Using the PlayStation 4’s virtual reality headset, Project Morpheus (update: now with video!)
The cat’s out of the bag and … uh, on our head? Okay, we can do better than that, but what we’re trying to say is that we just used Sony’s new Playstation 4 virtual reality headset: Project Morpheus. You already know the specs and all that good stuff, we’re here to tell you what it’s like using the still-in-prototype-form virtual reality headset for the PlayStation 4. Good news: it’s pretty great! Surprise!
Join us below for a closer look.
Project Morpheus, right now, is a little uncomfortable. In so many words, it feels like a prototype still. As a demo man fit the headset on my generously-sized noggin, he tightened a variety of different adjustments: one that tightened the whole unit on my head, another that brought the display portion forward toward my eyes. When you initially put it on, there’s a gap between where you’re looking and below — certainly not a great way to create immersion. Thankfully, that gap closed easily in the two different demos we tried (“The Deep” and “The Castle” — both of which were more tech demo than game).
I’d love to say it was a sweat-free experience; between gesticulating with PlayStation Move controllers as hands and being surrounded by hundreds of GDC attendees waiting for their chance to try Morpheus, I was relatively moist by the time I’d cut up the dummy model in The Castle with a virtual sword. While uncomfortable, I can get over that — the issue is that it makes the optics fog up and that’s no good at all. Part of the unit’s design is based around keeping players cool, so you should expect a better experience as Morpheus goes from prototype to reality.
So, games! What’s it like using Morpheus to play games? It’s pretty neat! Well, that’s to say, “It’s a lot like playing games in the Oculus Rift headset, especially the newer versions of the Rift.” In The Deep, I took a trip to the bottom of the ocean in a metal cage; when I bent down, my in-game knees bent (as tracked by the PlayStation Camera). When I looked up, my perspective turned skyward and the lamp mounted to my virtual head followed (the lighting was perhaps the most impressive part, with cage bars occluding properly and all).
In The Castle, I picked up two PlayStation Move controllers to act as hands, which enabled me to bend over, pick up a sword and take a dummy down a few notches. If I moved back a few steps, my in-game avatar moved back a few steps. One major change in Morpheus compared with other VR headsets is full-body tracking, which does legitimately add to the immersion effect.
It’s not all virtual reality rainbows and dreams, of course. There are still some pretty major issues to overcome in Project Morpheus. Vision blur, for instance, is a much bigger problem on Morpheus than on Crystal Cove/Rift DK2. The screen resolution is also clearly not as high as DK2, making everything a bit muddier, visually speaking. Right now, well ahead of launch (Sony’s not even talking about what the final product will be just yet, nonetheless giving it a launch window), Project Morpheus is both extremely promising and clearly not ready for primetime. But it’s close!
To put it frankly, we’re extremely excited to see what the next few years means for the entire medium of VR, not to mention the efforts of major players like Sony, Valve and Oculus. Morpheus is the second major entry in the field, and, well, that’s really thrilling! In case it weren’t already clear, this is the week that virtual reality officially goes big.
Moto 360 designer: ‘we wanted to hit that Whoa! mark’
In a live broadcast, designer Jim Wicks showed off a working version of the Moto 360 smartwatch and offered up a few pieces of information about his prized product and the philosophy behind its design. When asked about the inspiration for the 360′s circular design, Wicks mentioned that the shape is an iconic one that people naturally associate with time, as evidenced by the fact that nearly 80 percent of all watches sold globally are circular. “We don’t want to make consumers change for this tech,” Wicks said. “We want to make this tech map to them. With a square concept you might say ‘that’s interesting,’ but you don’t hit that ‘Whoa!’ mark. We wanted to hit that Whoa! mark.” Wicks understands that when it comes to smartwatches, fashion triumphs over functionality — and with the Moto 360, he believes that it passes the crucial test of being fashionable enough that consumers will want to buy it.
Of course, this isn’t Motorola’s first go at a watch. The Moto ACTV taught the company quite a few lessons, one of which was power management. “Our system design for ACTV is what allowed us to run it with a very small battery; and what we invented there went into the Moto X (with Active Display, touchless control and sensor integration). And a lot of the stuff you saw in the Moto X…ended up going into this watch.” While he couldn’t speak about battery life estimates, he specified that power management is a high priority for Motorola.
