Samsung Galaxy Core Budget Smartphone Unveiled

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Samsung has added a new budget smartphone to its popular Galaxy range. The Samsung Galaxy Core features a 4.3-inch display with a 480×800 resolution and runs Google’s Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system.

Samsung Galaxy Core

Under the hood, the handset sports a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 8GB of memory, and 1GB of RAM.

Other features include a 5-megapixel camera on the rear and dual-SIM technology, although a single-SIM model will follow it to market.

Several software features from the flagship Samsung Galaxy S4, such as Smart Stay, Smart Alert and S Voice, have also made the jump to the Galaxy Core.

The dual-SIM Samsung Galaxy Core will be released in May, with the single-SIM model following in July.

Microsoft Windows Blue To Land Later This Year

Microsoft has announced that its Windows Blue update will be released in 2013. The firm’s chief marketing officer Tami Reller confirmed that Windows 8’s first major upgrade will land “later this year”.

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Microsoft Windows Blue Leaked Image

The executive did not divulge any specific details of the update, but did say that it will include “more options for businesses, and give consumers more options for work and play”.

Windows Blue has been tipped to launch as Windows 8.1, with rumoured features including the return of the Start button and a boot to desktop option.

Microsoft announced earlier today that Windows 8 has passed the milestone of 100 million activations since its launch in October last year.

Windows Blue is expected to be formally unveiled at Microsoft’s Build conference next month.

Microsoft Windows 8 Reaches 100m Licence Sales

Today Microsoft has announced that it has sold 100 million Windows 8 licences since the software launched last October. The milestone puts the operating system on par with predecessor Windows 7’s performance during its first six months on the market.

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“If there had been more touch devices in the market, it would have been even more,” said Windows chief financial officer Tami Reller. “Our sell-through has been consistently going up.”

Windows 8 sold 40 million copies in its first month on the market, reaching 60 million activations by early January.

The remaining 40 million licences are thought to be through the sale of new PCs, considering Microsoft’s early upgrade offer expired in January.

The number of licences sold does not reflect Windows 8 usage as the figure includes all sales to original equipment manufacturers, rising every time a new machine rolls off the production line.

Microsoft did not confirm whether the 100 million figure is for Windows 8 and Windows RT numbers combined.

Injustice Gods Among Us Lobo DLC out now

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Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment today is releasing Lobo, the first playable downloadable content (DLC) character for the blockbuster DC Comics fighting game Injustice: Gods Among Us.

A ruthless intergalactic bounty hunter known for his brutal tactics and rogue attitude, Lobo is available now on the PlayStation Network for £3.99, and will be available on Xbox LIVE Marketplace for 400 Microsoft Points beginning tomorrow.

Also available today are the Teen Titans skin pack including Cyborg, Deathstroke and Raven skins; and the Bad Girls skin pack consisting of Wonder Woman, Catwoman and Harley skins.  Each pack is available on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace for 240 Microsoft Points and the PlayStation®Network for £2.39

And don’t forget to check out my visit to Arkham Asylum below:

And also check out our review here.

Do you play Injustice: Gods Among Us? Let us know what you think about it by leaving a comment below.

MotoGP13 trailer shows off game contents and Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix circuit

PQube, in collaboration with Milestone, today released the third Gameplay Video for its upcoming Motorbike title MotoGP13, the official MotoGP World Championship 2013 game, which will be out in June 2013.

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This new gameplay video features, for the first time, the MotoGP 2013 contents and the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix circuit.

Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix: MotoGP returned to the US for the first time in 10 years for the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix at Laguna Seca in July 2005, with a fairy-tale first GP win for American Nicky Hayden. The Californian track played host to Grand Prix events from 1988 to 1994 but advancements in MotoGP™ racing machines required the event to be moved elsewhere while the track was modified and adapted to meet present day safety requirements.

To watch the gameplay video, click below

Developed by the Milestone studio, MotoGP13 is scheduled for release in 2013 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows PC and PlayStation Vita.

Saints Row IV Meet the President trailer released

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Today Deep Silver and Volition released a simultaneously awesome & terrifying new trailer showcasing all-new in-game footage for the upcoming Saints Row IV for Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC platforms. As the President of the United States of ‘Merica, you are a presidential ass-kicker delivering justice Saints-style to the invading alien empire, the Zin. Your out of this world powers are second-to-none, as is your ability to deliver a perfect nut-shot. BOOM.

And here it is:

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Scott Philips, who is the Design Director on Saints Row IV, and we talk about the new game, new weapons, new powers and more. And yes, the famous Dildo Bat from Saints Row the Third gets a mention.

