Mereja

Author: Zach Walton

  • BlackBerry Makes $2.7 Billion In Q4, Sells 1 Million BlackBerry Z10s

    BlackBerry 10 launched in late January as an attempt to keep BlackBerry relevant in a world dominated by Android and iOS. Did it succeed? It’s still a little too early to tell, but early results are promising.

    In its Q4 results, BlackBerry reports that it had shipped 6 million smartphones through March 2. Out of that lot, 1 million were the new BlackBerry Z10. To ship 1 million BlackBerry Z10s in a little less than month is no small feat, especially for a company that’s recently been down on its luck.

    Beyond smartphone sales, BlackBerry had a decent fourth quarter. Here’s the full breakdown:

  • Revenue of $2.7 billion
  • GAAP income from continuing operations of $94 million, or $0.18 per share diluted
  • Adjusted income from continuing operations of $114 million, or $0.22 per share diluted
  • Gross margin of 40 percent driven by higher average selling prices and hardware margins
  • Subscriber base of approximately 76 million
  • Cash flow from operations of $219 million, cash and investments balance of $2.9 billion

    • The company notes that revenue is still down, but it’s not bleeding cash like it once was. From Q3 to Q4, the company posted a $49 million loss, or a loss of two percent. Compare that to the $1.5 billion loss it suffered from the same quarter last year, and its current losses don’t seem as bad.

    It will be interesting to see what BlackBerry’s results for the current quarter look like as it has just launched the BlackBerry Z10 in the U.S. The company notes that 61 percent of its revenue comes from hardware sales, and the U.S. market might provide the kick its premium hardware needs.

  • Nintendo Improves Wii U System Load Times In April Update

    One of the major complaints of the Wii U is that the load times between menus takes far too long. This is most apparent when a player returns to the home menu. In its April firmware update, Nintendo is hoping to fix this.

    In a new video uploaded to its official YouTube channel, Nintendo shows off the effect its new firmware update has on system load times. Going from a game to the home menu takes about 22 seconds on the current firmware. With the new firmware, this time will be reduced to six seconds.

    The April update will be the first of two system firmware updates planned for this year that will hopefully improve the system load times. The video makes it seem that this update will focus on decreasing the time required to move from a game to the home menu. It’s unknown if the April update will decrease the time required to move between apps like Miiverse and the eShop.

  • Amazon Plans To Launch Kindle Phone In Q2 2013 [Rumor]

    We can probably expect a new Kindle tablet or eReader this year, but we can’t be so sure about a Kindle Phone. A few rumors have pointed to the company working on such a device, but there’s been nothing concrete yet. The latest rumors continue that trend with some wild speculation regarding the device.

    Digitimes reports that Amazon is prepping a 4.7-inch Kindle Phone for release in the second quarter of this year. If true, that puts the launch at some point between the beginning of April and the end of June. For a product that we haven’t even see yet, it seems highly unlikely.

    Digitimes’ sources address the unlikelihood of a second quarter release by saying that Amazon is only hoping to launch by then. The company may very well have to push the launch back as production progress has reportedly “not been as smooth as expected.”

    Another potential reason for the delay is that Amazon has recently changed the display size of the device. The Kindle Phone was originally going to sport a 4.3-inch display, but Amazon upped it to a 4.7-inch display after “witnessing increased demand for larger size screens among consumers.”

    It will be interesting to see the reception to a Kindle phone if the rumors are true. People use tablets, and by extension the Kindle Fire, to consume content. Smartphones are a somewhat different beast as the focus is placed instead on communication and sharing. Amazon has an inviting content ecosystem that’s easy to sell in a tablet, but it may be a bit harder to sell that experience to those looking fora smartphone.

    [h/t: Cult of Android]

  • Facebook’s Mobile App Install Ads Can Now Target Specific Versions Of iOS, Android

    In October of last year, Facebook unveiled mobile app install ads. These ads allowed app makers to go directly after mobile users by directing them to their Google Play or Apple Appstore pages. Now Facebook is giving advertisers and app makers even more options when targeting mobile users.

    The biggest change to mobile app install ads addresses a major problem with mobile devices – platform fragmentation. Previous mobile app install ads would only take into account whether the user was on iOS or Android. Unfortunately, some users, especially those on Android, couldn’t use the apps advertised as they were built with a later version of the mobile OS in mind.

