Moto G4 and G4 Plus may launch on June 9

We’ve been treated to leaked images and renders of the Moto G4 and G4 Plus over the course of the week, and it now looks like Motorola will officially announce the phones on June 9.

From GizmoChina:

Yang Yuanqing, Lenovo’s CEO, said Motorola will be releasing a new device on June 9, but the model name and other details have not been revealed yet. Mr. Yang added that the new product will nothing less than “exciting”.

The renders highlight a front fingerprint sensor for the Moto G4 Plus, which may not make its way to the standard variant of the Moto G4. The leaks also point to a redesigned camera housing that may hold a laser autofocus module.

What do you guys want to see in the Moto G4 and G4 Plus?

Lenovo’s ZUK Z1 is coming to India

It may not be the insane ZUK Z2 Pro that made its debut in China yesterday, but Lenovo is getting ready to launch the ZUK Z1 in the Indian market.

ZUK is Lenovo’s mobile-only sub-brand, and with the vendor going down a similar route with a few handsets in India, it will not be a problem to integrate the brand with the rest of the Chinese vendor’s offerings. As for the hardware on offer, the ZUK Z1 features a 5.5-inch Full HD display, Snapdragon 801 SoC, 3GB of RAM, 64GB storage, 13MP camera, 5MP front shooter, Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 4.1, and a 4100mAh battery.

The specs aren’t as enticing when you consider what you get with the phone’s successor, but if Lenovo decides to retain the Z1’s retail price of ¥1,799 (₹18,250), it will be an interesting addition to the mid-range segment. As for the software, Lenovo partnered with Cyanogen OS to deliver CyanogenMod on all ZUK phones in global markets, but the software maker has an exclusive license with Yu Televentures in India. It’ll be interesting to see how that plays out.

The vendor is sending out physical invites to the media for the launch of the phone, but as of now there’s no specific launch date yet. The invite points to a teaser site for the phone, which says, “Small Action = Big Change.”

HTC 10 pre-orders now open at Three

If you are looking to get an HTC 10 and Three is your carrier of choice, you will be excited to hear that the carrier is now accepting pre-orders of the phone. From the 5.2-inch QHD Super LCD display to the 3000mAh battery and the USB-C connector, this phone has just about everything you could want. It runs Android 6.0.1 out of the box, and is powered by a Snapdragon 820 processor paired with 4GB of RAM.

It will be priced at £38 a month (if you opt for an auto payment method), with an upfront fee of £49 for the 32GB model in silver, which is the only available configuration. The estimated ship date is May 6 currently. Be sure to check out our full review and then head to the link below to place your order now.

See at Three

Sherlock Holmes The Devil’s Daughter preview: Sophisticated sleuthing

Videogames aren’t just about full-on, relentless action requiring total concentration and laser-sharp reactions – although the games that provide those things tend to hog the limelight. Sometimes we crave something a little more sedate, which perhaps exercises the brain more than the reflexes. That is pretty much what Sherlock Holmes: The Devil’s Daughter will offer when it arrives on June 10 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.

It’s perhaps surprising that previous Sherlock Holmes games haven’t really captured the public imagination – after all, who doesn’t fancy emulating the much-loved eccentric fictional sleuth? Mind you, The Devil’s Daughter’s predecessors could be accused of taking gameplay sedateness too far: they were generally fairly standard point-and-click adventure games, and therefore distinctly anachronistic.

However, the latest effort from self-deprecatingly named French developer Frogwares works hard to provide a more appealing gameplay experience. It runs on Epic’s Unreal Engine 3 and, as we discovered during a couple of hours of hands-on play of the game’s first case, it throws some action sequences into the mix too, along with the more familiar clue-hunting and deduction.

Sherlock Holmes The Devil’s Daughter preview: A mix of gameplay mechanics

Before we jumped into the game, a representative of Bigben Interactive, the game’s publisher, talked us through its salient points and raced through a demo designed to show its refreshingly diverse gameplay mechanics. He explained that The Devil’s Daughter contains five cases, each of which should take three to four hours to complete – which adds up to between 15 and 20 hours of gameplay, which is acceptable if not hyper-impressive.

