everything about the Galaxy S5

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    The Samsung Galaxy S4 barely rolled off the production line before we started hearing about its inevitable successor. A few months later, and the persistent noise emanating from the Galaxy S5 rumor mill is hard to ignore. If you’re wondering what the next flagship smartphone from Samsung might have in store then you’re in the right place. Here are the most notable Galaxy S5 rumors so far.

It may come in January, but probably March or April

The annual release schedule for smartphone flagships has become pretty standard in recent years. The Galaxy S2 was unveiled in February and released in May, 2011. The Galaxy S3 was revealed and released in May, 2012. The Galaxy S4 was shown off in March and released in April, 2013. We expect to catch a first glimpse of the Galaxy S5 around March 2014, with the release likely to be about a month later.

It’s possible that Samsung will try to push it forward after disappointing S4 sales. There has been talk of a January release and some suggestion that the S5 will show itself at MWC in February, but this is pure speculation right now, and we’ll be surprised if the South Korean manufacturer deviates much from its usual release schedule.

This one comes in metal

The idea that Samsung might break with tradition and produce a flagship with a metal body instead of plastic first surfaced way back in June. It was a vague notion to begin with, but in August the S5 metal chassis rumor got some meat on its bones when Korean news site ET News suggested magnesium and aluminum as possible materials.

Criticism of the Galaxy range has long focused on what some perceive as a “cheap, plastic feel” and many other flagship smartphones in the same price bracket have opted for aluminum designs. Should Samsung decide to switch to metal it would likely mean a heavier, more expensive device, and it could spell the end of the removable battery.

It’s worth noting that this new metal Samsung phone could be the mysterious Galaxy F, a stop-gap in the flagship calendar that may land a few months before the S5. A report at GalaxyS5Info suggests just that, and also reckons that the faux leather polycarbonate of the Note 3 could make an appearance on the S5.

There’s also a chance that the S5 could use carbon fiber in its construction. Android Beat reported a partnership between Samsung Petrochemical and SGL Group (one of the largest producers of carbon fiber in the world). It’s an extremely light and extremely strong material, so it could be ideal.

Brand new design

Even if the Galaxy S5 doesn’t end its love affair with plastic that doesn’t mean it won’t look different from its predecessors. The Galaxy S line has stuck to a certain design aesthetic, the S3 and S4 are especially alike, but if the patent that Patent Bolt turned up is anything to go by then the S5 could ditch the home button and adopt a new angular form factor.

 

64-bit processor, like the iPhone 5S

    Not long after the iPhone 5S was revealed Samsung’s mobile head, JK Shin told the Korea Times, “our next smartphones will have 64-bit processing functionality.” It’s a safe bet that the Samsung Galaxy S5 will want to match or beat the iPhone 5S in terms of performance and so it will likely have a 64-bit chip.

According to Digital Daily in Korea, the S5 could sport an Exynos 6 processor, a new 14nm chip with 64-bit support and ARM’s Cortex A53/A57 Big.Little octa-core configuration. Whatever the specifics, we can safely assume Samsung will be gunning for the top spot in performance benchmarks.

We would expect at least 3GB of RAM to back that up, but Samsung is already producing 4GB LPDDR3 mobile DRAM, so that’s always a possibility.

Eye scanning security?

According to AndroidSAS, the Galaxy S5 could one-up the fingerprint scanner on the iPhone 5S and take the lead in biometric security with an eye-scanning sensor. The idea is that S5 owners will be able to scan their eyes in order to unlock their smartphones. This would supposedly offer a higher level of security, but the sources are unnamed and there’s nothing to substantiate the rumor. We’ll be sure to keep an eye on this one.

 

No fingerprint scanner

We’ve already seen a report from the Korea Herald in which a Samsung official is quoted as saying “We never officially admitted that Samsung was weighing the fingerprint system and Knox for Galaxy Note 3 for security functions. We are not yet developing the technology.”
Still, this is Samsung we’re talking about. We wouldn’t be shocked to see a fingerprint sensor of some kind. Samsung knows how to move fast on new tech. Of course, if the eye scanning rumor has any truth to it then fingerprints are out the window.

Multi-person video conferencing, using both cameras

    A patent uncovered by GalaxyClub.nl hints that Samsung may be updating its ChatON messaging service to include multi-person conference calls. The listing, which includes the screenshot you see here, indicates the software may enable both front and rear video cameras, along with multiple streams visible along the bottom of the screen. It sounds a little like Google’s own conference call system available through Hangouts, which can support ten different feeds at the same time. Should the software being included with the Galaxy S5, it may come as either a part of ChatON, or a new TouchWiz feature.

Galaxy S5 could run Tizen OS

Samsung has not given up on its own Tizen operating system. The International Business Times reckons the company may release a Tizen version of the Galaxy S5. Would Samsung release two different versions of the S5, one with Tizen and one with Android 4.4 KitKat? It doesn’t seem likely, and we don’t think Samsung is ready to ditch Android for its own platform yet. Maybe the Tizen version may be limited to specific markets, if it exists at all. We’ll have to wait and see.

A 16-megapixel camera

There were early suggestions that the Galaxy S5 would sport a 13-megapixel camera, possibly with optical image stabilization, but now we’re hearing different. ET News predicts that Samsung will opt for a 16-megapixel sensor that’s capable of better low-light performance than the competition.

The new sensor will be produced in-house and it will feature Samsung’s ISOCELL technology which, “substantially increases light sensitivity and effectively controls the absorption of electrons, resulting in higher color fidelity even in poor lighting conditions.”

