Titanfall: Frontline condenses frenetic FPS action into an Android card game
Strategically outmaneuver your opponents in Titanfall: Frontline.
Fans of Titanfall will soon get the opportunity to command their own brigade of powerful Titans, as the critically-acclaimed first-person shooter franchise leaps onto Android devices later this fall. Titanfall: Frontline will be the first in a series of strategy card games set in a extended Titanfall universe, as part of a multi-year collaborative deal between developers at Nexon, Particle City and Respawn Entertainment.
The game will be available for free from the Google Play Store. Fans are encouraged to head to the official Titanfall: Frontline website to pre-register ahead of the global launch, which should coincide with the release of Titanfall 2 for Xbox One in late October. Pre-registered players will also receive some in-game rewards to help them when starting out.
Titanfall: Frontline features hundreds of Pilots, Titans, and special ability Burn Cards, which Commanders will collect and upgrade to build out their battle deck to match their preferred style of play. For example, one might choose to build their deck around fast, light Titans and Pilots for a quick strike strategy, or opt for a more defensive deck stacked with stronger units supported by installations to wear their opponent down.
Bottling the frantic gameplay and scale of a massive console game such as Titanfall into a strategic card game for mobile devices is no small task. The developers say they’ve done their best to encapsulate the full Titanfall experience onto this new platform.
“We’ve worked hand-in-hand with Respawn to weave in card battle strategy and collectibility with the iconic gameplay elements that make Titanfall so unique and that will help evolve the genre,” said Larry Pacey, co-founder of Particle City, in a press release.
“From dropping a Titan onto the field of play to turn the tide of battle to using a combination of Parkour and Rodeo Burn Cards to take a Titan down, Titanfall: Frontline is unapologetically intense and utterly Titanfall.”
For more information, check out the official game website — where you can also pre-register and score some in-game rewards as you start your campaign — and like and follow Titanfall: Frontline on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news.
Deezer tracks now play in your Twitter timeline
As Deezer pushes hard for a subscriber base in America, it’s teaming up with Twitter to ensure its music can be easily shared online. Similar to Spotify and SoundCloud, you can now tweet a track with an embedded player from inside the Deezer mobile app. Anyone that sees your tweet has the option to listen to a short snippet — about 30 seconds — or press the shortcut underneath to listen to the rest on Deezer’s platform. The audio card integration is available in all countries where Deezer operates, including Canada and various parts of Europe, Asia and Latin America.
Deezer has ferocious competition in Spotify and Apple Music. Both are pushing into video at the moment, as they try both to broaden their appeal and one-up each other with desirable exclusives. Deezer is a solid alternative, with a focus on podcasts and high-res streaming, but there are few reasons to switch across from its rivals. Google Play Music, which comes with YouTube Red in the US and Australia, is a far more intriguing perk. Spotify has its Discover Weekly and Release Radar personalized playlists. Soon, Amazon will have a $5 music service for Echo owners, if rumors are to be believed. To put it mildly, Deezer has its work cut out.
— Nick Summers (@nisummers) September 12, 2016
Source: Deezer
iTunes offers 10-movie bundles for $10 each
Believe it or not, it’s been a decade since movies arrived in iTunes… and Apple wants to make sure you remember that. It’s launching a 10th anniversary US promo that, appropriately, offers 10-movie bundles from five major studios (Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Universal and Warner Bros.) for $10 each. And no, these aren’t all stinkers that wouldn’t otherwise sell. There are gems like Live Die Repeat, Rush, Selma, Captain Phillips and No Country for Old Men in the mix, and the odds are usually good that you’ll enjoy most of what a given bundle has to offer.
This deal doesn’t matter as much as it would have 10 years ago. You can watch at least some of these movies on Netflix, which hadn’t even started streaming in 2006 (that wouldn’t happen until 2007). In a sense, the bundles are an acknowledgment that the movie industry has changed. However, they’re still big bargains if you’ve been looking to fill out your permanent movie collection.
Via: iTunes Movies (Twitter)
Source: iTunes Store
Jeff Bezos’ next rocket is a massive, reusable booster
Jeff Bezos isn’t about to let SpaceX have the private heavy-duty rocket field to itself. Blue Origin has introduced New Glenn (named after astronaut John Glenn), a massive reusable booster rocket that makes SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy look modest. The two-stage model already dwarfs the Falcon at 270 feet tall, while the three-stage version is nearly as tall as the legendary Saturn V at 313 feet. Yes, it’s more than a little Freudian, but it’ll be helpful getting both satellites and people into space.
