Apple already putting pressure on Fitbit in wearables market

Michael Hatamoto | Wearable Computing & Fashion | Aug 27, 2015 3:40 PM CDT

Apple has made its first appearance in the wearables market, and is already within striking distance of No. 1 company Fitbit, according to IDC. Apple shipped 3.6 million units during the second quarter of 2015, trailing Fitbit by just 0.8 million units - with the wearables market getting a whopping 223 percent year-over-year growth, increasing from 5.6 million units up to 18.1 million units.

Fitbit leads with 24.3 percent market share, with Apple (19.9 percent), Xiaomi (17.1 percent), Garmin (3.9 percent), and Samsung (3.3 percent) in the top five. It looks like Fitbit needs a drastic boost to keep its overall market lead, as Apple clearly took wearables by storm.

"Anytime Apple enters a new market, not only does it draw attention to itself, but to the market as a whole," said Ramon Llamas, research manager for wearables at IDC. "Its participation benefits multiple players and platforms within the wearables ecosystem, and ultimately drives total volumes higher.

Continue reading: Apple already putting pressure on Fitbit in wearables market (full post)

No Star Wars Battlefront Xbox One bundle, EA confirms

Michael Hatamoto | Gaming | Aug 27, 2015 1:40 PM CDT

If you're a Microsoft Xbox One gamer looking for a possible Star Wars Battlefront bundle, you're out of luck. It looks like the custom bundle is only available for the Sony PlayStation 4, which will launch on November 19.

In a Q&A on the EA website, news regarding a possible Star Wars Xbox One bundle was shot down: "The exclusive console for Star Wars Battlefront is limited to PlayStation 4." Pre-orders for the bundles will be announced soon. Pricing information also hasn't been released just yet.

Star Wars Battlefront is scheduled for release on November 17, and will be available for PC, Xbox One, and PS4.

Continue reading: No Star Wars Battlefront Xbox One bundle, EA confirms (full post)

Firefox has been updated, here's why Mozilla thinks you need it

Chris Smith | Software & Apps | Aug 27, 2015 6:32 AM CDT

We've seen some interesting emails and marketing campaigns come out of Mozilla in recent times, including it's FoxYeah! slogan - asking all users to 'invite your peeps' over to what Firefox has to offer.

This email is a little more tame - informing users that the newest Firefox is now here and stating three simple reasons as to why Mozilla thinks that its browser is worth a look at. First up is more security, with the company stating that its download protection will prevent you gathering nasty virus'. Next up is better performance, which comes in the form of improved video playback, smoother animation and better scrolling. Lastly is "the independent choice," with Mozilla priding itself on respect for your private information.

With some users being unhappy with Chrome reportedly hogging resources, have you made the change to Firefox? If so, what's your own reasoning?

Continue reading: Firefox has been updated, here's why Mozilla thinks you need it (full post)

ESL major event delivers over $4.2 million to players

Chris Smith | Gaming | Aug 27, 2015 4:28 AM CDT

As confirmed by Valve and ESL, the recently completed ESL One Cologne event saw teams gather a massive $4.2 million dollars in total - split between prize money, stickers and signature sales.

Coupled with a total viewership of 27 million people and a peak concurrent number sitting around 1.3 million, HLTV reported that this event saw a massive 180% increase in crowd-funded dollars over ESL One Katowice, which involved $1.5 million in community support given away.

This method of funding means that teams and players must market themselves well, hoping to sell in-game stickers and signatures to adoring fans to represent them whilst playing in public servers. This is slightly different to the Dota 2 model, which sees funding go directly into the prize pool, whereas ESL One sits at a static $250,000 no matter how much is raised.

Continue reading: ESL major event delivers over $4.2 million to players (full post)

ASRock, G.Skill, Kingston team up to smash more records at IDF 2015

Chris Smith | Motherboards | Aug 27, 2015 3:28 AM CDT

If you're looking for blisteringly-fast RAM to throw into your next rig, now is the time to open your eyes. DDR4 is hot off the press and it seems each and every company is fighting for that top clock spot.

The latest news from ASRock are some brand new records set during IDF 2015. First up is the 4x Intel XTU category, seeing a score of 1910 marks, followed by the MaXXMEM category at 3894.5 marks. Achieved with the help of overclockers 'Splave' and 'L0ud_sil3nc3', this 1910 4x Intel XTU record was posted at no other time than during a live keynote (see above).

With the help of Kingston DDR4 memory, the MaXXMEM 3894.5 score was achieved on the second day of overclocking, with Intel CEO Brian Krzanichru watching closely, offering the help of an i7-6700K CPU.

Continue reading: ASRock, G.Skill, Kingston team up to smash more records at IDF 2015 (full post)

'Fast and the Furious' ride coming to Universal Orlando

Ben Gourlay | Celebrities & Entertainment | Aug 26, 2015 11:33 PM CDT

Despite the concerns outlined in my review of this year's 'Fast and the Furious 7' - now the world's fifth highest grossing film of all time, the public appetite for the franchise clearly isn't going anywhere, which is why Universal are so keen to exploit the franchise in as many avenues as possible, including a new thrill ride at the studio's Orlando theme park.

