Latest news

Nintendo has unveiled a new model of the 3DS XL that should excite some retro gamers.

The new device is themed after the original NES, with the device looking like a controller and the box designed like the console. Nintendo says the handheld will be available on October 10th for $200, but if you want it you will have to get it through Gamestop, who has the exclusive.

In the past, Nintendo also offered the Gameboy SP and the Gameboy Micro with an NES design so it's not a completely original idea.

If you don't care for the NES but still want an updated 3DS XL, Nintendo is also offering a red Super Smash Bros starting next week, and a blue Persona Q available in November, both for $199.99. Shockingly, Nintendo is not including the games with the themed DS consoles.

Microsoft will drop the Nokia and Windows Phone brands after the holiday season, sticking instead with Lumia and Windows for their products.

The evidence comes via an alleged internal document, although Microsoft had not yet confirmed the move.

In the document, Microsoft says "As part of our phased transition, we will drop the manufacturer name [Nokia] from product references during the Holiday campaign. Windows will take the place of Windows Phone, with Lumia for phone models."

The move to get rid of the Nokia name makes perfect sense given that Nokia is still an active company and Microsoft only acquired their handset business. Getting rid of Windows Phone as a brand also makes sense since the company is looking to complete its Windows ecosystem. Windows Phone and Windows RT are the odd men out.

Most new Lumia commercials and spots don't even show Windows Phone anywhere now, so the move is not unexpected.

Microsoft has released the changelog for the upcoming October system update, which adds a ton of new features and highly anticipated updates.

Those who are part of the invite-only preview program are already seeing some of the features via an early rollout.

The full changelog:

Amazon has updated their Android phone app this week, adding Prime Instant Video streaming services for users in the U.S., UK and Germany.

In addition to being able to shop as usual from the app, Prime subscribers can also watch tens of thousands of TV episodes and movies.

Unfortunately, Amazon has made it a bit of a process to actually start watching the shows and films. Once you update your Amazon app, you will be re-directed to an in-app download of the Amazon Instant Video player app, which needs to be downloaded from the Amazon Appstore, not the Googly Play Store. To be able to download from the Amazon App Store you will have to change your phone settings to be able to install apps from "unknown sources."

Not the easiest process, but it only has to be done once. If you don't feel comfortable downloading from "unknown sources" (even a giant like Amazon) you will not be able to stream the video on your phone.

Amazon has recently made some big deals for their streaming service, including adding older HBO shows and adding a number of original shows. Prime costs $99 per year and gives you free two-day shipping on most items, free Prime Instant Video, free Kindle books and free Amazon Prime Music.

Following its recent launch in the nation, the Microsoft Xbox One had a rough time selling in Japan.

Just like its predecessor, the Xbox One had a terrible launch, selling just 23,562 units in its first week of availability. While the Xbox 360 was also a failure, it sold over 60,000 in its first week back in 2005.

Japanese-based Sony and Nintendo had much more impressive launches for their current-gen consoles, with the Wii U seeing 300,000 units sold in two days and the PS4 seeing 322,000 in its first week.

Microsoft just launched the console in 27 new nations including Japan.

Qualcomm has introduced their Snapdragon 210 chipset for mid-range devices, offering solid specs at an affordable price.

The chipset adds LTE Cat.4 connectivity and dual-SIM support among other features.

Boasting a quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 processor with up to 1.1 GHz, the chip has an Adreno 304 GPU with 720p display support, 8MP camera support, 1080p video recording/playback, the aforementioned LTE and dual-SIM LTE support.

Additionally, the chip has Quick Charge 2.0 support allowing for faster charging.

Qualcomm says it believes the chip will be used in the world's first sub-$100 LTE-A smartphones starting in the Q1 2015.

Source:
GSMA

Russian hacker 'tvskit' has released 4.93 million Gmail email addresses and passwords on the popular Russian Bitcoin forum BTSec, although the forum was quick to remove the files and also redact the passwords.

Tvskit claimed that 60 percent of the passwords were still valid, but Google denied that claim, stating that the list was created from previous lists of compromised email addresses, and that current accounts are unaffected.