There is a good reason for that oddly suggestive size, though. New Glenn will lift off with 3.85 million pounds of thrust. That’s not as powerful as Falcon Heavy’s 5.1 million, but it’s contained within a single structure (SpaceX uses three Falcon 9 rockets at its core). Blue Origin probably won’t be first to the launchpad, though. While SpaceX has had to push back Falcon Heavy more than once, Bezos and crew are only promising that New Glenn will blast off from Cape Canaveral before the decade is out. At least there’s more coming: the company is teasing a New Armstrong rocket sometime in the future.
Source: Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos (Twitter)
iPhone 7 Plus Low-Light Photo Capabilities Shown Off at U.S. Open
After sharing a collection of photographs taken with the iPhone 7 Plus at the Titans-Vikings game yesterday, Apple CEO Tim Cook this morning tweeted out another group of photos captured with Apple’s new 5.5-inch iPhone, now providing a few examples of low-light photography.
The new set of photos were taken by ESPN photographer Landon Nordeman during the U.S. Open. According to the publication, “the autofocus and exposure performed exceedingly well in various lighting conditions — so that even with one hand, he could get the shot.”
Better low-light photography was emphasized by Apple in the new ad for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. The improved conditions in low-light situations, as well as crisper and brighter photos, come at the hands of the iPhone 7’s 28mm 12-megapixel camera with optical image stabilization, a wider f/1.8 aperture 6-element lens, wide color capture, and a new Apple image signaling processor.
The iPhone 7 Plus has all of these features, with the addition of a second 12-megapixel 56mm telephoto lens with an f/2.8 aperture, enabling a new and highly-detailed 2x optical zoom ability. Nordeman’s style — described as “surprising moments from unique perspectives, using color and composition without distracting his subjects” — was enhanced thanks to the portability of the iPhone 7 Plus, which provides various DSLR-quality features without needing a cumbersome camera system.
Yesterday, an enterprising Redditor used EXIF data from the photos shared by Sports Illustrated to derive the sizes of the main and secondary camera sensors on the iPhone 7 Plus, also using information known about the sensor on the iPhone 6s. According to the user, the main lenses on the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are nearly identical in size to the one on the iPhone 6s.
The actual focal length of the main camera is 3.99mm, derived from one of the photos EXIF data. A 1/3in sensor has a crop factor of 7.21, and the iPhone 6S’ sensor is 1/3in. The math is below:
iPhone 6S (1/3in sensor) = 4.15mm x 7.21 = 29.92mm for a 35mm equivalent lens.
iPhone 7 Plus main sensor = 3.99mm x (7.21?) = 28.7679mm, very close to Apple’s claimed 28mm.
iPhone 7 Plus telephoto sensor = 6.6mm x (8.6?) = 56.8mm, very close to the claimed 56mm as well. For a 1/3.6in sensor, the crop factor is 8.6.Edit: For context, a larger sensor size allows for shallower depth of field, or the use of bigger and/or more pixels. Generally, the smaller the sensor, the worse it performs; however, we all know Apple pushes out some quality components so this doesn’t necessarily mean it’s true. Example: The 6S cramming 4million more pixels, and its pixel size being reduced from 1.5microns to 1.22microns to retain the same 1/3in sensor size, yet, they kept image noise performance still similar to the 6, basically having more detail at almost no cost.
The first iPhone 7 pre-order customers have already begun receiving shipment notifications regarding their incoming orders, which are preparing to arrive this Friday, September 16. Also launching this Friday is the Apple Watch Series 2, which the company announced alongside the iPhone 7 last week in San Francisco.
Check out the full collection of photos taken with the iPhone 7 Plus at the US Open here.
Related Roundup: iPhone 7
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Move over Apple Watch, Pokemon Go also coming to Android Wear
Hot on the heels of Apple’s announcement that Pokemon Go will be available as an app for the Apple Watch, it’s been confirmed that Android Wear smartwatches will soon have the same support.
Pokemon Go Hub has delved into the code of the latest Pokemon Go Android app and found several clues that confirm an Android Wear app is coming.
Within the Android app the website found a new “pokemongoplus” project which makes reference to Pokemon Go being made available on Android Wear. The really good news is that the code is marked as complete and ready for release, so expect to see some updates soon.
