January, 2014

• 21 January

  Do real TVs have real curves?

  

  If you buy into the hype, the future of home entertainment will involve screens that gently curve — apparently ‘mimicking the shape of the human eye’. But do they really add anything to the viewing experience? Samsung’s 85-inch bending TV. (Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET) Curved TVs certainly hogged the spotlight at CES, mostly because of Samsung’s …

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• 21 January

  Can LED LCD look as good as plasma?

  

  Geoffrey Morrison/CNET For many years now, plasma televisions have been the standard for picture quality and value. Sure, there have been some great-looking LCDs, but for the best overall image, the best plasmas couldn’t be beat. Now plasma is going away for good. OLED certainly can beat plasma, but we’re still years away from OLED TVs being affordable. In the …

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• 20 January

  Samsung’s next

  

  Samsung’s zhuzhing up its TouchWiz Android interface with a new look that’s inspired by Google Now’s context-sensitive cards, according to a fresh leak. All we have to go on is an apparent screenshot or design mockup from the prolific Twitter-based leakmeister @evleaks, but they appear to show a wide variety of slides related to what you’ve been doing or have …

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• 20 January

  Samsung puts Galaxy tablets in Illy coffee shops

  

  Samsung has formed a strategic alliance with coffee-company Illy, in a deal that will see the South Korean tech giant’s tablet technology on display in Illy coffee shops. The deal, announced Monday, means that some Illy shops will feature Samsung demonstration booths where you can toy with tablets such as the Galaxy Note 10.1. Samsung has also vowed to provide …

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• 20 January

  Xbox One’s iPlayer delay blamed on Kinect, report says

  

  There’s still no sign of BBC iPlayer for the Xbox One — and a new report suggests that could be because the app can’t Kinect the dots. Gamer blog Ultimate Gaming Paradise claims to have spoken to a developer who worked on the iPlayer app intended for the new console, which they say is interrupted when the Kinect sensor detects even …

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• 20 January

  Verizon introduces cheaper Share Everything plan for $60, 250MB

  

  Verizon’s Share Everything family data plan is getting a little more affordable. Verizon’s Share Everything plans add a new option Verizon The carrier said that starting Tuesday, Verizon customers will be able to sign up for a $60 Share Everything plan, $20 less than the current cheapest plan. Customers will only get half as much data — 250 megabytes vs. …

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• 20 January

  AT&T to offer LG G Flex for preorder on January 24

  

  AT&T announced Monday that the LG G Flex will be available for preorder starting January 24, a week before the curved and flexible handset goes on sale at Sprint stores. Customers will be able to purchase the G Flex for $299.99 with a two-year service contract, or make monthly payments on 12- or 18-month financing plans. However, AT&T did not …

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• 20 January

  Samsung Galaxy S5 interface images leak

  

  Hot on the heels of last week’s run of hardware rumours, @evleaks has posted purported screenshots of the new-look Galaxy S5 home screen. More from that Samsung home screen. pic.twitter.com/5Z0jKKxXYN — @evleaks (@evleaks) January 19, 2014 Some commentators have suggested the interface looks like Google Now, but we’d argue it’s more akin to a cross between BlinkFeed on the HTC …

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• 20 January

  Jimmy Wales joins The People’s Operator, looks to US launch

  

  LONDON — Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales is joining The People’s Operator, a UK-based mobile provider focused on raising money for charity, as co-chairman. The company plans to expand to more countries, with the US first on its list. “I get a lot of pitches for a lot of things, which fall into two camps: they’re either well meaning but unworkable, …

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• 20 January

  Mystery Amazon device to be “bigger than Kindle” firm says

  

  Amazon has a new product up its sleeve that it promises will be even bigger than its Kindle devices. The online retailer posted an advert on events website Eventbrite, inviting people to attend a shindig for the mystery new device, ITProPortal.com reports. “We are working on a new revolutionary V1 product that will allow us to deliver Digital Media to …

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