PlayStation in Paris: Lots of trailers, not much news
Paris Games Week 2015 became a Iot more interesting when Sony decided to hold its fall event there instead of at Gamescom. So after all the hand-wringing, how was it in the end? Comme ci, comme ca. There were a few important announcements, like a release date for No Man’s Sky, the launch of Gran Turismo Sport, complete with an entire league, and the reveal of Quantic Dreams’ beautiful-looking Ex Machina-type game called Detroit. We also saw gameplay for Wild, Michel Ancel’s (other) eagerly anticipated title. Otherwise, it was a bit of a letdown, with a lot of rehashing and still no solid release date for PlayStation VR. For more, check out our wrap-up video below or yesterday’s liveblog.
Aaron Souppouris contributed to this report.
Nintendo makes its first smartphone game ‘Miitomo’ official
Nintendo today at an investors meeting in Tokoyo revealed details about its first free-to-play smartphone game, Miitomo. It will be the first of many games to come, but unfortunately, it’s been delayed until this next March.
Nintendo’s new president Tatsumi Kimishima, succeeding the late Satoru Iwata, didn’t reveal many details of how the game plays. He did say that users will be able to create and customize their own Mii characters which can communicate with other Miis created by others. There were no details beyond that.
Kimishima also noted that the game would be delayed until this upcoming March, as Nintendo wants to be able to properly advertise this title after the holiday rush. That said, we’ll hear many more details about Miitomo after this holiday season is over. Nintendo wants the perfect opportunity to promote their game, as they don’t want their first entry to be a flop, which is understood considering that many mobile games just don’t make the cut.
Kimishima also took the time to lend some more details on the company’s mobile initiative. He said Nintendo plans on using a cloud sharing system to transfer data between mobile and consoles, implying that Miitomo could have something to do with its Wii lineup. Kimishima also mentioned that Miitomo will be a free download, but future titles they plan on launching will have a price tag.
source: Nintendo
Come comment on this article: Nintendo makes its first smartphone game ‘Miitomo’ official
Rogers will carry the Galaxy Grand Prime next month
Canadian carrier Rogers has just announced that it will be adding the Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime to its rapidly-growing lineup of entry level smartphones. The handset will be available to purchase next month for $0 down on a 2-year contract or for $229.99 on a prepaid plan.
Specifications-wise, the Grand Prime packs a 5.-inch display with a resolution of 960 x 540 pixels, a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 410 processor, 1GB of RAM, an 8MP rear-facing camera, a 5MP front-facing shooter and a 2,600mAh removable battery.
However, if you are in the market for an affordable device, we’d recommend checking out the brand new OnePlus X. For $249, you can get your hands on a gorgeous piece of hardware that packs some stellar components.
Come comment on this article: Rogers will carry the Galaxy Grand Prime next month
LG’s Q3 2015 financial results are in with a $68 million loss on mobile
It’s that time of the year where companies begin posting their Q3 2015 financial results. This time around is LG, who doesn’t seem to be doing well in the mobile department after posting a $68 million loss. It’s quite a hit to the company, considering that the mobile division only brought in a meager $172,000 in profit during the Q2 2015 results.
LG’s mobile division has seen a 12% sales increase in North America, but worldwide sales have fell by 7% every quarter this year, indicating a 21% drop in worldwide sales just this year. Things could be looking up for LG’s mobile division, though. The company has just released some hot contenders in the market, the LG-made Nexus 5X and LG V10, all of which are expected to increase profits and boost sales.
The Nexus 5X is a beloved smartphone, being the successor to the famed Nexus 5 in 2013. It will no doubt do well as far as sales go, especially considering that it’s highlighted on Google’s own online storefront.
It doesn’t take much to see that LG’s mobile division is in a tough spot, and that’s partially because of tough competition coming from its rival Samsung. LG as a whole company did post a profit $109 million this quarter, which includes the sales from other departments, such as TVs, blu-ray players, and so on.
source: LG
Come comment on this article: LG’s Q3 2015 financial results are in with a $68 million loss on mobile
Droid Turbo 2 and Droid Maxx 2 now available on Verizon
There might be some frustrations around Motorola and the Droid Turbo 2 and Droid Maxx 2, but the smartphone manufacturer and Verizon did one thing right: making both smartphones available the day after the announcement.
