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14
Dec

Microsoft set to launch first original programming for Xbox One in early 2014


Microsoft hopes its first wave of original TV programming for Xbox One will be out in early 2014, the company’s president of entertainment and digital, Nancy Tellem, tells Variety. At the latest, Redmond is hoping to have its original content out by the second quarter. She went on to say that the initiative has taken longer than expected and that the company is neither Netflix or Amazon. Her division is in the process of securing exclusives and trying to figure out whether the content is “best on Xbox or only on Xbox” when it comes to interactive functionality. Whether the first round of shows includes the previously-announced Spielberg-produced Halo series or something involving street soccer remains to be seen, but from the sounds of it, it won’t be long until we find out.

Tellem says Microsoft is keeping millenials in mind when it comes to how programming is consumed, whether it’s through multitasking or on-demand content that’s available whenever someone has the time to watch. The goal isn’t to redefine the TV viewing experience, it’s to evolve it, she tells Variety. If Microsoft’s original programming model with Xbox Video sounds familiar, that’s because the likes of Netflix, Hulu and Amazon are all leading the charge on their own streaming services. For more from Tellem, be sure to check out Variety’s piece.

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Source: Variety

14
Dec

Google’s Ingress to become a platform for augmented reality games


Augmented reality games are really cool, and I remember when I used to play one on a Nokia a long time ago, but the way technology is moving forward, the world of augmented reality is changed as well. Niantic Labs, a part of Google, developed an augmented reality game known as the Ingress. It transforms the real world into the landscape for a global game of mystery, intrigue, and competition. However, now it seems that Niantic Labs will have to wind down their story-line.

Soon it will be turned into a platform for other augmented reality games. Niantic told The Verge that they are working on kits that will allow developers to create their own games with chat layer, location info, and in-game ads if needed. However, don’t expect to write your own title anytime soon. Right now, Niantic doesn’t know when the tools will be ready, and it all depends on the flexibility of the team, so hopefully sooner or later we will hear the good news.

So, any Ingress fans out there? What do you think about this? Tell us about it in the comment box below.

Ingress (Playboard) | Ingress (Play Store)

Source: The Verge

The post Google’s Ingress to become a platform for augmented reality games appeared first on AndroidGuys.

14
Dec

Sprint readying $20B bid for T-Mobile, report says


Sprint is readying a potential $20 bid for T-Mobile US for the first half of 2014, says industry insiders speaking with the Wall Street Journal. The deal, which would marry the 3rd and 4th largest carriers in the United States, is certain to face heavy scrutiny by the Department of Justice. As many of you know, federal regulators made it quite obvious that they are concerned about competition in the space. Only look at how the proposed deal between AT&T and T-Mobile went down a few years back.

tmobile_uncarrier_720

Sprint and T-Mobile have both seen their fair share of acquisitions and mergers over the last few years. T-Mobile and MetroPCS have combined forces while Japanese carrier SoftBank now owns the lion’s share of Sprint. Were T-Mobile and Sprint to ultimately merge it would make for a close three way fight. A fight, sadly, that could result in higher rate plans and less awesome perks. Indeed, it could spell the end of the Un-carrier strategy.

It’s quite early in the game and there’s plenty of time for the details to spill out; don’t look for anything to happen until for at least a few months. Once things are announced it will then turn over to the governmental departments. After that, who knows.

WSJ (Subscription)

The post Sprint readying $20B bid for T-Mobile, report says appeared first on AndroidGuys.

14
Dec

Amazon offering Moto X, LG G2, Droid Mini for one penny


The online retailer has dozens of smartphones for only $0.01 with new service agreements

Looking to pick up a new smartphone this weekend? Do yourself a favor before heading out the door: Check out some of these deals over at Amazon.

As of Friday night we found many Android handsets listed at a mere penny with new contracts. Indeed, new and existing customers alike can get in on most of these promotions. What’s more, there are plenty of other models going for less than $30 with the same stipulation. We’re talking Nexus 5, HTC One, Droid Ultra, and Droid Maxx!

Don’t forget that some of these handsets come with 50GB of Amazon Cloud Drive free of charge!

