Kabir News

Potential Future HTC Smartphone Plans Spotted

James Swift — Thu, 23 May 2013 21:09:25 +0000

HTC appears to be planning two new smartphones according to plans that turned up this week. The first is the HTC 102e. It is shown to have a 3.5-inch 320x480px display, 512MB RAM, 4GB of internal storage, a 5 megapixel rear camera, and a 1GHz single core processor. It will run on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. It is expected to have the standard microSD slot and 1400mAh battery. The name it will debut under could be Desire 200 and might be for users in Asia only.

The HTC Desire 600 was also shown. It runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and will likely have a 4 or 4.5-inch display. Its processor is said to be a quad core 1.2GHz Mediatek and it will sport a 540×960 pixel screen resolution.

Opinion: Xbox ONE, Borrowing, and Selling Used Games

James Swift — Thu, 23 May 2013 19:47:29 +0000

Microsoft moves away from one controversial subject of functionality to another in regards to their new entertainment system: Xbox ONE. With mandatory “always connected online” being highly suggested “always connected online”. With that cleared up, now there’s a new issue of the fees for allowing someone to borrow a game as well as the idea of used games…or rather Microsoft’s idea of used games. Needless to say there was confusion among readers and reports on these two areas which are still pretty significant parts of gaming.

In an attempt to clear up some of the misconceptions and vagueness of the issue, Microsoft VP Phil Harrison explained the pricing and fees to Eurogamer’s Tom Bramwell. Essentially, you can take the game over someone’s house and play it on your account, free of charge since the game is linked to your account. Where the “Microsoft’s definition” of borrowing comes in is if you leave your game over a friend house for them to play on their own account, they will have to pay to play it.

Apparently the “bits” and information will still be on their console from your play session with them, but to actually play the game they’ll need to buy it at full price. Note there’s nothing about keeping their money in holding, holding a certain amount, paying for a certain amount of time (rental), or anything. They pay the full thing.

From the interview with Tom Bramwell Harrison gave an example of how their “digital permissions” system would allow for “borrowing

“I can come to your house and I can put the disc into your machine and I can sign in as me and we can play the game. The bits are on your hard drive. At the end of the play session, when I take my disc home—or even if I leave it with you–if you want to continue to play that game (using your profile) then you have to pay for it. The bits are already on your hard drive, so it’s just a question of going to our (online) store and buying the game, and then it’s instantly available to play.”

On that part of the topic, he closed with, “The bits that are on the disc, I can give to anybody else, but if we both want to play it at the same time, we both have to own it. That’s no different to how discs operate today.”

The thing here is that disc based media—music CDs, books on CDs, movie DVDs, other games on disc—don’t work like that without a system in place. If you choose to let someone borrow a disc then they can get it, pop it into whatever player or system, and play it. They don’t have to buy the whole album, purchase the movie, or purchase the book. You had the media, you just played it.

This kind of system works well for PC games, but with console gaming it’s foreign and when you have to implement a system that needs to be clarified to allow for borrowing. If this an attempt to saw off used games as we know them, force people to buy the full game, and halt piracy then just say so. No need to come with a system that pretty much eliminates a working—though unorganized—system of borrowing and trading among gamers—not between gamers and retail shops—that has worked since games got actual graphics. The more it has to be explained, the more uncomfortable the customer base will become with it.

Since the game has to have a code to link it to your console; that means it has to be validated online. This is a minor thing since you don’t have to be online all the time. Going to the subject of retail, Harrison mentioned that Microsoft would have a system in place for that. This system allows for players to trade the digital content of a title at a retail store as well as their own store.

It’s expected that Microsoft will clear everything up on the games side at their E3 presentation. As a matter of fact, they will have to. There are questions and concerns floating about and things get a bit vague and cryptic at the mention of having to pay for the used game and paying to activate the game. It doesn’t sound like it should be an issue at all if Xbox ONE’s title will be sold in game retailers anyway. If it ended up that players would just buy their games through digital means and cut out the middle man that would really do a job on a store like GameStop—especially if this new system allowed for players to set their own prices for used content and how they wished to be paid through Microsoft.