And if you have an Android Wear smartwatch but use an iPhone, you’ll be able to use the new Pokemon Go app as well.
- Pokemon Go for Apple Watch: How to play and when can you get it?
- Best Pokemon gadgets and gifts for Pokemon Go fans: Pokemon Go Plus, sneakers, watches and more
- Pokemon Go: What is it and why is everybody talking about it?
The new app is said to work in the background and will be able to track and capture Pokemon. You will also receive notifications if you run out of Pokeballs or your bag is full of potions, incense and lures.
While a release date is yet to be confirmed, going by the information Pokemon Go Hub has discovered, it shouldn’t be too long a wait. You’ll soon be able to catch them all on your wrist.
TiVo combines its biggest, fastest DVRs to make the Bolt+
As soon as TiVo unveiled its Bolt Unified Entertainment System last year, the company’s biggest DVR fans started asking “what about us?” That’s because despite its new design, 4K streaming and updated features, there was no option with enough tuners and storage to match the top of the line Roamio Pro DVR. Now TiVo is filling that hole with the $499 (plus service fee) Bolt+, which takes the styling and power of the Bolt then adds the ability to record up to 6 channels at once onto a built-in 3TB hard drive.
Yes, that “gentle curve” is sticking around, and while the Bolt+ has an easier-to-hide glossy black chassis it might not fit in your AV rack. There are 4K Netflix and YouTube apps, plus the SkipMode commercial skipping and QuickMode fast-forward viewing that I liked first on the Bolt, and later on the Roamio as well. Like the original Bolt, the Bolt+ also improves on the Roamio Pro with gigabit Ethernet, 802.11ac WiFi, MoCA 2.0 plus a faster processor and three times as much memory to make everything (especially those streaming apps) run more smoothly. One area where it’s not as good is its ability to stream, which is down to 1-2 from the Roamio’s four.
We’re expecting to see HDR capability come to the Bolt in an update, but it’s not mentioned in this announcement, and neither is that new UI TiVo just revealed. The other thing that hasn’t changed is the pricing. Similar to my review of the Bolt, this box can get pricey quickly thanks to the $149 annual, $14.99 monthly (with 1-year commitment) or $549 “All-in” (but not Lifetime) service plan needed to keep it working after a year. It’s also a bit disappointing that there aren’t any other 4K apps yet, although most Ultra HD TVs on sale now will come with those streaming services built-in.
The price of a 500GB or 1TB Bolt has dropped by $100 since I reviewed it last year, meaning adding two extra tuners and 2TB of built-in storage (there is an eSATA port for external drives) comes at a $200 premium. Still, if that’s what you need in a DVR to keep the entire household happy, the Bolt+ is the upgraded, faster TiVo you’ve been waiting for. Those who can live with four tuners can opt for the existing Bolt, while cord-cutters may want to wait around until next year for TiVo’s next box, codenamed Mantis.
TiVo says it will go on sale Thursday, September 15th via TiVo.com, Amazon and Best Buy’s Magnolia stores.
Source: TiVo
‘The Last Guardian’ is delayed until December
The long-awaited PS4 exclusive The Last Guardian has been pushed back to December 6th. The game was originally scheduled for October 25th, but apparently has more bugs than anticipated. “To ensure that The Last Guardian delivers on the experience that the game’s creators have envisioned, we need to take the extra time to work on those issues,” President of Sony’s Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida told fans through a blog post.
The Last Guardian is the latest adventure game by Fumito Ueda, the visionary behind Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. It’s been in development for a decade at Ueda’s genDESIGN studio, famously all-but disappearing for several years, before re-emerging at E3 2015. In it, you play a young boy who befriends a giant “Guardian” called Trico, and set off on a journey together.
When we played The Last Guardian at E3, we suggested it was “an incomplete opus.” During a 45-minute play session, we encountered some severe camera problems, graphical glitches, collision issues and a physics bug that propelled the protagonist 20 feet into the air. Hopefully the extra six weeks is enough time for Ueda and the rest of his team to get the game up to standards.
Source: PlayStation Blog
HP buying Samsung’s printer business for $1.05 billion
Samsung’s board has approved the sale of its printer operation to HP for $1.05 billion “to concentrate on its core business areas,” it said in a press release. It plans to spin off the printer division into a separate company as of November 1st, then sell it its US rival, pending shareholder approval. Samsung’s printer business employs 6,000 people and sold 2 trillion won ($1.8 billion) in printers in 2015.