Waterproof comes standard

Smartphones are getting tougher. At the start of this new flagship cycle the Xperia Z made a splash with its waterproof and dustproof credentials. Samsung released the Galaxy S4 Active as a waterproof variant of its flagship, but ET News thinks the Galaxy S5 may take things one step further and be waterproof and dustproof straight out of the box. According to the report, “industry sources” say the Galaxy S5 will meet the same standards as the S4 Active, which will bring into line with some of the other top Android smartphones.

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PlayStation 4 vs. Xbox One head-to-head comparison

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      Despite being designed with different philosophies, the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 are more alike than their predecessors. There are some key differences that people will debate for years to come, but both systems overlap more often than not.  For a full breakdown on the specs, check out the comparison at the bottom of this article.

But that doesn’t mean you should simply flip a coin and buy one. Having spent a considerable amount of time with both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, we’re ready to take a closer look at differences.

There are quantifiable things we can point to, categories where one system has a clear edge. From controllers to app availability, each system has clear strengths and weaknesses today. These might all change in the next few years as these systems grow and evolve – the reality is that the best games for either system won’t be out for years to come. But for now we put the two systems head to head and see which comes out ahead.

Fight!
If you haven’t already, we highly encourage you to check out our reviews on both systems. They break down the consoles and could help determine which is a better fit for you specifically, rather than which is a “better” piece of hardware.

PlayStation 4 review
Xbox One review


Apps at launch (Tie)

In the next few months, the Xbox One may win this category, but for now the number of “coming soon” apps on each system is keeping the two catalogs balanced.

For the Xbox One you have ESPN, but you need to be a subscriber of an “authorized” cable provider. The same goes for its NFL app. The PS4 has its own Music and Video services featuring all content Sony had a hand in (which is an awful lot), but they require paid subscriptions as well.

    Game streaming is a different story. The PS4 can stream games right now, directly to Twitch and Ustream, with the press of a single button. The Xbox One will also be able to stream gaming video, but for now it is still “coming soon” and won’t be available until next year. This category will likely change again and again over time, but given the way things are right now, we call it a tie.


As a media device (Xbox One)

How times change. The PS3 was (and still is) an excellent media device, capable of streaming music and video from a PC and playing or displaying content off of a USB-connected device. The PS4, however, does none of those things. Sony has hinted strongly that these functions are coming, and their omission was simply a matter of launch timing, but the result is a console that is less capable as a media device than its predecessor. There are always the apps, but this is still a chink in the PS4’s armor.

The Xbox One, on the other hand, is designed to integrate with media, specifically cable TV.

 If you are a cable TV subscriber, your experience is improved by connecting it to the console. Both consoles can play Blu-ray discs, but only the Xbox can integrate your cable guide right into the system menu and switch over to TV. At the moment, this is really no contest.


Controller (PS4)

One thing many (although certainly not all) gamers can agree on is that the Xbox 360 controller is one of the best ever released. It’s just a better design than the DualShock 3, especially for people who play first-person shooters – of which there are many. The next-gen controllers change that dynamic, though.

The Xbox One controller retains many of the core elements of the 360 controller, plus it adds two more rumble motors and loses the bulky battery pack on the back. It also has smaller thumbpads on the analog sticks, which is step back when you find yourself losing your grip. The DualShock 4, on the other hand, is improved all around. It is bigger, offers better, outward-curving triggers, features a clickable touchpad on the front, and the lightbar has multiple functions. Plus the thumbpads are normal human-sized. This round goes to Sony.


Design (PS4)

This is one of the easiest categories to pick a winner for. The PS4 is slim, sleek, and lightweight, featuring an attractive light bar on the side and a sloping front and back. The Xbox One is a much bulkier box. It isn’t ugly by any means, and it sort of resembles one of the new-generation cable boxes, but put the two next to each other and you have to wonder why it is so much bigger, especially since it still requires a brick for the power cord, where the PS4 does not.

 

 

Games (Xbox One)

Console launch titles are generally a race to the middle. Still, at the moment there is a clear leader.

Although the PS4 has several downloadable games and a handful of disc exclusives like Killzone: Shadow Fall and Knack, the Xbox One has Forza Motorsport 5, Dead Rising 3, and Ryse: Son of Rome, plus its own downloadable games. And although it isn’t out just yet, you can’t ignore the fact that Titanfall is coming in March to PC, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. For now, the edge goes to Microsoft.

Setup (PS4)

When it comes to ease of setup, Sony’s console wins hands down here. Even if you discount the extra step of hooking the Xbox One up to a cable box, the install process is just much easier on the PS4. So is updating the firmware, something both systems require to unlock their full functionality – or in the case of the Xbox One, any functionality.

Beyond that, learning how to use and speak to Kinect may help in the long run, but it can be confusing at first if you don’t take the time to learn the peripheral’s unique vocabulary. Sony’s menus, on the other hand, are immediately intuitive and easy to grasp.

Price (PS4)

      This may seem like an obvious one, but there is more to it than just the price of the console itself. The Xbox One costs $100 more than the PS4, but it also comes with Kinect. The PS4 offers the PlayStation Camera as a separate $60 purchase, but it is not as necessary to the PS4’s operation as the Kinect is to the Xbox One. It’s worth owning and it will only get better over time, but after dropping $400 it’s nice to wait a bit before spending even more money.

Then there is the cost of cable TV, which the Xbox One is designed to interact with. To get the most out of your system, you need to pay the monthly cable fee, which is rarely cheap. It’s something to consider. Regardless, the PS4 is just a less expensive investment all around.

Peripherals (Xbox One)

This really comes down to the cameras each system offers. It’s nice that Sony allows you to purchase one at a later date for $60, and the PlayStation 4 Eye does offer some nice gesture controls through the Move integration with the DualShock 4. But really, there is no contest here.