The whole thing is very murky even with the issue of “borrowing” being explained. It’s something that still doesn’t sit well with many gamers at the moment—including those who have been long time Xbox supporters—as it changes some elements that have worked for the most part for decades. Outside of the issue of the triangle with gamers, game retailers, and game developers where the money from used game purchases go to the retailer only, the system never needed any interference or “fixing” when it came to letting your sister or brother play the game in the same house on their console or letting a friend borrow it.

What do you think of Xbox ONE’s borrowing practices? Thumbs up or thumbs down on it? What did you think of the reveal overall?

Atari Looking To Get Out Of Bankruptcy Protection

James Swift — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:21:53 +0000

Times are pretty rough for the one time video game giant Atari Inc. Mucking around in bankruptcy protection, the company is looking for the court to sign off on the sale of its assets at a minimum of $15 million. Atari and its investment banker Perella Weinberg Partners had been searching for some sort of buyer, but turned up with nothing.

Atari is known for the popular Atari 2600 console from the early 1980s and for having plenty of space themed games. It featured classics including Pong, Centipede, and Asteroids. Atari was one of the primary causes of the U.S video game crash of the 1980s due to roughly anyone being able to make their own game for their consoles thus flooding the market. It would go on to make several unpopular consoles such as the 5200 and the Jaguar—the so called “first 64 gaming console” before calling it quits in the console market in 90s. It continued to hang around the gaming industry in more of a publisher capacity afterwards.

Atari and its French based Atari SA filed for bankruptcy protection earlier in the year.

DryBox Can Save Your Phone From A Watery Grave

James Swift — Wed, 22 May 2013 21:43:46 +0000

It’s not a stretch to say that we all have dropped our mobile phones—some more often than others. Smartphones are the most fragile of victims. If it hits the concrete from whatever height or whatever speed your screen is likely to end up scratched or cracked. It’s like how bread tends to fall on the buttered side…not that you’d want to eat the bread once it has fallen anyway, right?

What’s just as bad as your smartphone eating pavement? Your smartphone deciding it needs to take a cool, refreshing swim. Nevermind what you’re doing around any amount of water, body of water, or whatever—there’s no good reason to be leaning over a sink or tub with your phone in your pocket or shirt or waving it around near the pool. If it decides to make a run for it and escape whatever confines you have it in, so be it. However, once it hits that water panic mode sets in.

“What do I do?”

“Oh no, my phone!”

“Get the rice!”

Yes, all of the above—along with a loud Charlie Brown “Auuugh!” Well add another method to saving your phone from a watery grave. DryBox is a box that…dries you phone. The name sounds a bit straightforward and vague, but the people who came up with the DryBox say that it can dry your phone in 25 minutes using heat, suction, and light. The company also says that 80% of phones pulled from live to tell the tale.

“What of the other 20?” you ask? Well those are just unfortunate and will haunt their previous owners who allowed for them to get too close to water…as they should.

A DryBox representative told Engadget that if the phone is hurried to them with 36 hours, it’s highly likely they can save the phone. What happens after that? You phone is dead. Actually, it was mentioned that chances of survival go down rapidly, but we all know your phone is pretty much dead if you can’t get it to them. No need to make if flowery for you. It was also mentioned that Apple’s iPhone has the highest chances of bouncing back.

You won’t be able to get the DryBox for home use—oh no, that would be too good. Instead the plan is to have DryBoxes at different stores and split the loot with them. The price set up is set by the store and is usually in the $20 to $40 range. Not too bad for smartphone necromancy after you’ve attempted to drown your phone.

“It was an accident!”

Of course it was. In any case, it seems that some Texas-area locations—Austin and San Antonio—have them up and running, so they could spread out even more. It’s definitely a service that will churn a profit if made national. All across the United States people “accidentally” drop their phones into water, milk, juice, pop, alcohol, liquor—you name it, people can and will drop their device in it and chances are that you’ll scratch your head and ask “Why?” and “How?”

It should be noted that this isn’t an invitation to just go crazy with your phones and dive into a pool with it. You should always take care of your device, it’s a moderately priced phone with an expensive plan or an expensive phone…no need to try and see how long it can hold its breath. Besides, the DryBox is only in two Texas cities. If you live in those cities and can find them, then great for you. You’re in luck!

If you don’t live in the area, at least give your phone water wings and the lifesaver.

