LG G3: LG’s new flagship shines with it’s 5.5-inch Quad HD display

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Displays, Handhelds,

LG has finally announced its G3 smartphone, it's new flagship device. As previously leaked, the LG G3 features a 5.5-inch Quad HD display with a fantastic 538 ppi count thanks to the 2560 x 1440 resolution--yes, that's the same as you'd find on a 27-inch iMac display. LG was also proud to show off the 13-megapixel rear camera with OIS+ (that would be Optical Image Stabilization Plus) with Laser Auto Focus that the company says allows the camera to focus faster than any other smartphone currently on the market.

Following the trend found on the iPhone 5s and HTC One (M8), the LG G3 has a metallic housing and polished skin on back. While the phone has a 5.5-inch display, LG worked hard on making it usable with one hand. That goal is the inspiration for the Floating Arc design. The volume keys are on back (similar to the LG G Flex, actually,) and the software interface have been redesigned with a flatter appearance.

Of course, the internals have also been upgraded. You'll find a quad-core 2.5GHz Snapdragon 801 processor on the inside, paired up with 3GB of RAM, and your choice of either 16GB or 32GB of internal storage. If that's not enough, you can expand the storage space with a microSD card up to 128GB in size. A removable 3,000mAh battery is definitely nice to see, as is 802.11ac Wi-Fi support. As for colors, you can pick up the LG G3 in red, gold, white, black, violet, and red, depending on carrier. The LG G3 goes on sale in Korea starting tomorrow.

Apple will live stream WWDC 2014 keynote featuring “exciting announcements”

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Corporate News, PC / Laptop, Software,

This morning Apple announced that it will be live streaming its upcoming WWDC 2014 keynote, which takes place on June 2nd at 10:00 am PDT. While Apple has streamed select events in the past, this one is interesting for a few reasons. First, Apple has not ever announced a live-streamed keynote this far in advance on its Web site. Secondly, the company has promised "exciting announcements" will be made. Of course, the company isn't giving anything away in advance, but it definitely wants not just the press watching--they want the average consumer and Apple fan to tune in and see what it's been working on. That would imply that there will be more than the simple developer-focused announcements.

Will you be watching? It'll be at 10:00 am PDT this Monday.

5 big game releases to get you through the coming summer drought

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Action, Driving, Features, Fighting, Nintendo, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Sports, Square Enix, Ubisoft, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One,

The summer months can bring drought conditions in many areas across the world, but as any hardcore gamer will tell you, the gaming industry suffers the same condition each year. It's even tougher in years like 2014, where two major consoles just launched and early adopters are clamoring for new software for their pricey investments.

While I can't do anything about the lack of new games that are set to drop this summer, I can certainly help you get through it. Over the next two months, right before summer hits, we are going to see a few high profile games released that we think will dull the summer gaming blues. Some are old favorites, while a couple are brand new IP that look to offer unique gaming experiences. Here's my list of the five games to pick up this summer, in order of release date:

Click to continue reading 5 big game releases to get you through the coming summer drought

Bleeding Edge TV 510: How to install the Nest Protect

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Household, Podcasts, Videocasts, Videos,

We show you how to install the Nest Protect smart smoke & carbon monoxide detector in this episode. The Nest Protect gets affiliated with your Nest account,which allows it to communicate with other Nest Protect devices in your home over Wi-Fi, as well as the Nest Smart Thermostat. It lights your path when you walk under it, and uses a proximity sensor to know when you are home in order to assist the thermostat in saving money. It also uses a human voice to alert you of fire and carbon monoxide danger. If you have any questions about the setup process, let us know over on our Patreon page.

Don't forget to check out our Nest Protect unboxing, and Nest Protect setup video as well!

Don't forget to subscribe to Gear Live's YouTube channel--also, we are giving away awesome perks for our Patreon backers - thanks for your support!

Click to continue reading Bleeding Edge TV 510: How to install the Nest Protect

Samsung Galaxy S5 comes to Sprint in Copper Gold on May 30

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Design, Handhelds,

If you're a Sprint customer who is looking to get their hands on the Copper Gold Galaxy S 5, be ready, because May 30th is the day. In just one week's time, you'll be able to get the exclusive hue with its HD Voice and Sprint Spark features in select Sprint markets. Order online or over the phone, and you'll even get a matching Samsung HM1900 Bluetooth headset thrown in for free. Let's be honest though, if you really wanted a Galaxy S5, you probably weren't holding off on purchasing until the Copper Gold model came out, were you?

WWE 2K15 bodyslams its way to Xbox One, PS4 on October 28th

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Fighting, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Release Dates, Xbox 360, Xbox One,

2KGames has announced that WWE 2K15 is set to launch on October 28, 2014 here in North America, and on October 31 in international markets. No other game details have been released just yet, but we do know that it'll be available for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. For those keeping score at home, this will be the first time that the WWE franchise appears on the next-generation Xbox One and PS4 consoles, so it'll be interesting to see that 2K is able to do with the beefier hardware in the graphics department.