The new Kinect is a remarkable piece of technology. It goes so far beyond just gesture controls. The voice commands are integral to the Xbox One interface, and the camera’s multiple imaging functions means it can even be used as a tool – not just a gaming peripheral – in judging things like exercise. It can accurately judge your movements, estimate your heart rate through how flushed your skin is and more. The list goes on and on, just like the camera’s potential.

User interface (Xbox One)

The PlayStation 4’s interface is designed to be accessible. It’s simple and anyone can figure it out. It lacks customization though, so the games and apps you have used at some point are displayed in an increasingly lengthy horizontal display. The more games and apps you have, the longer it will take to go through.

On the other hand, the Xbox One’s UI is a bit more complex, but it’s also more robust and functional. Built on Windows 8′s Modern user interface, it may take some time to acclimate to it, but once you do you’ll see why Microsoft decided to go in this direction, especially if you’re using the Kinect’s voice command options to elevate it.

Conclusion (Tie)

OK, this might seem like a bit of a copout and, well, that’s because it is. But not for the reasons you might think!

There is no right or wrong here, no best or worst console, no matter what the chorus on the Internet tells you. Sony and Microsoft both released systems that are similar, and yet they each appeal to a slightly different group. To put it in vastly oversimplified terms, The PS4 is a machine made specifically for gamers first, while the Xbox One is designed as an entertainment center for gamers.

Both consoles are forward-thinking devices, and what you see now is going to ultimately be completely different from what the systems become years down the line. So choose your system based on the potential and what you plan to use it for. This generation of consoles is already shaping up to be one of the most interesting gaming battles in history. You probably won’t regret purchasing either system, but choose wisely.

Spec Comparison

 

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Xbox One Launch Kicks Off The Battle Against Sony’s Playstation 4

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      The wait is over and the time has now come for eager fans around the world to collect their Xbox One and immerse themselves in the next generation of console gaming from Microsoft. New Zealand was one of the first countries to have the console available at midnight of the 22nd November, and even hours before hand, fans were queuing up outside Shed 10 on the Waterfront in Auckland, New Zealand ready to pick up their pre-orders.

A little closer to home for us here at eTeknix, the UK also saw their launch at midnight last where over 300 game shops and more than 100 Tesco’s supermarkets stayed open late into the night for sales and pre-order collections to be made. Whilst the PS4 is not yet here in the UK until the 29th of November, Over in the US Sony’s launch of the Playstation 4 is now a week behind us and so the battle over there has started to see who will be crowned victorious as the must have games console this Christmas.

Whilst the Xbox One is going to cost you around £80 more than the PS4, it seems that this has not put any fans off as Microsoft see record numbers of pre-orders being made, beating that of the Xbox 360 a number of years ago. The two consoles, as we have seen, do pack somewhat similar specifications to each other – although there has been word that Sony may just have the upper hand on graphics as reports come in that Battlefield 4 and Call of Duty: Ghosts has a better game play in terms of resolution. Whilst this may be a major selling factor to a small number of people, the challenge really is going to be based on who has the most loyal fans on their side, however this is not as plain sailing as you may think. Since the launch of the Xbox 360 and Sony’s PS3, there has been a dramatic shift in the games market as we see many avid gamers moving away from the console platform and over to the PC gaming side of things. This has been mainly down to the massive improvement in graphics performance that we have seen from both NVIDIA and AMD in the last 2-3 years.

With games console now offering much more than just a gaming experience, with social and entertainment media becoming more and more popular, the is certainly more than one reason to pick either console and as the Christmas rush comes into full swing, it is anybody’s guess at the moment as to who will be at the number one spot at the end of the year.

    If you’ve just got an Xbox One or PS4 (or are waiting for the PS4 in the UK), let us know your thoughts on the new consoles in the comments section below.

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Gran Turismo 7 Could Be Out In 2014

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       Great news gaming fans, Gran Turismo 6 isn’t here for another two weeks and it looks like development on Gran Turismo 7 has already started a long time ago! Now it seems like we could even see the next-gen racer as soon as next year as the developers don’t want to take too long bringing the series to PlayStation 4.

This is obviously awesome, Gran Turismo has long been a staple of the PlayStation diet, and since Gran Turismo took such an appallingly long time to hit the PlayStation 3 it is no wonder the developer doesn’t want to repeat the same process again.

In an interview with world famous motoring magazine Top Gear, Kazunori told them that the next iteration of the series could see a release next year.

“We don’t want to take too long on Gran Turismo 7. Best-case scenario? Next year. In GT6 we really had to tune the software 100 per cent to maximise the PS3′s architecture, but of course the PS4′s hardware is much better, so I think the overall quality of the game across the board will be boosted when you come to play it.”

Then on Twitter we’ve seen that the tech demo has been shown behind closed doors, something we wish we could get our hands on right now, that’s for sure.

“GT 7 tech demo. Nothing to describe other than it looked amazing. It was snowing and at night. Cockpit view, then turned to outside the car.
— Ahsan Rasheed (@thuway) November 19, 2013“

Now all we have to do is sit and wait, because one thing is for certain, it will not be out early next year. Gran Turismo 7 sounds like it is chasing a Christmas release for 2014, but given the delays the series has been known for, 2015 sounds more realistic.

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Optical Output On Xbox One Limited To Stereo Only

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      The Xbox One has literally just become available, however there is news going around that anyone with a surround sound headset will not be able to use them to their full potential at this moment in time. This is going to be severely bad news for a large number of people who own a high-end headset from the likes of Turtle Beach and Tritton to name only a couple as the new consoles optical output will only support two channel audio until an unknown date.

