Daily Roundup: House of Cards season 2, hands-on with Fujifilm’s X-T1 and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Fujifilm X-T1 hands-on
Fujifilm’s latest mirrorless X-T1 camera packs weather-resistant housing, but that’s not its only novel feature. Starting at $1,300 (body only), this shooter features dedicated dials for exposure, shutter speed and ISO. Follow the link for our hands-on and photos.
Creating GoPro’s media empire
Thanks to GoPro, footage of some of the world’s most extraordinary activities and events live on the internet, ready to entertain, inform and inspire the masses. Read on for more about the company’s 10-year journey from simple action stills to a blossoming media empire.
House of Cards season two
Netflix’s House of Cards is back! Season 2 of the Emmy-nominated series is now available for streaming, just in time for Valentines Day dinner dates. Click on through for details.
Android apps get Chromecast support
Google’s latest update to Play Services added built-in Chromecast support to the Android SDK, allowing developers to bake the dongle’s features into virtually any app. Click the link for more information.
Filed under: Misc
Word Science is a new game from WildTangent Studios that puts a new spin on Scrabble
Scrabble is one of those games that seems like it’s been done to death and back again, even though many of them don’t vary too much in gameplay. WildTangent Studios is out to shake that perception up with Word Science, their new take on word games by combining Scrabble and Find-a-word to make a fun game with plenty of social media integration. Check out this gameplay video to see what that looks like:
Word-tastic, that’s for sure. There’s all sorts of power-ups to use in the game like Spellements, blank tiles and extra time boosts which will all have to be used at the right time to help you get the best score possible. Word Science also has Google Play and Facebook integration for those of you who are the competitive types with scores going towards a weekly leaderboard. Word Science is available now on the Google Play Store for $0.99 so hit the Play Store link below if you’re interested.
Game: Word Science
Price: $0.99
Press Release
Quick thinking, fast fingers required for WildTangent’s unique new word spelling game
Seattle, Wash. – January 7, 2014 – WildTangent Studios today announced Word Science, a blitz word spelling game, will launch January 9 for iOS App Store, Google Play, Amazon Appstore and the WildTangent Games mobile games service.
In Word Science, players choose letter tiles from a moving conveyor belt to spell words, increasing their score as they practice science in the Von Vocab Laboratory. Each letter tile has a different point value, and players must spell words before time runs out and the lab’s power turns off. A variety of power-ups including Spellements, blank tiles or extra time boosts and the ability to speed up the conveyor belt to create a new selection of letters provides a different experience each game round.
“Our latest game for mobile, Word Science, offers players of all ages a unique, fast-paced word spelling game with a scientific twist,” said Matt Shea, head of WildTangent Studios. “Players choose their own boosts and can build points spelling short words quickly or long words that may take more time. How and when you play is totally up to you, which is a big part of what draws you into Word Science.”
Before or after game rounds, players may receive opportunities for free power-ups and boosts courtesy of sponsors, provided by WildTangent’s advertising platform, BrandBoost. Then, players can post their score to Facebook and compete against friends in a weekly word spelling throwdown.
For more information about WildTangent, visit www.wildtangent.com/corporate/newsroom. On Facebook visit https://www.facebook.com/WildTangentGames, or follow us on Twitter @PlayWildTangent.
Dennis Woodside makes it official, announces move from Motorola to Dropbox
Just a few days ago, we heard the rumour that Motorola Mobility CEO, Dennis Woodside, would be calling it quits at the recently Lenovo-acquired smartphone manufacturer and moving to cloud storage player Dropbox. Well, it’s no longer a rumour as Dennis Woodside makes it official, coming out in a post in Motorola‘s official blog to announce that he will be stepping down at the end of March to take up the position of Chief Operating Officer at Dropbox.
In what is essentially a open letter resignation, Woodside reminisces that during his tenure Motorola saw a ‘reinvention’ of itself with its brand and the devices that it brought to market in the Moto X and the Moto G, creating “unprecedented quality and performance to a value-priced smartphone, and created experiences that changed how people use and interact with their smartphones”. It’s definitely been an exciting time to see Motorola evolve under Woodside and Google, and I would say it’s a shame that Motorola didn’t profit more from it; perhaps the smartphone world wasn’t quite ready for their innovations.
