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Samsung releases first official Galaxy Note8 teaser

Lana Jelic | Mobile Devices | Aug 14, 2017 6:28 PM CDT

We're just nine days away from the Galaxy Note8 launch, and Samsung has finally revealed the first official teaser.

Samsung releases first official Galaxy Note8 teaser

The teaser doesn't reveal much, it's more of a pumping up the anticipation and playing with words. For example, the Korean company replaced the word 'talk' with the word 'act' and 'update' with 'innovate. At the end of the short video, Samsung invites us to "do bigger things" starting August 23rd.

Read also: A video of the iPhone 8 leaks: Is this the final design?

Continue reading: Samsung releases first official Galaxy Note8 teaser (full post)

ZTE launches $129 priced phone with 4,080 mAh battery

Lana Jelic | Mobile Devices | Aug 14, 2017 2:26 PM CDT

ZTE has announced its latest smartphone, the ZTE Blade Z Max. The phone comes with a huge 6-inch Full HD screen, and although it doesn't have the best specs, it does come at an affordable price.

ZTE launches $129 priced phone with 4,080 mAh battery

The ZTE Blade Z Max is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 435 processor and comes with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage, expandable up to 128GB via microSD card.

The phone has dual camera setup on the back (16MP + 2MP) and an 8MP front shooter. Other features include a fingerprint sensor and 4,080 mAh battery, which is pretty impressive for a $129 phone.

Continue reading: ZTE launches $129 priced phone with 4,080 mAh battery (full post)

LG V30 to have superior camera lens

Lana Jelic | Mobile Devices | Aug 14, 2017 1:33 PM CDT

There is always a war of specs when it comes to smartphones, screen size, resolution, megapixels, processing cores, RAM and such. One of the specs that seem to have always been improving is the aperture of the camera lens itself. With each generation of smartphone cameras, we have seen the aperture get wider and wider allowing for more and more light into the camera sensor at once.

LG V30 to have superior camera lens

These wider camera apertures (lower aperture number) have allowed for increasingly sharper images and the birth of 'bokeh' effects done with dual cameras. Without a properly sharp and wide aperture main camera, these bokeh effects would be pointless to impossible.

Read also: RED's Hydrogen holographic phone gets shown

Continue reading: LG V30 to have superior camera lens (full post)

Take a trip with 'Valerian' on us!

Ben Gourlay | Contests & Giveaways | Aug 12, 2017 3:40 PM CDT

To celebrate the theatrical release of 'Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets,' we have five double theatrical passes to give away thanks to our friends at Entertainment One.

Take a trip with 'Valerian' on us!

In the 28th century, Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) are a team of special operatives charged with maintaining order throughout the human territories. Under assignment from the Minister of Defense, the two embark on a mission to the astonishing city of Alpha-an ever-expanding metropolis where species from all over the universe have converged over centuries to share knowledge, intelligence and cultures with each other.

There is a mystery at the center of Alpha, a dark force which threatens the peaceful existence of the City of a Thousand Planets, and Valerian and Laureline must race to identify the marauding menace and safeguard not just Alpha, but the future of the universe.

Continue reading: Take a trip with 'Valerian' on us! (full post)

Light the wick on our 'John Wick' Blu-ray giveaway

Ben Gourlay | Contests & Giveaways | Aug 12, 2017 10:10 AM CDT

To celebrate the upcoming home video release of 'John Wick: Chapter Two,' we have fifteen Blu-rays to give away thanks to our friends at Universal Sony Home Entertainment.

Light the wick on our 'John Wick' Blu-ray giveaway

Never stab the devil in the back! Retired super-assassin John Wick's plans to resume a quiet civilian life are cut short when Italian gangster Santino D'Antonio shows up on his doorstep with a gold marker, compelling him to repay past favors. Ordered by Winston, kingpin of secret assassin society The Continental, to respect the organization's ancient code, Wick reluctantly accepts the assignment to travel to Rome to take out D'Antonio's sister, the ruthless capo atop the Italian Camorra crime syndicate.

