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LG will unveil its next flagship phone on April 28th
LG is scheduled to drop something big on April 28th. And if the "G's" in the save the date invites (above) it sent out to the press is any indication, we can most likely expect its next G-series flagship phone. Besides, several Korean publications already revealed that LG will launch the G4 by the end of April. Some of those publications also claimed that the phone will have a 5-inch curved Quad HD display, but there's probably no use speculating if that's true or not when we're this near to seeing the real thing. The South Korean company will hold an event in New York and other locations around the globe (New York, London, Seoul, Singapore and Istanbul), and we'll be there to cover it, so stay tuned!
Photos purportedly showing the LG G4 leak online (update: nope)
The phone in these images looks like the LG G3, but you might notice some subtle differences. That's because it could actually be pictures of the brand's yet-to-be-released flagship, the G4. An XDA Developer user called s3rv1cet3ch posted a folder of images on the forum, explicitly calling it the G4. The user also pointed out that it has stylus on the top left corner, but if this is the Korean version of the device, that could very well be a TV antenna. After all, G3's Korean version has an antenna you can pull out on that exact spot.
G4 channel shutting down for good this month
NBC Universal is putting an end to its G4 cable television network after more than a decade of operation, Nebraska affiliate Great Plains Communications reported earlier this month. G4 aired gaming-focused television shows like X-Play and Attack of the Show before ceasing its production of original programming in 2012. The channel was to be rebranded as an Esquire network in 2013, but fell back on airing re-runs of older series after conversion plans were abandoned. Kansas-based cable provider Golden Belt Telephone confirms that G4 will be taken off the air on November 30. [Image: NBC / G4]
Panasonic's next GH mirrorless camera will record 4K video, arrive late February for under $2,000
With plenty of 4K displays in Panasonic's booth, it's appropriate the firm's finally shown off a camera in its GH line that records 4K video. The company's keeping most of the hardware's specs close to its collective vest, but a representative was able to divulge a few details. UHD content can be recorded at 200 Mbps, and output in a full live feed via a mini-HDMI port (thanks to ALL-I Intra mode) to display on a computer or record to a hard drive. Of course, the Micro-Four Thirds shooter can save footage straight to an SDXC card -- a UHS Class 3 prototype variant tuned for such a task was on display -- though space will run out fairly quickly. There's no word how many megapixels the cam totes, but it will be able to simultaneously snap photos while recording video. More details are set to arrive with the camera's official release in late February, when it'll arrive with a price tag of $2,000 or less. In the meantime, look out below for a glimpse of the shooter in the gallery.
Take a nostalgia trip with a classic G4 Cheat
We all love to go on a nostalgia trip every now and then. And this G4 episode which is doing the rounds is a fine example of just that. Kristin Holt from now-defunct gaming channel G4 takes the would-be WoW player on a voyage of discovery through Classic WoW, talking about resistance auras, the factions, hidden quests, the amazing wealth that you can now get from handing in leveling quests. Kristin then heads into the game's easter eggs, as well as mentioning hidden quests, pop culture references, and more. She explores book references, a quest relating to the original Zelda, Fight Club, Ghostbusters, and more. She also looks at the shrine left in Classic to a departed illustrator in the Blizzard team. Next up is "a gamer who dared to dream"... she managed to get a noble steed instead of the mechanochicken, by running through a different questing route, and grinding out the Lost Supplies quest in Swamp of Sorrows to obtain Stormwind reputation. 1,000 deliveries later, the gnome has exalted reputation, and a horse to ride. It's great fun to reminisce, and if you want more old-time WoW to smile at, check out WoW Archivist.
Report: G4 spared an Esquire Network makeover
NBC Universal has announced video games cable channel G4 will no longer be converted into the Esquire Network. An exclusive report on The Hollywood Reporter calls out NBC Universal's Style channel as the unlucky recipient of an Esquire makeover, which will see the now female-focused channel shifting its focus toward mature men. As a result of this news, G4 will continue to operate as-is for the foreseeable future. The announcement to convert G4 into the Esquire Network came in February, when NBC Universal called out an April 22 re-branding. A week prior to that planned launch, NBC Universal pushed back the launch of the Esquire Network to an unspecified date.