What do you think? Are you excited to get your hands on WWE 2K15?

Pixelmator 3.2 ‘Sandstone’ now available, here’s what’s new

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Design, PC / Laptop, Software,

Pixelmator's newest update, known as Sandstone, is now live in the Mac App Store and brings with it some cool new features, one if which is a new Repair tool that'll automatically fix and remove blemishes from areas of of image that you paint over using the tool. You can even remove whole objects from a photo. Nice, right?

One thing we've always loved about Pixelmator is how inexpensive it is when compared to a tool like Adobe Photoshop, while maintaining a professional feature set. Also included in Pixelmator 3.2:

• 16-bits per channel support: 16-bits per channel support offers the flexibility to make color adjustments that go to extreme lengths while keeping the image color rich and vibrant.
• Lock Layers: When creating large and complex compositions, layer locking makes it easy to protect layer content from any further changes so that you can freely edit the rest of your composition.
• Convert Selection into Shape: A handy new feature that lets you quickly and easily create all kinds of shapes from any selection.

If you already own Pixelmator, you can grab the update for free in the Mac App Store. If not, you can purchase it for $29.99.

Google wants to buy Twitch.tv for $1 billion to integrate it into YouTube

Posted by Ariel Levin-Waldman Categories: Corporate News, Google, Rumors, Video Games,

If you live in the world of video gaming, you probably know about Twitch. It's a sound concept. Watch other people play video games. I know I did it when I was nine, there was always a group of us kids around the the guy with the Gameboy playing Mario as we cheered him on.

Now it comes down to watching strangers play over the internet in real time and instead of five guys looking at a handheld console over their friend’s shoulder, it's 43 million people watching a sum total of 6 billion hours of video game coverage every single month.

Those are some big numbers, and if there is one company that has a good nose for big numbers and the internet, it's Google. Now sources connected to Google have let it slip that the internet giant YouTube, owned by Google, is looking to acquire Twitch for $1 billion.

Should the deal go through, Twitch would gain access to Google's nigh-unlimited resources to expand. It also could run afoul of United States monopoly laws, granting Google a majority share of internet video game streaming services.

Twitch alone accounted for 1.35% of all downstream bandwidth in North America in March, with Youtube raking in 18.67%.

It's still in the rumor stage unfortunately, with Youtube and Twitch refusing to confirm talks, naturally. We'll see what banner I'm streaming under when July rolls around.

URME Mask lets you wear someone else’s face to avoid surveillance

Posted by Ariel Levin-Waldman Categories: Design, Misc. Tech,

Surveillance technology has gotten pretty impressive. Camera resolution combined with facial recognition means you can be identified just about all the time, and in many jurisdiction in the United States it is actually illegal to wear a mask in public if it is likely to cause concern. What is the average guy supposed to do to hide from the high tech eyes of a watchful government?

You can always try wearing someone else's face.

I promise it's less creepy than it sounds. Still pretty creepy though. The URME Mask, a realistically detailed 3D printed replica of the creator's face, comes to us by way of Indiegogo. Yes, you read that right, the entire premise of the URME is to make everyone look just like Leo Selvaggio, the Chicago-based artist that that brainstormed the idea.

And he is apparently not alone in thinking this. It's a little disturbing but he has more than doubled his originally asked for goal of $1,000. There are people out there willing to pay good money to wear Leo's skin.

Click to continue reading URME Mask lets you wear someone else’s face to avoid surveillance

Read More | Indiegogo

Path of Exile review

Posted by Ariel Levin-Waldman Categories: Action, Features, Reviews, Role Playing Games,

I'll be the first to admit that I am not a hardcore gamer. Ok, that's false, many people have said that first, but the point stands. I can never keep track of the differences between core and hardcore and pro gamer and who is playing what. But when I look at my steam account and see that I managed to log triple digit hours in some of those things I don't know if I can say I'm casual either. In fact, there is only one thing I can say with certainty about video games:

I like the free ones.

The majority of the games in my steam library were free. Metro 2033? Free promotional. Red Orchestra? Free steam weekend. And now another, Path of Exile. Another freebie, and at 132 hours it takes second place for play time in my library next to Civilization 5. That one I bought the hard way.

Its one of the expanding genre of free to play MMOs on the market these days and it ranks at the fifth most popular freebie on steam with a pretty solid community rating. Metascore 85/100 is nothing to sneeze at. It got glowing reviews from Gamespot and IGN. It has five million players. I'm willing to bet some of you reading this have that icon on your desktop right now.

Now I'm going to tell you about my experiences with it after 132 hours.

Click to continue reading Path of Exile review