To go into the running to win a prize, post this article to your social media profiles and send your correct answer to the following question (along with your postal address), to ben at TweakTown dot com before the competition closes on August 18:

Continue reading: Light the wick on our 'John Wick' Blu-ray giveaway (full post)

AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Liquid Cooled Edition unboxed

Anthony Garreffa | Graphics Cards | Aug 12, 2017 10:00 AM CDT

AMD is launching its new Radeon RX Vega graphics cards in a few days, but between now and then - we're allowed to show you something about the card, with no performance numbers just yet. I can tell you that I have the Radeon RX Vega 64 Liquid Cooled Edition, and the air-cooled Radeon RX 56.

AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Liquid Cooled Edition unboxed

At the top we have the GTX 1080 competitor, while the RX Vega 56 takes on the GTX 1070. We've got them running through their paces as I tap away on this keyboard, but we can show you the inside of the packaging of the RX Vega 64 Liquid Cooled Edition. The box itself looks cool, but because it's 11:30PM my time here in South Australia, I'm going to do a FB Live video in the morning my time (10-12 hours from this post going live).

Until then, I've got some pictures to enjoy that I snapped between my frantic benchmarking. More details to follow, with full thoughts on the performance, temperatures, power consumption (uhhh), and some exclusive tests (8K, and some others). It has been an interesting journey so far, with AMD flying a staff member out to my city to hand deliver me my samples. It was down to the wire, and I'm still down 48 hours on other reviewers. This is the rush of a GPU launch!

Continue reading: AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Liquid Cooled Edition unboxed (full post)

AMD's next-gen Navi GPU will have AI-specific circuitry

Anthony Garreffa | Graphics Cards | Aug 12, 2017 4:57 AM CDT

We're hours away from the first part of the AMD Radeon RX Vega embargo, and only a couple of days away from our full review - and already, we're hearing about AMD's next-gen Navi GPU architecture.

AMD's next-gen Navi GPU will have AI-specific circuitry

Navi is destined for sometime in 2018, and will be baked onto the much smaller 7nm node - but according to our friends at Fudzilla, AMD will be using some dedicated AI circuitry. This isn't new, as NVIDIA has what it calls Tensor cores in their next-gen Volta-based V100 GPU.

The only news here is that AMD is rumored to be building AI-specific technology onto its next-gen GPU, which will mean AMD is pushing more into data centers and AI applications, and away from gamers. There will be a gaming-based Navi GPU, that I'm sure - but AI is the big thing right now, and AMD would be silly to not capitalize on it.

Continue reading: AMD's next-gen Navi GPU will have AI-specific circuitry (full post)

HTC to launch cheaper U11 version

Lana Jelic | Mobile Devices | Aug 11, 2017 4:30 PM CDT

HTC's U11 was launched back in May, and the phone's camera still has the highest score on DxOMark. It appears that the company is planning to launch a smaller variant of its successful flagship.

HTC to launch cheaper U11 version

According to the latest report, HTC U11 Life, which is the alleged name of the phone, will feature a 5.2-inch screen. The device will be waterproof, and like its bigger sibling, it will lack the 3.5mm headphone jack.

The phone won't feature Snapdragon 835 as its big brother, but will instead come with Snapdragon 630. The HTC U11 Life will have 32GB of storage expandable via microSD card.

Continue reading: HTC to launch cheaper U11 version (full post)

Dragon Age series: ongoing evolution, no end in sight

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Aug 11, 2017 3:22 PM CDT

Rather than constricting a dynamically, continually-evolving storyline, BioWare has decided not to set limits on Dragon Age's canon, but that doesn't mean they're not planning ahead.

Dragon Age series: ongoing evolution, no end in sight

The fan favorite medieval fantasy Dragon Age series has no real ending in sight. That is according to Dragon Age series Creative Director Mike Laidlaw, who recently said some interesting tidbits on Twitter. "There is no planned ending for Dragon Age. There is an evolving plan that tends to look two games ahead or so," Mr. Laidlaw said on Twitter, adding some insight on the beloved universe where dragons, knights, and magic co-existing in a fanciful--and often bloody--timeline. The developer goes on to say that outlining an ending puts undue pressure on writers and can create a very real tunnel vision that robs creators of their keen mindsight--the very same sight that's responsible for creating unique fell-magisters like Corypheus, or the deep-rooted reverence of Andraste throughout the fantasy world.

