It was revealed at the Xbox One announcement yesterday that an Xbox Live Gold membership is good for both the 360 and the upcoming Xbox One console. Even better than that is the fact that said memberships can be used from multiple profiles. So, more than one account can be created on the console, but can also run off the same subscription, which is great for convenience. Be sure to keep your eyes on the Technocove for more news and updates regarding the upcoming Xbox One console!

Via: Engadget

Cricket has announced that they will be launching the Samsung Galaxy S4 on their network on June 7th. Customers will have the option of paying $55 down for the S4 instead of paying the full $600 cost of the phone at once. If you want to own a top of the line phone at a good price, Cricket may offer one of the best deals around.

Via: Engadget

It looks like Samsung and Absolute Software, the makers of LoJack for Laptops, have teamed up. Samsung is looking to embed a threat recovery system inside their phone’s firmware, and are looking towards LoJack to accomplish that. LoJack for Android smartphones will launch exclusively on the Samsung Galaxy S4. A subscription for LoJack on Android will go for $29.99 a year, however, an exact release date is not known yet.

Via: Engadget

The next-generation console wars have begun. Today, Microsoft unveiled their upcoming console: the Xbox One, which will be available “later this year.” In this article, I will recap all that was revealed about the new console.

The Xbox One is colored black and has both matte and glossy finishes featured on it. A Blu-Ray player is included on the console as well. It was revealed that Kinect will power the Xbox One and a new version of it was showed off., entitled “Xbox-On.” It will have the capability of switching directly from the Xbox One dashboard to a live television show. The specs of the new Xbox One were also outlined. It will have an “eight-core CPU, USB 3.0, WiFi direct, Blu-ray, 500GB HDD, HDMI input and output and 802.11n wireless,” according to Engadget. The new Xbox One controller will have a new d-pad and integrated battery compartment. Also featured on the console is “Snap mode,” which gives users the ability to run multiple apps at once. For example, you could browse Wikipedia or Google while watching a movie on the console, which is great for multi-taskers. Skype integration will also be available on the Xbox One. The console will require an internet connection, but will not always be online, contrary to previous rumors. Backwards compatibility is NOT featured, so Xbox 360 and XBLA games will not work on the new console.

A lot was revealed during this presentation, and more news and updates will be coming soon, so keep your eyes on the Technocove website!

It was just announced that Yahoo has purchased the popular blogging website Tumblr for 1.1 billion dollars. Even though Tumblr will run as a separate business under Yahoo, David Karp will still remain the CEO of Tumblr. Tumblr is immensely popular; boasting 300 million unique visitors per month, and 900 new posts per second. Marissa Mayer, the CEO of Yahoo, had this to say about the acquisition of Tumblr:

Tumblr is redefining creative expression online. On many levels, Tumblr and Yahoo! couldn’t be more different, but, at the same time, they couldn’t be more complementary. Yahoo is the Internet’s original media network. Tumblr is the Internet’s fastest-growing media frenzy. Both companies are homes for brands – established and emerging. And, fundamentally, Tumblr and Yahoo! are both all about users, design, and finding surprise and inspiration amidst the everyday.

A lot of Tumblr fans were skeptical of this new deal between Yahoo and Tumblr, so CEO David Karp sent out this message to reassure fans of the website:

Our team isn’t changing. Our roadmap isn’t changing. And our mission – to empower creators to make their best work and get it in front of the audience they deserve – certainly isn’t changing. But we’re elated to have the support of Yahoo! and their team who share our dream to make the Internet the ultimate creative canvas. Tumblr gets better faster with more resources to draw from.

This new deal is seeking approval from various regulators and is expected to be finalized in the latter half of this year. This is definitely interesting news, and as a huge fan of Tumblr, I hope Yahoo and Tumblr can work together to make Tumblr a bigger, better website than it already is.

Via: Neowin.net

Today at Google I/O, Google managed to surprise everyone with a new Nexus phone. This didn’t launch with a new version Android but might be a little familiar to those of you with Samsung’s “Next Big Thing”. Google announced a Galaxy S4 Nexus; a pretty much stock Android experience with all of the greatest Galaxy S4 hardware. This will be sold directly through Google Play with an unlocked bootloader, LTE support and will work on AT&T’s LTE network in the US.