Albert Panello, the Director of Product Planning at Microsoft has made a statement that indicates that there will be an update coming in the future that will unload the full Dolby capability of the optical output, thus allowing surround headsets to run at their full potential. In the statement, he did specify however that if you were to own a Dolby only HDMI receiver then you should be able to get uncompressed 5.1 or 7.1 sound to your speakers as this has been made available.

“Dolby Digital is coming post launch. This was a SW scheduling issue pure and simple, and I know people are disappointed, but we will have it. Anyone with a HDMI receiver should be fine, as we pass the uncompressed 5.1 and 7.1 through HDMI as well as DTS. Even if you have a Dolby only HDMI receiver, you will still get 5.1 or 7.1 sound since those receivers should accept uncompressed surround. For the Dolby only headsets, my understanding is that these will work but you will only get stereo audio since we only pass Stereo and DTS through the optical port. I have not tested this myself, but I’m told it works. Regardless, I understand this is an inconvenience, but again we’re going to have Dolby coming.”

There is not any mention as to why full surround capability has been left out from the Xbox’s optical jack and there could be a number of reasons why, but there is the reassurance giving that it will be coming – we just don’t know when this will be at this moment in time.

With the battle against the PS4 just kicking off, there is the possibility that there will be some disgruntled customers who can’t use their existing hardware to its full capabilities, however this will become clear over the next week or so.

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Broadwell Based Intel CPUs To Feature Iris Pro Graphics

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     Intel is rumored to release the first desktop “Broadwell” microprocessors closer to the end of next year. Codenamed Broadwell-K, the CPUs will feature a 1150 socket platform.

The CPUs will also have unlocked clock multiplier and the most interesting feature of new products will be Iris Pro (GT3) graphics with integrated 128 MB eDRAM memory, which will add an 80% graphical performance increase compared to the Core i7-4770K.

The latest Haswell CPUs currently available at retail have lower-performance Iris graphics hardware and CPUs with Iris Pro graphics are only available to manufacturers in quantities of over 1,000 units.

 Broadwell-K processors will have 4 CPU cores and support Turbo Boost technology and will arrive in two versions, a Core i5 and a Core i7. The Core i7 parts will come with 6 MB L3 cache, and will have Hyper-Threading enabled, while the Core i5 microprocessors will have 4 MB of level 3 cache with no Hyper-Threading.

The CPUs will also require a new 9-series chipset motherboard to support the 1150 socket. This is where Intel announced two new motherboards as well, the Z97 and H97 which will be released at the same time as the new Broadwell-K.

Pricing for both the CPU and motherboards has not been revealed just yet, but we hope to get more insight later on next year.

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Opens Up the Xbox One To See What It’s Really Made Of

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     When you look inside the Xbox One, you cannot help but think that it is an all too familiar sight. We all know that the consoles coming out this month are using standard PC hardware to power them, but the stuff inside is even more standard that most people were expecting.

Normal looking hard drives, SATA II ports and a whopping big cooler make up the most obvious parts. In fact, if you’re brave enough to get inside this thing, avoiding any damage to the wireless module and the internal speaker, you could easily just plug in any 2.5″ hard drive of your own. But remember that you’ll be kissing your warranty goodbye, something you never want to do on a launch console unless you have a lot of spare cash lying around.

The huge fan takes up a quarter of the console, no doubt about it, this thing can shift some serious air! Not to mention keep things cool at low RPM inside the Xbox One, something that will help it stay nice and quiet.

The Blu-Ray drive looks pretty much off the shelve too, with a thick casing that you see in many desktop units and with the large fan, the chunky optical drive, SATA cables etc, you have to wonder that Microsoft could have easily stripped back a few things to make the console smaller. However, it is also likely that cost was an issue and as things become more profitable there is easily room to save space here, Xbox One Slim anyone?
iFixit awarded an 8 / 10 for repairability to the Xbox One, placing it on par with the PlayStation 4.

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Microsoft Xbox One review

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    If there’s one word that defines Microsoft’s approach with its new Xbox One, it’s “disruptive.” The new hardware challenges our notion of what a video game console can and should be, for better and for worse. Kinect is now analogous to a new button on your controller. Microtransactions are most definitely in. Even without the debatably useful Snap feature, multitasking is a foundational element.

This is an all-in-one box with promise, a first step toward something bigger than itself. The Xbox 360 was always struggling to do too much within a limited design spec. Even something as simple as a user’s friends list was locked at 99 names for the life of the hardware. The Xbox One will no doubt struggle to keep up down the road too – it’s the fate of all video game consoles – but it’s extremely well-equipped to handle any big changes we can currently see on the horizon.

Before you begin

Prepare for the dreaded launch-day update. Your Xbox One will basically be a shiny brick until you can get the update installed. It’s hard to say how big it’s going to be on day one, since there have been multiple updates released over the course of the review period. Set aside an hour for initial setup, but don’t be sad if it goes longer.

Beyond that, make sure you have a clear space for the Kinect, either above or below your TV. If you plan to run your cable box through the Xbox One – and you should – don’t worry too much about positioning the Kinect so that it can “see” your cable box. The motion-sensing peripheral’s built-in IR blaster is powerful enough to reach your cable box even if there’s not a direct line of sight on it.

Features and design

Despite a sleek mix of matte and gloss black, there’s no hiding the fact that the Xbox One is a bulky box. It’s physically larger than the most recent model of Xbox 360 by an inch or more on each side, and unlike the PS4, there’s still a hefty power brick attached to the power cord. It’s also designed to only sit flat, so you might have to do some rearranging in your media center.