"I strongly believe that if you try to hold to a rigid plan that is a decade old by the time you reach the end, you are wasting opportunities," the creative director affirmed. This structure reminds me of Final Fantasy games, which are all indirectly linked with interwoven themes, characters, ideas, and visual content. Every Final Fantasy game is a different reflection of the same crystal, so to speak. History is folding back into the present, the future is a wide, ever-branching path rather than a clear linear tunnel.

Continue reading: Dragon Age series: ongoing evolution, no end in sight (full post)

Fallout 4 gets $60 GOTY re-release with all DLC

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Aug 11, 2017 12:19 PM CDT

Bethesda is well-known for extending the life of its products with tons of remasters and re-releases--this year marks the fourth release of Skyrim, for example--and now its post-apocalyptic RPG is getting the traditional game of the year treatment.

Fallout 4 gets $60 GOTY re-release with all DLC

The Fallout 4: Game of the Year Edition retails for a full $59.99, and as you'd imagine, the game is bundled with the full suite of expansions like Far Harbor and Nuka World alongside baked-in updates like the esteemed Survival mode. The GOTY edition comes after Fallout 4 soaked up big sales over two years, and more than a year after Bethesda hiked the season pass to $50. The game's absurdly popular $99 Pip-Boy collector's edition is also getting a limited re-release (because of course it is).

Bethesda has some interesting motivations for this re-release. Outside of the obvious push for more money, the company is delivering an easily accessible all-in-one package to prepare gamers for Bethesda's new Creation Club monetization scheme, which launches this summer. The Creation Club initiative allows gamers to buy small slices of DLC add-on content like weapons and armor, and also includes big expansion-sized updates. Essentially Bethesda is making an on-demand DLC marketplace where gamers can buy high-quality content made by the modding community's top content creators and Bethesda themselves. But the real trick to Creation Club's success is compatibility, and the DLC or "paid mods" need to be 100% compatible with all official Fallout 4 DLC and updates. Thus Bethesda is releasing the all-in-one package at a full $59.99 price tag to get players started.

Continue reading: Fallout 4 gets $60 GOTY re-release with all DLC (full post)

Nintendo sued over Switch patent infringement

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Aug 11, 2017 7:34 AM CDT

Gamevice, a company that makes a unique snap-on controller for Apple's iPhone, is suing Nintendo for patent infringement.

Nintendo sued over Switch patent infringement

With its detachable controllers and handheld form factor, the Nintendo Switch's design may seem unique, but the device is actually an evolution of other various mobile devices on the market--most notably the Wikipad and Gamevice's detachable snap-on controllers for mobile phones. Now Gamevice is suing Nintendo for willful patent infringement and is seeking damages.

Gamevice alleges that the design of the Nintendo Switch infringes on a patent filed by the company in 2012 which served as the core to its Wikipad and attachable mobile iPhone controller products. In the suit, the peripherals-maker asserts that Nintendo has infringed on no less than eight different parts of the patent with the Switch's components, including the device's detachable JoyCon controller. Nintendo filed the Switch's patent (then called the "NX") in 2014, two years after Gamevice's patent.

Continue reading: Nintendo sued over Switch patent infringement (full post)

EKWB unveils their new Ryzen Threadripper water block

Anthony Garreffa | Cases, Cooling & PSU | Aug 11, 2017 4:06 AM CDT

EK Water Blocks has dived right into the deep end when it comes to their new Supremacy EVO Series, a new water block made specifically for AMD's next-gen HEDT processors, Ryzen Threadripper.

EKWB unveils their new Ryzen Threadripper water block

The new EK-Supremacy EVO water block covers the entire IHS of Ryzen Threadripper, with EKWB building a new water block for the much larger than normal IHS. EKWB has used a dense micro-fin structure that has 52 grooves, with 0.25mm of spacing.

