E3 2014 will bring more details about the highly anticipated new games for Sony’s PlayStation 4 console and Microsoft’s Xbox One console, while Nintendo looks towards the future and bolster their game library. We will also gear up for some exciting services, virtual reality games, the used game market, and independent sleeper hits.
Apple’s WWDC- World Worldwide Developers Conference- is the first chance we get to see what will be coming in the next versions of iOS and OS X. As usual we expect to get updates on sales numbers, store performance and more. We might even see new hardware today but… Who knows. We’ll have a summary of the news and more.
Buzzfeed is reporting that Amazon is planning on expanding their Prime offerings to include music as well as books, movies, and free shipping. This has been speculated before, and the terms (no music newer than 6 months) fits with the backlist strategy of the rest of Prime. It also shows who Amazon Prime is truly aimed at: digital dilettantes.
Just about a year ago, I reviewed Scurvy Scallywags for iOS systems, and summed it up as a “great game, great fun, great price”. The game is an innovative Match-3 / RPG Mash-Up designed by game industry veterans Ron Gilbert and Clayton Kauzlaric, and has just released on the Google Play store as a free game with in-app purchases.
When SimCity launched last year, it had ‘issues’ – bugs, online access problems, lack of ‘game’, and more – and the most common ‘solutions’ or suggestions? Go back and play SimCity 4. Released in 2003, it has remained the best city builder game for a decade, and now it is on GoG.com for only $4.99, 75% off!
Online link and content saver Pocket (formerly Read It Later) today unveiled a paid version for $5/mo or $44.99 / year which could be of interest to anyone who frequently saves web content for later review. Unlike the unpaid app version, the paid edition will automatically download linked pages and create permanent versions of content of links you’ve saved.
Whether you run at night or you just want to be seen in the dark, the iGlo Pulse headphones are the world’s first to “pulsate to the beat of your music using fiber optic technology.” Take calls, listen to your music, and enjoy hours of lights due to the headphone’s rechargeable battery. Available in either blue or green for $29.95.
Imagine that you are an astronaut, and after flying to the moon, you make it safely home. What kind of SWAG do you give a guy who completed a safe lunar mission? Why not the hand controller from his Apollo 15 flight? How much would something like that be worth? Astronaut Dave Scott just found out.
If you are in the market for a backpack that offers style, comfort, protection and flexibility, the booq Boa Flow Laptop Backpack is for you. It lets you carry and protect your laptop, DSLR, headphones and more. The flexible design and its great looks will immediately make it your favorite backpack ever. It may be perfect for my upcoming trip.
My main mobile mapping requirement these days is that whatever navigation app I use must be easy to operate, accurate, and socially connected. I’ve been trying Telenav’s Scout app; the more I dig in, the more I realize how handy it is, and I wonder what took me so long to try it. Is it perfect? No. But it’s close.
Introducing the latest in the over-exposed stars of Duck Dynasty lineup – $2.49 hanging auto freshener. This is a PER character price and you can’t specify your favorite but the company says they’ll try to give a variety if you order more than one. Scents include country vanilla and woodland musk and each character’s body pivots and bounces.
Telenav is announcing that their free Scout for iPhone app “will use the crowd-sourced and free OpenStreetMap (OSM) for all map data. OSM, the “Wikipedia of Maps,” offers users a more accurate and up-to-date map than what is available via commercial maps.” The OSM rollout starts today for some; all users will have it by the end of the week.
Evernote just topped 100 million users; that’s pretty impressive. Even more impressive is the fact that those 100 million users can be found in any of 190 different countries. Taken together, the two numbers speak to the fact that the popular and powerful service meets a truly international need; this milestone reminded me that many of us were early subscribers.
I absolutely love my Sony RX100 camera. It looks like a small point-and-shoot, but it takes amazing pictures thanks to its huge sensor and performance optics. Now Sony has announced a successor to the RX100s successor. The new Sony RX100 III will be arriving in June, and it offers a nice host of updates. At $800 it is pricey, though!
Titanfall: Expedition has released on PC and Xbox One! It’s the first of three planned downloadable content (DLC) packs ($9.99 each) on Xbox 360, Xbox One, and PC with the base first-person shooter game Titanfall. Players get three new maps – Runoff, Swampland and War Games. Runoff features an industrial complex while Swampland explains itself plus War Games features special simulation situations.
Have you been hungry for Halo news like I have been? Well, 343 Industries has tried to satisfy that rumbling in your gut with an “announcement of an announcement” of sorts. Today, on Xbox.com, 343i announced that the next installment of the game will be called Halo 5: Guardians and will be released on Xbox One in the Fall of 2015.
Professional couch potatoes can skip this one, but if you’re serious about your workouts and are interested in weighed wearables to improve performance, then keep reading. TITIN Force weighted compression shorts add five pounds of weight to your workout routine, focusing on your hamstrings, thighs, and glutes. Sounds like fun huh?
I’m currently working on a review of the INSTEON Connected Home Control and Monitoring system. Simply put, I’m impressed and I think you will be too. This morning comes news that the company will be releasing Windows and Windows Phone Apps for the system. Moreover, INSTEON products will soon available in Microsoft Stores and at MicrosoftStore.com.
The NEX Band is the world’s first modular wearable that gives you social and gaming notifications. The folks behind the NEX Band are issuing their call to developers today, asking talented devs to download the API and SDK and start developing to monetize their physical and virtual components.
Our friends at Waterfield have been on a roll lately and have announced a slew of new products. Now they are getting into the duffel bag business with their brand new Outback Duffel Bag; available in nylon or waxed canvas, it looks fantastic. The Waterfield Outback Duffel Bag offers enough customization to meet everyone’s needs with prices starting at $219.
In fall 2012, Garmin introduced the FR-10 GPS Watch. I did a quick preview, took it on a marathon two days after it arrived, and then did a follow-up after several months of use. I still use the FR-10, and now Garmin has introduced the FR-15 GPS Watch, combining the FR-10 GPS and elements of the VivoFit fitness band.