Sherlock Holmes purists might not approve entirely of the fact that The Devil’s Daughter isn’t afraid to deviate from Conan Doyle’s oeuvre though. For example, the game begins with the arrival of a young girl called Katelyn who, we learn, is Sherlock’s adopted daughter and will be staying at 221B Baker Street. Mrs Hudson and Dr Watson are present and correct, at least, along with the Baker Street Irregulars – some of whom you get to play as occasionally.

Frogwares’ emulation of 221B Baker Street is spot-on, full of convincing period detail and all the clutter you would hope to find. It’s from here that you can access Sherlock’s bedroom, in which he can don disguises, and his voluminous archive – which includes stacks of newspapers and a vast reference library, stuffed with case-cracking information. Plus you find Toby, Holmes’s faithful bloodhound, who will have his own part to play. A London map on the wall also allows Holmes to fast-travel to all the locations that emerge during his investigations.

The case for this preview demo, taken from the later stages of the game, centres on the arrival of a gloriously hammy American actor named Orson Wilde – who is also coming to stay at 221B Baker Street in order to study Holmes to play him on stage. His initial entry showcased one of Holmes’s abilities: whenever you meet a new character, you can scrutinise their outward appearance in fine detail, drawing conclusions about their personality from what you find. Often there are several possible conclusions from a single visual clue, so you have to choose.

Frogwares / Bigben Interactive

Hitting the right bumper in a location allows Holmes to detect clues that average mortals would miss, and there’s an engine that allows him to tie discoveries together and draw conclusions (again, you usually have to choose between a number of those).

We were shown an action sequence in an illegal gambling den, where Holmes had to work out how to get past a bouncer guarding a door, by triggering a chain of events that caused a distraction. Luckily, Holmes has the ability to visualise those before carrying them out, so you can get your sequence right before causing mayhem.

We also saw some proper third-person action sequences: from Holmes tailing suspects, to using a dual-joystick balance mechanic while crossing rooftops. Plus at one point, Holmes donned his Pastor outfit to perform a fake exorcism, with the help of one of the Baker Street Irregulars, and to moderately hilarious effect.

Frogwares / Bigben Interactive

Sherlock Holmes The Devil’s Daughter preview: Sniffing out clues

The first case – entitled Prey Tell – sees a young boy whose father had disappeared, approaching Holmes for help. The case takes the detective to the down-at-heel environs of Whitechapel.

After investigating the boy’s flat and a period spent eavesdropping on conversations in the local pub, Holmes identifies a suspect. He delegates Wiggins, a Baker Street Irregular loitering in the vicinity, to tail him. Controlling Wiggins provides some decent – albeit pretty forgiving – stealth action, necessitating taking cover frequently, some rooftop-climbing, a period masquerading as a shoe-shine boy, and external investigation of the suspect’s destination.

After some research into a heraldic device in Holmes’s library, Holmes and Watson then pay a visit to the newly discovered address, where Holmes scrutinises characters present, teases information out of them (with the correct conversational choices), and roots around for further clues. The trail leads to needing to use Toby the bloodhound for a while, following a scent-trail. Thus we work towards a solution for the case.

Frogwares / Bigben Interactive

Even this first case is sufficiently meaty to contain at least three hours of gameplay, and way more entertaining and varied than the average point-and-click adventure. The action sequences, although pretty undemanding, immersed us nicely in Holmes’s London which, having made several Sherlock Holmes games, Frogwares has nailed.

The quality of the characters we encountered, both in cut-scenes and general gameplay, was decent – although nowhere near as cutting-edge as those of, say, Quantum Break; The Devil’s Daughter hasn’t had millions of pounds thrown at it. But in terms of general ambience and quirkiness (in-jokes about Holmes’s celebrity crop up frequently), Sherlock Holmes: The Devil’s Daughter is hard to fault.

Holmes fans looking for a relaxing but absorbing way into their hero’s world would do well to check it out.