    Now, app makers and advertisers can target users based on which version of the operating system they’re using. For example, an app that can only run on iOS 6 and Android 4.2 can now be advertised only to those using these operating systems.

    Going even further, Facebook says that mobile app install ads can now target people based upon their connection. An example would be an ad targeting those currently on a Wi-Fi connection so as to take advantage of the consumer’s decreased reluctance to download large apps.

    So, now you can target very specific consumers with mobile app install ads, but is Facebook making it any easier to create these ads? Indeed they are, as Facebook also announced that advertisers and app makers can now easily create and launch mobile app install ads using the ad create tool. Previously, mobile app install ads had to be created with the app dashboard, power editor or the Ads API. Now these ads can be made with the same powerful tools that help advertisers create sponsored stories or Page like ads.

    You’ll be able to get your hands on the new ad create tool soon as it rolls out to English speaker first. The tool will then launch to other languages in the near future.

    If you want to know more about mobile app install ads, Facebook will be hosting a live Q&A session with its product team on April 17. You’ll have to register for the event, which you can do so here.

    For more info, check out this talk from last month on how you can drive app installs on mobile:

  • GDC 2013: The Phantom Pain Revealed To Be Metal Gear Solid V

    At last year’s Video Game Awards, a title called The Phantom Pain from Moby Dick Games was revealed. Within minutes of being shown, the Internet was convinced that it was Metal Gear Solid V. Since then, all manner of conspiracy theories emerged all pointing to The Phantom Pain being the next entry in Hideo Kojima’s venerated franchise.

    Well, Internet, pat yourselves on the back. You were right. At GDC 2013, Hideo Kojima unveiled Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. It would be much more of a shock if the Internet didn’t already have pages of evidence pointing to this conclusion, but it’s still nice to be vindicated nonetheless. What is legitimately surprising, however, is that Metal Gear Solid V is also Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes, an open-world stealth-action game revealed last year.

    So, how does this all fit together? Kotaku reports that The Phantom Pain trailer shown at the VGAs is the opening of Metal Gear Solid 5. It takes place right as Snake has woken up from a nine-year coma. Once Snake escapes the hospital seen in that trailer, the game becomes the open-world title that we saw in Ground Zeroes.

    There are not many details available regarding Metal Gear Solid V just yet, but the trailer did offer a few tidbits of information. For starters, Kojima is back in the director chair on this one. He’s also credited as a game designer and producer. Series veteran Yoji Shinkawa is back on board as character and mechanical designer as well.

    As for platforms, the game looks like a next-generation title. That might be because the trailer was taken from the PC build, but the trailer also said the game would be coming to the PS3 and Xbox 360. It’s unknown at this point if the title will show up on the PS4 and the next Xbox.

  • Mozilla and Epic Games Bring Unreal Engine 3 To The Web

    For the longest time, HTML5 was far behind Flash in terms of game development as it didn’t offer a native experience. Mozilla and others have been bridging that gap over the last year, however, and the non-profit’s latest move inspires more hope that HTML5 can deliver native gaming experiences sooner rather than later.

    Mozilla and Epic Games announced at GDC that Unreal Engine 3 is now available to HTML5 developers. The epic achievement (pun so intended) was made possible through Mozilla’s work in developing “a highly-optimized version of JavaScript” that allows game developers to bring graphically intensive content to the Web.

    To see it in action for yourself, check out this quick run through of Epic Citadel running on a Web browser:

    It’s Mozilla’s hope that developers will use this to bring more visually striking, and maybe even AAA games, to the Web. Of course, HTML5 is still in its infancy and developer adoption is low. Still, it’s incredibly encouraging to see HTML5 progressing this fast especially when Flash only just got Unreal Engine 3 support at last year’s GDC.

  • Make Your Own Ouya Console Case With A 3D Printer

    One of the more interesting things about the Ouya game console is that its completely open source, including its design. To help things along, 3D printer owners will soon be able to print their own console cases.

    At the Game Developers Conference, Ouya announced that it has partnered with MakerBot to provide custom 3D printable Ouya cases via Thingiverse. Ouya will be showing off the 3D printed Ouya game console this week as part of the console’s official unveiling.