This all launches on June 26th for just $649.

Via: Droid-Life

Google Search has received a new update which now features new cards for Google Now. According to Droid Life, “You’ll now be able to set reminders, see upcoming releases for your favorite media types (books, music albums, movies, tv shows, and video games), and view real time public transit updates.” This will definitely come in handy for many users, so be sure to check it out now!

Via: Droid Life

At today’s Google I/O keynote presentation, Google revealed its new unified chat Hangouts service (which was previously codenamed Babel). It is cross-platform and can work on Android, iOS, and Chrome. Cross-device notifications are also part of the service. Hangouts is now live, so be sure to check it out!

Via: Droid Life

At their I/O presentation today, Google revealed its Google Play Music All Access service, which, according to Droid Life, will “give users the ability to search through Google’s huge amount of songs and the ability to play them instantly.” A new user interface will allow you to delete and swipe away songs you don’t want and start radio stations based off songs you listen to. The Google Play Music service is available to users for $9.99 a month, but everyone who signs up gets a 30 day free trial. If you sign up before June, you will get the service for $7.99 a month as opposed to the previously mentioned $9.99 a month. Google Play Music is now live, so be sure to check it out and see if it’s for you!

Via: Droid Life

Lots of things were revealed at the Google I/O event today. One of the more interesting announcements was Google’s new Play game service, which, according to Droid Life, will include “cloud save, achievements, and leaderboards.” The Google Play game service will also be cross-platform. Another awesome feature of this service is that Google+ sign-in will be integrated, so users can invite their friends from within their Google+ circles to play with them. This new service sounds quite promising and it will be interesting to hear more updates and news regarding it.

Via: Droid Life

Google held their I/O keynote event today, and boy, it was exciting. At the top of the event, Google revealed that its Android OS has reached 900 million activations across the globe. Last year, Google revealed the current number to be 400 million activations. 500 million activations is quite a big jump, so Google must be doing something right. If you want to see the video announcing the milestone, check it out below!

Via: Droid Life

Who doesn’t like hearing they are on top from a 3rd party company? RootMetrics, recently conducted their study for the month of May and found that AT&T and Verizon tied for call performance and text performance. This was based on 22,000 tests done in the Las Vegas area and I have to say its pretty much in line with what I figured would happen. In my personal opinion AT&T does a superb job of coverage and data speeds in the Las Vegas area and are neck in neck with Verizon.

Other notes that RootMetrics made is that Cricket and T-Mobile launched their LTE networks since last they tested and found that T-Mobile’s upload speeds were superb; the fastest in any market they have tested. Both Cricket and Sprint have managed to improve their text delivery times which is always good to see.

Keep up the good work, AT&T!

Source: RootMetrics

As I have said in the past, I have applauded AT&T for their commitment to keeping teens safe while behind the wheel of a vehicle. Thanks to the commitment of a few other wireless carriers they no longer have to go at it alone. Today T-Mobile, Verizon, and Sprint pitched their support to support AT&T’s initiative to say it can in fact wait. Starting May 20th, you will start hearing stories about families who were affected by texting while driving.

We ran a story awhile back that showed that adults were more at fault for texting while driving then teens were. In addition to AT&T continuing to promote this initiative, you will see T-Mobile, Verizon, and Sprint also aid in retail stores around the country. Hopefully this push by everyone gets the message across. Also for added fun, see how long you can last in the texting and driving simulator. You can find the link after the break.

Source: AT&T | Texting and Driving Simulator

BBLive was going on this morning and some news came from Thorsten Heins himself that is quite huge. BBM, a software service that has been exclusive to BlackBerry users, is finally breaking free and heading to Android and iOS this summer. you will either have to be running iOS 6 or at a minimum Android 4.0 or higher to run the app. Group features and messaging will be available initially but BlackBerry hopes to add more features to both apps as time goes on. No word on a launch date but hopefully that breaks free eventually too.

Via: Engadget

Alongside Nokia launching the Lumia 925 this morning, that wasn’t all that came out of the handset announcement. Microsoft has taken the time to give more details about the upcoming update, running already on the 925, to be released for all Windows Phones during the summer.

