Report: YouTube and Google have purchased Twitch for $1 billion, turned down bid from Microsoft
What a day for the video streaming industry. Earlier today, we heard tentative rumours that YouTube (and by extension, it’s parent company, Google) were looking to acquire live streaming platform, Twitch, for $1 billion. Perhaps ironically, it was Google who purchased YouTube in 2006 for the sum of $1.65 billion, with YouTube now hoping to expand its audience and platform. Well, The Verge is reporting that those rumours are true and that YouTube and Google have purchased Twitch, and its sources also say that Twitch turned down several other suitors, including Microsoft.
One of the sources is quoted as saying there were several other bidders, including Microsoft, however Twitch could not see themselves being put on Xbox in any deal with Microsoft as the streaming platform is already on the Sony PlayStation 4. It is also said that Twitch would have turned down a $1 billion bid from anyone other than YouTube and Google as it sees Google as the backer who will help them become the absolute go-to live streaming platform. For those who haven’t heard of Twitch (or Twitch.tv as it’s also known as), it’s one of the fastest growing live streaming platforms on the internet in recent times, helped along by its almost religious adoption by e-sports and video gamers everywhere.
What do you think about Twitch’s sale to YouTube and Google? Let us know your opinion in the comments below.
Source: The Verge via gameindustry
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Glasses-free 3D projector offers a cheap alternative to holograms
Holograms are undoubtedly spiffy-looking, but they’re not exactly cheap; even a basic holographic projector made from off-the-shelf parts can cost thousands of dollars. MIT researchers may have a budget-friendly alternative in the future, though. They’ve built a glasses-free 3D projector that uses two liquid crystal modulators to angle outgoing light and present different images (eight in the prototype) depending on your point of view. And unlike some 3D systems, the picture should remain relatively vivid — the technology uses a graphics card’s computational power to preserve as much of an image’s original information (and therefore its brightness) as possible.
It’s not a flawless system, at least not right now. While the modulators work at a speedy 240Hz, the resulting output is just 40Hz. That’s fast enough for movies and TV shows, but a far cry from the 60Hz-plus that many regular TV sets can manage. To get wider viewing angles, MIT has also built a special screen using lenticular lenses like those you find in toys and children’s books. However, perfection isn’t really the point here. So long as the technology keeps advancing, it could lead to projectors with a “good enough” holographic effect that tides people over until real holography is within reach.
Filed under: Displays
Via: Phys.org
Source: MIT News, MIT Media Lab
Is this Samsung’s Galaxy S5 Prime?
When a $600 smartphone isn’t considered “premium,” then we’re all in deep, deep trouble. That’s the problem facing Samsung’s Galaxy S5, however, with scores of people hoping that an even more expensive version of the flagship is lurking just around the corner. The folks over at PhoneArena are showing off an image of what purports to be the “Galaxy S5 Prime,” apparently packing a QHD display and some spec bumps to ensure it remains a few Snapdragon model numbers ahead of its immediate rivals. The other big alleged difference is that the handset will come with an aluminum body, in the hope of luring back any customers who are drawn towards the HTC One’s shinier chassis. Naturally, there’s no proof that such a device actually exists, but the images do show some subtle differences compared to the regular GS5 we know today: The optical blood pressure monitor appears to sit behind the same glass panel as the camera sensor, and there’s no speaker grille on the lower-left quarter of the rear case. All in all, we’re going to file this in the “we’ll believe it when we see it” box, since even Samsung wouldn’t be crazy enough to replace its flagship just months after launch, would it?
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung
Source: PhoneArena
LG G Flex 2 on its way and it has an ace up its sleeve
You can say what you want regarding LG’s G Flex smartphone, but it was one of a kind. Curved phablet with a self-healing plastic certainly left a mark in smartphone business since its launch. The device maybe didn’t sell in some astronomic numbers, but it certainly brought something new to the table.
Truth be told the G Flex was/is a prototype phone, we can all agree on that. Rumors have began regarding G Flex’ follow-up, LG G Flex 2. According to @evleaks the phone is expected mid-Q1 2015 and it is expected to sport a feature even more unique than self-healing plastic. Well, they got our attention for sure. What could this feature be? I personally have no idea, I could list futuristic stuff that comes to mind but I’d probably be way off.
What do you think that feature will be? While we wait on some more news regarding LG G Flex 2, feel free to check out our review of the G Flex and LG’s awful commercial for the said phone.
SOURCE: @evleaks
The post LG G Flex 2 on its way and it has an ace up its sleeve appeared first on AndroidGuys.
YouTube to acquire Twitch in billion dollar deal
YouTube, owned by Google, is acquiring the popular videogame-streaming company Twitch for more than $1 billion. The deal is an all cash offer and is expected to be annoounced very soon.
Twitch is a San Francisco based company that allows users to upload and watch live gameplay videos which can be streamed from your favorite console. Twitch claims to have more than 45 million monthly users and over 1 million members who upload videos each month.
What is the reason behind the acquisition? Personally, YouTube is likely widening its streaming services to live gameplay, which will likely come by the end of the year. However, looking at the big picture, Google can also tap into all the data and use it for marketing or what not. It will take sometime for regulators to approve the purchase, but I am sure YouTube is ready!