Xbox Live Arcade Will Still A Difficult Goal For Indie Developers

James Swift — Wed, 22 May 2013 20:38:43 +0000

It looks as though indie developers will still have a hard time getting on and make cash with Xbox Live on the Xbox ONE. The Live Arcade (XBLA) is where indie developers can really turn a profit, but it requires getting a publishing deal with Microsoft Games Studios or another publisher to get their title on there. If that isn’t possible, then it’s Xbox Live Indie Games—which wouldn’t net much for a developer.

Matt Booty—who heads up Microsoft’s general manager of Redmond Game Studios and Platforms—told Shacknews that Microsoft “…intend to continue to court developers in we have.” This approach could change as Microsoft looks into “new business models and new ways of surfacing content.”

In contrast, Sony and Nintendo allows for indie developers to simply self-publish on PSN and eShop, cutting out the middle man altogether.

18-Year Old Invents Device That Can Charge A Mobile Phone In 20 Seconds

James Swift — Wed, 22 May 2013 16:44:48 +0000

Mobile phone batteries can be a bother. The newer and more advanced the phones become; the more of a power hog it is on the poor battery. Enter 18-year old Esha Khare and her supercapacitor. Introduced at the International Science and Engineering Fair, the supercapacitor can charge a battery in just 20 seconds! She came up with the idea when she—like others—became annoyed with how her mobile phone ate up power. She managed to snag a $50K prize and has even gotten Google’s attention.

While she didn’t win the grand prize, she does believe that her supercapacitor can have far reaching uses beyond mobile phones. The supercapacitor lasts longer that your standard mobile phone’s batteries at 10x the 1,000 charge-recharge cycles that are normal. Of other uses, Esha Khare told NBC, “It is also flexible, so it can be used in rollup displays and clothing and fabric. It has a lot of different applications and advantages over batteries in that sense.”

Khare’s supercapacitor works via nanochemistry. Although it has only charged a LED light, Khare’s words ring true for her devices usages. It could go very far in make mobile phone batteries more effective at charging and even replacing them entirely. The California native will be attending Harvard where she will continue her studies in nanochemistry.

EA Backtracks After Stating There Were No Games In Development For The Wii U

James Swift — Wed, 22 May 2013 16:35:04 +0000

It appears that Electronic Arts will be doing games for the Wii U. This comes after EA spokesman Jeff Brown told gaming website Kotaku “We have no games in development for the Wii U currently.” In a May 15 interview. During the Stifel Nicolaus 2013 Internet, media and Communications Conference, Chief Financial Officer Blake Jorgensen said EA was “building titles for the Nintendo console, but not anywhere near as many as we are for or Xbox.”

This isn’t exactly another EA jab or snub at Nintendo’s console, but not the most concrete of commitments. Jorgensen also mentioned that EA is taking a “wait and see” approach to the Wii U to see how it measures up with the Xbox ONE and PS4.

“I think what the consumer will find is a lot more powerful gameplay with the new boxes that are coming out, and a lot of excitement, but it’ll remain to be seen as to the services associated with those as to how consumers decide which direction they might want to go.”

There was no mention of clearing up Bob Summerwill—EA software engineer—who trashed the Wii U the same week that it was mentioned EA had nothing in the pipeline for Wii U. Summerwill stated:

“The WiiU is crap. Less powerful than an XBOX360. Poor online/store. Weird tablet. Nintendo are walking dead at this point.

Sony, MS, Apple, Google all following the same playbook…standard, powerful, hardware, with focus on software and services.

Nintendo are still operating like it’s 1990. They should have “done a Sega” and offered Mario/Zelda as PS4/Durango exclusives. Instead they make this awful console, and this…Nintendo.com/wiiu/downloads….Just stop it! Just make great games!

It is an utterly intentional decision to focus our resources on markets that actually matter…like mobile, and Gen4.

Nintendo platforms have always been very poor revenue-wise for third parties. Only Mario and Zelda make money. Yep, we’ve got plenty of problems, but WiiU isn’t where that family/casual market is. It’s on mobile/tablet now!”

It would only be right to have all bases covered and have titles on all systems, set your engines up to work on all systems, and put out quality games on all systems instead of giving one the shoddier versions—especially when that console’s company has been known to make big recoveries early into its current console’s run. In the south, there’s a term for this, “It would be too much like right” for companies to simply do this.

