‘Breaking Bad’ spin-off ‘Better Call Saul’ will be a Netflix exclusive in Europe and Latin America
Despite its popularity and critical acclaim, Breaking Bad had difficulty finding a broadcaster that respected the show on the other side of the pond. For the final season, however, Netflix began releasing the episodes shortly after their US broadcast, and suddenly people began to take notice. Following that trend, it’ll be the streaming service that has won exclusive broadcast rights to Breaking Bad’s follow-up in Europe and Latin America, rather than a fusty old TV network. Prequel show Better Call Saul will feature the exploits of Walt and Jesse’s lawyer before he got involved with the pair, and we expect it to follow a similar pattern of becoming available the day after its US broadcast — which is expected to begin at some point next year.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD
Source: Netflix UK (Twitter)
Amazon shooting 2014 original series lineup in 4K
Set top boxes everywhere just cried out in agony. Amazon announced this morning that its full lineup of 2014 series will be shot in 4K. The retailer-turned-TV-studio likely considers the move a bit of future-proofing, given the limited options for actually watching such shows in their intended resolution. The list of 8.3 million pixel programs features five new pilots, including Chris Carter’s The After, Roman Coppola’s Mozart in the Jungle and Jill Soloway’s Transparent.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, Amazon
Source: Amazon
LG GX Is Launched In Korea Bearing A 5.5-Inch Display And Snapdragon 600
Ever since the release of the LG G2, we’ve been expecting LG to launch a phablet smartphone soon after, much like the Korean outfit did for the LG Optimus G which was followed by the LG Optimus G Pro. Well, LG has indeed launched a phablet called the LG GX, though it’s not quite the phone we were expecting.
Spec-wise, the LG GX possesses a Snapdragon 600 processor, 2GB RAM, 5.5-inch IPS display, 13MP rear camera, and 3,140mAh. Does that sound familiar? It should, because that’s exactly the same specs of the LG Optimus G Pro, the GX’s “predecessor”. While the GX may be the same on the inside, its exterior is quite different to the G Pro’s, though interestingly, it doesn’t take that many design cues from the G2 either, ditching the rear volume buttons for a more conventional side bumper.
There are some obvious upsides to the GX over the G Pro, namely LTE support and the benefit of some of the G2′s software gimmicks like the “knock on” feature which lets you wake up your phone with some tapping. Although the GX is only available in Korea for now, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the phone move to overseas markets, but we’ll let you know when we hear more. Would you get the LG GX? Let us know in the comments below.
LG finally joins the Spotify Smart TV party
Spotify has been available on a number of LG’s home theater products since March, but only now are Smart TV owners getting the chance to enjoy it on their flatscreens. The company announced today that the new app is coming to all of its 2013 model Smart TVs, but it will only be available to Premium account holders. While Spotify now offers free streaming to mobile and tablet users, the LG app requires a monthly subscription, but a month’s free trial may soften the blow if you’ve yet to sign up. With LG in the bag, the music service now supports three major TV makers, having already launched apps for Samsung and Philips sets. It gives the company a considerable advantage over its streaming rivals, which include Rdio, Google and Apple, by letting users access over 20 million tracks from an ever-expanding range of devices. LG says the new Smart TV app will go live in over 30 countries over the coming days, giving you the perfect opportunity to load up your playlists in time for Christmas.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, Software, HD, LG
Small winged bot flies autonomously for nine minutes, still can’t find a mate
Many robots can fly, but only a few forsake rotors for more natural, if inefficient means of propulsion. These flapping bots have interested folks at the Delft University of Technology for many years, and their latest dragonfly-like effort has achieved what they’re calling a first among winged machines: Autonomy. The DelFly Explorer is larger than creations past, but still weighs only 20g (0.7 oz), or the equivalent of roughly four paper airplanes. To flutter freely without human aid, the Explorer marries a barometer and gyroscope with two cameras for eyes, and a microcontroller for a brain. Mix that with some clever coding, and the automaton can take off and navigate its surroundings unassisted until its nine minutes of battery life are up. The DelFly crew imagine their bots could have both fun and functional uses in the future, but for now are busy adding multi-room navigation. At which point, DelFlies will be the perfect scouts for Google’s terrifying robot army.
Filed under: Robots
Via: Robohub
Source: DelFly
Physical buttons make a comeback in Samsung’s low-end Galaxy Core Advance
The rugged Galaxy S 4 Active had them, and so did the lesser-known Xcover2. But all-physical navigation buttons are becoming rarer on Samsung phones nowadays, and that’s why our eyes were drawn to the manufacturer’s latest low-end offering, the Galaxy Core Advance. In addition to the obvious trio on the front, the handset also finds room for dedicated camera and voice recorder buttons on the side. Specs-wise, however, we’re still in deeply unexciting Galaxy Core territory, with Android 4.2 and TouchWiz running on a 480 x 800 display (now slightly bigger at 4.7 inches), a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of onboard storage (expandable via MicroSD) and Europe-friendly 3G data bands. The phone will be out early next year, although we’re not sure exactly where it’ll be sold or for how much. What we can say, though, is that Samsung will have to drastically undercut the superior Moto G (which has a 720p display and Android 4.3) if it plans to go up against Motorola in the same markets.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung
Source: Samsung
Android 4.3 For Sony Xperia Z1 and Xperia Z Ultra Rolling Out Now
Sony has been one of the most vocal smartphone manufacturers since the announcement of Android 4.3 Jelly Bean went live, and while it hasn’t quite followed through with the noise it made with an early release, it is nevertheless bringing Android 4.3 for Sony Xperia Z1 and Xperia Z Ultra out in good time. Sony today made a post on its Sony Mobile blog saying that Android 4.3 is rolling out now to their flagship Z1 and its gargantuan phablet brother, though when you actually receive the update will depend on your region.
