Fitbit Public Preview adds food & water logging, more as app redesign comes to free users
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Searching for Stadia: Remembering what was lost
Before we set our sights on alternative cloud gaming services, it’s important that we take the time to fully appreciate what it is that Google Stadia offered and what made it truly unique.
Expand Expanding CloseReview: Gamevice Flex is the definitive mobile and cloud gaming controller
The Gamevice Flex rises above its own gimmicky design to become the must-have controller for mobile and cloud gamers alike.
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Nubia Red Magic 3 gaming phone goes official w/ 90Hz display, Snapdragon 855, internal fan, 12GB RAM
We’ve discussed the growing gaming phone market in-depth and how Google Stadia may affect it, but that hasn’t stopped the Nubia Red Magic 3 from being unveiled at a glitzy gaming event in China.
Google Assistant and Alexa integration may soon be coming to Xbox One
According to a report from Windows Central, the Xbox One will be receiving an update to gain support for Google Assistant and Alexa, in addition to its existing Cortana support.
Google making social games w/ new ‘Arcade’ Area 120 startup, targeting summer launch
Google’s grand social ambitions have mostly tapered down following the failure of the original Google+. The latter social network is now focused on communities, while social features exist in apps like Google Duo and Photos. However, a new report today reveals that Google is working on social games, with a launch as soon as this summer.
Fuchsia Friday: Graphics, Gaming, and VR (Oh my!)
Fuchsia Friday is back with your fix of Fuchsia information. This week, we’re looking at how Fuchsia handles graphics differently and what that might mean for gaming and VR.
Google hires former Microsoft, Sony gaming veteran as new vice president
The extent of Google’s current gaming reach is mostly limited to its YouTube Gaming streaming service and of course the Play Store with Android and Daydream VR games. However, the company might have a more direct interest in the space with the hire of gaming veteran Phil Harrison.
How to pair the PlayStation DualShock 3/4 with the Nvidia Shield TV
Nvidia’s new Shield TV is one of our favorite new devices in recent memory, mainly due to its extensive capabilities as a set-top box. The main focus of the Shield, though, is gaming. Using GeForce Now and game streaming, the Shield TV is a force to be reckoned with for gaming, and it seems to only get better and better. Now, some Shield users have discovered how to pair Sony’s PlayStation controller with the Shield…
You will soon be able to play a version of Final Fantasy IV translated entirely with Google Translate
Japan is a thriving country for RPGs (Role-Play Games), but most of them unfortunately remain unaccessible to a lot people due to the language barrier. However, some hardcore enthusiasts don’t give up, and this time one of them offered a rather creative solution…
Google Cloud now powers mass multi-player gaming experiences w/ Improbable partnership
Over the past year, Google’s enterprise cloud division has been heavily competing with Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure. Google Cloud is now expanding into powering multi-player gaming experiences and worlds in a partnership with UK startup Improbable.
Hulu will no longer offer free TV episodes, moves to subscription-only model
After over 9 years, Hulu is making a major change to its services by shutting down free TV episodes and moving to subscription services only (via Variety). Current subscribers won’t be affected and prices won’t be changing as the same $7.99 and $11.99 plans will be available, however all free content will be moving over to “Yahoo View.”
Google announces Indie Games Festival in September, app submissions now open
With new platforms that are especially suited for gaming, Google has recently launched a number of efforts to promote indie developers on the Play Store. Its latest effort is the Google Play Indie Games Festival this September in San Francisco. Developers are encouraged to submit games that will be showcased and awarded prizes at the event.
Report: YouTube could launch ‘Unplugged’ TV streaming service as soon as next year
Bloomberg reports that YouTube is preparing to launch a new subscription video service called “Unplugged” that will see it stream bundled cable TV channel packages to users online. That compares to the company’s current subscription offerings that simply offer enhanced features like ad-free and offline playback for its regular video service.