    Microsoft went with touch-sensitive strips rather than buttons for the Xbox One’s power and disc eject switches. They’re both very sensitive and flat against the face of the unit, which makes it easy to accidentally brush against one and turn the console off or pop the disc out of the drive. A soft beep sounds when you make contact with one of these “buttons,” but that’s all the feedback you get … until your console turns off or spits a disc out. It runs very quietly, but you can tell it’s powered on when you see a backlit “Xbox” logo on the right side of the unit.
The dashboard unsurprisingly resembles Windows 8′s Modern UI. Longtime 360 users should prepare for a learning curve. Certain basic functions – new ones and old ones alike – aren’t immediately intuitive. Joining or creating a party, for example, now requires you to “turn party chat on” from the associated menu after you’ve invited people to join, or joined one yourself. Snap, the new feature that allows for two apps to be visible on the screen simultaneously, offers no obvious way to jump between the two portions of your split screen … at least not until you learn how to incorporate Kinect into your life.

Kinect-ed

The second-gen Kinect is Microsoft’s gigantic gamble on the Xbox One. While you can disconnect the peripheral and store it away once you’ve set up your console for the first time, it is highly recommended that you don’t. Imagine trying to navigate around the Xbox dashboard with a controller that’s missing its trigger buttons. That’s what happens when you try to go without Kinect on the Xbox One. You’re essentially turning off a very useful button.

Forget motion controls; they’re still an option, but Kinect v2 is all about voice commands. Speaking to your Xbox One makes it considerably easier to navigate the dashboard, multitask, play with the Snap feature, and many other basic features. However, you’ll need to learn the peripheral’s admittedly limited and occasionally unintuitive vocabulary.

Take the “Xbox Select” command, which allows you to speak the name of any tile on the dashboard screen to select it. There’s no way someone would naturally figure out that saying “Xbox Select” brings up and overlay to enable this. There’s an “Xbox Help” menu that provides assistance, and – to be fair – there are plenty of completely sensible voice commands as well, but prepare for a learning curve as you grasp how to communicate with your Xbox.

Fortunately, Kinect now handles natural, regular-volume speech much better than its predecessor did,, though it’s still not perfect. Kinect sent us somewhere other than what we asked for – or didn’t respond at all – only a handful of times during our week-long review period. Following on with the “Kinect-as-a-controller button” comparison, you expect your gamepad to work 100-percent of the time. Kinect understands roughly 99-percent of what you’re saying. Improvement is needed – and it will come as Microsoft processes more voice samples over time – but this is a strong starting point.

 

It’s difficult to gauge just how impactful Kinect voice commands will be in the long run, but cable TV integration could be the clincher to selling it for a mass audience. Being able to say “Xbox, watch ESPN” and be tuned into the sports network just a few seconds later amounts to an ease of use that every user can comprehend, even a non-gamer.

Motion controls are less impressive. Microsoft’s minimum recommended distance from the Kinect is 4.6 feet, which is harder to find in a New York City apartment than you might think. There are motion commands for Snap, opening notifications, and various other features – including the same hand cursor that the original Kinect offered for dashboard navigation – but the hardware’s ability to translate physical movement to the screen isn’t unreliable if you’re at a distance of four feet or less from the camera.

Controller

The Xbox One controller is roughly the same size and shape as its Xbox 360 predecessor, though some new internal mechanisms make it slightly heavier. There’s now trigger-specific rumble, which allows developers to code games so that, say, pulling a trigger to fire a gun only shakes the pulled trigger. Four individual rumble motors afford developers a much more nuanced level of control over force feedback.

The Xbox 360′s Back/Start buttons are now the View/Menu buttons, though they serve largely the same purpose. The guide button is also right where it always was, though it’s slightly smaller and flatter. Pressing it now brings you directly to the dashboard, since multitasking eliminates the need for the Xbox Guide as we’ve come to know it.

    In terms of physical design, the Xbox One controller is both a step back and a step forward. The D-pad is significantly improved, as are the larger, flatter face buttons. The triggers have a shorter pull than they did previously, and they curve outward a little more now, giving you a better grip. The battery housing is also flush with the back of the controller now, eliminating the awkward bump that fingers constantly collided with on every wireless 360 controller.

What’s not so good then? The left and right bumpers are much click-ier now, meaning you’ve got to exert more pressure to press one. On the flipside, the shoulder bumpers take up more real estate than LB/RB did before, making it easier to slide a finger onto one as needed. The redesigned analog sticks are more of a problem; the thumb grips on the top of each one are considerably smaller than they were before, to the chagrin of fat-fingered gamers across the world.

Performance

The Xbox One OS highlights the power of the new hardware within. Switching from a game to an app or TV then back to the game is quick and seamless; the screen simply fades out and then immediately fades back in. The last three apps used are kept in active memory, though the load time on most apps launching fresh is negligible, measured in seconds. Some games – Dead Rising 3 for example – took longer than expected to launch, but every game plays silky smooth once you’re in. No slowdown, no texture pop, nothing.

The hardware is more powerful, sure, but the smooth game performance is also a result of the fact that all games now require installation, even when you’ve got a disc version. Install times vary, though they’re considerably longer on the Xbox One than they were on the 360. No surprise, given the double-digit gigabyte sizes of most next-gen games. That said, whether you’re downloading or on a disc, you’re able to fire up most games while they’re still installing within minutes.

Software and online capabilities

Many of the Xbox One’s online features are still in the process of being finalized, so this section may change in the coming days. We’ve been able to try Forza Motorsport 5 and Ryse: Son of Rome online, and both felt generally smooth (though one Forza race disconnected midway through). We’ve also sampled party chat using the pack-in headset; it sounds much better than it did on the 360, and game audio is remarkably absent from the background.