    Make Your Own Ouya Console Case With A 3D Printer

    “We are pretty excited to be able to provide a 3D Printing Development Kit on Thingiverse.com for OUYA,” noted Bre Pettis, CEO of MakerBot. “OUYA is one of the most exciting new developments in the gaming world, and MakerBot is thrilled to be a part of it. The custom 3D printed console cases are also really cool.”

    Future Ouya owners that have access to a 3D printer can download the files necessary to print the console case today. MakerBot has also made the .3dm file as well for those who want to create their own custom designs based on the initial design provided by MakerBot.

    Make Your Own Ouya Console Case With A 3D Printer

    MakerBot notes that the custom Ouya cases were made with its PLA filament, but says that ABS plastic should work just as well. Likewise, the cases were printed using MakerBot’s Replicator 2, but any 3D printer with a suitable build volume should work.

  • Does Your Internet Seem Slower Today? It Might Be Due To A Massive Cyberattack

    The most popular form of cyberattack anymore is the Distributed Denial of Service attack. These DDoS attacks rarely affect anyone outside of those attempting to access the attacked Web site, but a recent DDoS attack is proving to have widespread effects.

    The BBC reports that Spamhaus, an anti-spam outfit, and Cyberpunker, a Web host that will host anything including spam sites, got in a spat recently after Spamhaus blocked a few of Cyberpunker’s servers. In retaliation, Cyberpunker reportedly launched a massive DDoS against Spamhaus.

    So, how does this affect the Internet at large? Spamhaus’ DNS servers are under attack, and these servers are what helps convert IP addresses into domain names. Spamhaus hosts servers all around the world so these attacks are slowing down the Internet for everyone.

    What’s terrifying about all of this is that Cyberpunker is launching attacks that peak at 300 gigabits per second. To put that into perspective, Spamhaus CEO Steve Linford says that a 50 gigabit attack is enough to bring down a major bank. How is Spamhaus still online then? The distributed nature of the company’s servers ensures that it can stay up amidst the attacks, and companies that rely on Spamhaus’ services, like Google, are reportedly offering up servers to absorb a lot of the traffic.

    The attacks have been going on over a week now, and show no sign of slowing down. It’s already being called the biggest cyber attack in history. It’s gotten so bad that five national cyber-police-forces are launching investigations into the incident. There’s no telling when the attacks will die down either. Cyberpunker is reportedly coordinating the attacks, but the actual traffic is said to be coming from criminal outfits in Eastern Europe and Russia.

    We’ll continue following this story, and let you know of any developments. It will be interesting to see what will happen if things escalate. Maybe Danny Hillis wasn’t too far off the mark when he argued that the Internet needed a Plan B just in case something like this happened.

  • Better Late Than Never: Temple Run Finally Comes To Windows Phone 8

    One of the main obstacles facing Windows Phone is its lack of apps. The situation is getting better with high-profile apps like Pandora finally making the jump to Microsoft’s mobile platform, but it’s still lacking the high-profile mobile games that Android and iOS players have enjoyed for the past few years.

    Engadget reports that the situation is getting better this week as Temple Run will finally make its debut on Windows Phone during the Game Developers Conference. There’s no word on whether or not its immensely popular sequel – Temple Run 2 – will make it to the platform.

    Alongside Temple Run, Windows Phone will also be getting a few more popular mobile titles, including 6th Planet, Propel Man, Orcs Must Survive, Fling Theory and Ruzzle. With these additions, Microsoft is one step closer to achieving parity with the Apple Appstore and Google Play. It still has a ways to go, however, until it can offer the breadth of content available on competing platforms.

    All the above games should be available this week. A quick check of the Windows Phone store reveals that they haven’t been released just yet, but it shouldn’t be much longer before Windows Phone 8 owners can finally enjoy one of the best mobile games of recent years.

  • Amazon Instant Video Brings X-Ray To TV Shows On Kindle Fire Devices, Wii U

    When the Kindle Fire HD was announced last year, Amazon introduced X-Ray for movies along with it. The software, powered by IMDb, brought up the names of all the actors currently onscreen along with each actor’s filmography. Now that same software is making its way over to the world of television.

    Amazon announced today that X-Ray for TV is now available to all Kindle Fire device owners, as well as those using the Amazon Instant Video app on the Wii U. Amazon says that X-Ray will be available for the most popular TV shows on Instant Video including Downtown Abbey, Game of Thrones, Lost, Doctor Who and The Walking Dead.