The water block itself uses the EK-Supremacy EVO cooling engine with specialized jet inserts and jet plate combination to provide the best cooling possible on X399.

Continue reading: EKWB unveils their new Ryzen Threadripper water block (full post)

Corsair Neutron NX500: fastest SSD that Corsair has made

Anthony Garreffa | Storage | Aug 11, 2017 3:55 AM CDT

Corsair has unleashed its new Neutron NX500 series of enthusiast PCIe-based SSDs, with two models launching today and another one its way.

Corsair Neutron NX500: fastest SSD that Corsair has made

The new Corsair Neutron NX500 features an NVMe PCIe x4 connector with an M.2 drive, with the company releasing the 400GB and 800GB models already, but promising a 1.6TB version is coming soon. Specs wise, it's a beast, pushing out up to 3GB/sec reads and 2.4GB/sec writes.

Corsair has tapped the Phison E7 controller, which packs 4 x CPU cores and 8 x NAND channels. Inside, the Phison E7 controller features SmartECC which our Storage Editor Jon Coulter in his review of the Corsair Neutron NX500 series said: "reconstructs defective/faulty pages when regular ECC fails, SmartRefresh monitors block ECC health status and refreshes blocks periodically to improve data retention and SmartFlush minimizes time data spends in cache to ensure data retention in the event of power loss".

Continue reading: Corsair Neutron NX500: fastest SSD that Corsair has made (full post)

NVIDIA smashes Q2 2018, more record revenue results

Anthony Garreffa | Business, Financial & Legal | Aug 10, 2017 9:46 PM CDT

NVIDIA has just posted up its Q2 2018 fiscal year results, with the company continuing to pound out money from its success in the gaming market. Revenue reached a whopping $2.23 billion, up by a huge 56% year-over-year.

NVIDIA smashes Q2 2018, more record revenue results

NVIDIA's net income was $583 million, up a massive 123% year-over-year, which is huge. NVIDIA's success is coming from their gaming market, which is their largest source of revenue. PC gaming is still big business, with NVIDIA's gaming division making $1.186 billion, compared to $781 million this time last year. This is what happens when you're the sole maker of high-end/enthusiast graphics cards.

It's not just the GeForce business that NVIDIA is benefiting from, but it's also the datacenter division - quickly becoming a money generator. This time last year, NVIDIA was making just 11% of their revenue from the datacenter, but fast forward to Q2 2018 (fiscal) and it has jumped by 175% to $416 million. It used to be small, but now the datacenter makes up 19% of NVIDIA's revenue... not bad at all.

Continue reading: NVIDIA smashes Q2 2018, more record revenue results (full post)

NVIDIA says 'Welcome back, AMD' with Threadripper launch

Anthony Garreffa | Processors | Aug 10, 2017 8:46 PM CDT

AMD released their new HEDT platform, Ryzen Threadripper, with quite the bang overnight - and their main GPU competitor has even praised the release.

NVIDIA says 'Welcome back, AMD' with Threadripper launch

The official Twitter account of NVIDIA GeForce tweeted AMD, saying "Welcome back, @AMD. Threadripper and a GeForce GTX 1080 Ti make a compelling pair". It's actually a one-two punch. NVIDIA is genuinely excited about Threadripper, probably for the same reason as me: 64 PCIe 3.0 lanes... perfect for GTX 1080 Ti and TITAN X SLI systems.

Secondly, NVIDIA said this and pushed the "AMD CPU + NVIDIA GPU" side of things - and not AMD's upcoming Radeon RX Vega graphics cards. The "compelling pair" is AMD's product, with their competitor's product - something that NVIDIA can't do, as they only make consumer graphics cards and not CPUs/motherboard chipsets.

Continue reading: NVIDIA says 'Welcome back, AMD' with Threadripper launch (full post)

AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 package includes dead Vega GPU

Anthony Garreffa | Graphics Cards | Aug 10, 2017 7:48 PM CDT

AMD is on the verge of launching their next-gen Radeon RX Vega graphics card family, with the flagship Radeon RX Vega 64 and Vega 56 cards now in reviewers' hands. Our friends at TechGage have already posted up some pictures that were quickly removed.

AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 package includes dead Vega GPU

TechGage received their Radeon RX Vega 64 in a beautiful package, with the reference air version and its RX 480 style design.

RX Vega 64 requires 8+8-pin PCIe power connectors for its huge 295W TDP, while we have 3 x DP 1.4 and 1 x HDMI 2.0 display connectors on the back.

Continue reading: AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 package includes dead Vega GPU (full post)

Toshiba reports $8.7 billion loss for 2016

Derek Strickland | Business, Financial & Legal | Aug 10, 2017 6:32 PM CDT

Toshiba has reported a substantial $8.75 billion loss of income in the fiscal year ending March 2017, the company today announced.

Toshiba reports $8.7 billion loss for 2016

Embroiled chip-maker Toshiba Corp has today revealed its fiscal year 2016 earnings following approval from auditors, illustrating how far the company's earnings have slid due to the Westinghouse closure. The earnings had previously been delayed three separate times. The timely filings have saved the company from being de-listed from the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

The earnings filings show that Toshiba has suffered an $8.75 billion dollar net loss during the twelve-month period ending March 31, 2017. The Japanese electronics company pins the losses on the sizable debt incurred by its Westinghouse Electric nuclear power plant, which filed for bankruptcy in March. Overall the dissolved Westinghouse division incurred a total loss of 1.394 trillion yen, or $12.76 billion, during the fiscal year due to the discontinued operation of the branch.

Continue reading: Toshiba reports $8.7 billion loss for 2016 (full post)

A video of the iPhone 8 leaks: Is this the final design?

Lana Jelic | Mobile Devices | Aug 10, 2017 5:23 PM CDT

Just yesterday we got the first clear image of the iPhone 8 and now a short video of the alleged device has appeared. While we can't confirm its authenticity at this point, the phone does look similar to the device we have seen in previous leaks.

A video of the iPhone 8 leaks: Is this the final design?

Although only five seconds long, the video shows the key components of the upcoming device. There's a vertically positioned rear dual camera setup and an iris scanner on the front.

Read also: First clear images of the iPhone 8 surface

Continue reading: A video of the iPhone 8 leaks: Is this the final design? (full post)

Overwatch is finally getting deathmatch

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Aug 10, 2017 4:40 PM CDT

Overwatch is getting two new deathmatch modes, but they won't be coming to Competitive or or Quick Play.

Overwatch is finally getting deathmatch

Blizzard today announced that two new deathmatch modes will soon come to Overwatch: free-for-all and team deathmatch. The new modes are currently available to sample on the Overwatch Public Test Realm (PTR) for interested PC gamers, and the modes will roll out to all platforms including PS4 and Xbox One at a later date.

However, Overwatch will retain its core focus as a team-based shooter, and the new deathmatch modes are exclusively available in the new Arcade mode and Custom Games, and won't be available in the principal Competitive or Quick Play session types.

Continue reading: Overwatch is finally getting deathmatch (full post)

Lawbreakers player count drops shortly after launch

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Aug 10, 2017 3:44 PM CDT

Boss Key's new class-based shooter Lawbreakers launched to a diminished playerbase on Steam, and has failed to gain momentum in the crucial days after launch.

Lawbreakers player count drops shortly after launch

Any developer will tell you that the first few days of a game's launch are absolutely critical defining moments. Not only are developers constantly scouting data--playerbases, engaged users, DAUs, MAUs, you name it--but sites like Githyp are aggregating key insights to gauge a game's success. Sadly, it appears that Lawbreakers may end up crashing to the ground, much as the site predicted.

Since its launch on August 8, Lawbreakers has yet to break Steam's top 100 most-played games list. The game's playerbase at launch saw just 3,019 peak players, down 34% from the second open beta test and a massive 60% from the first open beta test conducted on June 30. A day after Lawbreaker's release on Steam the game had 2,739 peak players, and continues losing players every day since.

Continue reading: Lawbreakers player count drops shortly after launch (full post)

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