Over to Scott:

Saints Row IV will be available 23rd August in Europe and 20th August in North America.

So what do you think about Saints Row IV? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Play the demo of Fuse today on your Xbox 360

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If you want to play Fuse early then there is a demo you can get access to today on your Xbox 360.

Fuse is a 4-player co-op, story driven action game that forces players to consider what happens when humans exploit alien technology they were never meant to have. Developed by award-winning Insomniac Games, Fuse enables players to use lethal teamwork as they battle a rogue paramilitary outfit that has stolen a volatile alien energy source called Fuse.

Each agent is equipped with Fuse-powered weapons that gives them unique capabilities to expand their strategic options and yield extraordinary results. Solo players can experience each unique agent by using the LEAP feature to switch characters at will during combat. As players complete objectives, they earn Fuse points that can be spent on powerful upgrades.

Play the demo today by clicking here to add it to your download queue.

We recently interviewed Insomniac Games CEO and founder Ted Price:

So does Fuse interest you? Let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment below.

Rovio Account Will Let You Continue Your Angry Birds Games on Any Device

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Rovio has announced Rovio Account, a new feature that will let you pick up your Angry Birds game where you left off – across devices!

Some of you may have noticed a new feature in your Rovio games called Rovio Account. Our fans have been asking for a way to play their game on different phones or tablets without losing their progress when changing the device. This is exactly what Rovio Account lets you do!

 

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Rovio Account is currently available in The Croods game globally, and in the classic Angry Birds game on iOS in Finland and Poland. It will be rolled out to more areas and titles gradually.

You can download The Croods from the App Store for free.

Microsoft Confirms Gamescom 2013 Attendance

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Microsoft will be present at GamesCom 2013 as an exhibitor. This follows it decision to skip the show last year, no doubt due to it having not much new to show. That’ll be different this time around we imagine.
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No details was revealed as to what Microsoft will showcase, but we suspect that the next Xbox will be present and playable.
“2013 is a big year for Xbox. We can not wait to introduce the visitors of the Gamescom, the next chapter entertainment on Xbox. We are pleased to provide further details on this in the coming weeks and months known,” said Phil Harrison, Vice President, Interactive Entertainment Business, Microsoft Europe.
Microsoft is hosting an event to unveil the ‘next chapter in entertainment’ on 21st May. GamesCom 2013 will take place from 21-25th August.

Nokia has provided a First Glimpse of the Lumia 928

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Nokia has provided a first glimpse of the Lumia 928 smartphone on its official website. The device is expected to run the Windows Phone 8 operating system and boast high-end camera technology.

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A recent print advert in Vanity Fair confirmed that the handset will feature state-of-the-art PureView camera backed up by a Carl Zeiss lens and optical image stabilisation.

The Nokia Lumia 928 will allegedly be much lighter and thinner than the existing Nokia Lumia 920, but feature similar core hardware specs.

Several new Nokia products have been rumoured of late, including a Windows Phone 8-powered rival to the Samsung Galaxy Note line and the 41-megapixel camera-packing EOS.

Nokia is expected to formally announce the Nokia Lumia 928 on 14th May, but a launch outside the US is uncertain at present.

GTA V Listed for PC and Also Special Edition Listed

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Grand Theft Auto 5 will be released on PC, multiple retail listings have suggested. A PC edition of Rockstar’s upcoming action game was spotted on German retail sites GamesOnly.at and Amazon Germany (via NeoGAF).

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A Grand Theft Auto 5 special edition was also listed at GamesOnly, although the item has since been removed.

Packaged in a steelbook case, the special edition will reportedly contain a world map, additional stunt-plane challenges, online discounts, bonus outfits, bonus tattoos, a special abilities booster and exclusive weapons.

When quizzed about the items, a GamesOnly representative reportedly told a customer that the “article description is correct”.

The game will take place in the fictional city of Los Santos, loosely based on present-day Southern California.

The game features three protagonists – Trevor, Franklin and Michael – who all possess their own personalities and skill sets.

Each character will have a special ability, enabling them to slow down time during shootouts and driving sections, or take and receive more damage.

The game also sees the return of property acquisition and an upgradeable skill system, while the entire map will be accessible from the beginning.

Sony Refreshes Vaio Line up with the Fit series

Sony has refreshed its Vaio line of computers with the addition of the Fit series. The new laptops are aimed at business users and students who are after a “premium design” at an “entry-level” price.

