Xbox LIVE Marketplace Rebranded To Xbox Games Store

As products and services evolve, the branding is often reviewed by the provider in order to reflect changes. We saw a similar thing a couple of years ago when the Android Market was renamed to the Google Play Store, and as of today, Microsoft’s Xbox LIVE Marketplace is now known as the Xbox Games Store.

With the new Xbox One on the horizon, Microsoft’s model of selling games is changing, with all titles released for the console also being made available online for download. Thus, the switch to Xbox Games Store would seem more than suitable, helping consumers to adjust to the idea that games are a commodity that can be downloaded, and not just picked up from retail outlets.


The Marketplace has been a hub for all kinds of content over the years of Xbox LIVE’s existence, but with the Redmond now having dissected it up into the Xbox Video Store and Xbox Music Store, the Xbox Games Store is seemingly the last piece of the jigsaw.
The term marketplace was also removed from Windows Phone’s sales hub, with "store" seeming a more appropriate buzz-word for all companies, not just Microsoft.
With the name change now official, we eagerly await the point at which the Xbox One games begin to fill the Games Store. Every title released for the next-gen console will be available to download, although some of the more popular titles will also continue to sell at their usual outlets.
Certainly, the separation will also help consumers find the content they want a lot quicker, which is never a bad thing, and with pre-orders of the Xbox One gathering steam, Microsoft has set out to ensure those adopters have as few teething issues as possible.

 

This App Lets You Push Files Between Your Mac And iPhone In A Breeze

iOS and OS X are becoming more and more similar with every new version. OS X received a generous dose of “iOS-ification” last year with Mountain Lion, which saw a plethora of mobile features, such as Reminders, iMessage and Notification Center, make their way to the desktop. And seeing as iOS is still very much OS X’s apprentice, apps like Safari are modeled on the main versions built for the Mac range. But while these two ecosystems are slowly becoming as one, communication between the two is still very much a strained affair. However, DeskConnect, a new app for iOS, helps make the sharing of information between the two as effortless as possible, and if you’re looking for something to draw your two favorite gadgets even closer together, it’s well worth a look.

The app lets you easily move your favorite documents, images, Web pages, and other such content from one to the other, and once you’ve gone through the set-up process, both your iPhone and Mac will operate almost like extensions of one another.

iOS and OS X are becoming more and more similar with every new version. OS X received a generous dose of “iOS-ification” last year with Mountain Lion, which saw a plethora of mobile features, such as Reminders, iMessage and Notification Center, make their way to the desktop. And seeing as iOS is still very much OS X’s apprentice, apps like Safari are modeled on the main versions built for the Mac range. But while these two ecosystems are slowly becoming as one, communication between the two is still very much a strained affair. However, DeskConnect, a new app for iOS, helps make the sharing of information between the two as effortless as possible, and if you’re looking for something to draw your two favorite gadgets even closer together, it’s well worth a look.

The app lets you easily move your favorite documents, images, Web pages, and other such content from one to the other, and once you’ve gone through the set-up process, both your iPhone and Mac will operate almost like extensions of one another.

The theme of not forcing the user to roll with stock apps works for sending files to the Mac as well. If you wish to transfer a video from your iPhone to your MacBook, for example, you can do so from any app you have on your home screen, not just the native Photos and Videos apps.

PlayStation 4 Features Cooler Smartphone Integration Than We Originally Thought

The PlayStation 4 is one of the most sought-after gadgets of the year. In fact, alongside the Xbox One, it’s one of the most eagerly anticipated machines to have released in the past five years, and while we already knew a great deal about the console thanks to numerous insights from Sony, we’re still now only learning about some of the new features.

We already know of the PS4′s smartphone integration, but we certainly yet fully versed with the ins and outs of how everything will work upon release. This was confirmed earlier on today on Twitter by a rather nonchalant reply to a gaming fan from Sony’s President of Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida, which revealed that when a game is downloaded via a user’s handset, the PlayStation 4 will automatically fire itself up, download the game, and drift back off to sleep again. Awesome? We certainly think so.

Microsoft has its own integration with SmartGlass, but of what we’ve seen and heard about so far, this feature from Sony has to be one of the best and most useful features as our consoles join forces with what has become – more so than since the last round of console releases – our most treasured gadget.

If, for example, you’re on a train, half an hour away from home, and happen to read of a new game’s release online, you could start the download there and then. By the time you get home, the game would be ready to play even if your console was asleep when you left initially.

As we draw ever closer to November 15th, the PS4 release date, I’m sure we’ll continue to learn new and exciting tidbits about the PlayStation 4. There’s still no precise word on when its fiercest rival, the Xbox One, will rear its head, but as both Sony and Microsoft continue the battle of oneupmanship, one wouldn’t be too shocked or surprised if the Redmond company tried to outfox its competitor by dropping in marginally earlier. In fact, my money’s on Microsoft doing what it did last time around with the 360, and hitting the market first.