The report claims YouTube is in talks with most major media companies that would be necessary to build such a service, some of which include Comcast Corp.’s NBCUniversal, Viacom Inc., Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. and CBS Corp. And while it’s yet to secure rights with any, according to the report, it’s already started building out the tech necessary for the service ahead of a launch planned for as early as next year:
The HTC 10 ships with native AirPlay audio streaming support, a first for an Android device
By means of third-party utilities, Android has featured the ability to stream to AirPlay devices like the Apple TV for some time now, but no Android device has ever shipped with native AirPlay support in tow. That all changes with the launch of the HTC 10, the first device to ship with officially licensed support for Apple’s popular AirPlay protocol.
Sony forms ForwardWorks corporation to bring its PlayStation games to mobile
It’s 2016, billions of smartphones are in use across the globe, and traditional video game companies are only just coming around to the idea that there’s some money to be made from smartphone gaming. Nintendo only recently launched its first mobile app, and plans to release a more familiar character-based game soon. Sony, likewise is about to make another foray in to the world of smartphone-based gaming with its newly-formed corporation, ForwardWorks.
Google renames Chromecast app ‘Google Cast’, announces Vizio P-Series TVs w/ Cast & Android tablet remote
To reflect the recent expansion of its Google Cast streaming platform, Google’s Chromecast app is being renamed to the “Google Cast” app. Google is also announcing some new Google Cast-enabled speakers and TVs from Vizio.
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Chromecast made up 35% of the digital media streaming market last year
According to the latest data from Strategy Analytics, Google’s acclaimed Chromecast streaming dongle made up as much as 35% of the streaming device market in 2015, besting competing devices from Roku, Apple, Amazon, and other manufacturers. Compared to 2014, Chromecast is showing a growing dominance in the market, likely thanks in part to the launch of the 2nd-gen model…
Google said to be in negotiations with the NFL for ‘Thursday Night Football’ streaming rights
According to a new report from Variety, Google is among the tech companies negotiating with the NFL for digital rights to Thursday Night Football. Earlier this month, the National Football League inked deals with CBS and NBC to divide the TV rights for Thursday games over the next two seasons, but streaming to non-subscribers was not included in that deal.
Nintendo: Our second mobile game will feature a ‘very familiar’ character
When Nintendo first announced that it would finally be launching a smartphone game, it’s safe to say, many of us children of the 90’s got a little excited. Sadly, we got excited too soon. Excitement turned to bemusement once the company revealed it would be launching a weird game called Miitomo, which wasn’t exactly a game, but rather a social network.
Following its disappointing Q4 results, Nintendo has confirmed that its second title would include a “very familiar character”, and won’t be another social network attempt. It did, however, stop short of confirming exactly which character we’re going to see.
Play Games announces automatic sign-in, no longer requires a Google+ account
Over the weekend, Google announced changes to Play Games permissions that are mostly meant for developers, but regular users who game on Android will also see a benefit. Players no longer need their Google accounts upgraded to Google+ to use Play Games and can now automatically be signed-in with a standard Google account.
The Beatles music will be available to stream from Christmas Eve on Google Play, Spotify, Apple Music, many more
At long last, The Beatles music is going to be available to stream on many of the most popular music streaming services from tomorrow, December 24th. Whether you prefer to use Spotify, Google Play, Apple Music, Rhapsody or one of many others, you’ll be able to sing along to the Fab Four’s most popular tunes anywhere you like, without having to pay to download individual songs or albums …
Age of Empires finally makes its way to Android, available on the Play Store now
If, like me, you grew up in the 90s there’s a very good chance you came across a certain strategy PC game called Age of Empires. In it, your mission was to explore territory, build your kingdom, defeat enemies and make allies. In a lot of ways it was similar to Sid Meier’s Civilization franchise, and it was awesome…
Google brings app streaming to ads, letting users try before they download
Google introduced a really awesome feature called app streaming to search results last month, and now a very similar technology is coming to the company’s AdMob ad platform. A couple new app ad formats are being introduced today, the first of which allowing users to try out an app within an ad itself before downloading…
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Apple Music on Android: Setup and first impressions [Video]
Apple Music is finally available to download for Android, so I wanted to give you a quick setup tour and first impressions of Apple’s second app for Google’s mobile platform. It’s free to download and offers almost all of the same features and services found in the iOS and OS X apps, including the option to sign up for a free three-month trial…
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