PlayStation launches a… messaging app?
It turns out the PlayStation team believes there’s not enough messaging services out there, so they have decided to release their very own dedicated IM application. They call it PlayStation Messages and it has just launched on the Google Play Store (it’s also available for iOS).
But this application is not your typical messaging hub. It is meant to keep you connected with your PSN (PlayStation Network) friends, a feature that was already available in the official PlayStation app. According to the team, this is the most used service within the PlayStation application, so they have decided to make it a standalone service and give you quick access to your messages.
See also: 10 best texting apps for Android
PlayStation Messages is very simple, really. The UI is divided in 3 sections: Messages, Favorites and Friends. Contacts can be listed by online status or alphabetical order. Aside from simple text messages, users can also deliver voice clips, stickers and attachments.
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There’s not much else to it, but that is the good part about it. This is not supposed to be complex or replace your Facebook Messenger, Skype, Google Hangouts or whatever it is you use. This application is for PlayStation gamers who might want to discuss their next button-smashing session. And for that, it should work very well. Not to mention, you don’t always have your PlayStation contacts added in all your other services.
See also: 10 best new Android apps of November 2015
But what do you guys think? Is there room in your phone for the PlayStation Messages app, or do you think there is no need for a dedicated app? Hit the comments and let us know!
PlayStation launches brand new Messenger application for Android
Sony has just released its standalone PlayStation Messages application for Android. The app makes it extremely easy to send messages to other members of the PlayStation community using either a smartphone or tablet.
With regards to its appearance, the application looks pretty similar to Facebook’s popular instant messaging service. There are tabbed menus at the top of the display for navigating through inboxes, and even an array of stickers, which are pretty entertaining.
Come comment on this article: PlayStation launches brand new Messenger application for Android
PlayStation launches a messaging app for your phone
In a world of WhatsApp, Line, SMS, Facebook Messenger and all the rest we can’t fit into an intro paragraph, there’s a space for very specific messenger apps. Maybe. Sony’s launched a companion companion PlayStation app, available now on iOS and Android, that lets you talk to anyone on your PSN friends list. PlayStation Messages does only that — you’ll need the full PlayStation app to explore new releases, PS4 news and anything to do with your PSN account. However, like Facebook and its messenger app, you’ll be able to jump between your PS apps through tabs. Useful features include the ability to see who’s already online at a glance (before you’re even home and warming up your console), as well as being able to send voice messages, as well as text and stickers to friends or groups of up to 100 players. And if you’re looking for more game-messaging options, there’s also that dedicated Twitch messaging app. Spoilt for choice
Via: @Wario64 (Twitter)
Source: PlayStation Messages (iTunes), (Google Play), PlayStation (Japanese)
PlayStation Now offers 12 months of game streaming for $100
For a game streaming service to succeed, it needs three components: a decent library, competitive pricing and reliable, silky-smooth performance. PlayStation Now struggles on all three fronts, but slowly those shortcomings are being rectified. For instance, there’s now a better value subscription plan — $99.99 will net you 12 months of access, which works out at just over $8 per month. Compared with Sony’s existing one-month ($19.99, or $240 per year) and three-month ($44.99, or $180 per year) plans, it’s a steal.
Via: Polygon
Source: PlayStation Now
My Nexus 6P looks better than yours thanks to my dbrand copper skin
dbrand seriously hooked me up with some sweet skins for my Nexus 5X and 6P. Many of you tech enthusiasts are similar to the writers here at AndroidGuys, in that you love your devices and want to make sure they look good too. Looks are becoming more important as we grow more attached to our devices.
A great way to prevent scratches, cover up existing scratches and to completely customize the look of your smartphone is to use a skin from dbrand. Yesterday I wrote about a gorgeous carbon fiber skin that I put on my Nexus 5X that looks awesome. dbrand sent me a carbon fiber skin for my Nexus 6P as well, but I didn’t want to give you guys the same look. Instead I went with the brushed copper skin with a cutout for the X in Nexus.
Nexus 6P in copper and the Nexus 5X in carbon fiber.
Design
With the Nexus 5X skin dbrand I was most impressed with the high-quality materials. Those high-quality materials are sourced from 3M, and dbrand guarantees its products meet the highest standards. dbrand also make precision a primary feature, and I can say the skins I have used are so perfectly cut, that they must have been cut with space age lasers. The cutout for the microphone and fingerprint reader on the back of the Nexus 6P are so perfect that it looks like my phone was made from copper straight from the factory. The proof is in the images below.