Wicks also believes that the Moto 360 will appeal to men and women alike. “We’re going after mass appeal by making design decisions around round,” he said. He claims that there are plenty of women who are now buying larger-faced watches, and having a customizable wristband will certainly help make it a good fit for as many people as possible: “From a comfort perspective, we’re allowing ourselves to get maximum reach, from small wrists all the way to large wrists.”
In addition to its circular design and the use of Google’s new smartwatch platform called Android Wear, we also learned that the 360 will feature interchangeable straps, water resistance and a special way of charging the device without USB, although Motorola isn’t ready to disclose any details on what that entails just yet. It’ll also be compatible with Android devices running 4.3 Jelly Bean or higher. Moto confirmed that the watch lacks a camera, a fact that likely won’t come as a disappointment to most potential buyers. Unfortunately, at the moment it also lacks a price, firm release date and word on availability, although the company indicated that it wants to eventually distribute it globally (which we take as a sign that it’ll probably be limited to the US or North America at first). Head below for the full interview.
Filed under: Wearables, Wireless, Mobile, Google
Source: Motorola (YouTube)
Flappy Bird is returning, but ‘not soon’
There you have it, Flappy Bird developer Dong Nguyen says his beloved game is making a return to app stores. The word comes way of a reply to a tweet just two hours ago. Asked whether he would put the game back into the “App Store”, Nguyen replied, “Yes. But not soon.” It’s unclear whether this means Google Play Store or strictly Apple’s App Store; we suspect it will hit both.
Whereas we were once saddened to see the game pulled from various distribution channels, we recently had our hopes raised. A profile in Rolling Stone magazine from earlier in the month told us we might look for the game’s return at some point.
So, instead of wondering if it will ever come back, now you can ponder the definition of “not soon”.
@painfullpacman Yes. But not soon.
— Dong Nguyen (@dongatory) March 19, 2014
The post Flappy Bird is returning, but ‘not soon’ appeared first on AndroidGuys.
iOS 7.1 Causing Issues With Personal Hotspots
Introduced earlier this month, iOS 7.1 appears to be causing issues with personal hotspots for quite a few iPhone users around the world. Following the update, some users appear to be unable to save APN settings for personal hotspots, which have vanished following the update from iOS 7.0.6 to iOS 7.1.
While information can be entered into the APN fields of the Cellular Data Settings menu, the values do not save, and attempting to establish a tethered connection results in an error message. Apple’s Support Communities currently features a 15-page thread on the issue that was started shortly after iOS 7.1 was released, with many users reporting the same problems with tethering.
Apple’s support staff appears to be confused by the root cause of the issue, with several customer service representatives suggesting the problem lies with carriers. Carriers that have been contacted have indicated that it is an issue with Apple, however.
Same here. Hotspot not working since I upgraded to 7.1. Such an annoying issue. I phoned my carrier this morning and they didn’t want to get involved since “it’s a device issue since settings can’t be saved”. No carrier updates either when I installed 7.1. So right now, no hotspot and no one wants to get involved.
Other users have heard that it is a problem limited to carriers that do not currently have a contract with Apple. The iPhone 4, 4s, 5, and 5s all appear to be affected by the issue, and there is currently no available fix. Users in Germany, India, Austria, Spain, Serbia, Thailand, Estonia, Hungary, Belgium, Italy, Brazil, and more have reported issues with hotspots.
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Flappy Bird to Return to the App Store
Flappy Bird creator Dong Nguyen has plans to return his hit game to the App Store, according to several interactions the app developer has had with fans. In a recent tweet discovered by Gawker, a fan asked Nguyen if he would return Flappy Bird to the App Store, and he answered “Yes. But not soon.”
A second fan ran into Nguyen at the Game Developers Conference currently taking place in San Francisco, and also received confirmation that Nguyen will re-launch Flappy Bird.
Creator of Flappy Bird found and he told me he is going to repost it to the App Store!!! pic.twitter.com/odmKbWaTw8
— Todd Moore (@toddmoore) March 19, 2014
Nguyen first hinted that he might reintroduce Flappy Bird during an interview with Rolling Stone earlier this month, where he said he was “considering” the move. In the same interview, Nguyen revealed that he pulled the app from the App Store back in February both because of the attention it was garnering and because it was overly addictive.