Sony Vaio Fit Serie

With a $649 (£417) price tag, the Fit 14 comes with a display resolution of 1600×900 pixels, aluminium coating, touchscreen support and NFC technology.

The Fit 15 offers a 1080p display at the higher cost of $699 (£449), and the line also includes the Fit E budget alternatives.

Coming with either a 14- or 15-inch display, the Fit E laptops feature a screen with a lower 1366×768 resolution and retail at $547 (£351) and $579 (£372) respectively.

Sony has also given a specs boost to some of its existing Vaio machines, with the L Series receiving the Bravia Engine X-Reality processor and expanded hard drive space of up to 3TB.

The 15-inch T Series Ultrabook and Tap 20 hybrid device have also been given incremental upgrades.

Sony’s Vaio Fit laptops will be available in mid-May.

SimCity Patch 3.0 Coming Soon

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The new update seem to keep coming for SimCity and now Maxis will release yet another, this time entitled ‘Update 3.0,’ which is due sometime this week.
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The update seems to focus on traffic mostly, which is just as well because this was certainly an issue which needed looking at.
Here’s the details.
SimCity Patch 3.0
– New: Added more Hotel models to increase hotel variety.
– Traffic: Updated routing system to improve traffic. Routing system now understands more information about u-turns, required vehicle stops, and vehicle behavior on certain road types. This should make traffic smarter.
– Traffic: Commercial and industrial buildings stagger their work shifts to start throughout commute hours instead of at the top of the hour. This should reduce traffic.
– Traffic: Fixes one issue where a car won’t move causing traffic to back up behind it.
– Traffic: Vehicles can now make right turns on Red. This should improve some cases of traffic.
– Traffic: Trading polish that will improve regional traffic when one city has a lot of jobs and its neighboring city has a lot of workers.
– Air Pollution: Fixed more issues where cities that placed air polluting buildings received large amounts of air pollution from unknown sources.
– Service Vehicles: Fix for disappearing service vehicles on cities that whose vehicles had disappeared before update 2.
– School Buses: Fix for issue where school buses were getting stuck at neighbor’s city or arcology.
– Audio: Tuned audio on French Police Station.
– Trading: Fixed issue where fire servers were not trading consistently between Brakeman’s Folly and Twain in Whitewater Valley.
– Trading: Sewage trading: Sewage will now take a more direct route to regional sewage plant instead of throughout the city.
– Trading: Made gifting more reliable. – Ferry Terminal: Ferry Terminal can now send its sewage to the output pipe and treatment plant.
– RCI Tuning: Fixed issue where sims going to a park via transit would sometimes lose their money or happiness on the way home.
– RCI Tuning: Bulldozing abandoned or rubble buildings will now prevent new developments for 6-12 hours.
– RCI Tuning: Less Happiness is taken from wealth 2 and 3 buildings when rent is due when no money is present.
– RCI Tuning: Fix for issue some users experienced where buildings would stay abandoned because moving trucks would not be able to move in.
– Trees: Trees now last longer, but also do not eliminate as much ground pollution.
– Radiation: Radiation causes less ground pollution than previously.
– Transit: Changed thought bubble suggestion to add more trains to deal with crowded passenger trains to suggest that you add more train stations.
– Transit: Improvements to lights to make rail look better at night.
– Transit: Streetcar stops can now be placed directly on standalone streetcar tracks, and passengers can walk along the tracks to them.
– Transit: Tuned the chance buses or streetcars will go to high-traffic stops first as a minor traffic improvement.
– Roads: University pedestrian paths can now cross streets.
– Manufacturing Trucks: Fixed issue some users experienced where manufacturing trucks left the city and were lost permanently.
– Delivery Trucks: Fixed issue where some users would experience a loss of resources is their delivery trucks returned to garages without proper storage.
– Sports Parks: Tuned the amount of skateboarders and neighborhood athletes at the sports parks.
– Data Layers: Zones are now visible in heavy data layers.
– Edit Mode: Added more valid snap points in edit mode. This improvement is most noticeable on Parks.
– Buildings: Addressed some cases where buildings would stack on one another.

App Update: Amazon Kindle for Android Updated to version 4.0.2

The Amazon Kindle app for Android has been updated again, bringing it to version 4.0.2.

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I use the Kindle app all the time on my iPad to read books and I know a number of people who use it on their Android devices, so it is really good to see that real page numbers are finally being used!

What’s New:

• Fixed a bug with notes, dictionary, and highlights not displaying.
• Fixed a bug for missing table of contents.

Download the Kindle App from Google Play