.
Via: Joystiq
Source: USPTO
Rdio launches in 20 new countries, now counts more markets than Spotify
After launching a free, ad-supported service in North America and Australia, Rdio is keeping up the momentum by rolling out its paid service in 20 new countries. Those include swaths of South America including Argentina and Venezuela, along with South Africa, Israel and Hungary. That brings the total to 51, ranking Rdio second by country ahead of Spotify but well behind Deezer, which services a whopping 182 nations. If you’re in one of the new regions and okay with having a machine guess your musical taste, you can grab it at the source for most platforms.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet
Source: Rdio
Rovio’s ‘Angry Birds Go!’ Kart Racing Game Hits the App Store [iOS Blog]
Rovio has released Angry Birds Go! for iOS, bringing a 3D kart racing game based off of the popular Angry Birds franchise to mobile devices. The game includes many of the usual bird and pig characters from the Angry Birds series participating in downhill kart races with various tracks and power ups, and also includes the ability to perform kart upgrades. A variety of game modes are present as well, with Angry Birds Go! also bringing support for Hasbro’s interactive “Telepods” toys that debuted alongside Angry Birds Star Wars II.
Welcome to downhill racing on Piggy Island! Feel the rush as you fling those freewheeling birds and piggies down the track at breakneck speed – with plenty of twists and turns in a thrilling race to the finish line! But beware! Look out for hazardous roads, mischievous opponents riding your tail and special powers to put the race leader behind the pack. Plus, go from soapbox car to supercar by upgrading your ride! Ready…Set…Angry Birds Go!
FIRST-EVER 3D ANGRY BIRDS WORLD! See the birds and pigs from every angle as Piggy Island comes alive in this rich and colorful 3D world!
RACE AS THE BIRDS OR PIGS! Jump behind the wheel and race as Red, Chuck, Terence, Stella, King Pig, Moustache Pig and many other favorites!
MASTER THE TRACKS! Plenty of racetracks, stunt roads, air courses and off-road races – each throwing big and unexpected challenges your way!
AWESOME SPECIAL POWERS! Smash your opponents off the road and take that winning position thanks to unique special powers for each character!
The title was first teased back in June, with additional information about the game released this past August. Angry Birds Go! a free download for iOS devices, and also features in-app purchases. [Direct Link]
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Microsoft adds £5 to the price of exclusive digital Xbox One games in the UK
All that turmoil deciding whose next-gen colors you were going to wear might have come down to one thing: which one has the launch titles, or exclusives you want. Imagine, then, that the very thing that won you over, came back to bite you. For early adopting Xbox One fans in the UK, that’s exactly what’s happening. Dead Rising 3, Forza Motorsport 5 and Ryse are all listed on Xbox Live for a fiver more than they cost at launch (£49.99, up from £44.99). At time of writing, it’s not all titles that will see you short of a deep sea diver, but Microsoft has confirmed to VG247 that pricing for “select digital content” has changed since launch, gently reminding us that price and promotions can vary by region. Evidently so.
Angry Birds Go Is Live On Google Play; Will You Be King Of Piggy Island?
Right on cue, Rovio has released their latest game in the Angry Birds franchise, Angry Birds Go!, today. Unlike the previous games in the franchise, Angry Birds Go! ditches the 2D strategic battle between birds and pigs and escalates it into 3D racing, not unlike Mario Kart and other frantic racing games which feature a plethora of varied race tracks, special powers, multiple game modes and cart customization. Also like other Angry Birds games, Angry Birds Go! is free to download, but as the game features a hefty amount of customization possibilities, I’d expect there to be more than a few in-app purchases to be seen. Check out the gameplay trailer below to get a better idea of how the game plays:
Rovio also announced the availability of Telepods, what Rovio calls a “groundbreaking new way to play”. The Telepods, which are presumably figures with codes inside them, can be purchased and placed over the camera on your device and will allow you to unlock more customizations within the game. While a prerequisite of the game is presumably to have a front-facing camera on your device, my Nexus 7 is apparently incompatible with the game; what other devices are people seeing incompatibilities with?
You can download Angry Birds Go! now on the Google Play Store (links below), but it’s a relatively hefty download compared to previous Angry Birds games at 168MB. Nevertheless, early feedback looks good with store ratings averaging at 4.8 stars, so jump in your cart and get racing on Piggy Island!
Source: Android Police
Game: Angry Birds Go!
Price: Free
The ASUS PadFone Is Coming To America, Says ASUS CEO
The ASUS PadFone has always been an intriguing device, marrying the capabilities of a smartphone with the versatility and size of a tablet device with which it can dock. ASUS, for the longest time, has also felt that it is onto something big, but has played its cards extremely close to its chest by only releasing the product in its native Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Russia, the United Arab Emirates and some parts of Europe. After dabbling in these markets and gathering some confidence in its niche product, ASUS’ CEO, Jerry Shen, is finally convinced that the PadFone is ready to make the jump across the Pacific to America.
ASUS is planning to divide its PadFone fleet into a “mainstream” line-up for Asia and a high-end range which will be shipped to Europe and the States. The recently announced PadFone Mini will lead ASUS’ efforts in this “mainstream” line whereas Shen has said that they are working on something new for its high-end product and are looking at a Q2 2014 release.
I personally was very slow to warm to the PadFone devices, however the concept of a PadFone does address a very real issue that techies everywhere will associate with; this issue is having both a smartphone and a tablet and favouring one over the other. The PadFone obviously does away with this favouritism by combining the two in a very effective manner and we can’t wait to see what ASUS comes up with by mid next year.
Are you interested in getting a ASUS PadFone? Let us know what you think about the concept.
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Source: engadget
Valve updates Steam Mobile for iOS with new UI and more social options
Since Valve introduced Steam Mobile last year, you didn’t need to be tethered to your desktop to purchase games or stay connected. Now there’s a new version for iPad and iPhone, with the UI specifically tweaked for iOS 7. Notable features include offline chat, improved push notifications, and a streamlined friend interface that makes it easier to see invites, nicknames, mobile or Big Picture status and Facebook friend suggestions. There’s also the ubiquitous stability and performance fixes, so if you just can’t interrupt that Half Life 3 discussion while out buying milk, hit the source.
Filed under: Cellphones, Gaming, Tablets
Via: AppAdvice.com
Source: Valve (iTunes)
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