Yahoo Snags Tumblr…Now What?

James Swift — Tue, 21 May 2013 21:36:01 +0000

Credit: Frank Franklin II (AP Photos)

Yahoo has purchased Tumblr for $1.1 billion dollars, but what does it mean? What possible use could Yahoo have in something that has very little monetary value in it as it stands? What is Yahoo planning to do with Tumblr? These are but a few questions that have to be asked about the purchase of Tumblr, a blogging service that is popular with young adults and teens.

Is Yahoo looking to make Tumblr the next Twitter or Facebook? Tumblr is pretty much there. It drops all the extra, unneeded stuff of Facebook for a more traditional blogging format, but gives you more wiggle room than Twitter to get your full thoughts out without anything extra needed. Being a social platform you’ll find people who share your thoughts, interests, dislikes, and so on—all of this without the messy business of worrying about your information or dealing with people from high school and college whom you haven’t spoken to in several years.

Tumblr simply allows for you to digest news, viewpoints, and express your points and get input—like any good, full bodied blog. There’s still the issue of responses within reblogs being a bother to read at times, but overall it’s the best online social platform at the moment. Take the time people would spend on MySpace in the early-to-mid 2000s and Facebook in the late 2000s to now and dash in just a river of comedic animate gifs, macros, and posts and you have Tumblr in a nutshell.

Tumblr sports some 100 million users—most of which are young and want nothing to do with Yahoo. Not to show my age, but the average age for a Tumblr user would’ve been using Yahoo Groups, Chat, and Clubs for the same thing a little more than 15 years ago. Since then, there hasn’t been anything “hip” or “cool” about Yahoo. Their instant messaging platform even seems a bit aged when put alongside an all-in-one like Digby, an online all-in-one like imo, and yes Skype. With that said, Yahoo Instant Message still has the better emoticons of services and if you’re not trying to do anything fancy YIM is still fairly functional…in an “I don’t mind getting your message 5 to 10 minutes later” kind of way.

Related Story: Ads Come To Tumblr Mobile Apps

What Does Tumblr Offer?

Besides a much needed youth infusion for Yahoo, Tumblr offers nothing really. One of the things that David Karp mentioned was that he wanted to monetize Tumblr in some way this year without affecting the creative nature of the site. There have been a few nonintrusive ads, but nothing that could definitely generate money. With the amount Yahoo plunked down on Tumblr, they’re going to be looking at throwing ads or something on Tumblr to make it worth it.

While Karp will be left in charge of Tumblr and the plan is for it to be ran as usual, it’s only a matter of time before changes—mostly unwanted by the users that make Tumblr Tumblr. Looking at the blogging site as an observer and someone who has used it, there’s very little money to be made off of it as it is. The same problem pestered Twitter before it was decided to try ads and build a streaming media empire. Facebook did without advertisements early on, but eventually got with ads and social gaming. YouTube didn’t become profitable until a few years ago when it embraced ads in videos and just recently paid subscription channels.

What is there is something that Twitter and Facebook also had at the start: a strong, user base. If you get that user base and hang on to it for a few years, other younger users will see how “cool” it is and want to join as well, then you break out with making money from it. That’s what happened with MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter. This has already been done and there’s 100 million+ people to draw revenue from, however it will take a jewel thief’s touch to do it without causing people to leave Tumblr.

Karp has said that onsite advertising doesn’t do it for him while Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer has said that Tumblr will stay true to its users. If that’s to happen that means no advertisements on the site, but then that would mean that Yahoo isn’t going to see this investment pay off immediately.

Mayer has said on ABC’s Good Morning America that Tumblr would be used as content for Yahoo News and other Yahoo main page services just as an example, but whatever she told the Yahoo board to get them to sign off on $1.1 billion must have been utterly dynamic.

What Could Happen To Tumblr

Honestly, Tumblr could very well not be changed at all. It could have no ads, do nothing for Yahoo, and end up like GeoCities only with more members regularly using it until the next thing comes along. This could be sometime down the line, though. The delicate dance of making Tumblr a money generating machine without killing Tumblr’s spirit and alienating the 100 million+ ambassador users will be a very interesting one to watch.