    “X-Ray has been one of the most loved features on Kindle Fire HD since it launched last September,” said Peter Larsen, Vice President, Amazon Kindle. “For people who are passionate about movies and TV, there is no better way to watch than on Kindle Fire HD, which combines an exceptional viewing experience with the unbelievable power of the over 100 million pieces of data in IMDb’s catalog.”

    IMDb says that it’s now working to get X-Ray into every movie and TV show hosted on Amazon Instant Video:

    “For over 20 years we have been cultivating a vast database of movie, TV and celebrity content,” said Col Needham, IMDb Founder and CEO. “Can’t remember where you’ve seen the actor playing Lord Grantham in Downton Abbey? No problem. Simply tap on the screen and you’ll see a full filmography, where you’ll realize that Hugh Bonneville was also in Notting Hill. Our vision is to make X-Ray available on every movie and TV show—we’re excited to make another big step forward today, and we are working hard to add X-Ray to more TV shows and movies in the future.”

    X-Ray continues to be one of things that helps set Amazon Instant Video apart from the competition. It’s also investing in more original content to better compete with Netflix’s House of Cards and the new season of Arrested Development.

  • FBI Wants The Power To Monitor Emails, Online Chat In Real Time

    As the current ECPA stands, law enforcement has the ability to obtain emails without a warrant. There are some laws currently making their way through Congress to change this, but law enforcement agencies obviously like things as they are. In fact, one agency in particular thinks it needs even more power to spy on your private communications.

    Slate reports that FBI general counsel Andrew Weissmann revealed during a talk at the American Bar Association last week that his agency is pushing for the ability to spy on communications in real time. In other words, the FBI wants to install the Internet equivalent of wiretaps on all major email and online chat services, including in-game chats on Facebook, etc, to monitor communications in real time.

    Why does the FBI need this new power when it can already obtain emails without a warrant? It’s all about a 1994 surveillance law called the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, or CALEA. The law in its current state allows the FBI and other government agencies to install monitoring equipment on networks run by ISPs and phone companies, but it doesn’t cover the services that use those networks.

    The Internet was a very different place in 1994, and many services that we now use, including Skype, Gmail and Facebook, were not around. The CALEA only covered broad communications made over a network instead of encrypted communications now being sent over these services. The FBI wants access to these because it just knows that they are being used for “criminal conversations.”

    Despite the potential for abuse and overly broad powers, the FBI has made “reforming” the CALEA a priority for 2013. Weissmann says that they’re working with the intelligence community to craft a bill that would give it the ability to monitor all communications in real time.

    The only silver lining of hope in all of this is that Weissmann acknowledges that there “should be a public debate” around granting the FBI new spy powers. It’s a nice gesture, but other privacy debates in Washington have shown that law enforcement and some lawmakers don’t really care about the public’s opinion.

  • Battlefield 4 Revealed With 17 Minute Gameplay Trailer

    Battlefield, the only franchise that can compete head-to-head with Call of Duty, will be getting a new installment this year. Unsurprisingly, the game will be called Battlefield 4 and feature more of the same excellent multiplayer that fans have come to expected coupled with a singleplayer campaign that promises to be more “human, dramatic and believable” than past entries.

    That singleplayer campaign is the focus of the 17 minute gameplayer trailer that accompanied the reveal last night. DICE stresses that everything in the trailer is rendered in game. Battlefield 3 was already a visually impressive game, and Battlefield 4 is already looking like it will set a new benchmark for in-game visuals.

    “We are so humbled and proud to debut Battlefield 4 on a global stage with simultaneous events in San Francisco and Stockholm. To be this early in development, and to already be so polished is a huge achievement for the DICE team and reflection of their passion and commitment to driving the franchise forward. Today’s demo was just the beginning — we have so much more in store,” said Patrick Soderlund, Executive Vice President, EA Games Label. “It is thrilling to witness peoples’ reaction when seeing the game for the first time. It really makes you realize that we are at the beginning of a whole new era for gaming. As artists and craftspeople, we are focused on creating a dynamic, open design that brings people together with amazing, surprising unscripted moments that they’ll talk about for days. That’s the beauty of Battlefield.”