NBCUniversal dissolves G4, rebrands it as 'The Esquire Network'
Because nothing quite says "hip brand rejuvenation" like associating your channel with an 80-year-old magazine, NBCUniversal today announced the rebranding and makeover of its G4 television channel into "The Esquire Channel" (as in Esquire magazine). G4 primarily aired video game-centric programming, as well as a vast array of re-runs -- something NBC exec Bonnie Hammer doesn't think was the best idea. "Realistically, guys who are into gaming are not necessarily watching television," Hammer said, directly refuting the 2012 statistic that 49 percent of US households own a gaming console. "Let's create a real brand, define a space, understand who we are programming for." The New York Times reports that The Esquire Channel will be pitched as "an upscale Bravo for men," though it's not exactly clear what that means -- we'll find out on April 22 when the network goes live in 62 million homes. For now, NBC's got demographics its targeting. Specifically, "a more educated, affluent, sophisticated male viewer," says the NYT piece. One thing it won't be? Reality shows with a noun and the word "wars" behind it. "Much of today's programming targets men in a one-dimensional way ... tattoos or pawn shops or storage lockers or axes or hillbillies," Esquire Channel's general manager Adam Stotsky said. It doesn't look like the channel's beyond reality programming altogether, with its first two shows being a cooking competition named Knife Fight and its other being a celebrity-based travel show named The Getaway. Nor is it beyond the aforementioned re-runs, announcing Parks & Recreation and Party Down as headed for syndication on the forthcoming channel. [Photo credit: The New York Times]
G4 becomes Esquire Network in April
The G4 television network stops being G4 on April 22, and with that, likely stops being something we cover. As reported late last year, Owner NBCUniversal will rebrand the formerly gaming-and-Cops-rerun channel as The Esquire Network, named after the magazine.The Esquire Network is described as "an upscale Bravo for men," as NBC cable executive Bonnie Hammer imagines it. It will attempt to appeal to sophisticated audiences with shows like "Knife Fight," about chefs competing with each other, and "The Getaway," a celebrity travel show.Nowhere among the list of programming is anything about video games. "Realistically, guys who are into gaming are not necessarily watching television," Hammer told the New York Times. Maybe not on cable networks, anyway.
Report: G4 to become the Esquire channel
Cable network G4 will be rebranded as the Esquire channel, acquiring the magazine's name and branding sometime in the early part of next year, The Hollywood Reporter, uhm, reports. The deal has been finalized between G4-owner NBCUniversal and Esquire-owner Hearst Corporation, according to The Hollywood Reporter's sources, and production of new content aimed at a "metrosexual" male audience is said to be underway.While the channel's new content will feature some gaming-oriented material, subjects such as fashion, cooking and travel will also be covered in an attempt to capture a more sophisticated male audience. As X-Play and Attack of the Show have already been cancelled, we doubt any of G4's late gaming content will be resurrected in the channel's new form. We are, however, looking forward to finding out how to recreate Nathan Drake's designer look for an off-the-rack price.
G4 ending X-Play, Attack of the Show [update]
G4 just announced the final vestiges of its video game content, Attack of the Show! and X-Play, will cease production by the end of 2012."Both shows will include original episodes through the end of the year, and will look back at their most memorable moments as we lead up to their final episodes," G4 noted in a statement.Attack of the Show debuted March 28, 2005. X-Play had been on the air since April 28, 2003, back when the network was called TechTV. G4 had recently seen the departure of long time hosts Kevin Pereira from Attack of the Show and Adam Sessler from X-Play.That's it for gaming content on G4, making Geoff Keighley's GameTrailers TV on Spike the only prominent video game related show left on American air... er, cable.Update: Joystiq has been informed by a source close to the matter that G4TV.com's gaming editorial staff at "The Feed" is being laid off, with their final week taking place before Thanksgiving. We currently don't have an official count on how many jobs have been lost. At least five editors have been laid off and a skeleton crew may remain on staff past the pre-Thanksgiving layoffs.A representative for G4 had "no comment" regarding further layoffs. Asked if the network had intentions of continuing with what we described as any gaming content, we were referred to the attached press release, which avoids the subject.