According to the studio's official blog, the ride is going to "fuse everything you love about the films with an original storyline and incredible ride technology. You'll get to check out some of the high-speed, supercharged cars you've seen on the big screen. You'll be immersed in the underground racing world made famous in the films and explore the headquarters of Toretto and his team. Then, you'll board specially-designed vehicles for an adrenaline-pumping ride with your favorite stars from the films.". But fans of the 'Disaster: A Major Motion Picture Starring You!' and 'Beetlejuice Graveyard Revue' attractions will have to take one for the Fast Family, as both will permanently close to make way for the new ride due to open in 2017.

Continue reading: 'Fast and the Furious' ride coming to Universal Orlando (full post)

FAA approves Gogo's plans for 70Mbps in-flight Wi-Fi

Anthony Garreffa | Connectivity & Cloud | Aug 26, 2015 11:06 PM CDT

Gogo has just received approval from the FAA to offer consumers 70Mbps in-flight Wi-Fi, up from the much slower speeds of 9.8Mbps. The FAA only just this week approved the final Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) required to use it.

The new system was meant to be streaming content on planes already, but the FAA didn't provide the final STC required, but now that it has Gogo is free to offer 70Mbps Wi-Fi to its customers. Gogo has over 500 aircraft waiting on antenna upgrades, with the plan now being to have the new antennas installed by early 2016.

2Ku will be installing the new satellite antennas, where they'll also be future-proofed to work with new spot beam satellites. This upgrade is going to be huge, as it will increase the speeds from 70Mbps to 100Mbps. 100Mbps shared across a plane full of people might not seem like much, but it's better than nothing.

Continue reading: FAA approves Gogo's plans for 70Mbps in-flight Wi-Fi (full post)

Driverless crash trucks could help keep construction crews safer

Michael Hatamoto | Electric Vehicles & Cars | Aug 26, 2015 6:20 PM CDT

It seems like only a matter of time before autonomous trucks will hit US roadways, but it looks like there's a very specific purpose for the first to roll out: self-driving construction crash trucks, aimed to inform drivers about roadwork.

Using GPS waypoints, the autonomous workzone trucks are able to follow a lead car, mimic the lead vehicle's path, driving and braking patterns. The trucks are outfitted with rear-end crash barriers, lights, and large signs that update drivers to upcoming construction and road hazards.

"Any time a driver can be removed from these vehicles in a very dangerous situation, and if the vehicle's struck, there's nobody inside of it to receive the damage or the injuries, that's measuring success," said Robert Roy, president of Royal Truck & Equipment Inc, in a statement published by the Associated Press.

Continue reading: Driverless crash trucks could help keep construction crews safer (full post)

The Witcher 3 sold over 6 million copies in six weeks

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Aug 26, 2015 3:32 PM CDT

Today CD Projekt RED has announced that its celebrated dark fantasy RPG The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt cleared an impressive 6 million copies sold within the first six weeks of its launch.

"We've just concluded our shareholder conference where we announced that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt family got a bit bigger -- we sold over 6 million copies of the game in six weeks since launch," CD Projekt RED studio head Adam Badowski revealed. At $60 a pop we can estimate that CDPR made a whopping $360 million in less than two months from its magnum opus. Wow.

CDPR isn't about to let all that success go to its head, and Badowski affirms that the studio isn't going to let cash compromise its artistic vision. Ultimately gamers come first to CDPR. "One could think we have six million reasons to be happy and that's it," Badowski said. "Yes, six million copies is a great achievement for a company making RPGs, but this business is not only about that. If our games are a gallery of sound, picture and text - you are the visitors of this gallery. To an artist, there's no sweeter sight than people enjoying their work. That's why, in the name of all the devs in the studio, I'd like to say thanks to each and every one of you."

Continue reading: The Witcher 3 sold over 6 million copies in six weeks (full post)

Nintendo NX will let you share replays and track high scores

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Aug 26, 2015 2:54 PM CDT

A new patent reveals that Nintendo's upcoming NX system has a unique and rather dynamic sharing functionality that will let users compare and share high scores, achievements and video replays.

The Nintendo NX patent, originally spotted by Nintendo Enthusiast, is pretty beefy, but the general jist of it centers around users comparing their in-game feats. Essentially players will be able to compare each other's scores on a wide network of users, send and receive replay video clips, and check their standings on live leaderboards.

All shared data will consist of a "sheet" of content including high scores (which can be cross-checked with live leaderboards), a grading system (stars, etc), customized user-created messages and drawings (think Miiverse sketches) and the ability to view replay video. All users will be able to share and publish these "sheets" of content. The above picture is a mock-up scheme that servers as an example of a shared post.

Continue reading: Nintendo NX will let you share replays and track high scores (full post)

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