Other forum users say the list had passwords that were upwards of 10 years old, and that many of the accounts had been deactivated or suspended for some time.

Besides the Gmail list, there was also a smaller list for Yandex emails.

Source:
DailyDot

Hidden among their high profile announcements today, Apple quietly discontinued the iPod Classic and the old 30-pin connector.

With today's website refresh to add the Apple Watch and iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, Apple has removed the iPod Classic page, leaving just the iPod Touch as the only dedicated media player.

The death of the Classic was a long time coming. The original design started in 2004, and the Classic was last updated 5 years ago when they added a large HDD model. Audiophiles were fans because you could store tons of music on the devices, but they featured old-school clickwheels and did not fit in Apple's elegant touchscreen lineup.

In addition to the iPod Classic, Apple also said goodbye to the iPhone 4S, meaning they no longer offer devices with the old 30-pin connector, so that to has been removed from the site.

Electronic Arts, who recently took their EA Access gaming subscription service out of beta, has added a new title.

As of writing, EA Access subs can now play Need for Speed Rivals, joining Battlefield 4, FIFA 14, Peggle 2, and Madden NFL 25 as fully playable titles.

The service is available in Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, UK, and the US. The service costs $5 per month or $30 per year and give access to downloadable games through "The Vault," a small but growing collection of EA games.

In addition to the cheap gaming on older games, EA Access members also get 10 percent off EA games and other content including DLC and free trials of new EA games up to five days before their retail dates.

You can buy passes to EA Access on Amazon and at GameStop.

According to multiple sources, Microsoft is in deep discussions to buy 'Minecraft' maker Mojang AB, at a $2 billion price tag.

The Swedish gaming company has so far stayed away from investments, especially from major corporations, giving founder Markus 'Notch' Persson a highly regarded reputation amongst gamers.

Minecraft has sold over 50 million copies since launch in 2009, across platforms that include the PC, PlayStation, Xbox and phones. The game is also wildly profitable, with Mojang bringing in over $100 million in profit last year from game and merchandise sales. The company only has 40 employees, and had nearly $300 million in revenue last year. Mojang has also recently signed licensing deals with Scholastic for tutorial books, LEGO for toys and even Warner Bros. for a feature film.

Mojang also charges a one-time fee for their games, unlike most others that offer freemium models. The games range from $7-$30 depending on system.

A Microsoft purchase would be a move away from new CEO Satya Nadella's decision to focus on core products, although adding Minecraft could help the company's mobile division, its Xbox gaming division and and its PC Windows division if used correctly. The game has never been available for Windows Phone and Windows 8 users have to download it directly from Mojang as Notch refuses to have it available through the Windows Store, where Microsoft takes a cut.

Apple Pay is a new mobile, contactless payment system developed by Apple Inc. that will soon be available to use online and offline. What should you know about it?

Today in Cupertino, Apple unveiled its new iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and introduced its Apple Watch line for the first time. It also dated iOS 8's public release for later this month and gave away a U2 album to iTunes customers.

Another service announced by Apple - and strongly linked to the new iPhones and Apple Watch - is Apple Pay, which the company promises will revolutionize how to pay for physical goods and services offline, and how you pay for things in apps on your iPhone.

So here is a quick run down of what Apple revealed to this point.

What is Apple Pay?

Apple Pay is a new mobile payments and contact-less payment service provided by Apple, which the firm promises is simple to use, private and secure. Using NFC (near-field communication) built in to the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, you can pay for goods and services easily without having to produce a credit card or debit card, using Passbook, and TouchID as part of the authorization process.

When will it be available?

Apple Pay will be available as a free update in October.

Apple has finally shown off its upcoming Apple Watch wearable device to the public, slating it for release in earlier 2015. So what was the fuss all about and did Apple deliver?

Describing it as its most personal device ever, Apple showed off the upcoming Apple Watch in Cupertino today. The smartwatch will come in three varieties - Apple Watch, Apple Watch Sport and Apple Watch Edition - in either 38 mm and 42 mm sizes and with enclosures rafted from custom alloys of polished or space black stainless steel, space gray or silver anodized aluminum and 18-karat rose or yellow gold. A line of watch straps are also available.

