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Samsung tells the behind the scenes story of their signature “Over the Horizon” theme

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We have no doubt that you have heard the “Over the Horizon” song by Samsung. Actually, it is hard not to, seeing how it has been around for quite some time now as the default ringtone for all of Samsung’s devices and is also featured in its marketing campaigns and frequently played at events.

However, chances are that you are only familiar with a couple of version of the said piece and it has gone through a lot of reimagining over the years. Samsung tells the story of how its beautiful theme was transformed yet again, prior to the release of the current flagship duo – the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge. All versions of the song are based on the same six basic notes, enough to make it instantly recognizable, while leaving endless room for variations and ornamentation. Read more »

Samsung Pay under testing, nearing the home stretch

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Remember Samsung Pay? It is the company’s ambitious payment solution, announced at this year’s MWC in Barcelona alongside the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge duo, so naturally it got slightly pushed to the sidelines. Since then, we haven’t really received any major progress updates, but the promise for a September release in the US and South Korea still stands.

A new report indicates that Samsung Pay is already in the final stages of its testing. The Korean tech giant is working in cooperation with eight local card vendors to ensure everything works as intended. But, there might still be quite a few problems along the way. Unlike most other payment services, Samsung seems to be facing technical issues, rather than legal ones. Read more »

Multiple subreddits go dark in protest over firing of reddit AMA coordinator

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reddit is in a state of turmoil after firing of one of the employees for unknown reasons. The employee, Victoria Taylor (u/chooter), was coordinator of AMA and sort of the company PR for engaging with celebrities for their AMA. This has caused several of the subreddits to go private as a protest.

After her sudden firing yesterday, several of the subreddits who were about to organize AMAs came under distress as Taylor was their only point of contacts with the people doing the AMAs and without her they couldn’t proceed. Other than disrupting activities, Taylor was also well-loved in the community and pretty much the reason why any of the AMAs took place and were a success. Read more »

Fallout Shelter for Android to come in August

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Bethesda Softworks announced the Fallout Shelter game for iOS and Android at the E3 2015 Expo last month. Pete Hines, VP of PR & Marketing for Bethesda Softworks, stated that the Android version of the Fallout Shelter mobile game is expected to release in August.

Following the launch, Fallout Shelter was made available immediately on the iOS platform. With that, a time frame of two months was promised by Bethesda and hence the August release expectations doesn’t sound bad. Read more »

New MasterCard feature will see users getting their online purchases approved with a selfie

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MasterCard will soon start testing a new feature that will require users to just take a selfie to get their online purchases approved. The experiment will begin this fall, and will involve 500 customers. If everything goes well, the feature will be launched publicly sometime after that.

You’ll be required to download the MasterCard phone app to use the feature. They way it works is: after you pay for something, you’ll see an authorization pop-up containing various options. Just choose the facial recognition option, stare at the device, and then blink to snap a photo of yourself – that’s it. Read more »

Hackers penetrate Plex’s forums; company claims payment data safe

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Media Streaming Company Plex has announced that the server hosting its forums and blog has been compromised by hackers, who managed to gain access to IP addresses, private messages, email addresses, and encrypted forum passwords.

It is, however, being claimed that only forum members are affected. Plex said that credit card and other payment data is complete safe as it is not stored on any of the company’s servers. Read more »

Casio’s first smartwatch set for 2016 release in Japan and US

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Japanese electronics manufacturer Casio has become the latest company to hop on the smartwatch bandwagon. It has been working on an intelligent timepiece for the past four years, and is planning to release it next year.

According to the company’s president Kazuhiro Kashio, the smartwatch has been developed keeping in mind the mass market’s need for comfort and durability. ” A device that won’t break easily, is simple to put on and feels good to wear,” he said, adding that it is aimed at those involved in outdoor sports and leisure. Read more »

Seriously, there is a YouTube player app for Android Wear devices

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In case you were looking for more ways to waste the battery of your Android Wear device, I have some good news for you! There is now a YouTube app for your smartwatch.