The next Moto smartphone could be launched on 9 June

There’s been a jump in leaks and rumours surrounding the next Moto handset, thought to be a fourth-generation Moto G or a potential Moto X, as the company looks to update its offering.

Motorola’s mobile arm is now owned and run by Lenovo, and a possible timeframe for the launch of the next Moto handset could have been revealed at the launch of the Lenovo Zuk Z2.

According to reports, Lenovo CEO Yang Yuanqing said that Motorola would be unveiling a new device on 9 June, but didn’t confirm any other details except that it would be “exciting”. This chimes with previous reports from January stating that future releases for the Moto brand would be “more innovative, more attractive”.

Fortunately we’ve seen a flurry of rumours pertaining both to the Moto G and the Moto X, which potentially fit the bill. There’s talk of two Moto G devices – one carrying the Plus name suggesting a larger display – perhaps with one offering a fingerprint scanner and one not. The Moto X has also been rumoured, again with a fingerprint scanner in place. 

Moto X has been the Motorola flagship for a number of years and it’s here we expect to see the excitement; the Moto G is the affordable darling, better known for it’s aggressive pricing, rather than excitement.

With Samsung, LG, HTC, Huawei and others refreshing their devices for 2016, it looks like Motorola might be joining the party in June.

Star Fox Zero review: Can’t outfox its shortcomings

The Wii U may have been a roaring flop, but the precious few who own one know that it isn’t a bad console – just a misunderstood one. Its arcane design indisputably throws up opportunities for new forms of gameplay, but it floundered on the twin rocks of Nintendo taking ages to make any games which showed exactly how, and a complete lack of support from third-party publishers. For Wii U owners, though, a new game which reimagines one of Nintendo’s classic franchises is a big deal – and Star Fox Zero emphatically ticks that box.

Those who owned Super NES consoles, in particular, will have fond memories of the original Star Fox, which set impressive graphical standards and provided some pretty satisfying space shoot-em-up action. Star Fox Zero, on the other hand, doesn’t look particularly cutting-edge, but does provide some agreeably distinctive gameplay, which is notably more varied than that of its predecessors.

When we first played the game at the E3 expo in summer 2015 we found the controls were finnicky, utilising the Wii U’s gamepad in inventive but embroiled ways. Has Star Fox Zero fixed up its weak-spots and does it add another great classic to the Wii U’s increasingly impressive line-up?

Star Fox Zero review: Super furry animals

As you would expect, Star Fox Zero’s general ambience is one of cuteness: you play star pilot Fox McCloud, an anthropomorphic fox who, along with his mates Slippy the toad, Peppy the hare and Falco the falcon, must defend their home-world of Corneria from invasion by the evil Andross’s forces.

In practice, your AI-controlled wingmen tend mostly to offer kid-friendly banter rather than useful assistance in battle – and there are plenty of sequences in which you fly solo, although you always have a vague sense of being part of a squadron. You’re basically playing a version of Star Wars in which the lead characters (rather than peripheral ones) are cute furry animals

Star Fox Zero review: Controls and confusion

The majority of the missions in Star Fox Zero put you in command of the familiar Arwing fighter, whose controls have been tweaked to make use of the Wii U GamePad. Which takes a bit of getting used to at first, to say the least, but can prove effective.

On the screen attached to the Wii U itself, you’re given a third-person view of your ship, while the GamePad screen shows a first-person cockpit view tied to weapons-targeting. So whatever direction you’re flying in, you can pan your weapons around by moving the GamePad, a clever solution to the perennial problem of targeting when enemies are in 3D space and moving above, below and around you.

Nintendo

Thing is, it feels a bit like patting your head and rubbing your stomach, but you soon acclimatise and learn some pretty flashy dog-fighting techniques. The ability to press one button and perform a loop-the-loop comes in particularly handy when you have enemies on your tail, and when you click with the controls they start to feel strangely like a 3D take on twin-stick top-down or side-scrolling shooters of yore.

Indeed, the game contains some subtle tributes to the likes of Ikaruga, as far as seeing patterns and intuitively working out how to counter them is concerned. There’s also a re-centring button for the weapons targeting, which often proves crucial when you reach the limit of those weapons’ movement – because you can’t shoot backwards.