Beyond bringing Android 4.3 to the two handsets, some of the features that are rolling out in this update include:
- the Xperia Z Ultra will be receive the Sony Smart Social Camera that the Xperia Z1 came with;
- an update to Sony’s library of proprietary apps;
- more Sony Entertainment Network cloud integration in the WALKMAN, Album and Movies app;
- the launch of Sony’s “unique custom interface experience” called Xperia Themes
It’s a pretty substantive update so we can’t wait to see what Sony has in store for the Android 4.4 update, whenever that drops. If you have either of these devices and you get the update, feel free to let us know and tell us how you’re finding the update.
Source: Sony Mobile Blog via Xperia Blog
Huawei’s Honor brand challenges Xiaomi with 3X and 3C low-cost phones
Huawei’s known for its Ascend smartphones around the world, but back in late 2011, the company also started toying with a small Honor series for select budget markets. Fast forward to today, the latter sub-brand has become Huawei’s platform to compete with the sudden surge of affordable online brands in China — most notably Xiaomi, the pioneer of that industry. With a little help from MediaTek (and ironically not Huawei’s own HiSilicon), the phone maker is upping its firepower over this territory with two new dual-SIM devices: Honor 3X and Honor 3C.
The Honor 3X joins the first wave of octa-core 1.7GHz MT6592-powered devices, and it boasts 2GB of RAM, a 13-megapixel f/2.2 main camera, a 5-megapixel 1.4-micron front imager plus a generous 3,000mAh battery. The 720p resolution on the glove-friendly, 5.5-inch IPS touchscreen may seem like a let-down, but in this case, Huawei reasoned that going 1080p would push power consumption up by as much as 20 percent, plus many folks may not notice the visual difference — a point that Huawei Device Chairman Richard Yu has often echoed publicly.
On a brighter note, the 3X is the first phone to feature dual-3G SIM slots — one Mini SIM and one Micro SIM — for WCDMA (China Unicom and most carriers around the world) and TD-SCDMA (China Mobile). Better yet, both slots will recognize either type of 3G radio, as opposed to having designated slots for each. There’s also a dual-mic system for in-call noise cancellation, as well as DTS audio support. The price? From just CN¥1,698 or about $280 off-contract, making it a tad more affordable than the Xiaomi MI3. Alas, there’s no launch date just yet.
The “C” in Honor 3C probably stands for “cheaper,” as evidenced by its specs. It features a quad-core 1.3GHz MT6582 SoC with 2GB of RAM, along with a 5-inch 720p LTPS panel, a 2,300mAh battery, a Sony 8-megapixel f/2.0 main camera, the same 5-megapixel front imager as the 3X’s, dual-SIM slots (WCDMA + GSM or TD-SCDMA + GSM) and microSD expansion. Like the 3X, this model also comes with dual-mic noise cancellation. The damage is only CN¥798 (about $130) for the 1GB model, or CN¥998 ($160) for the 2GB flavor, and China-based folks can pre-order from online retailer JD.com or Huawei’s own Vmall.com as early as tomorrow.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Source: Vmall (Chinese)
HTC One 2/M8 Getting Improved WiFi Certification?
The HTC One 2, or HTC M8, is making more noise today, with something that is actually pretty cool and I hope it will actually have it. Seems that the phone went through its WiFi certification, and in the document, it gives the impression that the new phone will be equipped with a WiFi antenna that will be able to switch from 2.5 GHz signals, and 5 GHz signals. As of now, mobile devices cannot operate if you set your wireless router to 5 GHz, which I ran into a lot when I worked for the cable industry.
Many customers that I had, craved for more speed, or a better signal from their router. I would then throw out the option of turning their signal to 5 GHz, but then they would pull out their tablets and I would have to let them know that it couldn’t use the signal if set that way. Sometimes customers would get confident and change the signal themselves, then call us up with a trouble call stating they can’t get WiFi on their mobile devices.
According to the document , the HTC One 2 should be able to use any from of 802.11 signal, and if I’m not mistaken, it will be the first mobile device to do so. I don’t think there are any devices out there that can receive a 5 GHz signal, but if there is, let us know. Also let us know your thoughts about this.
Source: Techienews.co.uk
LG launches GX smartphone in Korea with 5.5-inch display, Snapdragon 600
Expecting a lazy Sunday night? You aren’t thinking globally: it’s midday in Korea, and LG’s announcing a new large-screened smartphone. The LG GX features a wide 5.5-inch full HD IPS display, a quad-core Snapdragon 600 CPU, a 13 megapixel camera, 32GB of onboard storage and a 3,140 mAh battery. Don’t be too surprised if that sounds familiar — it matches the LG Optimus G Pro blow for blow, distinguishing itself primarily by design, locality and few updated user interface features. Namely, the GX has adopted the G2′s “knock on” feature, which allows users to double tap phone’s screen to rouse it from sleep, and it can also integrate with LG smart TVs to display call and text information while you’re watching the game. Naturally, the LTE-toting slab is only available in Korea for now, but if you’re looking for an eyeful, check out LG’s Flickr gallery at the source link below.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, LG
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