Regardless, Woodside will be making what is likely his last appearance on the world stage at Motorola’s press conference at MWC 2014, and while it’s not expected that there will be any devices announced, it should be a nice trip down memory lane and a look at Motorola’s future. We salute and thank you, Dennis Woodside.
Source: Motorola Blog
HTC will bring all ‘major Android updates’ to new flagship devices for two years (update: only in North America)
Members of HTC’s US product team have just started taking questions from Android fans over on Reddit, and they’re already dropping some goodies. After conceding that the company’s track record with updates isn’t spotless, they confirmed that HTC plans to bring “all major Android updates” to its forthcoming North American flagship devices for a full two years after they’ve been released.
We can hazard a guess at what those new flagships may be, but it’s heartening to see HTC pledge prolonged support for its new phones. After all, few things are as frustrating as buying a shiny new smartphone only to see its maker basically forget about it after a few months. Sadly, HTC isn’t a stranger to that stuff: the company caught flack for refusing to update the One X past Android 4.2, a decision it made to maintain a level of software parity between the Tegra and Snapdragon variants floating around out there. The move ruffled enough feathers to get HTC working on exploring the idea of an Android 4.4 update for the One X, but if the company sticks to its word such headaches will be a thing of the past.
Update: The original AMA post said HTC would “support all new flagship devices going forward with all major Android updates,” but the company has clarified that it meant North American flagships specifically.
Filed under: Mobile
Source: Reddit
HTC working with Microsoft to bring Windows Phone Blue to 8X
HTC hasn’t forgotten about Windows Phone after all. The company’s been pretty silent on any sort of collaboration with Microsoft for a long time, but the North American product team spoke up today on Reddit. When asked if HTC is done with Windows Phone, the team stated: “we’re working with Microsoft on the Blue update on Windows Phone 8X and will continue to take new products into consideration.” Indeed, it appears that the 8X — which will be nearly a year and a half old in April, when the Blue update is rumored to launch — will get the latest and greatest version of Windows Phone after all, and perhaps we may even see new hardware down the road. Sadly there’s no word on what will happen to the 8S, which launched around the same time, so we’ll have to wait and see. As a sidenote, it’s also rare to hear companies directly confirm the existence of upcoming updates, but let’s face it: It’s not as if it’s really that big a secret these days anyway.
Filed under: Wireless, Mobile, Microsoft, HTC
Source: Reddit
Engadget Podcast 384 – 2.14.14
Broadband oligopolies, Sage Fistbumpingham and sugar honey ice tea are just part of this week’s reality bending roundtable discussion. The recent Comcast and Time Warner Cable merger plan spurs a series of installation anecdotes from Terrence “The RAD-iator” O’Brien, Ben discloses his feelings on Flappy Bird fanaticism and Joseph, ever the wordsmith, tries to rewrite the urban dictionary, one letter at a time. There’s also news from last week’s DICE Summit in Las Vegas and predictions for the upcoming Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona. This is the episode your Valentine’s Day date wouldn’t want you to miss, so head to the streaming links below for your Engadget Podcast fix.
Hosts: Terrence O’Brien, Joseph Volpe, Ben Gilbert
Producer: Jon Turi
Hear the podcast:
06:40 – Abandoning Olympus: Mega Man’s creator on going indie
16:43 – Comcast and Time Warner Cable’s $45 billion merger puts 30 million customers under one roof
40:42 – Netflix report suggests Comcast and Verizon FiOS speeds are slipping
54:45 – Flappy Bird’s creator says he pulled the app for your own good
54:45 – What Samsung is saying about the Galaxy S5
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.
