JXE Streams: You are the ‘Wind Waker HD’ beneath our wings
Let’s keep this Wii U love train rolling. Yesterday, we hosted a tribute stream for Nintendo President and CEO Satoru Iwata, who died this week. We played The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and discussed some of our favorite Nintendo memories, from the NES to the Wii U. Today, we’ll stick with Link and play The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD on Wii U. Maybe we’ll pivot near the end and play a little Mario Kart 8 or something — we’ll do whatever sounds fun in the moment because that’s what video games are all about. Join us at 3PM PT / 6PM ET on Twitch.tv/Joystiq, right in this post or on the Engadget Gaming homepage.
Cash Money hits Tidal with $50 million lawsuit over Lil Wayne album
Tidal dropped Lil Wayne’s The Free Weezy Album on July 4th, and doing so may cost the streaming service $50 million. According to TMZ, Cash Money Records, Lil Wayne’s label, is suing Tidal claiming that it owns the rights to all of the artist’s material since he is still under contract. This isn’t the first spat between the rapper and the label, as Lil Wayne has been in a battle with Cash Money over the release of his album Tha Carter V. In the lawsuit, Cash Money claims that it has exclusive rights to the music and that Tidal’s actions were a “a desperate and illegal attempt to save their struggling streaming service.”
The label also denies Tidal’s claim that Lil Wayne gave permission for the service to use the album in exchange for part ownership of the company, again arguing that he doesn’t control the licensing rights to his music. The lawsuit also mentions The Free Weezy Album hasn’t wowed critics, and Cash Money admitted that it could potentially take a loss on it after “tepid reviews.” What’s more, Tidal’s exclusivity on FWA only lasted about a week as it’s already made its way to other services like Spotify.
[Image credit: HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images]
Filed under: Portable Audio/Video, Internet
Via: Pitchfork
Source: TMZ
These are the wireless controllers you’ll use with the HTC Vive
HTC’s virtual reality headset, the Vive, blew us away when we first tried it at MWC 2015. Back then, however, the company was using wired, 3D-printed controllers, which made the experience slightly cumbersome — considering that you’re expected to move around a dark room “blindfolded.” Thankfully, HTC has already put together a wireless pair for developers; each one features motion-tracking sensors, a trigger button, digital touchpad and a design that’s very reminiscent of the Wii’s nunchuks. Now, these controllers are still in their prototype stage, but they should give you an idea of what’s coming when the HTC Vive consumer edition launches.
Question for you: In terms of ergonomics, do you prefer this set or the Oculus Touch?
Filed under: Misc, Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD, HTC
Google continues to make money thanks to mobile and YouTube
While Google has been enjoying consistent financial growth for quite some time, it was dinged the last two quarters for not living up to Wall Street expectations. But in today’s Q2 earnings announcement, the Mountain View firm has made significant strides in rectifying that reputation. It reported a revenue of $17.7 billion this past quarter, which is an 11 percent growth year over year and a 3 percent growth since Q1. This has beat Wall Street estimates handily, causing its stock to climb by 11 percent at closing. What’s contributing to this success? As CFO Ruth Porat puts it, it’s all thanks to mobile, with YouTube playing a star role.
Though Google won’t reveal specific numbers, Porat said that “the gap between mobile and desktop continues to narrow” when it comes to the money it makes from advertising. There’s apparently been a particularly strong surge in mobile search, which is a significant contributor to ad revenue. Chief Business Officer Omid Kordestani said on the earnings call that “more searches happen on mobile than computers in 10 countries.” It’s why the company is putting even more resources behind creating a better mobile experience. He says that around 30 percent of mobile searches are location-related — perhaps they want to know what’s around them or where’s the closest gas station. “When people search on mobile, they want immediacy and action,” he said.
It’s not just search either. Google has also invested in other key mobile experiences, especially in a world where people are less likely to head directly to google.com to search. Kordestani states that efforts like Google Photos, Now On Tap and Android Pay all factor in to making Google’s mobile presence more widespread. He also credited deep linking — where users are led to install new apps from links within other apps — for a boost in traffic. Indeed, Porat said that Google Play “continues to grow at an impressive clip” and is the “fastest growing mobile gaming platform.”
What’s particularly impressive is that YouTube ad revenue has also blossomed, particularly in mobile. The “Trueview” ad format — basically all those pre-roll ads you see before YouTube clips — has really grown of late. Porat said that YouTube has experienced an accelerated 16 percent growth rate and that “mobile watch time has more than doubled.” Cost per clicks have gone down, but that’s alright as those aforementioned Trueview ad hits have increased. A new feature of Trueview that automatically adds product information and pricing in video ads is cited for the growth.
Indeed, the number of advertisers running ads on YouTube has gone up by 40 percent and the average spend is up by 60 percent. Kordestani said that the average viewing time on YouTube is also more than 40 minutes and that more 18 to 49 year olds watch YouTube on mobile than any cable network. He said YouTube is great for content creators too, as the number of channels making six figures is up by 50 percent from this time last year.