Yes folks, those interested can head on over to Verizon’s website and pick up a Droid Turbo 2 or Droid Maxx 2 immediately. One of the frustrations I have with Android manufacturers is that they’ll announce a smartphone and then consumers proceed to wait three months for an official launch. That’s not the case with the Verizon-Motorola partnership this time around, though!
As a quick refreshed, the Droid Turbo 2 is the more expensive option with a 5.4-inch 1440p AMOLED shatterproof display, a Snapdragon 810 processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, and a giant 3,760mAh battery said to last up to two full days. It’ll run you $624 outright or $26 a month for 24 months on a device payment plan. Those of you wanting to design your Droid Turbo 2 will have to buy through Verizon’s “Design Yours” listing, it seems.
Alternatively, there’s the Droid Maxx 2 with a 5.5-inch 1080p LCD display, a Snapdragon 615 chipset, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal memory, and a 3,630mAh battery, which is also rated for up to two days of life, though your mileage may vary. Unlike the Droid Turbo 2, it doesn’t have a shatterproof display, but it’s water resistant. It’s essentially a Moto X Play, and it’ll run you $384 outright or $16 per month on a payment plan.
Both models are running Android 5.1.1, but Verizon says that they will be upgraded to Android 6.0 some time in the future.
source: Droid Turbo 2 (Verizon), Droid Maxx 2 (Verizon)
Come comment on this article: Droid Turbo 2 and Droid Maxx 2 now available on Verizon
‘Salt’ is a gun and pepper spray in one
Salt’s Indiegogo campaign says it “was designed around the belief that a gun does not have to take a life to protect a life.” See, it might look like conventional handgun, but its bullets aren’t made of lead. Instead, they’re pellets that contain a proprietary mixture of powdered chemicals, including oleoresin capsicum: a ghost pepper extract used for pepper sprays. Since the pellets explode when they collide with a solid object, you don’t even have to hit your target. Its creators said the powder mixture, which “exceeds the potency of those used by” Homeland Security and the military, causes temporary blindness, makes the lungs constrict and stings the human skin.
Source: Indiegogo
Apple dips a toe into VR with U2 music video
Apple just stepped into the virtual reality game, kinda, via a(nother) partnership with U2. Apple Music and the Irish band collaborated on a special 360-degree video for Song for Someone produced by Vrse — a platform for original VR content. This might be the first consumer VR content with Apple’s name to it, but it’s familiar ground in many ways. The partnership between U2 and Apple is part of a promotional “experience” which includes a bus outside venues of its European Tour, where fans of U2 can view the video via Oculus rift. Apple Music, on the other hand, is clearly trying new ways to win over some of those (many) non-paying users currently testing out its streaming service.
Via: TechCrunch
Source: AtU2
BBC iPlayer and Siri for Apple Music Coming to New Apple TV in Months Ahead
Just over a week after developers pressed BBC to bring iPlayer to Apple TV by building their own proof-of-concept app, the British public broadcaster has now confirmed on Twitter and its website that it will be launching the streaming service for the new Apple TV in the “coming months.”
BBC iPlayer will be coming to the new Apple TV in the coming months…
— BBC iPlayer (@BBCiPlayer) October 29, 2015
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
“Available on over 10,000 devices, BBC iPlayer is one of the biggest and best on-demand video services in the world, and has transformed how UK audiences watch programmes online,” said the BBC’s director-general Tony Hall.
“I am delighted that iPlayer will be coming to the new Apple TV in the coming months, helping to bring the BBC’s distinctive and loved content to an even wider audience.”
Auntie Player proof-of-concept iPlayer app for the new Apple TV
BBC iPlayer is an on-demand video service that allows viewers to catch up on TV show episodes and other content airing on the popular British channel. The app was not available on previous Apple TV boxes, except over AirPlay using an iPhone or iPad, despite versions existing for Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and other streaming devices.