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Download the podcast:
Contact the podcast:
Connect with the hosts on Twitter: @terrenceobrien, @jrvolpe, @realbengilbert
Email us: podcast [at] engadget [dot] com
Filed under: Podcasts
T-Mobile will allow Jump users to upgrade anytime, but it may require opening your wallet
Starting February 23rd, T-Mobile is allowing Jump customers to upgrade their smartphone or tablet whenever they want, rather than just twice a year. There’s just one (gigantic) catch: your device has to be at least halfway paid off before you make the switch. Currently, Jump customers can get the phone of their choice for zero money down, and pay off the full price of the device over the course of two years. If you get a new phone every six months (as Jump currently allows), you would have only paid off a quarter of the device when you make the swap. While the new policy lets you upgrade more often, if you’re making a change earlier than a year in you’re going to have to pay a bit out of pocket.
The idea brings Jump more on par with Verizon’s Edge program, which also requires you to have your device halfway paid off to upgrade, and AT&T’s Next program that offers upgrades once a year. Requiring 12 months of payments on a device minimizes the loss on these plans for carriers and puts the extra financial burden on the hard-core enthusiasts who want to upgrade faster than the traditional one-year lifecycle of most flagship devices. Existing Jump users can stick with their current plans, and can continue to upgrade every six months.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Wireless, Mobile, T-Mobile
Source: T-Mobile
Twitter claims Venezuela is blocking its images to stifle protests
Venezuela’s government has been trying to silence protests over shortages of basic goods, and that crackdown appears to be extending into the digital realm as well. A Twitter spokesperson tells Engadget and Bloomberg that pictures on its social network are “currently blocked” for at least some users. The country hasn’t confirmed anything, but President Nicolas Maduro has already taken a TV station off the air after it showed unflattering protest footage (pictured here); this may be just a continuation of his policy. Whatever is taking place, Twitter is encouraging Venezuelans to sign up for text message updates to keep the news flowing. And locals can take comfort in knowing that government attempts to censor online content aren’t always effective at crushing dissent — if there’s enough demand for political change, it can happen.
[Image credit: Eduardo Massieu / NTN24, Twitter]
Filed under: Internet
Source: Twitter Spanish (translated), Bloomberg
Spoiler Shield app for Android might just put an end to plot points being revealed on Social Media
I think we can all agree that spoilers are the worst; sure, sometimes knowing what is coming can be useful and exciting, but when someone ruins the final ever episode of Breaking Bad when Walter and Jesse… well, you get the idea. The primary vehicle for spoilers is obviously social media, particularly Facebook and Twitter, which is where the Spoiler Shield app for Android comes in.
This ingenious little app integrates both Facebook and Twitter posts and spits out a news stream but crucially with all posts related to your favourite TV show or sports team ‘shielded’. It does this with a neat shields menu where you can manage and toggle which TV shows or sports team results you want ‘shielded’, but still allows you to see the shielded posts; if you’re feeling particularly despondent, you can simply double tap the post and see the shielded content. Check out this demo video for more details:
As you can see, it’s a pretty handy app, particularly if you take your TV shows or sports very seriously. For the time being, it looks like it supports primarily US TV shows and sports teams, which is probably what most of us want anyway, but hopefully the library will be extended in future to include foreign shows, or perhaps even movies.
The Spoiler Shield app for Android is available now on the Google Play Store for free, so if you want to give it a try this Valentine’s Day weekend, hit the Play Store link below to pick it up. How much do you hate spoilers? Share your grievances with us in the comments.
Source: Phones Review
Application: Spoiler Shield
Price: Free
Fitbit Update adds Support for 7 Sony Xperia Z Devices and the Moto G
For those of you out there that have been waiting long and patiently for Fitbit to gain more device support in the Android world, we are pleased to inform you that they have pushed an update to the app that does just that.
As of yesterday at some point, Fitbit updated in the Play Store and added in a slew of Xperia Z model support.
- Xperia Z
- Xperia Z1
- Xperia Z1S
- Xperia ZL
- Xperia ZR
- Xperia Z Ultra
- Xperia Tablet Z
Along with the update you also now have support for the Motorola Moto G too. The update adds to the list of slowly growing Android device support that was dominated by Samsung and the Droid Razr line mostly. The update also brought some Korean bug fixes and addressed crash reports.
Anyone out there with one of the newly supported devices happen to have a Fitbit available to try it out? If so, let us know if its working out in the comments.
AIVAnet 