EA launches an eSports division led by Peter Moore
Electronic Arts, the studio responsible for Star Wars: Battlefront, SimCity and the Battlefield franchise, has launched a new Competitive Gaming Division led by former COO and EA Sports President Peter Moore. The goal of the new business is to cultivate eSports opportunities within EA’s library, most notably in the Battlefield, Madden NFL and FIFA franchises. EA’s CGD will develop live events and broadcasting featuring eSports, plus create new, officially branded competitive experiences, CEO Andrew Wilson says in a blog post.
Former EA Senior Vice President of Product Marketing Todd Sitrin also gets a new job, heading up strategy and operations as SVP and General Manger of the new division.
Professional gaming, otherwise known as “competitive gaming” or “eSports,” is big business, bringing in an estimated $612 million in revenue and 134 million global viewers in 2015 alone. Even independent studios are getting in on the action, thanks in large part to livestreaming sites like Twitch and YouTube Gaming.
Source: EA
Ford’s ‘Dynamic Shuttle’ tests out a competitor for Uber
While Uber just announced that it’s testing out some very familiar-looking group transportation options, its next competition could come from Ford. Today at an event in Dearborn, the carmaker showed off the Dynamic Shuttle service it’s testing for employees, that it says could make Ford a “mobility service provider.” On its campus, the Dynamic Shuttle people request a ride via the app, which determines an optimally located van to complete the trip. Reuters quotes VP of Research Ken Washington as saying “We see this as a business we want to be in,” especially in a future where people who previously needed cars could potentially opt for ride sharing service instead. Slideshow-347368
According to Ford it tries to increase occupancy and reduce the amount of single riders, while also considering weather and presence of other shuttles, while learning from traffic patterns and frequently requested destinations. Naturally, the “perfect” vehicle for the service is Ford’s Transit Van, carrying six to eight passengers while including amenities like USB charging ports and WiFi.
Describing what is fundamentally a smarter bus service, the developers noted many people are willing to walk to a neutral location for easier pickups. Ford is apparently considering expanding the program beyond its corporate campus, which probably can’t come a moment too soon. While researchers pulled in data from far-flung locations like Mumbai and São Paulo, they only need look around the Metro Detroit area for a region desperately in need of faster and more flexible transportation options.
Comedy streaming service SeeSo is launching on January 7th
Do you like to laugh? Are you a fan of comedy? Do you wish you could stream comedy shows all the time? If you answered, yes, to any of those questions, NBC’s SeeSo will be perfect for you.
Similar to Netflix, SeeSo is another streaming service, but a very specific one. For $3.99 a month, you will get access to SeeSo, which is a comedy only streaming service. It will be available for iOS and Android on launch.
SeeSo had a public beta recently, but didn’t say exactly when the launch date would be. However, NBC has just announced that it plans on launching SeeSo on January 7th.
Once it launches, you will have access to NBC’s entire comedy library, shows like 30 Rock, The Office, and next day viewing of shows like The Tonight Show. Also, NBC plans on making five exclusive new comedy shows, one of them will be The UCB Show. Currently, the first five episodes of their exclusive shows are available to watch for free during the beta. After that, each week a new episode will be aired once the service is launched.
It’s pretty interesting to see a streaming service this specific. The idea is people get overwhelmed by the huge amounts of content services like Netflix has, and a service like SeeSo will be more exact. Tell us in the comments if you think this is a good or bad idea?
Come comment on this article: Comedy streaming service SeeSo is launching on January 7th
Google tracks India’s internet revolution
Small and medium businesses (SMBs) in India are really starting to bloom thanks to the internet. There are already over 300 million internet users in the country and another 200 million Indians set to join by 2017. India is actually number three in the world when it comes to tech startups.
Google is very impressed by these numbers and has decided to help even more Indian businesses get online. According to Google, it has already helped 2 million SMBs obtain an Internet presence with the Google My Business initiative. It has also launched a new website to track how this digital revolution is unfolding in India.
Rajan Anandan, VP & Managing Director, Sales & Operations, Google SEA & India said:
We have launched an initiative to build Internet presence for 20 Million SMBs in India – which can be accessed by anyone, anywhere on their mobile phones. Two million SMBs have already found a home on the Internet, through Google My Business.
Not only that, but Google will invest $20,000 of cloud credits for 1000 startups in 2016 – 120 crores in a single year for startups. This is the largest investment Google has ever made for Google Cloud Services.
Source: Google India Blog
Come comment on this article: Google tracks India’s internet revolution
New Update Makes Tumblr First Major Social Network to Support Live Photos
While iPhone 6s and 6s Plus users can share Live Photos with each other through services like iMessage, the hybrid image / video can’t be easily shared to social networks. Today, Tumblr updated its iOS app with Live Photos support, making it the first major social network to do so.
As TechCrunch notes, Tumblr users tend to upload, share, and re-share GIFs and other kinds of animated images, including memes, at a rapid rate, likely making Tumblr the first place where Live Photos would be widely seen and viewed.
The app was also updated with 3D Touch support. Now, users can press down on the app’s icon to search the service from their home screen, activate Live Photos, and peek and pop into other users’ Tumblrs by clicking on their name or avatar. While Tumblr does support Live Photos, they’re only viewable within its iOS app. Other updates to the Tumblr app include the ability to send a post to any Tumblr user and messaging.
