Xbox One’s ‘Titanfall’ bundle gets a price cut to $450 at Walmart and Best Buy
The PS4 may have commanded an early lead over the Xbox One, partly thanks to a $100 price difference, but Microsoft is quickly narrowing the gap. Now, the company might just seal the deal with a discounted Xbox One-Titanfall bundle: both Walmart and Best Buy have cut the price to $450. The move is an aggressive one on Walmart and Best Buy’s part: Microsoft only recently started selling the Titanfall bundle for $500 a week and a half ago. Now, just 10 days later, it’s received a $50 discount. For those keeping track, that puts the Xbox One within spitting distance ($50) of the PlayStation 4, which doesn’t even come with a game in the box. Subtract Titanfall‘s $60 value from the cost, and Microsoft at last has the cheaper console. So, which of you is buying?
Filed under: Gaming, Microsoft
Via: New York Times, Joystiq
Apple reportedly considering iTunes Store for Android phones
Apple’s iTunes store may still be one of the most popular sources for downloading cheap music, but you need an iOS device to take advantage, and that leaves a heck of a lot of smartphone owners out in the cold. Rather than have those users hand over heaps of cash to competitors, it makes sense for Apple to bring its iTunes store to Android. And according to Billboard, that’s exactly what Cupertino may be considering. The magazine’s own sources claim that Apple has begun discussions with several record label execs, with topics ranging from a streaming service to compete with Spotify to an iTunes app for Android devices. Launching such an application isn’t as simple as dropping it in Google Play, however. Complex negotiations with record labels are reportedly in the very early stages at this point, so it’ll likely be some time before we see this latest concept materialize, if it’s due to debut at all.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Apple
Via: 9to5Mac
Source: Billboard
AT&T thinks increased bandwidth costs are Netflix subscribers’ problem
AT&T’s swinging back at Netflix CEO Reed Hastings’ recent assertion that ISPs (internet service providers) should shoulder the cost of increased bandwidth demands. In a post on AT&T’s Public Policy Blog, Senior EVP Jim Cicconi denounced Hastings’ desire for a “cost-free delivery” agreement with ISPs, saying that it unfairly shifts the burden of infrastructure cost to AT&T and its subscribers rather than to Netflix’s own customer base. As Cicconi views it, that subscriber base is the very one responsible for the increased traffic demands and resulting need to build out additional facilities, and should therefore bear the brunt of a fee hike.
In an attempt to highlight what he sees as Hastings’ “arrogant proposition,” Cicconi goes on to point out that this “self-righteous” streaming model is akin to Netflix “[demanding] a customer’s neighbors” pay the cost of its DVD mail delivery service. The comparison isn’t quite apple-to-apples, but his point is fairly straightforward: if you’re using Netflix, it’s up to you to pay for high-quality streams. In other words, it’s not AT&T’s problem.
And also, AT&T just doesn’t want to pay for Netflix’s “good business fortune.” But that much should already be crystal clear.
[Image credit: Getty]
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD, AT&T
Source: AT&T
Engadget Podcast 389 – 3.21.14
Join us for an out-of-this-world episode with Joseph, @terrenceobrien and Ben (who’s Skyping in from the land of blue skies and balmy weather). Experience Mars with Sony’s Project Morpheus, hear Joseph’s pitch for virtual reality installations at arcades around the country, and learn the truth about your pet cat — spoiler alert: it’s an alien. We’ve heard that robots are coming soon to a wrist near you courtesy of Google’s new Android Wear platform, but is the wearable world ready for a smartSwatch? There’s news, speculation and insight, but definitely no Virtual Boy in this week’s edition of the Engadget Podcast.
Hosts: Terrence O’Brien, Joseph Volpe, Ben Gilbert
Producer: Jon Turi
Hear the podcast:
05:24 – Using the PlayStation 4′s virtual reality headset, Project Morpheus
07:41 – The new Oculus Rift costs $350 and this is what it’s like
38:12 – Valve’s new Steam controller feels familiar, but strange
40:11 – Google announces Android Wear, a Nexus-like platform for wearables
48:10 – Meet Samsung’s new smartwatch family: the Gear 2, Neo and Fit
56:57 – Amazon wins patent for airbag system designed to protect portable devices
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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
Developer pins death of Firefox for Windows 8 on Microsoft’s browser rules
Mozilla attributed the death of Firefox for Windows 8 to low adoption, but it didn’t say why people weren’t using the beta release. Were they not interested? Former Mozilla developer Brian Bondy doesn’t think so. Instead, he believes that Microsoft’s strict web browser rules are to blame. You can’t run a browser in the modern Windows interface unless it’s set as the default, and picking that default is a drawn-out process — some people didn’t know that they could use Firefox in the newer environment, Bondy says. Whether or not the OS policy is responsible, we wouldn’t expect Microsoft to be more accommodating when Mozilla has complained to little avail for the past two years.
Filed under: Internet, Software, Microsoft
Via: Computerworld
Source: Brian Bondy
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