JJ Abrams is working on a game with the makers of ‘Infinity Blade’
JJ Abrams’ attempt to conquer the gaming world isn’t just limited to a partnership with Valve. His Bad Robot studio is teaming up with Infinity Blade creator ChAIR on Spyjinx, an espionage game hitting both PCs and phones in 2016. The two are saying precious little about the title right now, but they’re promising a blend of action, role-playing, strategy and even world building — this is far more than just a Team Fortress 2 game mode. It’s as if players will be in the “brainstorming session” with developers, Abrams teases. If that whets your appetite, you can sign up for chance to participate in a closed beta test that kicks off next year.
The mobile world’s walls are crumbling
Ponder the photo you see above for a moment. Yes, that’s Apple Music running on a BlackBerry phone powered by Android — products from three mobile rivals working in harmony. The very concept of this would have been outlandish just a year ago, let alone a few years earlier when these companies were at each other’s throats. This is the best sign yet that some of the walls in mobile tech are finally tumbling down. Companies are realizing that they sometimes have to play nicely with each other if they want to succeed… and that’s good for everyone.
iPad Pro Tidbits: A9X Outperforms MacBook, Apple Pencil is Weighted, T-Mobile Financing and More
Apple released the iPad Pro on the Apple Online Store and at select Apple Retail Stores and resellers earlier today, and we have rounded up some interesting facts and news announcements surrounding the 12.9-inch tablet.
iPad Pro Delivers Notebook-Level Performance
Geekbench results show that the iPad Pro’s A9X processor is a dual-core chip running at about 2.25 GHz, as reported by Ars Technica.
The A9X chip had a 3,233 single-core score and 5,498 multi-score score in browser-based CPU tests, outperforming the iPad Air 2 and other recent iPhones and iPads by a significant margin.
iPad Pro also outperformed the 12-inch Retina MacBook, equipped with an Intel Core M dual-core processor clocked at 1.1 to 1.2 GHz, but the A9X chip’s CPU performance falls short of devices like the 2015 MacBook Air and Surface Pro 4 with Intel’s latest Broadwell or Skylake U-series processors.
Ars Technica also shared iPad Pro CPU performance results
The iPad Pro’s GPU performance is much more impressive, with GFXBench OpenGL test results showing the A9X chip outperformed the 2015 15″ Retina MacBook Pro with Intel Iris 5200 integrated graphics, in addition to the 12-inch MacBook, 2015 MacBook Air, 2015 13″ Retina MacBook Pro, Surface Pro 4 and all recent iPads.
We’re looking at MacBook Air-class CPU performance and MacBook Pro-class GPU performance, so the iPad Pro ought to be able to handle more multitasking features with aplomb as Apple sees fit to add them. Professional 3D apps like AutoCAD and the Complete Anatomy app Apple showed off in September all seem to run just fine, too.
Apple Pencil is Weighted
Lauren Goode of The Verge shared an interesting anecdote about the Apple Pencil in her iPad Pro review:
But the Pencil is just plain fun. It is indeed Apple white, and there are Apple-y things about it — for example, the fact that it is weighted, and won’t roll away on a table top, and always stops rolling with the word “Pencil” facing upward on its metal band.
Read our iPad Pro review roundup.
T-Mobile Financing for iPad Pro
T-Mobile has announced the iPad Pro will be available November 18. Eligible customers can finance their iPad Pro purchase through the carrier’s JUMP! On Demand program, starting at $199.99 upfront with $34/month payments.
T-Mobile has a sign-up page to receive an email alert when orders can be placed. Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard will also be available on T-Mobile for $99 and $169 respectively starting November 18.
Apple Store Availability
iPad Pro launched today with limited in-store stock at select Apple Retail Stores in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and some other countries. Personal Pickup is available in U.S. stores.
Most Apple Stores have not received stock of the Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard, while online shipping estimates currently range between 3-4 weeks in the U.S. and many other countries for the accessories.