    Beyond the visuals, it looks like we’ll get more of the solid gameplay that Battlefield is known for. The only unknown is the story, but the early gameplay demo shows promise. DICE has already proven it can tell an entertaining story with the Bad Company series, but it remains to be seen if the developer can do the same thing with a more dramatic turn of events.

    Battlefield 4 will be released this fall for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. There’s no mention of next-gen consoles, but a game this pretty is bound to end up on them.

  • Microsoft’s Latest Internet Explorer 10 Ads Drop The Humor

    In the past, Microsoft has been rather witty with its Internet Explorer 10 ads as it continued its self-deprecating “The Browser You Loved To Hate” ad campaign. It didn’t really sell people on the browser, but hey, the ads made us laugh or fondly remember how stupid Pongs were.

    Unfortunately, the latest ads for Internet Explorer drop this trend of humor in favor of targeting the ever important 18 to 34 male demographic with ads about sports and video games. Sure, it’s an important demographic, but are they really going to care that they can pin ESPN’s Web site to the Start menu?

    Likewise, will they care about playing the only touch-optimized HTML5 game on Internet Explorer 10?

    Much like its previous ad campaign, Microsoft has also launched a Web site with the ad campaign called “Beauty of the Web.” I can appreciate the sentiment as the Web is quite beautiful, but it’s somewhat misleading as Internet Explorer still doesn’t natively support WebGL. Until it does, Internet Explorer won’t be able to display some of the more beautiful things on the Web.

  • Don’t Expect The Next Windows To Actually Be Called Blue

    For the past few months, it’s been rumored that the next operating system from Microsoft would be called WIndows Blue. It sounds like a code name, and Microsoft suggests that will remain the case.

    In an update on the Official Microsoft Blog, Frank X. Shaw, Corporate Vice President of Corporate Communications, updated us on what the company has planned for this year. He pretty much confirmed that Windows Blue would be part of those plans even if he wasn’t exactly forthcoming:

    With a remarkable foundation of products in market and a clear view of how we will evolve the company, product leaders across Microsoft are working together on plans to advance our devices and services, a set of plans referred to internally as “Blue.” – N.B. chances of products being named thusly are slim to none. And don’t start with the “so you’re telling me there’s a chance” bit.

    The most interesting takeaway from this is that Shaw says “Blue” refers to “devices and services.” The services would obviously be stuff like Windows Blue for desktops and phones, but what about devices? Is Microsoft readying all new Surface tablets, or could it be the oft-rumored Surface phone?

    Shaw also hinted that the rumor of Windows Blue taking the operating system into an annual release cycle is more than just fantasy:

    Our customers have already experienced the ongoing rhythm of updates and innovations over the past six months including new devices, new apps and services, better performance and new capabilities. This continuous development cycle is the new normal across Microsoft – we’ll tune everyday experiences as well as introduce bold, connected and exciting new scenarios.

    So, when we will start hearing more about Windows Blue? Shaw hints that developers may see some of the stuff Microsoft has planned at Build 2013, Microsoft’s annual developer conference that’s set to take place on June 26.

    [h/t: PCMAG]

  • GDC 2013: See Through The Eyes Of The City In Watch Dogs

    Up until now, trailers for Watch Dogs have focused on Aiden Pearce and his ability to hack into the city of Chicago to control its surveillance, gather intel on its citizens, and more or less become a high-tech anti-hero. What about those who run the city though? What are they doing while Pearce hacks them blind? The latest trailer for Watch Dogs seeks to answer some of those questions.

    It will be interesting to see how the asymmetrical gameplay of Watch Dogs works with the introduction of this new element. The game promises to give control of rival hackers to other players as they try to take down (or perhaps help) Pearce. This latest trailer makes it appear that some players may also be put into the role of those running the city as they try to make sense of those who are hacking into its system. Either way, the game shows a lot of promise for something that we still know next to nothing about.

    Watch Dogs is slated to launch later this year for all current and next-gen consoles, and PC.

  • GDC 2013: Facebook Unveils Games Developer Center

    Facebook games are currently in the middle of a transition from Web to mobile. Both are still very viable markets, however, and Facebook wants to make sure game developers have all the tools they need to succeed on both platforms.