The First Official Galaxy Note 3 Wallpaper Has Now Been Leaked

If you were to only pay attention to the leaks coming out of Apple and its suppliers right now you’d think that the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C were the only two phones that we are waiting on announcements for, but you’d be wrong. Samsung is also on the verge of bringing a new smartphone to market, and it’s a big one.

Of course, when we say that we don’t just mean that it’s a big release. The Galaxy Note 3 is quite literally a big phone, dwarfing everything that anyone would reasonably want to call a phone. It seems that Samsung’s oversized devices are hugely popular though, and following on from successful Note and Note II releases, the third generation is almost destined to be just as warmly received.

As is now becoming custom for so many of Samsung’s big releases though, we’ve had a new leak that pertains to the latest phone to come out of one of the world’s largest consumer electronics makers. The leak, provided by the prolific @evleaks Twitter account, offers up the first sight of a wallpaper that will ship as standard on the Galaxy Note 3.

Weighing in at a huge 7MB, the download file sits at a resolution of 1920×1920, which points to a Note 3 screen resolution of 1080×1920, something that will no doubt come as no surprise to people that have been following the Note 3 rumors for any length of time.

The file is available to download now thanks to the folks behind @evleaks, so grab it whilst it’s hot if you’re the kinds of person that likes brightly colored, high resolution wallpaper art for their smartphone. We’re not sure it’s our particular brand of gaudy, but we’re sure someone somewhere will like it.

We expect to hear more about Samsung’s Galaxy Note 3 at the upcoming Samsung Unpacked 2013 event at IFA, so we’ll keep our ears to the ground for something a little more technical than a wallpaper.

Apple Blocking Support Personnel From Taking Time Off Around Suspect iPhone And iOS 7 Release Date

It may not have been officially announced yet, but at this point it’s generally accepted that Apple will be holding an iPhone and iOS 7 event on September 10th. With that in mind, speculation has pegged a release date for the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C smartphones around the 20th of September, a date that makes sense based on past timescales from announcement of devices to their release.

To back up the thought that the 20th is to be new iPhone day, a document has appeared online on AppleInsider in which Apple is blocking its support staff from taking vacation time from September 15 through the 29th. In addition, T-Mobile has also told its own employees that the weekend of the 20th is off limits when it comes to booking time off work, something that would also suggest that we may now know just when we will all be lining up outside our local Apple Store.


The move of stopping its teams from taking time away from work during large retail events is nothing new for Apple, and its carrier partners have been known to do similar things during what they hope will be busy periods for the companies involved. As anyone who has tried to get hold of a new iPhone on or near its release date will attest, retail stores are always extremely busy and can often struggle to cope even when fully staffed. Allowing people to take time off could potentially be commercial suicide.

Apple has yet to send any invites out for an announcement event on the 10th, but with that being just over a week away it’s almost guaranteed that invites will begin arriving within the next couple of days. At this point the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C are almost nailed on to be announced, along with final version of iOS 7.

Apple’s iOS 7 in its current beta 6 iteration, released well over two weeks now, is quite stable. Introduced first at the WWDC in June, iOS 7 is expected to go gold at the September 10th event, and if previous release schedules are anything to go by, will be available for download to public around September 18th.

If that is indeed true, then expect stores to be even busier as people try to get their hands on the latest, shiniest technology from Apple.

Samsung Galaxy Gear Smartwatch Details And Images Leak Out Ahead Of September 4th Event

If the smartphone was the biggest growth market in technology over the last five years, then wearable technology is quite possibly going to be in the same boat from this point forward, especially if all the rumored devices do actually see the light of day.

The first of the so-called smartwatches to really get anyone’s attention beyond a few Kickstarter projects like Pebble is the Samsung’s unannounced Galaxy Gear. Expected to be announced next Wednesday, September 4th, at Samsung Unpacked 2013 event at IFA, the Galaxy Gear is Samsung’s preemptive strike at its current nemesis, Apple. The Cupertino outfit is widely tipped to be beavering away behind closed doors, aiming to make an iWatch a reality as soon as early next year. If someone wants to get into the market before then, they could potentially have things sewn up before that even happens.

Which brings us back to Samsung’s Galaxy Gear. Even though it’s not yet announced, VentureBeat’s Christina Farr has apparently had some hands-on time with one of the company’s prototype devices thanks to an anonymous source. Photos are hard to come by, but there are images taken from what was apparently a promotional video for the device – and they show what seems to be an oversized watch-type device with the familiar Samsung logo. No great surprise there, then.

The Galaxy Gear has a 3-inch square screen that seems to be just big enough to be too big. It’s got WiFi built in, which means that it doesn’t need to be paired with a smartphone in order to function, which may come as a surprise to some. It’ll also potentially force the price of the shipping product a little too far North for some people, but we’ll have to wait and see on that.