Star Fox Zero review: Land, air, sea

The Arwing can also transform into a walker, which can hover briefly. There are two other vehicles which you get to control: the Landmaster, which is essentially a tank (and has a handy missile system that can auto-target up to three objects); and the Gyrowing, which is a hover-vehicle from which you can lower a robot on a tether in order to hack open doors or pick up bombs to drop.

Nintendo

The Gyrowing has received some criticism as it’s fairly slow, but it stars in one of the best missions in the game, in which you must take a stealthy approach by employing precision flying so as to avoid searchlights, and indulge in a modicum of puzzle-solving.

Even at the controls of the Arwing, you find two types of gameplay. As well as free-for-all battles (which take place in a confined space, so if you hit the limit, you will be flipped back into the battle-arena), there are on-rails sequences in which you race through stages avoiding obstacles and dealing with incoming enemies before they damage you.

Those are the game’s hardest missions and, gratifyingly, Star Fox Zero, despite its cutesy look and feel, is a pretty hard game. By default, you get two lives, although collecting three gold rings (which, inevitably, are situated in hard-to-reach places) will earn you another. If, however, you fail a mission too many times, the game will give you an invincibility power-up, which feels like a cop-out but does at least prevent you getting a score for that mission. And the mission scores, along with the ability to collect often hidden medals, are crucial to Star Fox Zero’s replay value.

Star Fox Zero review: Classic gameplay

Gameplay-wise, Star Fox Zero feels familiar, like the N64 version before it. It ebbs and flows a bit but is mostly full-on, fast-paced and frenetic.

Nintendo

There are some great boss-battles – one in the Landmaster is particularly memorable. Different players will find different types of battles particularly enjoyable, but the game is at its best when classic dog-fights take place.

Clearing enemies from your colleagues’ tails is particularly satisfying (they do thank you for that, and berate you for friendly-fire) and in general, the game offers some of the best airborne shoot-em-up action there is to be found, making inventive and exemplary use of the Wii U GamePad. And you find the odd Nintendo-style touch of weirdness, particularly in the course of the final boss-battle against Andross.

Two people can play co-operatively (with one flying and one shooting), but the game is crying out for an online mode and a meaty DLC programme; the former, though, is lacking, and Nintendo has given no hints as to the likelihood of the latter.

Verdict

For all its classic gameplay, however, Star Fox Zero is annoyingly short – to such an extent that you feel the interesting ideas and unconventional gameplay which it contains have barely been explored.

The game works hard to ensure the missions are laden with replayability and, given the general dearth of Wii U games, it’s likely that those who do buy it will revisit most of the missions after the first play-through. But its shortness leaves it feeling somewhat rushed (despite all the delays), which is a shame.

Despite its complex controller shortcomings, Star Fox Zero is a must-buy if you’re one of the dedicated few who own a Wii U. Sadly for Nintendo, though, it emphatically isn’t one of those games which is so irresistible that it’s likely to fuel a spike in Wii U sales. It’s a solid, inventive and ultimately familiar game which is great fun while it lasts – which isn’t all that long.

FOMO, TMI and ICYMI have made it into the dictionary

Merriam-Webster updated the “unabridged” version of its comprehensive dictionary this week, giving a nod of approval to a whole host of slang, technology and internet culture terminology. Some of the highlights include Bitcoin, dox and nomophobia (the fear of being without a working mobile phone). A slew of acroynms seeped in too, including FOMO (fear of missing out), TMI (too much information), and — most importantly to Engadget — ICYMI (in case you missed it). You might scoff at the idea that these words have gained “official” recognition, but it’s merely a reflection of the language we’re now using to communicate with one another.

It’s not like “YOLO” and “totes amazeballs” haven’t been added already. Oxford Dictionaries even chose an emoji as its Word of the Year last November. That’s right. An emoji.