Sporting the rather unexciting name Video for Android Wear & YouTube, the app will cater to those who find the screen of their smartphone a tad too large. Read more »

MediaTek dismisses Nvidia merger rumors

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You definitely shouldn’t trust everything you hear and even more so, everything you read online and the recent MediaTek, Nvidia merger rumor is a prime example of exactly what can happen otherwise. The speculation was quickly debunked MediaTek, but apparently, not before the memo reached the Taiwan Stock Exchange. The implications of such a merger could potentially be huge for the entire industry, and stock brokers reacted quicker than just about everyone else.

This is most-probably why the chip maker decided to post a filing with the said stock exchange, explaining that it is not considering any such deal with Nvidia and is not the source of the rumor, originally reported by Economic Daily News. That is some pretty official explaining that MediaTek was forced to do. Read more »

Nexus 6, YotaPhone 2 get big price cuts in the UK

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Following Motorola’s UK summer sale, which saw the Nexus 6 smartphone being offered on discounted rates, Google has also slashed the price of the handset in the country.

The 32GB and 64GB models of the device – which usually sell for £479 and £549 – are now listed at £304 and £379 on the Google Play Store. It is, however, not yet known whether or not it’s a temporary price cut as Google hasn’t yet officially announced it. Read more »

Can a 10 ton steamroller flatten the LG G Flex 2?

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Stress and torture test videos have really become trendy and only seem to be growing in popularity.Nowadays it seems that scientific and carefully though-out testing procedures have almost entirely given way to over the top experiments and often senseless carnage and destruction, simply for the sake of it. Mind you, we are not complaining – there is something oddly satisfying in watching others destroy their valuable tech in increasingly-creative ways.

The latest such clip is the unassumingly titled “LG G Flex 2 drop test”. It definitely delivers on its promises, as it starts off with a few quite-likely drops of the phone, first from something close to a meter. Actually, to the presenter’s credit, he does attempt to make at least a few valid points and give a nice damage report. As you might remember, the LG G Flex 2 features a special finish on the back, which the company has often referred to as “self-healing”. Actually, the coating favored pretty well after a few drops, but not even it can prevent denting to the edges. Read more »

Warner Bros. allegedly knew about Arkham Knight issues on PC months before launch

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Having issues playing the latest Batman: Arkham Knight on PC? Here is some salt to rub on that wound. Turns out publisher Warner Bros. knew about the terrible state of the PC version of the game for months before launch and decided to release it anyway.

According to a report by Kotaku, who talked to people who were quality assurance testers for the game and chose to remain anonymous, says that WB was well aware of the game’s state but decided to push it out anyway. This was less due to some malicious reason but more because it thought the game was good enough for release. Read more »

Olympus Air A01 wireless camera for your smartphone released

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Olympus has released its new Air A01 wireless camera, along the lines of the Sony QX1. The A01 has a 16 megapixel sensor and TruePic VII image processor as the latest OM-D and PEN cameras, and a Micro Four Thirds lens mount for you to attach to any of Olympus’ compatible lenses.

Just like the QX1, the A01 attaches to your smartphone, Android or iOS, and wirelessly interfaces with the O.A.Central app. The app allows you to control all the features of the camera, use the phone as a viewfinder, and transfer images from the camera over Wi-Fi. Read more »

Microsoft Surface Pro 3 gets a cheaper variant with Intel Core i7 CPU

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Microsoft has added a new Surface Pro 3 model to its convertible tablet lineup. The newcomer is the most affordable variant of the slate with an Intel Core i7 CPU.

The new Intel Core i7-based Surface Pro 3 has 128GB of built-in storage and 8GB of RAM. It costs $1,299, which also happens to be the price of a version with Intel Core i5, 256GB of onboard storage, and 8GB of RAM. Read more »

HTC giving away $100 Google Play credit to buyers of One M9 for Verizon

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If you are planning to purchase an HTC One M9, here is a deal that might interest you: the Taiwanese company is offering a $100 Google Play credit to those who purchase the flagship smartphone from Verizon.

The promotion has already begun, and it runs through August 31. To claim your $100 Google Play credit, you’ll have to visit a specific webpage (click the Source 2 link below), where you’ll be required to provide proof of purchase, your contact information, as well as the smartphone’s IMEI number. You can redeem your $100 credit by September 30. Read more »