Our Variety, Your Choice (from the dbrand website)
Installation
Installation is so easy even I could do it without making a mistake. And that really speaks volumes because I am far from a perfectionist. I typically rush through projects like this, and dbrand was ready for my shaky hands. After installing the Nexus 5X skin, the Nexus 6P installation took me all of five minutes.
1. Get a hair dryer or heat gun and pull out your skin materials.
2. Wipe your Nexus 6P to remove oil and dust.
3. Install the top portion of the skin first by aligning the microphone cutout and fingerprint reader. No extra metal from the Nexus 6P should show.
4. After completing the bottom installation and wiping down the edges with the included cloth, the X is ready for its inserts. Yellow goes on the bottom left, blue top left, red top right and green on the bottom right. You could make your X all green, blue, red, or yellow as dbrand does provide you with four of each color for the X.
Complete. Time to show off my one and only copper Nexus 6P.
Even C3PO is awestruck.
Summary
The look and feel of my Nexus 6P has dramatically changed for the better, all for less than $12. dbrand’s skins are unique, great looking, reasonably priced and easy to install. It makes my wonder why manufacturers of smartphones just don’t offer skins direct since customers do love choice. Many of us really are tired of the same old gold, silver, white and black colors that our smartphones come in.
As you can see from the images above, the skins on both the Nexus 5X and the Nexus 6P are so perfectly cut that they look like they came in actual carbon fiber and copper from the assembly lines. I was even stopped by three people today, while I was out, asking what phone I was using because they had never seen a copper phone before. I love the skins from dbrand as they do protect my all metal Nexus 6P from scratches, and gives it a nicer feel too.
And one last thing, and I really do mean this, if I can install these skins there is no doubt in my mind you can too. My eyes are not quite perfect anymore and my hands are shaky. dbrand offers a huge range of skins so check out their website to see if they have a skin for your device. They even have skins for laptops, smartwatches, tablets and game consoles.
The post My Nexus 6P looks better than yours thanks to my dbrand copper skin appeared first on AndroidGuys.
PlayStation VR is a few games away from being ready for prime time
The PlayStation Experience event in San Francisco this weekend is one of the biggest opportunities to date for the public to check out PlayStation VR — more than a dozen titles are on display here, including titles from Sony, Harmonix, Capcom and more. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been easy for those at the show to actually try those games out. Attendees were able to sign up ahead of time and reserve a slot to try the PlayStation VR experience, but a glitch in Sony’s database erased all those reservations, leaving a bunch of excited fans figuratively out in the cold.
The After Math: With great power
Well, this week as been rather terrible. With all the death and mayhem both at home and abroad, it’s enough to make anyone feel rather helpless. It’s times like these that we have to force ourselves to remember there is still a great deal of good left in the world. From life-saving medical advancements and clean energy promises to superior image scanners and kick-assier video games, this week’s selection shows that humanity isn’t all bad (just mostly).
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Watch two minutes of remastered ‘Final Fantasy VII’ on PS4
Square Enix teased a remastered, PlayStation 4 version of Final Fantasy VII back at E3 2015 — and today we get a better look at what that remake means. Final Fantasy VII kicked off the PlayStation Experience keynote this morning, with a two-minute trailer for the remaster (embedded below) and news that the original game is available on PS4 today. There’s no word on a launch window for Final Fantasy VII on PS4 just yet.
Hey, Kid: ‘Bastion’ is out on Vita today
It’s a good day to be a Vita owner. Bastion, the gorgeous 2011 isometric adventure from Supergiant Games, is out today on Vita. Sony announced Bastion‘s Vita launch during its PlayStation Experience keynote this morning. This brings Bastion‘s platforms up to seven: PC, Mac, Linux, Xbox 360, iOS, Chrome, PlayStation 4 and, now, Vita. It’s a Cross-Buy game on Sony’s platforms, meaning if you own it on PS4, you automatically get it on Vita, and vice versa. Score!
‘Ratchet & Clank’ hits PS4 on April 12th
The PlayStation 4 version of Ratchet & Clank, a mega-remaster of Insomniac’s PlayStation 2 game, lands on Sony’s new console on April 12th. That’s just before the Ratchet & Clank movie hits theaters on April 29th. Ratchet & Clank on PS4 is more than a simple visual upgrade: It’s a completely new game based on the PS2 version, with an expanded story, more planets to explore, new weapons, fresh controls and other goodies.
AIVAnet 