It’s worth mentioning that all of the Xbox One’s first-party launch titles place some amount of emphasis on microtransactions. This is purely the domain of the publisher and developer delivering the game, of course. Dead Rising 3, a rare third-party exclusive in the Xbox One’s launch lineup, features nothing of the kind, but first-party offerings integrate microstransactions to a surprising degree. Some, like Killer Instinct, adopt a sensible free-to-play approach. But with a game like Crimson Dragon, a pay-to-play game with an economy that also emphasizes micropayments, it’s off-putting.

    Apps are still a question mark. Most of them are just coming online this week, with Netflix, ESPN, NFL, Machinima, and Upload Studio all having gone live less than 24 hours before the console review embargo lifted. Our experience so far with the apps – mostly just Netflix – has been smooth, but there’s still more to explore. We’ve yet to see, for example, how having the ESPN and NFL apps enhances the Sunday NFL football experience. Stay tuned for more soon.

Conclusion

The Xbox One is an outstanding step forward for Microsoft’s gaming brand, even if it’s not an entirely perfect machine at launch. That’s the beauty of the new Xbox though: It’s built to be flexible. This was the big lesson of the last hardware generation. There’s no way to fully plan for what’s to come. The Xbox One works right out of the box, and it works well, but it’s just a foundation. Whatever the direction it grows in from here, Microsoft’s message remains clear: Gaming isn’t just for the Gamers anymore.

Highs

• Powerful OS is user-friendly and built for seamless multitasking
• Kinect v2′s well-implemented voice recognition is a new “button” for your controller
• Improved internal hardware translates to smooth game performance
• Cable box interconnectivity is great for TV watchers

Lows

• Limited, occasionally non-intuitive voice commands
• Bulky, hefty form factor
• Snap same-screen multitasking is debatably useful

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How To Install An SSD Into The PlayStation 4

[Quick & Easy]
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       Peter over at Gamespot has decided to dismantle a bit of his brand new PlayStation 4 to do something that many people have been wanting to investigate, can you install a high performance SSD in place of the stock PlayStation 4 hard drive? Yes you can!

Replacing the hard drive in the PlayStation 4 is not a difficult task, a simple pop off cover is removed, a single screw with some cool Sony branding on it is undone and bam! You have access to the hard drive. Slot the drive out, pop in the new SSD and turn on the console, it really is that simple.
Sony allowed us to upgrade the hard drive on the PlayStation 3 and that trend is easily set to continue, many may be put off by swapping out the hard drive on a technical level, but it really is a 1 minute job at best.

In the video we see how easy it really is, not only that be we see a definite increase in performance when he boots up a game on the SSD equipped PlayStation 4 vs the standard hard drive. Of course the only issue here is that price per GB of an SSD is a lot higher than a mechanical hard drive, so if you do want faster performance it may be worth just getting a better mechanical drive so you can balance an improvement in speed with an increase in capacity without hurting your wallet too much.

 

Samsung Pulls Android 4.3 Update For Galaxy S3 From The Market

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     Samsung launched the latest Android update last week for its Samsung Galaxy S3 series, but after it was released many users’ encountered problems and now the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update has been pulled from the market while rumors are that the Note 2 update will be delayed.

The Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update for the Samsung Galaxy S3 yesterday hit the UK and it was available for unlocked version of the device via an OTA update. Phone Review had such a device but did not update to the Android 4.3. Apparently, after checking the device again this morning, the update was gone and the Galaxy S3 notified it already had the latest software update (which was not Android 4.3 of course).

The conclusion is that the Android 4.3 update was pulled from the store for the device and could also mean that the same software will be delayed for the Galaxy Note 2 that looked ready to be released. The issues confronted by users with the Galaxy S3 running on Android 4.3 consist of the handset becoming unresponsive after the update especially the lockscreen, and battery life getting worse.

Other problems included a patchy Wi-Fi connection or the handset locking up completely needing the battery to be pulled to restart the device. Considering the handset has been sitting on Android 4.1.2 for a while now it’s a poor performance by the company when you take into account how long Android 4.3 Jelly Bean has been available.

The update had also reached some carrier versions of the handset in the UK that included O2 and Three, and you would have thought these have been pulled as well and hopefully Samsung quickly provides a fix for those that have already installed the software and commences the rollout of the update.


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One Great Feature Of PlayStation 4 Most People Overlook

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       Many PlayStation 4 owners will no doubt already be using this feature, many will already know about it in general and some may have heard it as a rumour earlier in the year. Heck, even Shuhei Yoshida confirmed that you can do it a few weeks back, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t met a bunch of people who didn’t have a clue!

The DualShock 4 is a featured packed little beast, with a touch panel, light bar and motion control tech, a small microphone, a built in speaker and more, but the best part of all has to be the headphone jack.

Not only can you use this headphone jack for your bundled PlayStation chat headset, but you can plug in any pair of 3.5mm headphones that you own. This means that you can use your favourite headphones while gaming and this only gets better if you own one that features a 4-pole connection and a microphone, because you can even use it for in-game chat.

Most headsets have 4-pole connections these days, pretty much any mobile phone headset with a 3.5mm jack will work, for me personally I can use my MadCatz F.R.E.Q.7 and detachable microphone right from the controller.

The PlayStation 4 can stream game audio and chat direct to the controller, meaning you no longer have to worry about wireless headphones with a custom send/receive unit.