Camera-wise, there’s a 4-megapixel shooter built into the strap, so if you want to go around taking photos with your wrist then you should be good to go.

From the information provided by Farr, it certainly appears that Samsung is set to cater for the health market with its Galaxy Gear device. Health monitoring and tracking seem to be the order of the day, with the device able to monitor heart rates and movement in a similar way to existing wrist-worn devices.

One potential worry is the claimed 10+ hours of battery life. It’s not clear whether that number is standby time or actually usage time, but if the thing needs charging 10 hours after it is taken off charge, then it’s arguably dead in the water. Hopefully that’s the kind of answer we’ll get in a few days.

The iPhone 5S And iPhone 5C – What We Think We Know About Apple’s New Hardware

So here we are, less than two weeks away from what everyone roundly accepts to be the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C announcement. Apple may not have officially invited anyone to a September 10th event yet, but that’s the date that all the smart money is on, and the date that the internet as a whole seems to have designated ‘new iPhone day.’

For the first time ever though, this particular iPhone announcement goes beyond simply launching a new flagship iPhone – this time, we’re going to get two handsets. Assuming all the rumors are accurate, of course.

The iPhone 5S is set to be Apple’s new top of the line smartphone, but arguably the most interesting news will be the iPhone 5C. The company’s first purpose-built budget iPhone, the iPhone 5C aims to take a chunk out of the market that is currently filled with a million and one different Android phones. Can Apple disrupt it?

Let’s have a recap of what will be announced, iPhone related, on the 10th of September. Assuming it’s not all in our heads, of course.

Faster processor:

Replacing the current iPhone 5, the 5S is what we’ve come to expect from an ‘S’ designated release at this point. Expect new internals that amount to a speed bump with A7 chip that should see iOS 7 zip along nicely. Transitions should be more fluid, and as someone who’s been using iOS 7 on his main device since beta 1, that’s no bad thing.

Home button with fingerprint sensor:

More interestingly, rumors of a fingerprint sensor being built right into the Home button may have had some foundation after all. Being able to unlock a device without having to enter a PIN code but also having some security at the same time is something that will appeal to many, so we’ll be keeping an eye out for that. The talk on the street is that the sensor is also going to play an important role in some sort of mobile payment system that Apple may or may not also be working on. We’re less convinced about that, but we’ll find out soon enough.

Camera:

Fans of iPhone photography will also note that the iPhone 5S is set to launch with a dual-LED flash arrangement similar to that found on other high end smartphones, too. The phone is also expected to sport 12-megapixel sensor with better low-light performance.

Design + new color options:


When it comes to looks, the 5S will largely resemble the iPhone 5 you may have in your pocket right now. The main exception is the possibility of a new champagne/gold color that has shown up in plenty of photos. Love it or hate it, the idea of Apple offering a third color option is one that has our interest piqued.

Additionally, if more rumors are to be believed, a new addition to the mix will be ‘graphite’ color option for iPhone 5S.

Storage:

Fans of apps, games and media will also be pleased to hear that the iPhone 5S is expected to offer storage options all the way up to 128GB, also.

Availability:

Based on prior years’ release date, the iPhone 5S is expected to launch in U.S. and some other countries on Friday, September 20th.

Price:

Same as the current iPhone 5.



To us, the iPhone 5C is possibly the most interesting of the two iPhones expected to be announced by Tim Cook and co. on September 10th. The fabled ‘budget iPhone,’ the 5C – c for ‘color, presumably’ – will replace the currently shipping iPhone 5. Usually, when Apple announces a new iPhone the older version becomes the new budget alternative, but not this year.

Internals:

Coming in a plastic shell, the iPhone 5C’s innards are going to be a mix of iPhone 5 and 4S, with more taken from 5 than 4S, so expect performance to be on a par with that device. That’s no bad thing, because the iPhone 5 handles everything you can throw at it and with minimal fuss. For a budget device, the iPhone 5C with a 8-megapixel camera is set to be quite the powerhouse.

Outer design:

It’s that plastic shell that will get everyone’s attention, though. Available in a range of colors, the iPhone 5C will resemble an iPod in that it will come in a bright, shiny chassis that is sure to stand out from the crowd. If you’re walking around with a bright blue iPhone 5C, people will notice!

Availability:

Same as iPhone 5S.

Price:

Rumors so far are putting the price of iPhone 5C to be between $300 to $400 for the unlocked version.

Whether you’re looking to splash the cash on a new monster iPhone or would rather be a little more frugal and upgrade to an iPhone 5C from, say, an iPhone 4S, Apple should have you covered. The iPhone 5S might not have all the bells and whistles of a brand new, redesigned iPhone, but the 5C should certainly be enough to get people into Apple Stores regardless.

You may also like to check out:

iOS 7 Download And Release Date For iPhone, iPad, iPod touch Tipped For September 18th, According To Leaked Document

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