At the height of its popularity, Flappy Bird was earning Nguyen more than $50,000 per day, and even removed from the App Store, the game has continued to earn money. In its absence, hundreds of Flappy Bird clone apps have been released on the App Store, each one attempting to earn some of the revenue Nguyen was able to pull in.
It is unclear when Flappy Bird might make its way back to the App Store, but Nguyen has said that when he re-releases the app, it will come with a warning: “Please take a break.”
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Burger King gets appy with new mobile payment product
Burger King, the perennial Pepsi to McDonald’s Coke, is technologizing with a mobile app. But before you get out the pitchforks and cry “diabetes! laziness! obesity!,” it’s important we mention that this app, set to launch in limited locations next month with a nationwide rollout shortly after, is not like Seamless. That is, you can’t order Burger King for delivery — not yet, anyway.
As Bloomberg reports, this Burger King mobile app comes by way of Tillster, a company dedicated to facilitating digital ordering for big name fast food clients like KFC, Subway and Pizza Hut. The app’s more a virtual wallet than anything at this point, letting users pay for orders by adding funds to a virtual card. Although, the company has stated there’s potential for new features to be added at a later date, like placing an order for pick-up (yes, really). As a mobile payment option, the BK app’s not all that compelling of an idea, until you factor in the accessible nutritional information and coupon offers for discounted meals and items. You know, a little incentive for the young’uns that eat Burger King; a little something to make that value menu even cheaper, if that’s even possible.
[Image credit: Getty]
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile
Source: Bloomberg
Acer spokesperson questioned over insider trading allegations
Between the 30 percent pay cut, losing $700 million and hiring and firing two CEOs in 15 days, it’s not been a great time to be an Acer executive. As if things couldn’t get any worse, the company is now subject to an insider trading probe that has seen long-time spokesperson Henry Wang detained for up to two months. Taiwanese authorities raided 14 locations on Tuesday, including the company’s headquarters and some employee’s homes. Acer has announced that it is cooperating with the police to examine two employees’ individual mis-deeds, but wouldn’t name and shame ‘em at this time. When it rains, it pours, eh?
Filed under: Laptops, Tablets, Acer
Source: Acer
Band games Spotify by streaming silent tracks for cash
When you listen to a song on Spotify, the artist is paid around $0.0007, which is hardly enough to send an up-and-coming act out on tour. Imagine, however, if a band’s small but devoted fanbase played a short album on repeat for a whole night, each one would earn around $4. That’s the inspired idea behind Sleepify, an album from the band Vulfpeck, which comprises 11 x 32-second-long tracks of silence, specifically to game Spotify’s royalty system and fund the band’s forthcoming tour. If we’re honest, we’re envious that we didn’t come up with the idea first — although some might say that John Cage got there well before the rest of us.
Filed under: Home Entertainment
Via: The Guardian
Source: Vulfpeck
Oppo unveils Find 7, a 5.5-inch Quad HD monster
Oppo on Wednesday announced its latest Android-powered smartphone, the 5.5-inch Find 7. As the first of its kind to boast a Quad HD display, this guy packs in 2,560 x 1,400 pixels at a ridiculous 538 pixels per inch density.
The Chinese handset also boasts a number of top-tier specifications including a 2.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor, 3GB RAM, and 32GB internal storage. Yes sir, this one is a monster on paper. Rounding out the details are a 13.-megapixel rear camera (dual LED flash), LTE support, and a 3000mAh battery.
Powered by Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, the Find 7 also has Oppo’s custom ColorOS user interface.
Should you not need such a high density display, you can opt for a Find 7a model with a 1,920 x 1,080 display, 16GB storage, 2.3GHz quad-core CPU, and 2800mAh battery.
Both the Oppo Find 7 and Find 7a will be offered globally in April with $599 and $499 price tags.
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Virgin Mobile and Boost Mobile to clamp down on data in May
Virgin Mobile and Boost Mobile are expected to introduce new data restrictions starting in May. According to Wireless Week, both carriers will throttle customers who go above 2.5GB of 3G/4G data per month. If, or when, a user crosses the threshold, the two MVNOs will dial speeds back to 2G, or less than 256kbps.
“This change comes about because of the enormous data usage driven by the increasingly sophisticated smartphones we make available, and the more extensive uses customers are finding for these devices. “We want to be able to serve customers who use our unlimited plans for their daily activity.” – Sprint
Reportedly, both of Sprint’s prepaid arms will put the new rule into effect beginning May 16.
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