BBC has reversed course since the new Apple TV was announced in September, at which time it announced on Twitter it had “no plans currently” to develop an iPlayer app for the latest set-top box. iPlayer had more than 220 million TV requests in August from users on other devices, the BBC says, so a native tvOS app will be a welcomed arrival for many viewers in the United Kingdom and abroad.
Apple also confirmed to BuzzFeed News that Siri is coming to Apple Music on the new Apple TV at the beginning of next year. This functionality will allow Apple TV users to say commands such as “play the top songs from Taylor Swift’s 1989 album” or “play more like this” to control Apple Music on the big screen.
The new Apple TV launches October 30, coinciding with the first deliveries to customers.
How To: Download YouTube videos with YouTube Red
YouTube Red is finally here, offering paying subscribers (only in the US, for now) some pretty nifty features, including ad-free video, background play and the ability to save videos offline for US$9.99 per month. It includes a subscription to Google Play Music and they even have a free trial for 30 days if you are still on the fence.
Here, we are going to teach you how to download, then watch, YouTube videos for offline viewing with the YouTube and YouTube Gaming Android apps.
Step 1: Begin watching any video on the YouTube or YouTube Gaming app.
Step 2: Tap the gray ‘Add to Offline’ button below the video player (as seen in the image below).
Click the arrow to download video for offline watching.
Step 3: Select the video quality you wish to download.
Step 4: Once the download the is complete, the icon will change to a blue ‘Available Offline’ button.
Step 5: Go to your Account tab in the YouTube or YouTube Gaming app, then tap the ‘Saved Videos’ block to start watching your saved videos (as seen below).
Click on your account to view “My Videos”.
To delete your saved offline videos, tap the ‘Available Offline’ button, then select Remove. You can also access the Settings page to set the quality of your offline videos and change whether to download over Wi-Fi only.
A few more things to consider: you can only watch your offline videos if you are logged into your YouTube Red account, you cannot like or comment on a video while offline and you can watch your offline videos for up to 30 days after saving them.
List of downloaded videos.
Now that you know how to save your favorite YouTube videos for later, hopefully those long commuter trips will be a lot more bearable, without the possibility of exceeding your mobile data allowance.
Let us know what your first thoughts and impressions are of YouTube Red. Is this service something worth paying for if you’re not already paying for Google Play Music? Drop us a line below.
The post How To: Download YouTube videos with YouTube Red appeared first on AndroidGuys.
[Deal] Get the Android development experience you want for only $19
There are plenty of ways out there that someone can learn how to start coding and developing their own applications. We here at AndroidGuys have shown off quite a few of these courses and lectures so that you get your feet wet.
Today, we are featuring another option for those wanting to learn how to develop, but this one is a bit different from others. The Learn-by-Example Android Developer Course, features a more ‘hands-on’ approach to developing your own application.
With over 11 hours of interactive content, you’ll be able to learn everything there is to know about developing Android applications. With this course, you’ll also have ways to interact with different layouts, meaning that you’ll be able to actually get an idea of what your app will look like on different devices.
- 59 lectures featuring 11+ hours of content
- Build 10 working Android apps
- Learn the technologies & APIs essential to Android development
- Use the Junit testing framework to build a news reader app
- Utilize the Google Maps Android API to build a directions application
- Use the YouTube API to create a YouTube app
- Experience using Android Studio & Eclipse ADT
- Includes royalty-free source codes
- Receive a certificate of completion
Additionally, at the end of the course, you would have built ten different applications, so you’ll be on the road to glory, as well as a certificate of completion, to show off on your resume.
Normally priced at $199, you can head over to the AndroidGuys Deals page, and grab this set of courses for only $19. With a savings of 90%, this is a great way to jump on the development train, and get some experience under your belt.
You can find this, and many other great tech bargains through our Deals page. Backed by StackCommerce, there are daily promos, giveaways, freebies, and much more!
AndroidGuys Deals: Learn-by-Example Android Developer Course
The post [Deal] Get the Android development experience you want for only $19 appeared first on AndroidGuys.
AIVAnet 