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Mass Effect’s Normandy starship is coming to 'No Man's Sky'
The crossover prize is yours if you take part in the Beachhead expedition by May 31st.
A French town just installed the world's first 'solar road'
The tiny town of Tourouvre-au-Perche in Normandy, France no longer has to worry about how it will power its street lights. The Sun will handle that.
Live-tweets narrate the D-Day landings exactly as they happened
To mark the anniversary of the Allied invasion of Western Europe on June 6, 1944, one Twitter account is sharing the events exactly as they happened exactly 70 years ago. The UK's National Archives has thrown open official army war diaries, RAF squadron records, government cabinet papers and messages sent to Prime Minister Winston Churchill to describe D-Day events in real time. Tweets laden with photos and snapshots of documents provide additional detail, giving us a valuable insight into the decision-making processes and endeavours of British and Commonwealth forces over the course the Normandy landings. Google is also honoring the event by launching a new collection on its Cultural Institute website, which features 470 documents and images from Operation Overlord. Some messages are hard to read, but others provide a little light in what was otherwise a dark time for Allied servicemen and women.
Catch our Nokia MWC 2014 event liveblog Monday at 2:30AM ET!
Now that Nokia is merely one of Microsoft's tentacles, it would be pretty weird if it finally introduced an Android phone, right? Well, that's exactly what's about to happen, according to a spate of leaks. The device is said to be called the Nokia X, and allegedly resembles an Asha handset while running a forked version of Android. That raises a lot of questions, like whether there'll be any Google content and, if not, where the heck your apps will come from. Luckily, we're here at MWC in Barcelona to blog all those answers live, so come back right here for all the news! February 24, 2014 2:30 AM EST
Nokia is reportedly unveiling its low-end Android phone this month
If you're eager to get an officially sanctioned glimpse at Nokia's rumored Android cellphone, you may not have to wait long. Sources speaking to the Wall Street Journal claim that Nokia will unveil the low-end handset, currently nicknamed Normandy, at Mobile World Congress later this month. The tipsters haven't shed new light on the hardware itself, but they support beliefs that the device's customized interface will revolve around Microsoft and Nokia services while stripping out Google content. If the leak is accurate, Microsoft may be in an awkward position once it closes its acquisition of Nokia's phone business -- it might have to sell a phone using the very platform it has been trying to destroy. [Image credit: @evleaks, Twitter]
Rumored Nokia Normandy prototype surfaces on Twitter, reveals little
That thing up there? Word on the street (that is, Twitter) is that it's an engineering prototype of the Nokia Normandy, a low-end Android device due sometime in 2014. The name has been floating around for a few months now, often accompanied by images flaunting Nokia's usual design cues but without the hardware shutter button or LED flash that adorn its Lumia devices. Normally, that would peg the hardware for Nokia's Asha line, but rumors persist that the Normandy will actually be running a Nokia-tweaked version of Google's open-source OS. Screenshots leaked earlier this month also suggested that the device would support dual SIMs and showed off mockups with touchscreen notifications and a customized Skype app. Unfortunately, the leaked device doesn't do much to add or detract from that rumor, revealing only a generic back button, a Nokia boot screen and a rubberized case that obfuscates the handset's features. Still, something is clearly afoot; we'll let you know when we know what, exactly, it is. Update: A separate leaked image is doing the rounds, which purports to show the app drawer from Nokia's Android skin running on a live Normandy handset. The source is Zhang Zhicheng, a blogger at a well-known Chinese tech site, but the skin seems to be lacking Nokia's usual gloss -- check it out below.
Leak reportedly shows Nokia Normandy's Android interface
We've heard a number of rumors recently about Nokia's Normandy phone, which will supposedly ship with an Android-based operating system. Shots of the handset, with its lack of a hardware shutter trigger, capacitive buttons and LED flash, appeared back in December, and now mobile tipster @Evleaks has posted what could be the first shots of Nokia's alternative take on Google's open-source platform. Three leaked renders of the device show support for dual SIMs, lockscreen notifications, a dialer screen and what appears to be a custom version of Skype's mobile app. Nokia's Normandy project is said to be a low-end Asha equivalent that runs a forked version of Android, meaning it won't be associated with Google's apps and services (similar to Amazon's Kindle Fire tablets). As we know, Nokia's mobile business is currently awaiting the all-clear for an acquisition by Microsoft, meaning the project might never see the light of day. The leaked shots suggest Nokia has made significant progress with Normandy, but we'll have to wait and see if the project forms part of its new owner's future plans.
Nokia Normandy rumored to be low-end Android-based phone
The image you see above is the rumored Nokia Normandy, which Twitter leakster @evleaks revealed at the end of last month. While not much was known about the device at the time, the lack of hardware shutter button, capacitive buttons and LED flash indicated that this mystery phone was likely an Asha device intended for emerging markets or budget-minded users. Yet, if a report from The Verge's Tom Warren is accurate, there may actually be a lot more to the Normandy than what we had originally assumed. Warren has checked with multiple sources who claim that the phone is an Android-based device due for a 2014 release. This may seem like a stretch, given the fact that Nokia's device division is currently awaiting an acquisition with Microsoft, but Warren offers a few points of clarification. First, he says, the Normandy is meant to be a low-end Asha equivalent that features a forked version of Android that isn't associated with Google services, which means Nokia would be able to fully customize it however it wants, much like Amazon does with its Kindle Fire. Doing this would still give Nokia full control over the device ecosystem, while giving users the chance to enjoy full smartphone apps -- something the company has had a difficult time figuring out how to do on the Asha line. The question is, would Nokia rely on a third-party app store or try to set up one of its very own? That's still an unknown, but this is assuming the Normandy even sees the light of day; if the rumor is true, our guess is that this project was already underway before Microsoft's acquisition, and will probably be released before the merger is complete -- if it gets released at all.