Tumblr for iOS is available in the App Store for free. [Direct Link]
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Fallout Shelter gets pets, dweller evictions and more in latest update
Are you an animal lover? Do you get bored talking to humans? Do you ever have the urge to exile lazy vault workers to a baron wasteland to fend for themselves? If so, you’ll probably enjoy the latest update rolling out to Bethesda’s Fallout Shelter.
In this big update, you’ll have the chance to make your Vault dwellers happier with the addition of pets! Pets will roam around your Vault and increase the overall happiness and productivity levels of your workers. And if your four-legged friends can’t even increase your dwellers’ productivity levels, there’s good news – this update also brings along with it the ability to evict lazy dwellers. Before this update, lazy dwellers weren’t really good for anything. They’d take up vital resources and not give much back. Now you can get rid of them with just a few taps, allowing your Vault to operate at prime efficiency.
See also: Fallout Shelter review
This update also brings new pickup lines and conversations to the dwellers, the ability to sell all of your items in a single tap, as well as some new objectives. If you’re interested, here’s the full changelog for this big update:
- Vault-Tec research has shown that four legged companions can have a profound impact on Vault happiness and productivity. Introducing Pets!
- Have a lazy or trouble causing dweller? Now you can evict dwellers and send them on their way.
- Bored with the same pickup lines and conversations? Dwellers have finally learned some new ways to impress other dwellers and the opposite sex.
- Overseers will love the new sell all options.
- Dweller management improvements and new objectives.
The update is live now, so head to the Play Store to grab the latest version!
Download Fallout Shelter from Google Play
Next: 70 best Android games
Google Wallet now lets you send money over text messages
If there’s anything that makes you feel like you’re living in the future, it’s sending and receiving money over your smartphone. Tap, tap, bing… Capitalism! Now Google Wallet is making it even easier than before by letting you send and receive cash over text messaging.
See also: Google Wallet now supports multiple bank accounts
In a blog post today on Google Commerce, the company announced their app’s new update enables you to make a payment to someone even if the only information you have about them is their phone number. All you have to do is tap the contact, enter an amount, and Google Wallet does the rest. The recipient receives a text message with a secure link, and after entering a debit card number, money will appear in their bank account within just a few minutes.
This comes on the heels of Facebook Messenger’s relatively new ability to send and receive money through the popular instant messaging platform. Some decried the feature as risky, citing security concerns and the fear that cyber criminals would manipulate it to drain bank accounts. However, since the feature’s debut in March, there have been no major scandals to match these worries. It looks like mobile currency is here to stay, and may even become the primary transaction medium for some people in the years to come.
If you want to give Google Wallet a spin, click the button below to download it from the Google Play Store. What do you think of Google Wallet and Facebook Messenger’s payment features? Security risk or wave of the future? Let us know in the comments!
Next: 10 best texting apps for Android
Limefuel LP200X Pro: Charge four devices at once with 20,000mAh portable pack, $36.99
With the paces we put our mobile devices through on a daily basis, having a portable charging option is practically a prerequisite. The Limefuel LP200X Pro is small (and powerful) enough to be a perfect companion.
Featuring a 20,000mAh Lithium-ion battery, the Limefuel LP200X Pro can power your typical smartphone several times over; its 4 USB ports allows you to charge multiple devices at once This battery pack is pocket-sized, sports an LED display, and comes wrapped in a premium aluminum case. Regularly priced at $50, Limefuel is now putting the power in AndroidGuys readers’ hands for just $36.99.
Features:
- Charges up to four devices simultaneously w/ quad output & 20000mAh battery
- Shortens battery charging time significantly w/ 2A input
- Employs pass-through charging
- Indicates level of charge w/ 4 LED lights
- Preserves battery charge w/ auto shutoff
- Includes anti-overcharge protection+
- Designed w/ premium aluminum casing
See more at deals.androidguys.com
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Soon Google Wallet will send money via text messages
A forthcoming update to Google’s Wallet app will drastically change how users send and receive money using it. Instead of needing the recipient’s email address, the app now only requires a phone number. When sending money this way, the recipient will receive a text message with a secure link. They then simply enter their debit card number to receive the funds, which transfer to their checking account in minutes. That seems a heck of a lot easier than the current method where both parties have to have the app installed on their phones and have a bank account linked to it.
Source: Google Wallet
Playdate: Going to war in ‘Dragon Quest Heroes’
There are lots of ways to enjoy the button-mashing guilty pleasure of a Dynasty Warriors game: the trappings of the original series in ancient China, the robot-smashing action of Gundam Reborn and even a foray into the Legend of Zelda universe. Not enough? Okay fine. Here’s one more: ‘Dragon Quest Heroes.’ Join Sean and Tim at 6PM ET / 3PM Pacific on Twitch as a venture into a mash-up created from games neither of them have played. Check us out here on this very post, the Engadget Gaming homepage, or, if you want to join us in chat, Twitch.tv/Joystiq.
http://player.twitch.tv/?channel=joystiq[We’re streaming Dragon Quest Heroes on PC through OBS at 720p, so rest assured your hostage rescues will look dramatically better on your home setup.]
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