In its own news release, HP said that the deal is the largest print acquisition in its history. The US company sees it as an opportunity to “disrupt and reinvent the $55 billion copier industry, a segment that hasn’t innovated in decades.” It aims to basically to replace copiers completely with multi-function printers. “Copiers are outdated, complicated machines with dozens of replaceable parts requiring inefficient service and maintenance agreements,” it said.
Samsung says it will “source printers from HP and continue to market [them] in Korea under the Samsung brand.” For its part, HP has a long term deal with Canon to sell its printers and copiers. The US company recently launched “Multi Jet Fusion” 3D printing tech, and plans to release 3D printers this year starting at what is a apparently a relatively low $120,000.
HP will get Samsung’s 6,500-strong patent portfolio and 1,300 engineers and researchers. Samsung Vice-Chairman Jay Y. Lee — heir apparent to Chairman Kun-Hee Lee — will also take a seat on HP’s board of directors. HP mentioned that the acquisition will bring “cost synergies,” which is often a codified way of saying “layoffs.” There’s no word on how severe those could be, but the company is hosting a press conference in a couple of hours, so we’ll update this article if need be. The deal is expected to be finalized within a year.
Via: The Verge
Source: HP
Who do I contact when I need help with my phone?
Finding out who to talk to and how to reach them can be tricky. We filled out all the forms and clicked all the buttons to find the phone numbers so you don’t have to.
We get a lot of questions about Android and the phones that use it. People can (and should) Tweet us, or email us, or shout to us on Facebook and we will do our best to answer, even if we don’t have time to get to all of them. One thing we see a lot of is that people are confused about exactly who they should talk to — and how to contact them — when they need some assistance with their Android.
That’s understandable. There are countless combinations of different models from different companies sold through different channels and unlike an iPhone or a BlackBerry (or a Toyota or a Kenmore), there is no one company who takes care of them all. And that can be frustrating — when you need help the last thing you want to hear is someone saying that you need to talk to someone else. Especially after you’ve filled out web forms, signed up for an account or jumped through other hoops just to find the phone number you called. If you’re not really sure about who you need to call or how to get in touch with them when problems arise, or you have a question about how things work, you can always come to us. But talking to the people who are there to help with the phone you have in your hands is always a great idea. Let’s tally them up!
Your carrier
If you ever have a problem with the network “stuff” — data cutting in and out, calls dropping, poor signal or anything of the sort, the company you get your phone service from are the first people you should call or email. They would know about any network changes that could be affecting you, and if a problem crops up that affects a lot of their customers, they will be the ones to look into it.
Issues with your phone itself or questions about it can be a bit more complicated. Generally, if you bought your phone from your carrier’s store or an authorized third party, the carrier is the company that will need to help you. Most times, a visit in-person is a quick way to resolve issues. If you would rather talk to support another way, here are the various contact details for the major U.S. companies.
AT&T
- General customer service: 800 331 0500 (7 am to 10 pm your local time).
- To ask about new service or service upgrades: 888 333 6651 (Mon. – Fri. 7 am to 11 pm, weekends 7 am to 10 pm Central time).
- To check the status of an order: 877 782 8870 (24-hour service).
- Support when you’re outside the U.S.: 1 916 843 4685 (24-hour service and this is a free call from your phone).
- Support for folks with disabilities: 866 241 6568 (Voice), 866 241 6567 (TTY). These are both 24-hour numbers.
- Support via Twitter: @attcares.
- Support via Facebook: facebook.com/ATT.
You can also chat with an AT&T representative using the AT&T Wireless support page.
Sprint
- General customer service: 888 211 4727 (postpaid) 855 639 4644 (prepaid).
- New service or equipment: 866 275 1411.
- Support when you’re outside the U.S.: 888 226 7212 (Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands), 817 698 4199 (international number).
- Support via Twitter: @sprintcare.
Para compatibilidad con el idioma español.
For online chat options visit the Sprint support pages.
T-Mobile
- All customer service questions and issues: 611 (from your T-Mobile phone), 877 746 0909 (from another phone).
- Support when you’re outside the U.S.: 505 998 3793 (free from a T-Mobile phone).
- TTY service for support issues: 877 296 1018 (3 am to 10 pm Pacific time)
- Support via Twitter: @tmobilehelp.
- Support via Facebook: .facebook.com/TMobile.