Ghost Recon Alpha film is prologue to Future Soldier, debuts on G4 May 3
On May 3, G4 will debut Ghost Recon Alpha, a 25-minute short film and live-action prelude to the events of Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. The sample video above splices some live-action footage from Alpha in with some in-game shots of a multiplayer map created as a matching homage.Ghost Recon Alpha debuts on G4 on Thursday, May 3 at 6:30pm ET. During the broadcast, viewers can hunt for a hidden code that unlocks an exclusive gun in Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. We've got some early stills from the prologue in the gallery below.%Gallery-154429%
HP sneaks out new dv4, dv6, dv7 and g4 Pavilion laptops, Ivy Bridge in tow (video)
We know Ivy Bridge is close to landing, but when damn it, when? Until we know for sure, what about these new notebooks from HP that sneaked out with barely a flicker of ballyhoo. There are four new Pavilions on their way, the dv4-5000, dv6-7000, dv7-6000 and g4-2000. All of them are getting the Ivy Bridge treatment bar the g4, which sticks with Sandy Bridge. The dv4 and dv6 both sport 2.3GHz i7-3610QM processors, GeForce GT630M graphics, Beats Audio and 14-inch or 15.6-inch (1366 x 768) displays respectively. The dv7 model steps things up with a 2.6GHZ i7-3720QM chip, GeForce GT 650M graphics and 17.3-inches of 1920 x 1080 screen. The g4, on the other hand, comes in a range of processing flavors, including the i3-2350M and i5-2450M Sandy Bridge variants and a 14-inch screen. The g-series will likely carry a £399 (about $630) price-tag, while the dv6 and dv7 are rumored start around £599 ($940) when they eventually land potentially in April -- but don't count your chickens. Full specs in the source, and promo videos after the break.[Thanks Andrew]
Neal Tiles steps down as president of G4, Adam Stotsky takes over
Neal Tiles, formerly president of the G4 television network, stepped down earlier today, and parent company NBCUniversal has announced that Adam Stotsky will take his place. Stotsky is a former president of marketing at NBC, but now will head up the entire G4 network, overseeing everything from programming to publicity and digital operations. Stotsky is the first big appointment by recently appointed NBCU president Bonnie Hammer, who picked up oversight of G4 and E! last year when Comcast merged with NBC Universal. We don't know exactly what Stotsky plans to put on the schedule at G4 going forward, but if he's taking any cues from his predecessor, it's probably lots more Cheaters and Cops. [Thanks, Ethan!]
The MMO Report: 2011 bloopers edition
What do science jazz bands and motorized feminine hygiene products have in common? They're both mentioned on this week's MMO Report, for starters (yes, really). Moving right along, host Casey Schreiner takes a break from his industry news roundup routine to regale us with a 10-minute blooper reel featuring the best (worst?) outtakes of 2011. While there isn't much in the way of MMO news on this week's episode, there are plenty of shots of Casey shuffling his papers, zany cameraman hijinks, and a few choice monologue missteps and associated bleep bombs. We've got the full show embedded for you after the break.
The MMO Report: Rainbow lightsaber edition
Welcome to another exciting episode of The MMO Report, now with 100% more beard. That's right, the first note on the agenda today is BioWare's announcement that same-gender romance arcs will indeed be present in Star Wars: The Old Republic. BioWare claims that the feature couldn't be implemented at launch, citing time and design constraints. Next up on the list is DC Universe Online's imminent free-to-play transition. Players will be able to choose between playing for free and shelling out for DLC and extra character slots or subscribing to the game with the benefit of expanded character slots and free DLC. Meanwhile, World of Warcraft's patch 4.3 is gearing up for release, and it will bring the end of an era with it. When the patch, titled Dragon Soul, goes live, players will finally be able to bring an end to Deathwing's reign of terror. And of course, with the help of the new Transmogrification system, they'll be able to look dashing while they do so. Dragon Nest is next in line with the announcment of its official launch, and Red 5 Studios announces the inclusion of in-game pets in upcoming MMOFPS Firefall. And of course, no episode of The MMO Report would be complete without a trip into Uncle Casey's mailbag, so for all of the meme-tastic goodness, click on past the cut to watch the full video.