Here’s a quick list as to what we’ve found:

Smartphones for ONE PENNY

AT&T

Sprint

Verizon

Smartphones for under $30

AT&T

Sprint

Verizon

The post Amazon offering Moto X, LG G2, Droid Mini for one penny appeared first on AndroidGuys.

14
Dec

Samsung merges camera and mobile phone divisions


When we think about Samsung, we think about the Galaxy line of smartphones, but actually Samsung is a huge company – also known as the Samsung Group, with total assets of US$ 590.4billion. Their one of the most successful divisions is the Wireless Business Division – the one that controls smartphones and the tablets. Samsung is planning to make some changes in their internal structure, as they decided to merge their Digital Imaging Business Division with Wireless Business Division.

The DIB team will report to the Wireless division, and they will work together to help each other out, and the conclusion will be help improve imaging capabilities of the company’s smartphones, as well as improve wireless powers of its digital cameras.

We will transplant the brand, sales networks, software competency and manufacturing competitiveness of the Wireless Business Division into the Camera Business Division, and integrate the technical know-how of the two business divisions into competency for differentiating our smartphones.”

The change went into effect on December 12. I am sure the merger will be great for both divisions, and as we deal with smartphones, I think we can expect future Samsung smartphones with better camera result and interface, hopefully.

What do you think about it, is it a good move? Tell us about it in the comment box below.

Source: ET News

The post Samsung merges camera and mobile phone divisions appeared first on AndroidGuys.

14
Dec

Skitch for Mac adds resolution controls for Retina display captures


Looking to save some space with those high-res screenshots you took on your Retina machine? Skitch for Mac now allows users to chose between 144 DPI and the regular 72 DPI screenshots on those more pixel-dense displays. The new feature can be toggled via the file type menu at the bottom left of the app’s window and doesn’t affect the size of files sent to Evernote. Those larger screen captures are labeled “Hi-Res” the moment they’re snapped and the software remembers your settings preferences as well. You can start slimming down your image library now, as the update is currently available via iTunes.

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Source: Evernote Blog, iTunes

14
Dec

The best tablet deals of the week: 12.13.13


With Engadget’s new tools, you can track price drops on thousands of devices every day, and once a week we feature some of the best deals right here. But act fast! Many of these are limited-time offers, and won’t last long.

Tablets may not be on your shopping list this holiday season, but there are a few tempting specials that may make you reconsider. This year’s Nexus 7 model sees a $50 price cut with three other options for slate-style media consumption to help avoid annoying relatives in a couple weeks. Be sure to visit our product database to monitor prices on these gadgets and more as they move around. Join us and add the gadgets you’re shopping for to your “Want” list; every time there’s a price cut, you’ll get an email alert!

Nexus 7 (2013)

Price: $179 (regularly: $229)
Buy: Office Depot

Google’s 7-inch slate has had the attention of the Android faithful since its arrival a few months back. Unskinned Android and solid performance earned the tablet a 91 Engadget Global Score. And the device just got an update to 4.4.2, bringing all KitKat’s features.

ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity (TF701T)

Price: $400 (regularly: $450)
Buy: Amazon

We first caught a glimpse of the Transformer Pad Infinity back in June, and our editors were immediately smitten with the tablet’s crisp 299 PPI display for viewing Android apps. Once more, a current-gen slate has nabbed a $50 discount — in case the recipient craves the freshest tech.

Barnes & Noble Nook HD+

Price: $149 (regularly: $269)
Buy: Office Depot

Shopping for someone special who isn’t concerned with the latest and greatest but is after a reading device with a bit more to offer? The Nook HD+ is worth a look, especially at this price. In addition to sorting that personal library, apps from Google Play are available on-screen as well.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0

Price: $130 (regularly: $250)
Buy: MacMall

For those after a smaller slate, the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 ‘s price tag is now checking in at a 90-day low. Reliable performance and solid battery life are in play for all of those Android-powered exploits. However, you’ll want to keep in mind that Samsung has discontinued this particular model.