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حيوان غريب يثير رعب سكان الصين

      آثار حيوان غريب رعب السكان بإحدى المدن الصينية الذين تخوفوا من كونه هارب من إحدى المختبرات العلمية المحيطة بهم.

كان سكان مدينة “شينشيانغ” بمقاطعة هينان الصينية قد فوجئوا بكائن غريب الشكل يتجول في شوارع المدينة آثار رعبهم، حيث أفاد المواطنون أنهم شاهدوا حيواناً بشعر شبيه بتصفيفة الهنود الحمر وجلد وردي اللون مبقع ببقع أشبه بجلد الفهد، وقالوا إنهم يعتقدون أن هذا الحيوان جاء نتيجة تجربة فاشلة أجريت في أحد المراكز البحثية بالمدينة وأنه قد هرب منها ليثير رعبهم.

 

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      وقد ذكر أحد الشهود أن الحيوان له جلد وردي مثل جلد الخنزير، وأضاف أنه بالتأكيد نتيجة نوع من التجارب الجينية التي حدث بها خطأ.

إلا أن الشرطة الصينية ذكرت أن الكائن ما هو إلا كلب من سلالة تدعى “Chinese Crested Hairless”، وهي كلاب أليفة باهظة الثمن، وفقاً لما صرح به المتحدث باسم الشرطة.

تتميز تلك السلالة الغريبة بوجود شعر بالرأس والذيل، لكن يخلو باقي الجسم من الشعر، وتنتشر به بقع بنية منحته لقب أقبح كلب في العالم في مسابقة للكلاب في يونيو 2011 بولاية كاليفورنيا الأميركية، حيث عثر تيري شوماخر على جرو صغير خلف مبنى سكني، واعتقد في البداية أنه فأر قبل أن يدرك أنه كلب، وقد فاز الكلب بجائزة قدرها ألف دولار (ما يعادل 3750 ريال سعودي) وكأس أكبر من حجمه 15 وفقاً لما ذكرته صحيفة “ديلي ميل” البريطانية.

Built for gamers, the Mercedes-Benz AMG Vision Gran Turismo concept is digital perfection

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       Sometimes, you’ll hear car enthusiasts complain that the technology in the latest performance vehicles makes driving too much like a playing a video game. And with the latest Mercedes-Benz concept, that’s literally the case.

The Mercedes-Benz AMG Vision Gran Turismo was developed to coincide with the launch of Gran Turismo 6 and the 15th anniversary of that racing simulator franchise.

The concept is the result of a challenger from Gran Turimso producer Kazunori Yamauchi, who asked the world’s carmakers to design automotive visions of the future. The Mercedes concept is one of a series of vehicles that will be gradually integrated into Gran Turimso 6 through online updates.

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      Mercedes’ designers used the car’s digital status to their advantage, creating an extreme shape that looks otherworldly compared to most production cars. The traditional long-hood, short-rear deck sports car proportions are exaggerated to perfection, and the Vision Gran Turismo features a grille encrusted with LEDs. Overall, it looks like a futuristic version of one of Mercedes’ classic 1930s Silver Arrow grand prix cars.

Underneath that fantastic skin is a twin-turbocharged V8 with 577 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque. That means it’s probably the 5.5-liter V8 used in the new S63 AMG, which has the same power output figures.

     However, on the Vision Gran Turismo, the exhaust exits through eight individual outlets integrated into the rear bumper. Since gamers will primarily experience the car through its sound, Mercedes’ sound specialists (yes, it really does have sound specialists) have created a unique tune for the car.

According to Mercedes, the chassis is an aluminum space frame, draped with carbon fiber bodywork. That gives the Vision Gran Turismo a relatively light curb weight of 3.053 pounds, and a power-to-weight ratio of 5.2 pounds per horsepower. In the digital world, that is.

The interior is reportedly inspired by a Formula One car, with seats integrated into the floor and rear bulkhead for better crash protection. Instead of a dashboard, the Vision Gran Turismo has a floating glass panel above the steering wheel that displays all of the relevant information. Thankfully this is a concept, because a glass dash would never pass crash safety testing.

Secondary controls are operated by rocker switches in the center of the dashboard and on an overhead console, just like in a jet airplane.

The Mercedes-Benz AMG Vision Gran Turismo concept will be unveiled November 19 at the opening of the new Mercedes Research & Development Center in Sunnyvale, California. If you want to drive it, you’ll need to pick up a copy of Gran Turismo 6, which hits stores this December.


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Awesome tech you can’t buy yet, for the week of November 17, 2013

NinjaSphere

 

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      Following up their line of hugely-popular web-connected sensors, the NinjaBlocks team is back on Kickstarter agagin with NinjaSphere – a next-gen gateway for all your home-automation tech. It’s designed to work with practically every major home automation protocol, and therefore supports a huge array of devices. And the best part?  NinjaSphere is entirely open source, which means that almost anybody can write and share a driver to connect a device to it. This essentially makes it future proof – when new devices come onto the market (and they will), NinjaSphere will be able to work with them. If you’re interested in making your home smarter, this is where you should start.



Why I cancelled my PlayStation 4 preorder (It wasn’t to get an Xbox One)

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        Several days ago, I made a call to Sony’s Online Store. After a 50 minute wait, a pleasant but leisurely customer service rep picked up the line and began her introductory script. Patiently, I waited until she was finished. Then I told her I’d like to cancel my PlayStation 4 pre-order.

Stunned silence. After a few seconds, she said “Really? You’re sure?”

“Yea, I’m sure.”

“Oh. Why do you want to do that, sir?”

Knowing that the real reasons would be hard to explain, I lied and told her that some unexpected expenses had come up. The rest of the conversation took no more than a minute, and I was done; the pre-order I’d excitedly placed several months ago was no more.