This upcoming update will enable FM Radio support. This was something that was on all Windows Phone 7 devices but for whatever reason wasn’t enabled in the Windows Phone 8 update. In addition CalDEV and CardDAV support will be coming to the platform so those of you who use Google for contact and calendar syncing will be in good hands again. DataSense, a feature that is currently a Verizon exclusive, will be rolling out to more carriers and Xbox Music will be seeing some minor tweaks. No word what else might be coming down the pipeline but as Summer comes closer shouldn’t be much longer.

Via: Engadget

Source: @BenThePcGuy

Nokia has been taking their time recently to really bring the magic of the Lumia 920 to other carriers. Recently the Nokia Lumia 928 was announced as an exclusive for Verizon and today Nokia is making people on T-Mobile very happy. The Nokia Lumia 928 was announced for the carrier and is now thinnest flagship Lumia you can get in the U.S. This is now the first flagship Nokia phone you can get on the now nascent “Un-carrier” network.

The Lumia 925 is encased in an aluminum shell making for a very thin and light design. It does forgo wireless charging but you can get a wireless charging capable back to have that capability. Everything else about the 925 carries over from the 920 including the 4.5 inch 1280×768 PureMotion HD+ display, 1.5 GHz dual core Snapdragon S4 processor, 8.7 MP PureView camera (no Xenon flash), 1 GB of RAM and 2,000 maH battery. It will come in White, Grey and Black color variants and be available sometime this summer. You can read the press release after the break.

Via: Engadget

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Today, Namco Bandai announced a new 3D action Pac-Man themed game called Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures, which will be hitting the Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, and PC this fall. There will be a 2D side-scroller version of the game coming to the Nintendo 3DS as well. If you want to see a trailer for the newly announced game, check it out below!

Via: IGN

Storage can be an issue for a lot of people that have numerous files on their computer. However, if you are using Google’s Gmail, Drive, Google+ services, that will be a problem no longer. Previously, Google allocated users 10GB of storage space for messages and attachments and a separate 5GB of storage space for photos and various documents. Now, those three services will share a common 15GB of storage space, no matter what you intend to use it for. A new visualization tool will also be included and will show how much storage space you are using per service. Cloud storage will also be included in this new update, which will now give you 30 GB of storage. I definitely like this change that Google implemented, it’s more streamlined and offers its users more options for storage.

Via: Engadget

Those of you who are looking to purchase the Samsung Galaxy S4 on Verizon are in luck. The S4 was originally going to be released on May 30th, but Verizon moved up the date to May 23rd. Looks like Verizon has a lot of demand for this phone, seeing how successful the S3 has been.

Via: Engadget

Those of you hoping to get the iPhone 5 from T-Mobile for only $100 down are now out of luck. T-Mobile has now increased the cost by 50 dollars, making the upfront cost $150. It is still cheaper than a lot of other carriers, so it is still a decent deal to take advantage of.

Via: Engadget

Skype has gone through numerous updates over the years. Microsoft is striving to bring an awesome Skype experience to all their phone users, so today Skype Version 2.6.0.148 rolled out on Windows Phone 8. This update will feature mainly small improvements and fixes including the following according to Windows Phone Central:

• Increased chat reliability

• Increased call notification reliability

• Improvements in call reliability to phone numbers

• Fix for occasional missing message preview in the recent conversations list

I’m glad that the Skype app is getting all these updates, as they are needed to make it the truly amazing app it deserves to be.

Via: Windows Phone Central

April saw the release of the Facebook Beta app for Windows Phone, and after a few improvements, it has received its second update. Facebook Version 5.0.1.2 is now live, so go check it out! Keep in mind this app is still a beta version, so things are bound to change and more updates will probably come.

Via: Windows Phone Central

Google used to divvy up your storage. 10GB for Gmail, and 5GB shared for Google + photos and Drive. I personally think that it should be reversed with Google + or Drive to have the 10GB of storage.
Still, maybe Google is trying to tidy everything up, which I am all for.

For all the fans of the Dead or Alive series, get pumped! Team Ninja announced today that they will be releasing Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate, which will have new characters, stages, and modes from Dead or Alive 5 as well as brand new content. The tutorial stage and Moves Detail Plus will be in Ultimate, and Momiji from the Ninja Gaiden series will be added to the game, along with several other new characters. Numerous Ninja Gaiden stages are going to be included in Ultimate as well. Yosuke Hayashi, the leader of Team Ninja said ““Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate is a great addition to our franchise. The game has a lot to offer and we’re excited that our fans will have the opportunity to enjoy an experience that delivers on our signature high energy fighting entertainment.” Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate will be coming to the PS3 and Xbox 360 this fall, so be sure to pick it up as soon as possible!