UI, Controls and Fitness

Each Watch comes with a Retina display that tout a Force Touch feature, which can essentially tell the difference between a tap and a "press". The user interface is of course based on the company's iOS operating system, though obviously redesigned for such a small display and to support the Watch control mechanisms.

Apple has introduced the "Digital Crown" which you can use to control the UI, for navigation, zooming or scrolling. It also serves as the device's Home button and can be used to access Siri.

Apple Watch puts a strong emphasis on fitness and exercise. The Activity app is designed to motivate you to be more active throughout the day while the Workout app provides the metrics you need during your sessions, as well as goal-setting and pacing during popular session-based workouts, such as running and cycling.

As expected, Apple has shown off two new iPhone models, claiming they are the biggest advancement in the iPhone line so far.

Information leaked about the new iPhones turned out to be largely correct. As rumored, Apple introduced two new iPhone models - the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus - with 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch retina HD displays, respectively. The 4.7-inch display touts a 1334 x 750 resolution (38 percent more viewing space than an iPhone 5s) and the 5.5-inch display boasts a full hd, 1920 x 1080 resolution (88 percent more viewing area than an iPhone 5s).

Both run iOS 8 powered by Apple's second generation 64-bit "Destkop-class" A8 chip. Both also include the M8 motion coprocessor that gathers motion data from the accelerometer, gyroscope, compass and the new barometer, which senses air pressure to provide relative elevation.

The new iPhones also support high quality voice calls over LTE (VoLTE) and Wi-Fi calling if supported by the carrier and support 802.11ac Wi-Fi with speeds up to 433 Mbps and Bluetooth 4.0.

The iSight camera has gotten a new sensor featuring Focus Pixels for faster autofocus. High-definition video on iPhone improves with faster frame rates up to 60fps for 1080p video and 240fps for slo-mo, as well as continuous autofocus, cinematic video stabilization and time-lapse video. iPhone 6 Plus users also benefit from new image stabilization features.

It has already been a year since Apple unveiled the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c smartphones, which means it has almost been a year since iPhone 6 speculation really kicked off. Today, Apple will hold an event in Cupertino, California, in which it is almost certain to show off the iPhone 6, making it first iPhone not unveiled in San Francisco.

The Flint Center for the Performing Arts can hold a lot more media personnel than the Yerba Buena Center, so perhaps Apple feels this event is of greater importance than its most recent ones, or maybe it is simply that the iPhone is not what it is most eager to show off this time.

Since the iPhone 6 is something you could put your house on showing up today, what do we know about it? Well, for starters there is almost a consensus already that it will be available with either a 4.7-inch or 5.5-inch screen, the latter providing a sixth row of apps on the home screen. One rumor spreading today suggests that the 5.5-inch device will be called iPhone 6 plus, or iPhone 6+.

It is also expected to pack Apple's new dual-core A8 chip and 1GB of RAM, run iOS 8, and for the first time may be available with 128GB of storage. Until now, only the iPad provided a 128GB option, while the iPhone was limited to 64GB. Previously though, every doubling of internal storage provided in the line-up added an additional $100 to the price tag.

Amazon's Fire Phone has been an unmitigated disaster since its high profile launch in June, and now the e-commerce giant seems to be confirming that fact.

The company has dumped the price of the Fire Phone to just 99 cents with a two-year AT&T contract, down from its normal $199 price, a full 99 percent discount.

Overseas, the price has been cut to 1 euro for O2 and Deutsche Telekom, meaning the price slashing is global.

While the phone itself may not be worth owning, even at the 99 cent price tag you still get a free year of Amazon Prime (which normally costs $99 per year) and you get unlimited cloud storage through Amazon. Those perks alone may be worth the purchase.

There have been recent reports that Amazon has only sold 35,000 Fire Phone units since launch, a number so small that it makes BlackBerry look like Apple.