    At the annual Games Developer Conference, Facebook announced the launch of the Games Developer Center. Much like its regular Facebook Developers portal, the Games Developer Center collects all the information and tools developers need to create games for Facebook.com, or games that use the Facebook SDK for iOS and Android.

    Facebook also announced today that it’s adding a games section to the new timeline that will “give people a way to express their favorite games on their timeline and About page.” Facebook also suspects that the new games section will “serve as another reengagement and discovery channel for game developers.”

    Of course, it wouldn’t be a Facebook announcement without some stats and the games team didn’t disappoint:

  • More than 250 million people are playing games on Facebook.com each month
  • As of February, 55% of top 400 iOS apps are integrated with Facebook
  • Last month, Facebook drove 263 million clicks to the Apple App Store and Google Play, from mobile News Feed
  • 20% of daily Facebook web users play games on Facebook.com
  • Game installs (on Facebook.com) are up 75% since this time last year (when compared to March 2012)
  • There are about 200 games on Facebook.com with more than 1 million monthly active users each
  • More than 100 developers generated more than $1M on Facebook last year
  • Year-over-year growth of the total number of payers on Facebook has increased 24% since this time last year (when compared to March 2012)
  • More than $2 billion was paid out to game developers in 2012. Most of our top developers generated record payments revenues on Facebook last year.

    • Last year, Facebook uploaded all of its GDC talks for developers for those who weren’t able to make it out to the show. If you weren’t able to make it to the show again this year, Facebook should have those talks up within the week.

  • T-Mobile Turns On 4G LTE In Seven Markets, 200 Million To Have LTE By Year’s End

    At this morning’s UnCarrier event, T-Mobile has already announced that its ditching contracts in favor of a simpler plan, and that it plans to offer the iPhone 5 starting early next month. It’s a great start for the beleaguered wireless carrier, but it still needs to compete with AT&T’s and Verizon’s LTE market penetration.

    To better compete in the modern wireless industry, T-Mobile announced today that it’s turning on 4G LTE connectivity in seven markets across the U.S. starting today. T-Mobile consumers living in Baltimore, Houston, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Jose, and Washington, D.C. should be able to access 4G LTE speeds starting today. T-Mobile will also rapidly increase its market penetration over the year with an expected 100 million consumers having access to LTE by midyear, and 200 million having access by year’s end.

    T-Mobile is rolling out its 4G LTE market today to take advantage of the numerous 4G LTE devices it sells, and will be selling later this year – among them are the iPhone 5, the Galaxy S 4, BlackBerry Z10 and the HTC One. Those who buy a LTE-capable phone in a non-LTE market need not worry about setting anything up if LTE arrives. T-Mobile says that devices on its 4G network will transition seamlessly to LTE when it launches in more places later this year.

    It will be interesting to see how T-Mobile evolves over the year as it brings 4G LTE, and its unlimited data plans, to more markets. Its commitment to consumer friendly mobile plans may just help give it the customer base it needs to continue providing what’s looking like one of the most disruptive mobile plans in years.

  • T-Mobile Drops The Contract In Favor Of A Simple Choice

    It’s been hinted at for a while that T-Mobile would be moving away from the traditional two-year contract business model. Now the company has fully unveiled its new plan – dubbed Simple Choice – at its UnCarrier event.

    So, what can you expect from T-Mobile’s new Simple Choice plan? It’s actually very similar to how two-year contract plans work, just minus the contract. The consumer still gets a subsidized phone while paying a monthly fee. The only difference is that the remaining cost of the phone is paid off in small payments that are added onto your monthly bill. Once the phone is paid off, the fee comes off your monthly bill.

    As for the pricing, the Simple Choice plan is very reasonable. For a single line, consumers get unlimited talk/text plus 500MB of data for $50 per month. For $10 more, consumers can upgrade to 2GB a month. At $20 more, consumers get unlimited 4G. Those on the 500MB or 2GB plans won’t have to worry about overage fees, however, as T-Mobile will only drop you down to 2G speeds if you go over.

    For those with families, T-Mobile’s Simple Choice plan charges $30 extra for a second line and $10 more for each extra line.

    Of course, a plan is only as good as the phones being offered by the carrier. T-Mobile has that covered as the company offers very attractive prices for flagship devices like the Galaxy S III and the Galaxy Note 2. The carrier also plans to offer the Galaxy S 4 and the HTC One when those become available later this one.