In truth, the reason has nothing to do with expenses and everything do with next-gen disappointment. Almost all the news since the initial announcement of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One has been negative; a launch title delayed there, a feature removed here. What looked like a great leap forward has turned into a wary step that barely matches even a mid-range gaming PC. Do next-gen consoles make sense compared to a gaming PC?

Next-gen disappointment

When Sony and Microsoft revealed the PS4 and Xbox One, I was, like many gamers, giddy with anticipation. All of the numbers were going up – way up. Eight cores, eight gigabytes of RAM, tons of storage, all on an x86 platform that should make development easier. There was little to dislike except for the Xbox One’s DRM policies, which Microsoft eventually changed.

Since then, a trickle of new information has sapped my enthusiasm. We’ve learned that the operating system on each console has two cores reserved to it, as well as between two and three gigabytes of RAM. We’ve learned that the impressive 500GB hard drives may be quickly consumed by 30GB+ installs, and we’ve learned that around 10% of the Xbox One’s overall power will be devoted to Kinect .


It turns out that, in practical terms, these eight-core monsters with eight gigabytes of RAM are actually six-core consoles with five to six gigabytes of RAM. Though this is still an improvement over the previous gen, it’s about three-quarters of what was hinted at during each console’s initial unveil.

There are other issues, too. Xbox Live has always required a nominal fee, but now PlayStation will require it for most online games, as well. Important launch titles have been delayed or cut back; Driveclub is now a 2014 game, while Forza 5 has had its car count and track count cut in half when compared to its last-gen predecessor. Backwards compatibility has been thrown out,  so both consoles are cut off from their substantial catalog of last-gen titles.

In the shadow of the PC

The next-gen consoles’ mundane performance is demonstrated by cross-platform games, with Battlefield 4 as the most damning example. Though it looks good on next-gen hardware, it doesn’t quite lock in 60 frames per second consistently despite the fact it runs at 1600×900 resolution on the PlayStation 4 and 720p on the Xbox One. Framerate dips are particularly noticeable in multiplayer where, according to Eurogamer’s Digital Foundry, drops to 50 FPS are common. A  mid-range gaming PC with a video card like the Radeon HD 7870 or GTX 760 can keep up at similar graphical settings (1680×1050 resolution and “high” detail).

Call Of Duty: Ghosts is more forgiving on the PlayStation 4, where it runs at 1080p and seems to produce graphics roughly on par with a PC at maximum detail, but the Xbox One is forced to run at 720p. Need For Speed: Rivals will hit 1080p on both consoles, but only at 30 frames per second. Dead Rising 3 on Xbox One struggles to manage 30 FPS even at 720p resolution, and so on.

The failure of both the PS4 and the Xbox One to outperform a moderately equipped PC at launch is a new development. However, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 gave computer gamers a real run for their money when they were released. While a high-end rig could play a cross-platform title like Oblivion or Just Cause more smoothly and with more detail, such a computer could easily cost two or three thousand dollars. Today, the Alienware’s X51, which is about the size of an Xbox One, can be had with a fast Intel quad-core and an Nvidia GTX 760 for just $1,099. If you go for a full desktop, and you can have a comparably quick PC for $850.

A console  is still less expensive, of course. The PS4 retails for $399 and the Xbox One costs $499. Then again, a computer offers added value; it can do many things consoles can’t, and it is backwards compatible with (most) previously released PC games. The only feature the PC lacks is compatibility with your couch – but that, too, may soon change.

Steam OS: The missing link

While the console vs. PC debate has always been interesting to gamers and hardware enthusiasts, its practical implications have been more suspect. This is because the two platforms have very different controls. PC games are solitary and serious, while console games are more public and laid-back. This is a problem that can’t be solved by megahertz or core counts.

Valve may have a solution. The company’s Steam OS will feature in-home streaming technology that can display a computer game on a television without the PC being physically connected, and Valve is simultaneously developing a controller that’s meant to make games designed only for PC playable from a couch. If Valve pulls this off, PC gaming will finally reach beyond the confines of the desk.

 

Even if Steam OS stumbles, others (like Nvidia, which offers local streaming as a feature on its Shield handheld) will try to harness the potential of new developments in wireless networking.  Many homes now have an 802.11n router, which offers bandwidth of at least 150 Mbps, and 802.11ac is beginning its march into the mainstream. Consumers will soon have access to affordable 802.11ac routers that provide bandwidth of at least 300 Mbps. This makes streaming content across a local network easier and more reliable, which in turn means that the device displaying a game (or other software) need not be the device running it.

Conclusion

The long-term consequences of wireless networking’s advances are troubling for dedicated gaming consoles. If a computer could stream games easily throughout a home, it would provide consumers with better graphics quality and a wider selection of less expensive games, all at a lower overall cost (because most homes will need at least one PC, anyway).

We’re still at least a few years away from such a reality becoming mainstream, and the next console generation will probably see strong sales at their introduction, despite the many disappointments that have been unveiled since their initial announcements. The Xbox 360 came out eight years ago, and the PlayStation 3 seven years ago – that’s a long generation!

But the next-gen consoles may be the last of their kind. The Xbox One and PlayStation 4 have an expected lifespan of at least a decade, and it seems likely that computing will be thoroughly enthralled with the cloud by then. A console, particularly those as relatively anemic as the PS4 and Xbox One, will no longer make sense in a world where resources can be off-loaded to a device in the next room or, in some cases, servers that are hundreds of miles away. A decade from now, all gamers may be PC gamers.




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This article was copied from Digitaltrends.com thnx for them