As for Google’s other projects — Nest, Fiber and Google Life Sciences — those are now under “tighter governance” and are seen as more longer-term sources for revenue. Which basically means that they’re not quite making money hand over fist from those units just yet, but the potential is there.
[Image credit: Bloomberg via Getty Images]
Filed under: Google
Source: Google
Google reports $17.7 billion in revenue for Q2 2015, up 11% year over year
Google has just posted its financial reports for Q2 2015. The company saw tremendous growth in revenue, net income and paid advertisement clicks, which have all remained strong despite being faced with severe foreign currency fluctuations.
Google earned a total of $17.7 billion in revenue from the beginning of April to the end of June, an 11-percent increase year over year. Net income has seen an increase to $3.93 billion, up from the $3.35 billion the company earned last year at this time. Sites owned by Google generated $12.4 billion, up 13% year over year. Paid advertisement clicks have seen an 18-percent year over year increase, and paid clicks on Google’s websites saw a 30-percent year over year and 10-percent quarter over quarter increase.
The company says had foreign exchange rates remained constant from Q2 2014 to Q2 2015, Google’s revenues would have been $1.1 billion higher.
Moving on, the semi-vague ‘other revenues’ portion generated a total of $1.7 billion, which marks a 17-percent increase year over year. This section includes a number of highly-profitable areas such as Google Play revenue and the Nexus program, among others. It should be noted that Google’s other revenues have seen a 3-percent decline from Q1 2015, which should come to no surprise considering the most recent Nexus launch happened back in October.
Google’s operating costs totaled a massive $6.32 billion, up from $5.58 billion from the year prior. It should be noted that Google hired roughly 8,500 employees since this time last year, which contributes a lot to the increase in operating costs.
Telltale’s Game of Thrones Episode 5: ‘A Nest of Vipers’ coming to the Play Store July 23rd
Following the recent May launch of Episode 4, Telltale Games is bringing the fifth installment of Game of Thrones to the Google Play Store on Thursday, July 23rd. Titled ‘A Nest of Vipers’, Episode 5 will explore Rodrik’s alliance with House Glenmore as well as his defiance of the Whitehills. Meanwhile, Asher is becoming very close to securing the army he needs to return home. Coincidentally, Cersei has realized that, thanks to Mira’s actions at Tommen’s coronation, the handmaiden may actually prove useful to her. Much more is bound to happen in this episode, so check out the full description below for a closer look:
In this penultimate episode, the actions of every Forrester are vital to the survival of the house. Rodrik’s alliance with House Glenmore, and his defiance of the Whitehills, has drawn the ire of an even greater threat: Ramsay Snow. Far across the Narrow Sea in Essos, with Meereen now a free city, Asher is close to securing the army he desperately needs to return home, and save his family. In King’s Landing, Mira’s activities at Tommen’s coronation have not escaped the attention of Margaery Tyrell, and Cersei has realized that the handmaiden may prove useful in her political games. Finally, beyond the Wall, Gared’s unlikely allies are reluctant to help in the search for the North Grove… but this far into the frozen wilds, Crows and Free Folk have a common enemy; and winter is coming.
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The first four episodes are available in the Google Play Store for $4.99 a piece, and the 5th episode will be downloadable via an in-app purchase when it launches next Thursday. If you’re interested in checking the game out on another system, Episode 5 will launch on PC/Mac, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 on Tuesday, July 21st, and on the Xbox One and Xbox 360 on Wednesday, July 22nd. The game will launch on both Android and iOS next Thursday.
If you’re interested, head to the Google Play Store link below to grab the game.
Xiaomi VP Hugo Barra Defends Against Copycat Accusations in New Interview
Xiaomi vice president Hugo Barra, who came to the company from Google, today did an interview with Bloomberg where he once again spoke out in defense against copycat accusations that have been levied against the company.
According to Barra, all of the copycat claims come from a single iPhone 5-style chamfered edge on a Xiaomi device. “Yes, it does look like an iPhone 5 and that chamfered edge, by the way, is present in so many other devices.”
Xiaomi’s Mi Note
He went on to say that the accusations were the result of a bias against Chinese companies. “People couldn’t bring themselves to believe a Chinese company actually could be a world innovator, could build amazingly high-quality products.”
When asked if the recent Mi Note looks like an iPhone 6 Plus, Barra laughed it off and said “it’s white like an iPhone 6 Plus.” He said accusations of copying weren’t fair, because these days, every smartphone looks like every other smartphone on the market.
I just don’t think we can allow a company to take ownership of things that just are how they are, right? I think if you look at what we’ve designed in the last 12 months you understand how much originality there is in what we do. And to be honest, I think you’re going to see a lot more happening the opposite direction, people taking inspiration off what we do.
Over the course of four years, Chinese electronics company Xiaomi has managed to become the world’s third largest smartphone distributor, competing with the likes of Lenovo, LG, Samsung, and Apple. Its devices, ranging from smartphones to tablets, have been publicly criticized for heavily borrowing design elements from Apple’s iPhones and iPads and adopting marketing materials tactics similar to Apple’s.