Tim Cook Calls Microsoft’s Surface Book “Deluded”
The Irish Independent has published an interview with Apple CEO Tim Cook about the company’s plans to expand in Ireland, iPad Pro and more, with his comment about Microsoft’s new Surface Book drawing some attention:
Mr Cook had some sharp words for competitors. Despite saying that Apple’s relationship with Microsoft as “really good”, he described the software giant’s new Surface Book laptop as “deluded”.
“It’s a product that tries too hard to do too much,” he said. “It’s trying to be a tablet and a notebook and it really succeeds at being neither. It’s sort of deluded.”
Follow our iPad Pro timeline for the latest news about the 12.9-inch tablet.
Tags: T-Mobile, Apple Store, Geekbench, A9X chip, Apple Pencil, Smart Keyboard
Buyer’s Guide: iPad Pro (Buy Now)
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Lost Echo is a beautiful point-and-click puzzle game that’s now available on Android
If you’re a fan of challenging point-and-click puzzle games on Android, look no further. Video game developer KickBack has just released a new indie title called Lost Echo to the Google Play Store. Featuring realistic graphics, a unique soundtrack that was written specifically for the game, and a killer storyline, Lost Echo will have you hooked in no time.
In the game, you play as a character named Greg searching for his girlfriend, Chloe, who mysteriously disappears in front of him. You’ll need to find out what happened to her and why on earth no one around you remembers her. To answer these questions, you can solve puzzles, explore, play minigames and interact with various characters around you to find out what really happened. Trust me – if you’re a fan of mystery titles, this game will have you hooked right away.
There are two different modes, casual and normal mode, so you can play regardless of your experience with the point-and-click genre. If you get stuck, there’s also a hint system that can give you handy clues.
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Lost Echo is available now in the Play Store for $2.99 with no in-app purchases whatsoever. I’d say it’s definitely worth the money. So if you’re interested, head to the link below for the download.
Download Lost Echo from Google Play
Related: 70 best Android games
Dear Veronica: Self-promotion advice with John Scalzi!
Happy Wednesday, everyone! We’ve got a few fantastic questions this week, starting with this question about self-promotion!
#DearVeronica ,In this tech age, how should a novice novelist make an impression and promote his book to grab attention of a lot of people?
— Rajat Joshi (@MrRajatJoshi) August 14, 2015
John Scalzi, author of some of my favorite books, is here to help Rajat out! In the meantime, I tackle some questions about my favorite audio ripping software, and the best way to clean a very “grody” Macbook Air screen.
Keep those questions rolling on in to me by using the hashtag #DearVeronica on Twitter! See you next week.Subscribe in iTunes, RSS or YouTube!
Facebook’s Notify news app sends headlines to your lock screen
If you’re an iPhone user who feels like they don’t quite have enough notifications being pushed to your lock screen, fear not — Facebook has you covered. The company just released a new app called Notify that is focused on bringing you notifications for a curated set of news and events that you mercifully can pick and choose yourself. Content is grouped by expected categories like business, culture, entertainment,food and drink and so on. Once you dig into a category, you’re presented with a list of stations that tell you exactly what kind of alerts it’ll deliver.
Via: Re/code
Roku’s new media player will cost you just $25 on Black Friday
Roku may have poured a lot of energy into its spiffy new 4K player, but it’s not forgetting the budget crowd. The company has unveiled the Roku SE, a TV streaming box aimed at those who only want the basics. It’s not that much different than the Roku 1 aside from shipping with OS 7 from the start, and it supports the same 1080p playback, video output (HDMI and analog) and media casting features. No Ethernet or sophisticated remote here, folks. However, you might not mind any omissions when you see the price. The SE will officially sell for the same $50 as the Roku 1, but it’ll be available for just $25 on Black Friday, November 27th — that’s less than a Chromecast. If you’re determined to put Netflix on that old TV in the basement, this may be the cheapest way to do it.