- Support via Google+: +T-Mobile
For online chat options visit the T-Mobile support pages.
US Cellular
- All customer service questions and issues: 611 (from your US Cellular phone), 888 944 9400 (from another phone), 866 872 4249 (business customers). These numbers are available from 6 am to 11 pm Central time.
- Support via Twitter: @uscellularcares.
- Support via Facebook: facebook.com/USCellular.
- Support via Google+: +T-Mobile
To message a support agent online visit the US Cellular support pages.
Verizon
- All customer service questions and issues: 611 (from your Verizon phone), 800 922 0204 (from another phone).
- Support when you’re outside the U.S.: 505 998 3793 (free from a T-Mobile phone).
: 877 296 1018 (3 am to 10 pm Pacific time). - Support via Twitter: @vzwsupport.
- Support via Facebook: facebook.com/verizon.
- Support via Google+: +Verizon.
Para compatibilidad con el idioma español
For support for folks with disabilities, see Verizon’s accessibility services portal.
To chat with an online representative visit the Verizon support portal.
To ask about new service or service upgrades visit the Verizon online help portal.
Who made your phone?
If you’re having a problem and didn’t buy your phone from a carrier store or third-party store or reseller, you’ll need to contact the company who made it for troubleshooting or any warranty issues. Seeing who made your phone is usually obvious, just flip it over and see who’s name is on the back. If you’re using a Google phone, you should talk to Google instead of the actual company who manufactured it. Talking to support in-person is not going to be an option most of the time, Samsung and their Samsung Experience stores being the exception, so here’s how to get in touch if you’re in the U.S.
- Google does things a little differently for Nexus support calls. Instead of having callers stay on hold, you use an online form to queue up and they will call you. Find that form here. Alternatively, you can call support yourself at 855 836 3987.
- For order inquiries from the Google Store: 855 836 3987 (24-hour support).
- For support for Google Play purchases: 855 836 3987 (24-hour support).
- The Nexus Help Center.
HTC
- All customer support inquiries: 866 449 8358.
- HTC Store support: 888 216 4736.
- Support via Twitter: @htcusa.
- Support via Facebook: facebook.com/htcusa/.
- Support via Google+: +HTC
- Support via online chat: HTC Support.
HTC also has an extensive support website with plenty of options and FAQs for all of their products and apps. You can visit it here.
Huawei
- All customer support inquiries: 888 548 2934 (English and Spanish, Mon. – Fri. 8 am to 9 pm, weekends 10 am to 6 pm Central time).
- Support via Twitter: @huaweimobile.
- Support via Facebook: facebook.com/huaweimobile.
- Support via Google+: +HuaweiMobile.
Huawei has a dedicated online support web site complete with a contact form. See it here.
LG
- All customer support inquiries: 800 243 0000.
- Make an appointment to talk with customer support here.
- Support via online chat: LG Support.
- Support via Twitter: @lgus.
- Support via Facebook: facebook.com/LGUSA.
- Support via Google+: +LGUSA.
LG has an extensive online portal filled with support options for phones and their software. See it here.
Motorola
- All customer support inquiries: 800 734 5870 (Mon. – Fri. 7 am to 10 pm, weekends 9 am to 6 pm, Central time).
- Use the online troubleshooter here.
- Support via online chat: Direct link.
- Support via Twitter: @Moto_USA.
- Support via Facebook: facebook.com/motorola.
- Support via Google+: +Motorola.
See Motorola’s online support web pages and community here.
Samsung
- All customer support inquiries: 800 SAMSUNG.
- Samsung remote support: Samsung Smart Tutor.
- In-store support information: Samsung Customer Service centers.
- Support via Twitter: @SamsungUS.
- Support via Facebook: facebook.com/SamsungUS.
- Support via Google+: +SamsungUSA.
See Samsung’s extensive online support portal with live chat and email options here. Help with an existing order requires a login.
As always, we’re here and can try to help with any Android problems you might be having, or answer any questions you may have. Our contact information is below.
- Contact us through the website here.
- Connect with us through Twitter: @androidcentral.
- Connect with us through Facebook: facebook.com/androidcentral.
- Connect with us through Google+: +androidcentral.
Another great way to find help for many common problems is through the forums. You’ll find the specific forum for your device here or you can ask a general question without signing up here. You’ll find plenty of people who know just about everything there is to know about Android and your phone and it’s a wonderful resource.
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