Xiaomi’s copycat antics led Apple chief designer Jony Ive to verbally skewer the company in a 2014 interview, where he famously said “I think it’s theft and it’s lazy. I don’t think it’s okay at all,” following a statement from Xiaomi vice president Hugo Barra, who had said, “Our designers, our engineers are inspired by great products and by great design out there. And frankly who in today’s world isn’t?”
At the time, Ive went on to say Xiaomi’s devices aren’t a form of flattery. “When you’re doing something for the first time, like with the iPhone… and you spend 7 or 8 years working on it and then it’s copied – I have to be honest, the first thing I think isn’t ‘oh, that was flattering.’ ”
The iPhone 5c-style Xiaomi Mi 4i
Xiaomi’s latest smartphones are the Mi Note and Mi Note Pro, designed to compete with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, but the company has most recently expanded into the home arena, with the Smart Home Kit.
Unknown LG device visits Geekbench with flagship specs
An unknown LG device was spotted running through Geekbench. Dubbed the LGE LG-F600L, Geekbench tells us that it is running a Snapdragon 808 with 4 GB of RAM.
With two flagship devices expected to be released from LG in the coming months, it is uncertain as to what this device could be.
Could it be the revival of the Nexus 5 that is to expected to release along side a Huawei Nexus phablet? Or maybe it is the LG G4 Pro in accordance to LG’s promise of a new flagship in the second half of 2015.
I am leaning more towards the LG G4 Pro as Geekbench also identifies the device as running Android 5.1.1 where we all know that the new Nexus will be launching with Android M.
However, it is not impossible for the new Nexus to be tested using Android 5.1.1, and the LG G4 Pro is expected to come with a Snapdragon 820.
The naming, LG-F600L, also follows in line with the LG G4’s model number (LG-F500L) adding even more uncertainty.
Then again, why would the Nexus phone launch with a Snapdragon 808 while the Nexus phablet launches with a Snapdragon 820?
Which do you think this phone is? The Nexus 5 that everyone is dying to see, or the more powerful G4 Pro?
As always, this is all speculation. Take it with a grain of salt.
Source: Geekbench via: Phone Arena
The post Unknown LG device visits Geekbench with flagship specs appeared first on AndroidGuys.
OnePlus claims that the upcoming OnePlus 2 will be “the 2016 flagship killer”
OnePlus has sent out a post on social media to thank its partners that helped the company make the upcoming OnePlus 2. The post came with an image with all the names of the partners, with a side note mentioning how they helped OnePlus build “the 2016 flagship killer”.
This is quite a bold claim considering the fact of how quickly smartphones become obsolete after their release.
“Thank you to our partners who helped make the #OnePlus2 possible! Together, we’ve created the 2016 Flagship Killer.”
The OnePlus 2 will be released on July 27th 2015. The post is fairly enthusiastic, considering the fact that OnePlus will most likely release a OnePlus third-generation smartphone by 2016. The device will come with high-end specs, such as an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 (v2.1) processor, a fingerprint scanner, dual SIM support, 4 GB of RAM, and a 3300 mAh battery. The company confirmed that the OnePlus 2 will be priced under $450, which is a highly attractive price considering its specs.
Source: Twitter
Via: Phone Arena
Come comment on this article: OnePlus claims that the upcoming OnePlus 2 will be “the 2016 flagship killer”
HTC’s Grip activity tracker gets postponed, though its fitness goals aren’t all lost
Back at Mobile World Congress, HTC announced a wearable fitness tracker called the Grip in conjunction with Under Armour that was originally slated to hit shelves in the spring. Now that it’s summertime, many folks have been wondering why the fitness band has yet to launch. The company has finally shed some light on the situation, telling Engadget that it has no plans to ship the wearable we saw at MWC.
If you’ve been planning on picking up one of the devices, all hope isn’t lost, though. A spokesperson for the company said HTC has “decided to align Grip with the entire product portfolio for health and fitness launching later this year”. So, we might not see the HTC Grip launch in its current form, but in a newer, shinier variant alongside some other fitness-related products later this year.
HTC released this statement earlier today:
Through our partnership with Under Armour, we have continued to refine our vision and approach to the health and fitness category. Our goal is to offer best-in-class products for our customers and partners. After extensive wear testing and user feedback, we have decided to align GRIP with the entire product portfolio for health and fitness launching later this year. This will be a state-of-the-art comprehensive portfolio of products for this category powered by UA RECORD. We are excited to launch this new comprehensive product suite and will share further details as we get closer to launch.
Don’t miss: HTC’s product strategy – time to change?
We went hands-on with the HTC Grip in February, and from what we could tell, it didn’t really bring anything new to the table. Although it was incredibly well-built, just like most other HTC products, it failed to stand out from other fitness trackers that have already made their way to market.
As of now, we have no idea what HTC plans to do with the Grip line in the future. Could we see an improved second generation Grip, or will it be a completely revamped fitness tracker? Only time will tell, but for now, folks who were looking forward to the HTC-made wearable will have to wait.
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