Source: Roku (BusinessWire)
Periscope’s skip-ahead update hits mobile, with 3D Touch on iOS
Periscope’s latest update hit the web late last week, and today it’s live across Android and iOS devices, with some special twists. Mobile users can now fast-forward and rewind through replays, as promised. The app’s Global Map has a few more functions, as follows: Zoom in on a location and the map will show live broadcasts (red dots) and replays (blue dots) from the past 24 hours. Anyone with Periscope on an iPhone 6s or 6s Plus can use 3D Touch to press down on the app icon and pull up a menu of options: Search People, Teleport (which takes you to a random live stream), Broadcast Mutuals and Broadcast. Android users finally get pinch-to-zoom in this update, as well.
[Image credit: Periscope]
Source: Periscope on Medium
Cyanogen “C-Apps” are now available for download and flashing
If you’re at all familiar with Cyanogen OS, you know that they have a handful of features that they added over the community version of CyanogenMod to make their flavor of Android marketable and unique. Today, however, CyanogenMod and Cyanogen Inc. have announced that you can download the “C-Apps” and flash them to your CyanogenMod-based ROM and enjoy all most of the cool features that come with Cyanogen OS out of the box.
Apps included in the package include:
- Theme Chooser with per-app theming
- Theme Store
- AudioFX
- Cyanogen Accounts
- Gallery
- Dialer with TrueCaller integration
- Email powered by Boxer
- Screencast
- CMLogger
- CyanogenStats
The latter two could be a reason for conflict for some people, but the fact that all of these apps are being made available at all is pretty impressive. Conspicuously missing from this list is Nextbit’s Baton, but you should be able to download the app from the Play Store and sign in with your Cyanogen account (which is now available on your phone/tablet) to be able to take advantage of all of its awesome cloudiness.
In case you aren’t familiar (you probably aren’t), Baton is an app that is produced by the same people who are building the Nextbit Robin. Baton looks at all of the apps that you have on your phone and backs up as much appdata as it can to the cloud. Surprisingly a lot of apps can be used with Baton and it’s sort of surprising that it doesn’t need root to do its job. Having it on just one phone isn’t very helpful, but I can speak from experience that Baton makes setting up a new phone much easier because for the apps that you’ve used in the past, your information is already there.
Also missing is the Cyanogen NextCamera. This is also available from external sources, but it is unclear whether they have any intent to distribute the app. That said, there are plenty of camera options available in the Play Store, so it’s not as though you’re left high and dry.
It’s worth noting that these apps are designed for CM12.1 devices (Android 5.1.1) and flashing to older versions of CyanogenMod may make things behave strangely. For the sake of experimentation, I tried flashing the package to a device I have running CM11 (Android 4.4.2) and it didn’t work at all.
In any case, having these “C-Apps” available as an option is certainly a good thing, especially as some Cyanogen OS phones may be reaching their EOL date. It’s good to know that they will at least be partially supported by the power of the community!
Source: Cyanogen Inc
The post Cyanogen “C-Apps” are now available for download and flashing appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Apple Committing €1 Million to Ocean Wave Energy Research in Ireland
Continuing its recent moves to embrace renewable energy sources, Apple has agreed to fund a €1 million initiative through the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) to support research into harnessing wave energy.
Ocean Energy Test Site in Galway Bay, Ireland
“We’re excited by the potential of ocean energy to someday serve as a source of clean power for the data centre we are building in Athenry, County Galway,” said Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives. “We are deeply committed to powering all our facilities with 100 percent renewable energy and believe investing in innovative projects will make reaching our goal easier.”
The initiative funded by Apple will help fund researchers testing their wave harnessing technologies at the Galway Bay Ocean Energy Test Site.
Wave energy is just one renewable energy source Apple has supported in an effort to become more environmentally friendly. Solar energy has been a major component of Apple’s initiative, although the company has also embraced wind, biogas fuel cell, hydroelectric, and geothermal solutions to help power its data centers and other facilities as it seeks to move to 100% renewable energy for its own facilities and even help its suppliers make similar transitions.
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