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14
Dec

Engadget Podcast 372 – 12.12.13


It’s that time between Black Friday and CES when the news cycle becomes a snoozefest, but your intrepid host Brian Heater sallies forth into the abyss along with Terrence O’Brien and Sarah Silbert to bring you this week’s tech tidbits. Led Zeppelin landed on Spotify to mark yet another major artist holdout that’s finally crossed over to digital services. Blockbuster, however, failed to change with the times and finally announced the closure of its last remaining UK stores. This leads the gang to reflect on Red Vines, beaded video-store curtains and the dearly departed Tower Records. There’s plenty in store in this week’s show, so hang on tight and head on down to the streaming links below for another edition of the Engadget Podcast.

Hosts: Brian Heater, Terrence O’Brien, Sarah Silbert

Producer: Jon Turi

Hear the podcast:

02:05 – Led Zeppelin comes to Spotify
06:04 – Spotify goes free on mobile devices through the magic of shuffling
09:33 – Instagram debuts Direct, letting users share photos and videos with select friends
18:34 – Ubuntu gets its first smartphone deal, comes to high-end devices in 2014
28:51 – Microsoft has sold 2 million Xbox One consoles to date, maintains ‘record-setting’ pace
30:21 – Blockbuster to shutter all of its remaining UK stores
38:44 – Facebook is reportedly working on a ‘sympathize’ button to show support for somber updates

Subscribe to the podcast:

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (enhanced AAC).
[RSS MP3] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically.
[RSS AAC] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in enhanced AAC) to your RSS aggregator.
[Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune Marketplace.

Download the podcast:

LISTEN (MP3)
LISTEN (AAC)

Contact the podcast:

Connect with the hosts on Twitter: @bheater, @terrenceobrien, @sarahsilbert
Email us: podcast [at] engadget [dot] com

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14
Dec

Sprint Working on Potential T-Mobile US Purchase


sprinttmobileSprint is preparing a possible bid for T-Mobile US, reports The Wall Street Journal. If permitted by antitrust regulators, a potential merger between the two companies would result in just three major carriers in the United States.

Sprint is studying regulatory concerns and could launch a bid in the first half of next year, the people said. A deal could be worth more than $20 billion, depending on the size of any stake in T-Mobile that Sprint tries to buy.

Sprint hasn’t yet decided whether to move ahead with a bid. Going forward despite regulators’ concerns would be highly risky. Any pursuit of a bid by Sprint could be aimed at testing antitrust officials’ reaction to a deal, and a bad reaction could put an end to the effort.

Currently, T-Mobile US, which operates under the T-Mobile, MetroPCS and GoSmart brands, is the fourth largest carrier in the United States with 45 million customers. Sprint is the third largest carrier with 54 million customers. Combined, the two companies would be come close to reaching the subscriber numbers of the larger carriers in the U.S., Verizon and AT&T, at 119 million and 108 million customers each, respectively.

Both Sprint and T-Mobile have struggled to keep up with competitors like Verizon and AT&T, which have installed much larger LTE networks. A merger between the two companies would likely see significant service improvements for customers, due to a larger network infrastructure.

It is unclear whether such a merger would be permitted, as AT&T previously tried to purchase T-Mobile US in 2011. The Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice both made moves to block the transaction, putting an end to the acquisition. AT&T had planned to pay $39 billion in cash and stock for the company.

According to the report, Deutsche Telekom AG, which owns approximately 67 percent of T-Mobile US, is looking to exit the U.S. market.

    



13
Dec

Skype for Android updated, brings new features for tablet users


Microsoft has decided to upgrade the famous video calling application Skype with some new features, and the version 4.5 is now available at the Google Play Store. There are crash and bug fixes for Nexus 5 and latest Samsung phones, but also there is some good news for tablet users.

As it’s mentioned on the Skype’s official blog, this version “is focused on improving the experience for tablets”, so for that, they updated the app with two new features. The first one is a picture-in-picture window for video and voice calls, means you see your video call even when you switch away to other applications. The second feature is detailed below:

We’ve also added a way for tablet users to quickly jump from one letter to another in your contact list. Just pinch your contact list to zoom out to an alphabet and tap on the letter (or number / symbol option) to jump to that section. It’s a whole lot faster than scrolling.

If you don’t have Skype, then you can download it from the Play Store by clicking the link below. Don’t forget to share your experience with us in the comment box below.

Skype – free IM & video calls (Playboard) | Skype – free IM & video calls (Play Store)

Source: Skype

The post Skype for Android updated, brings new features for tablet users appeared first on AndroidGuys.

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