Via: IGN

For all you retro gaming fans, you are in luck. The Sega Mega Drive game Sonic the Hedgehog will be coming to the Nintendo 3DS as a 3D Classic download. This specific version of the game will feature save states and the ever infamous spin-dash ability. Sadly, this will be a Japan-only release. The download of Sonic the Hedgehog will be available starting on May 15th for 600 yen. It will be interesting to see if this gets a release in the States as well. Either way, it’s awesome seeing a classic game get recognition like this!

Via: Retro Collect

EA has announced today that Sims 4 will be released in 2014 and will be available to play on the PC and Mac. EA also said the new title will have single player and offline play available. EA also said the following in a blog post:

“The Sims 4 celebrates the heart and soul of the Sims themselves, giving players a deeper connection with the most expressive, surprising and charming Sims ever in this single-player offline experience. The Sims 4 encourages players to personalize their world with new and intuitive tools while offering them the ability to effortlessly share their creativity with friends and fans. The Sims franchise is fueled by the passion and creativity of its millions of fans around the world,” EA wrote. “Their continued devotion to the franchise ignites the fire of creativity of the team at The Sims Studio, driving them to continually improve and innovate on one of the world’s most successful simulation game that has sold more than 150 million copies worldwide.”

As a huge Sims fan, I am excited to see what Sims 4 will bring to this successful franchise and what improvements (if any) they will make to the game to make it a more enriching experience for gamers everywhere.

Via: IGN

Popcap announced today that the sequel to Plants Vs. Zombies will be coming out July of this year and will be titled Plants Vs. Zombies 2: It’s About Time. If you want to see a teaser trailer of the game, check out the video below!

Via: IGN

So you decided that the Samsung Galaxy S4 should be the next phone that you will dealing with for the course of your 2 year contact stint; 3 year stint? Alright maybe you were smarter and purchased it off contract to save you the hassle of contracts. In either case, you finally have Samsung’s next big thing and you need to make sure you have the best possible experience.

Seeing as this is Samsung’s flagship product, they have quite the selection of accessories to choose from. For those of you looking to ditch the cord in regard to you charging needs, you can opt for a wireless charging back that adds minimal weight and charging capability to your Galaxy. Those of you who want to protect your 1080p 5 inch screen can grab a screen protector in either glossy or matte variations. Yes the Galaxy S4 does have Gorilla Glass 3 screen tech but there is nothing wrong with being more careful.

While plenty of you will opt for the Galaxy S4 16GB model, you will learn quickly that half of your memory is taken up by Samsung software implementations. Luckily the Galaxy S4 allows for micro SD card support and can add up to 64GB of storage to your phone. Last but not least you can grab a desk dock if you want you to be able to interact with your phone while its standing up.

Whatever your accessory needs, MobileFun.com has you covered with any and all accessory needs for your Samsung Galaxy S4. You can find a link to all of their accessories below.

Source: MobileFun

Call of Duty fans expecting a new games this year are in for a treat. Call of Duty: Ghosts is an FPS that is being released on November 5th of this year on the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360, and interestingly, the PS4 and the next-generation Xbox console. Call of Duty: Ghosts will assumingly be released at a later date on those consoles. Check out a teaser trailer of the game below!

Via: Engadget

There have been a lot of questions and concerns on whether or not Nintendo’s Wii U console is a good follow-up to the blockbuster Wii console, and whether the two are different from each other. Well, it is about to be cleared up. Satoru Iwata, the president of Nintendo, said the following:

“Some have the misunderstanding that the Wii U is just Wii with a pad for games.”Others even consider Wii U GamePad as a peripheral device connectable to Wii. Wii U is the all-new home console from Nintendo. It’s not just an upgrade — it’s an entirely new system that will change the way you and your family experience games and entertainment.”

I’m glad the president of Nintendo himself helps clear the confusion and present the Wii U as an awesome console worth playing.

Via: Engadget