    On a final note, T-Mobile will finally offer the iPhone 5, iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 starting April 12. Apple’s latest flagship device will only be $99, plus $20 more a month for two years.

    T-Mobile still has a long way to go before it can take on heavyweights like Verizon and AT&T, but this move will hopefully push the U.S.-based carriers to drop contracts in favor of more consumer friendly plans like T-Mobile’s Simple Choice.

  • Microsoft Updates Mail, Calendar and People Apps On Windows 8

    Windows 8 users have probably come to know three apps very well – Mail, Calendar and People. To help provide a better experience to those using these apps, Microsoft has released an update that improves overall stability while adding new features.

    For many, the Mail app is probably the most used app in the Metro interface. As such, Microsoft is making it easier to access mail, especially for those with multiple accounts. The new version of the Mail app now displays all your accounts, and allows users to toggle between them with ease.

    The new Mail app can also filter unread messages, or you can put mails into separate folders. A lot of these features are already present in popular email clients like Gmail, but it’s nice to see Microsoft finally adding these features into its own Mail app.

    The Calendar app received a few small updates, including colored appointments to make the calendar “easier to read.” The Calendar also features a new Work week view for those who operate on a Monday through Friday schedule.

    The People app received a new update in the form of easier sharing. Now users can right-click or swipe from the top to reveal app commands. These commands allow you to easily move between your own profile and the What’s New page that features updates from your friend’s various social network accounts.

    Unfortunately, the updates haven’t been completely painless for some. The Verge is reporting that Windows 8 users with a Google account are seeing errors related to Google discontinuing support for Exchange ActiveSync. Google dropping support for EAS was expected, but those who had set up a Google account on Windows 8 before January 30 were promised that they could still use it.

    There’s no fix available for Gmail users just yet, but everybody else should be able to take advantage of the new apps without any problem. To do so, just hit up the Microsoft Store Settings, click (or tap) on App Updates, and select the Check for Updates option.

  • GDC 2013: Sony Announces Increased Indie Support For PS4, PS3 And Vita

    The annual Game Developers Conference is already underway this week, and Sony came out the first day announcing a number of titles for all of its platforms, including the PS4. Interestingly enough, all the of the titles announced for its platforms are indie titles created by small studios. It speaks volumes to Sony’s renewed commitment to indie titles that it touched upon at its PS4 reveal event in February.

    Indie games may not be what some gamers were expecting from Sony, but the focus on these small titles is a major boost to Sony’s reputation at an increasingly indie-focused event like GDC. It doesn’t hurt that the majority of the titles shown at GDC also show an incredible amount of promise.

    For the PlayStation 4, Sony only announced two indie games for the platform – Blacklight: Retribution and Primal Carnage: Genesis. The former is a free-to-play shooter supported by microtransactions. Sony is already experimenting with free-to-play on the PS3 with games like Dust 514 so it will be interesting to see what the platform holder does with FTP games on the PS4.

    As for Primal Carnage: Genesis, the game is an episodic first-person shooter title that could very well be seen as the spiritual successor to Dino Crisis.

    As for other platforms, a number of games are being developed for both the PS3 and PS Vita.

  • Rain – PS3
  • Divekick – PS3 and PS Vita
  • Spelunky – PS3 and PS Vita
  • Velocity Ultra – PS Vita
  • Limbo – PS Vita
  • Metrico – PS Vita
  • Sportsfriends (including Johann Sebastian Joust, BaraBariBall, Hokra and Super Pole Riders) – PS3
  • Ibb & Obb – PS3
  • Guacamelee! – PS3 and PS Vita
  • Hotline Miami – PS3 and PS Vita
  • Dragon Fantasy Book II – PS3 and PS Vita
  • Thomas Was Alone – PS3 and PS Vita
  • Luftrausers – PS3 and PS Vita
  • Friend Network App – PS Vita

    • Last but not least, Sony announced a number of titles for its fledgling PlayStation Mobile platform. These games are intended for mobile devices, like those from HTC and Sony, but the games can also be played on the Vita as well.

    If you were expecting major announcements out of Sony, you will probably have to wait until E3 when the company is expected to reveal more about the PS4 and the AAA games coming to the platform. For now, start setting aside a bit of money to purchase Thomas Was Alone for when it launches on the Vita.