Source: Variety
The post YouTube to acquire Twitch in billion dollar deal appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Cricket Wireless finally gets relaunch
Just two months after is acquisition to AT&T, Cricket is back in the game and shows promise! Cricket is a budget pre-paid carrier and offers three low-cost smartphone plans. All the plans offer unlimited talk and text, which is the norm for carriers, but the real deal is in the data packages:
- $35 a month = 500MB of LTE
- $45 a month = 2.4 GB of LTE
- $55 a month = 5.0 GB of LTE
All the prices above include taxes and fees along with a $5 credit if signed up for automatic payments. If a customer goes over their data limit, they will be throttled back. This is just like T-Mobile, but if you want more just open up your wallet!
Cricket is offering your basic run of the mill phones from the Moto G ($149.99) to iPhone 5s ($649.99). Most phones come with a $50 mail-in rebate, except for the iPhones. (They must be special or something) Cricket has come a long way, especially jumping onto AT&T’s LTE coverage.
I can remember when I had Cricket over 7 years ago. The phone service was great around the Army post I was at, but once I left central Texas, I didn’t have service until I reached the East Coast. So as you can see, Cricket has come a long way, especially reaching 280 million people with LTE. Does this interest you? Let us know in the comments below!
Source: Cricket
The post Cricket Wireless finally gets relaunch appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Upcoming Xbox One update might let you use external drives
According to Microsoft product director Albert Penello, external drive support for the Xbox One has always been on the company’s docket to enable in a future update. That refresh looks to be on the horizon after an unnamed Xbox developer took to Reddit to tease an image showing that very feature in action. Members of the Xbox One preview programme are often privy to early features, which have recently included improved Party Chat and manual checks for system updates, but this leak will likely attract the most attention. Although the Xbox One ships with a 500GB internal hard drive, blockbuster games can command 50GB without breaking a sweat. That game storage, of course, adds up over time. Attaching an additional drive will not only stop you from running out of space, it’ll also stop you from voiding your warranty with a do-it-yourself replacement.
Filed under: Gaming, Microsoft
Via: Ubergizmo
Source: Reddit
The future of Formula 1 could involve AR headsets and farting
What’s the next frontier for F1? If these guys get their way, races will be run on intelligent tracks, drivers will wear augmented reality headsets and cars will breathe air for extra thrust. Team Lotus and the energy drink Burn (nope, us neither) have teamed up to produce Human Ignition, a documentary that imagines what Forumula 1 could be like in 2022, while also telling you that energy drinks are really rad. One of the concepts offered up was that the driver would wear an AR helmet that showed them the airflows around their vehicle, making it easier to slipstream their rivals. Another would be to have the cars re-shape their gills in motion in order for them to “breathe,” drawing in more air and forcing it out for more thrust coming out of a bend. After which, the designers thought about how those jets could be used to create “dirty wind,” channeling the airflow to prevent your rivals from slipstreaming you. Nasty.
[Original image credit: Burn]
Filed under: Transportation
Via: CNET
Source: Burn (YouTube)
Celebrate the 40th birthday of Rubik’s Cube with today’s Google Doodle
It must be hard being Ernő Rubik. Back in the 1980s, the architect and toy inventor had the rare fortune of becoming one of very few self-made millionaires from communist Europe. But in the process he was horribly pigeon-holed. His patented Rubik’s Cube sold 350 million units, while his other creations — Rubik’s Snake, Rubik’s Magic, and presumably a few blocky buildings somewhere in Hungary — barely got a mention. Today, you can contribute to the injustice of it all by celebrating the 40th anniversary of the first Cube prototype, courtesy of a playable Google Doodle. Meanwhile, the inventor is currently touring the world with an exhibition that is pointedly titled “Beyond Rubik’s Cube.” Ernő, you have our sympathies.
Filed under: Misc, Science, Internet, Google
Source: Google homepage
Japan: the country where flip-phones refuse to die
The buttons are easier to type on, the battery lasts longer, it’s familiar. No, we’re not talking about BlackBerry this time, but the Japanese feature phone. Glorious, folding forefather to the smartphone, and the form-factor that gave birth to gara-kei, a shorthand phrase for “Galapagos phones”. It’s a negative term pointing to devices that simply wouldn’t survive outside of Japan. However, it’s not stopped the country’s biggest carrier, NTT Docomo, from revealing two new feature phone models (and a refreshed paint job for an older phone) just last week. Our Engadget Japanese colleagues were told by Docomo’s spokesman that these phones are still so popular with some customers that they practically sell themselves — many still enter their stores looking for a new flip-phone, not a smartphone.
While developing countries continue to buy up feature phones, where prices continue to plummet, Japan’s feature phones remain resistant to the smartphone substitution seen in western countries. Docomo has also started offering an unlimited voice call service — a feature that’s arguably more comfortable on longer-shaped feature phones and another reason for the carrier to continually refresh its gara-kei lineup.
Fujitsu’s latest model, the F-07F, has a 13-megapixel camera, 1,000mAh battery and a 3.3-inch color display: specs that make it a high-end feature phone, but (camera aside) pale in comparison to cheap, entry-level smartphones like the Moto E. Here’s one more surprising point: feature phones might cost less to make, but due to carriers subsidies for smartphones (in a bid to keep its customers upgrading), feature phones often cost more per month than mainstay Android devices from the likes of Samsung and Sony. There may have been a few smartphones in flip-phone clothing, but Japan’s gara-kei aren’t going anywhere soon.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
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