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Merriam-Webster

Garmin’s Approach X40 fitness tracker is made for golfers

Over the past few years, Garmin has focused on two different sets of wearables: activity trackers and watches for people who play golf on a regular basis. Now, with the Approach X40, the company is bringing the best of both worlds into one product. The new device features 1-inch touchscreen (similar to Garmin’s Vivosmart band), a heart rate monitor and tracking for calories burned, distance and steps. It’s also water-resistant and can handle a slew of smartphone notifications, such as incoming calls, emails, texts and calendar reminders.

For golfers, the Approach X40 comes pre-loaded with data from over 40,000 courses worldwide. That means you’ll have plenty of useful game information right on your wrist, including an automatic measurement of shot distances and a detailed view of the green for each hole you play. What’s more, Garmin made it compatible with its TruSwing club sensor, giving you access to various swing metrics via the Connect app, which is available for iOS and Android.

What I like most about the X40 is how slim and lightweight it is, especially compared to other Approach models. I’m not a golfer by any means, but I imagine those who are will appreciate a wearable that’s not obtrusive. The other interesting part about it is that you don’t have to play golf to use it, and that’s where Garmin sees an opportunity to succeed — basically, you could consider those sport tidbits a bonus on a normal activity tracker.

Unfortunately, Garmin isn’t selling the Approach X40 until later this year (Q2), when it will hit stores for $250.

Syma X5C Explorers review – CNET

The Good The Syma X5C Explorers is extremely affordable for what you’re getting, including a 720p HD camera. It’s durable, but all of its parts are available for repairs when you need them. Stable enough to fly indoors or outside.

The Bad Flight time is about 7 to 10 minutes with a 90-minute charge time.

The Bottom Line For aerial photography on the cheap, the Syma X5C is a toy drone quadcopter that’s better than its price suggests.

Spending $500 to $1,000 on a camera drone, especially if you’re just looking to have a good time flying around your yard, is a lot to swallow. That’s what makes the Syma X5C pretty awesome. At around $50 (AU$70 or £40) you get an easy flying quadcopter with simple controls and enough power to handle light wind — and it has a 720p HD camera. It even comes with a 4GB microSD card for storage.

At that price, you’re obviously not getting the same powerful features as a DJI Phantom and it definitely feels every bit of its low price. It is, however, fairly durable, so if you’re new to flying a quadcopter it can take quite a lot of punishment.

If you do break something or a motor burns out, Syma has made every part available for replacement and the included print manual has a diagram for how to break it down. You can also buy an updated camera with Wi-Fi to give you a first-person view (FPV) from the camera to an iOS or Android device.

To take a photo or record video, you simply push up or down on a switch next to the left stick. The results aren’t great and there is no stabilization, which makes for some shaky results. They’re fine for viewing on a mobile device and considering the whole thing costs less than $50, I’m not really complaining.

The drone’s 3.7-volt 500mAh battery pack will get about 7 minutes of flight, though removing the prop guards and landing gear and detaching the camera will keep you in the air a few minutes longer. Recharging takes roughly 90 minutes, but extra batteries are readily available and inexpensive.

The Syma X5C is an incredible deal if you’re looking to get in the air and start grabbing aerial photos and videos.

Apple’s iBooks Store and iTunes Movies banned in China

Although Apple is enjoying a lot of success in China, its popularity hasn’t stopped it from falling foul of the country’s regulators. The New York Times reports that Chinese media watchdog, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television has banned the company’s iBooks Store and iTunes Movies service as part of a strict crackdown on online services owned by foreign companies.

The closure comes just six months after Apple launched digital downloads in China, as it looked to capitalize on the launch of the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus. Sales of Apple smartphones are slowing, but China is now the company’s biggest growth market and second-largest market in terms of revenue (behind the US).

“We hope to make books and movies available again to our customers in China as soon as possible,” an Apple spokeswoman said in a statement to the New York Times. It’s believed Apple’s services were banned because they directly compete with similar offerings from Chinese companies.

At the time of writing, Apple Music and Apple Pay are still available, but Chinese authorities may also decide that they infringe on the plethora of music streaming and mobile payment services owned by local businesses. We’ve reached out for more information and will update the article should we receive a response.

Via: Reuters

Source: New York Times