Microsoft Unveils Xbox ONE

James Swift — Tue, 21 May 2013 19:57:46 +0000

Today Microsoft threw back the curtain and showed the world their new console, the third in a line of Xboxes, a sable colored, sleek console known as—the Xbox ONE. The name alone means two things. One, we can stop calling it “Xbox 720” and “Xbox Durango” and two; we’ll have to call the original Xbox “Xbox” or “original Xbox”. Now let’s get on to the actual meat of this beast.

Features

The Xbox ONE will have a Blue-ray and DVD drive. There will also be Skype on the Xbox One given that Microsoft owns it now. Kinect—which comes with the console—will have a 1080p HD resolution camera and will play a big part in how the console operates.

Functions

Compared to how it worked before, Kinect is more of an important peripheral this time around. It will give the Xbox ONE the ability to pay attention to body movements and allow for the player to control game characters and go through entertainment selections.

With Skype, Kinect allows for video conferencing/chatting. The console also allows players to record gameplay. Not only that, but gameplay footage can be edited and uploaded online. This could allow for a kind of free advertising through gameplay for Microsoft and the Xbox ONE.

Games

As mentioned in yesterday’s preview of sorts, the games that will come out at launch will determine if this is worth getting during the launch window or waiting six months to a year down the line. It has been announced that there would be 15 titles in the first year from Microsoft with eight of them being new titles. As this is a console new console, the expected sports title will be in effect. There will mostly be titles from EA Sports in Madden 25, NBA Live 14, FIFA 14, and a UFC title using their new Ignite engine. There will also be quite a few racing games with Microsoft’s own Forza Motorsport 5 being released at launch.

Also mentioned was that Microsoft’s 343 Studios would feature a live action Halo TV series with Steven Spielberg onboard. With Microsoft releasing details of its Xbox ONE, it looks like Sony will have to reveal more on the PlayStation 4—expect this at E3.

Xbox Live

New editions includes over 300,000 servers and all content—games, movies, saves, music, etc.—being stored online via cloud storage. These can be accessed at any time as well.

Media

The Xbox ONE’s name comes from it being an all-in-one entertainment hub. The Xbox 360 first embraced this with a series of apps that touched on music, movies, some UFC fights, and watching shows and online features. Xbox ONE will allow you to do all of this and more. The NFL will even be broadcasting on the new Microsoft console.

From what you’ve heard so far, do you believe the Xbox ONE will be a winner? Will you hold out for PS4 to make a big splash or will you stick with the Wii U?

Apple Checking Into 1.5-Inch Displays For Smartwatch

James Swift — Tue, 21 May 2013 16:15:14 +0000

While the above is a mockup by Italian studio ADR, it does seem as though Apple is testing the waters with OLED displays for its smartwatch. The OLED displays—used in more expensive HD televisions—are 1.5 inches and hail from RiTdisplay. Foxconn will be make 1,000 iWatches to use as a test run to see how they work among Apple employees.

As the name implies, the iWatch is an iPhone/watch hybrid and different from the watchphone hybrid we’ve mentioned in the past. It’s possible that the iWatch could see a mass release—especially after a successful test run. The iWatch would be a piece of communication technology that could see wide immediately unlike the Google Glass which would take a while to catch on and not appear weird.

The iWatch is basically that—a watch. Of course the question of “Does anyone actually use wristwatches anymore?” Of course some holdouts still do even though the wristwatch is more of a status piece of fashion, similar to owning wearing expensive jewelry. A wristwatch typically does one thing whereas a smartphone does a wristwatch’s job and then some.

So, if a smartphone—in this case the iPhone—can do what a wristwatch can do and more, then why would you need a smartwatch? Why would you need a smartwatch if you would need to have it connected to your main device? While the answer is best left for when/if said device—the iWatch—debuts, the short answer is that you wouldn’t unless the iWatch can operate independently of your iPhone and still allow for you to make calls from it. Having the watch tell you “You’ve got a call” or “You have a text” which results in you checking your phone is just tedious. It saved you no time unless it was someone you just didn’t wish to speak to.

Of course if the smartwatch did allow for you to make calls without needing to have you smartphone on you, that would be a huge leap. It wouldn’t just be a completist’s item of brand loyalty. In any case, the iWatch is definitely something that could possibly move units and get other companies interested in smartwatches if successful.

We’ll see if anything becomes of this iWatch development in the future. The outcome of the test run is sure to be interesting.