Feedly promises 'seamless' transition after Google Reader to its own backend
If you (like many of us at Engadget) are in a state of shock facing the end of Google Reader this summer, there may be an easy replacement. RSS app/service Feedly posts on its blog that it has been anticipating the shutdown of Google's service for some time, and invested in building its own backend. Dubbed "Normandy" it is intended to be a clone of the Google API running on Google's own App Engine, set to swap in on July 1st when the service ends. Even better, in the comments Feedly states it will open the API for other 3rd party clients once everything is stable. The only bad news? If you're considering jumping onboard you're not the only one -- Feedly's servers are pretty crushed right now, so you know, just test the waters out some time in the next few months.
Mass Effect Normandy SR2 Cerberus Variant model up for pre-order
The problem with that Normandy SR2 model you pre-ordered for your cube back in May is that it doesn't have anything to pick a fight with. Enter the newly announced Cerberus variant, available for 35 clams, and expected to arrive in this galaxy sometime in November. Pew-pew sounds not included.
The Daily Grind: Do betas give you bragging rights?
This may come as a shocker, but people on the internet like to brag. I know! Surprised the heck out of me too, but there you go. We like to feel important, and when we're not important, we like to prop ourselves up through importance-by-association. Sure, maybe I wasn't part of the invasion of Normandy in World War II, but my grandfather was, so doesn't that make me a hero in a way? It seems as though the only use for betas once they are finished is for bragging rights, as if being there somehow made some people superior to the rest of the plebeians. "Back in '04? Oh, I was part of the great World of Warcraft beta," they say with a distant look in their eyes. "Oh the times we had... the perils we faced... the bug reports we overlooked. Now you may honor me by giving me your gold and prostrating yourself at my feet." Have you seen this happen? Does being a part of an MMO beta automatically give you bragging rights in the form of seniority and experience? Or do people just think it does while the rest of us roll our eyes? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
World of Tanks releases two new maps
Wargaming.net's World of Tanks MMO keeps rolling right along, as the development studio announced the release of two new battle maps earlier today. The World War II-based action title features a plethora of historically accurate tanks for players to collect and control and, thanks to the update, also features the Komarin and Cliff locales. Komarin is a small Eastern European village and Cliff is inspired by the shorelines and rock formations of the infamous Normandy coast. Nick Katselapov, Wargaming.net producer, is excited about the new maps and their tactical gameplay possibiliies. "[These] maps will encourage players to apply even more teamwork and cooperation because they require a totally different tactical approach than any battlefields that World of Tanks has had to offer so far," he said in a press release. If you're wondering where you can get a piece of this heavily armored action, head over to the game's official website and enlist in the closed beta.
Call of Duty 3 announced; leak confirmed [update 1]
Call of Duty 3's just been confirmed, and it looks like we were right on the money with our early leak of the WWII-related game.Back in early March, we printed the following information (and a whole lot more) on the focus of an upcoming sequel: "'CoD 3' ... is being produced by Big Red One dev Treyarch. ... The next Call of Duty World War II-based title will return gamers to the battlefields of Normandy as the Allies take on Nazi Germany to drive them out of France once and for all. This time around, American and British forces are joined by Canadian troops, Polish tanks, and French freedom fighters in a reenactment of the bloody Normandy Breakout campaign spearheaded during the summer of 1944. In the push to Paris, you'll get to choose how you approach each mission, free of menu screens and jarring non-interactive cut-scenes."Here's what IGN quoted from Activision for the announcement yesterday: "Through the eyes of four Allied soldiers, Call of Duty 3 brings players closer to the fury of combat as they fight through the Normandy Breakout, the harrowing offensive that liberated Paris and changed the fate of the world. Developed by Treyarch, Call of Duty 3 is the follow up to the #1 next-generation game and is scheduled for a 2006 release." Fingering the developer and the setting? Not too shabby -- while Joystiq pats itself on the back.Check out the IGN trailer below for a first-person look somewhat reminiscent of the FPS sequence in the Metal Gear Solid 4 trailer from TGS. At the end of the "official E3 teaser" trailer, a number of platforms are listed, with the major manufacturers (including a small "Nintendo Revolution" in text) and publisher/developer combo listed. We suspect that versions for the PC and possibly the current-gen consoles will be covered with ports as well. Now all we have to do is wait for the word on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. (Infinity Ward, we're looking at you!) More info obviously hitting at E3.[Thanks, icemorebutts, jason, & Hiro Protagonist][Update 1: Had to fix a verb. Thanks, Hiro Protagonist, John Q, & Jiiiiihad!]See also: Official E3 teaser trailer for Call of Duty 3 Next Call of Duty leaked: Modern Warfare tackles terrorists Rumor: Call of Duty joining the Revolution Kojima interacts in real-time with MGS4 trailer at TGS