The MMO Report: Unwanted guests from Connecticut edition
This week's MMO Report finds host Casey Schreiner in fine form despite the disconcerting presence of another neck-bearded nerd crowding the camera during the show's opening monologue. The interloper turns out to be Schreiner's cousin Dave, who is apparently taking our intrepid host up on last week's hospitality offer. Never fear, though -- there is some MMO news to be had during the show's eight-minute running time. City of Heroes and its upcoming free-to-play conversion gets a mention, as does the Star Wars The Old Republic trailer focused on Smugglers (who Casey says will "kick you in the nuts, tag you with a sticky grenade, and laugh in your face as you fall to your knees in agony"). There's also a blurb about Dungeons and Dragons Online's new update, RIFT's latest promotion, Minecraft's adventure pack, and of course Uncle Casey's mailbag. Check it out after the break.
The MMO Report: Cybernetic Arm Replacement edition
Welcome to a very special PAX Prime 2011 edition of The MMO Report. Surely you've read all of Massively's PAX coverage (you have, haven't you?), but in case you somehow missed it, don't fear. The MMO Report is here to give you the skinny on the big MMO happenings at one of the country's largest gaming conventions. The show kicks things off with -- surprise! -- Guild Wars 2. Content Designer Mike Zadorojny talks about the new skill progression system and the removal of the energy mechanic, and also notes that closed beta is still on track to take place before the end of the year. Then it's on to Firefall, the new MMOFPS from Red 5 Studios. The open-world portion of the game was the newest addition to the game's PAX 2011 demo, though players also had the opportunity to try their hand at the game's competitive PvP. Funcom's The Secret World is up next with news on the game's large-scale persistent PvP. Small-scale PvP battlefields make an appearance as well in the form of Stonehenge, El Dorado, and Shambhala. Star Wars: The Old Republic rounds out the MMO selection with the game's Huttball and Alderaan PvP battlegrounds and the Eternity Vault endgame Operation. For the full video and all the juicy PAX 2011 MMO details, jump on past the cut.
The MMO Report: The Force is with you edition
Casey Schreiner needs to play with his new laundry and wash his iPad -- or maybe it was the other way around -- so we must hurry through the description of this week's MMO Report! I'm not joking, he really has to leave quickly. Casey starts with quips about a bearded dragon in the new expansion for Lord of the Rings Online, which is ironic, coming from the Master of Beards himself. Following that, our man of MMO mystery discusses the vehicles, beta, and pre-order for Star Wars: The Old Republic. He says the very thing that is on the mind of every fan: "EA you're doing it wrong." First you announce release date, followed by pre-order, and then beta! On another topic, Casey begs the new VP at Disney Interactive Studios, Bill Roper, to actually release information regarding the Marvel MMO. And lastly, Sir Schreiner lets us in on PvP for Rusty Hearts and explains why America needs to be more like Russia. To catch all of this and dip into Uncle Casey's mailbag, jump past the break and get ready for all the sweetness of the MMO Report.
Looking back at Apple's Cube, ten years later
The Register has an excellent writeup posted with a look back at Apple's Power Mac G4 Cube (affectionately referred to as "The Cube"), which was released to the public 'suspended' from production 10 years ago this coming weekend. At the time, back in 2001, the Cube drew a lot of jeers, mostly from PC enthusiasts who enjoyed making fun of Apple's whimsical and somewhat pretentious designs. For a number of different reasons, the Cube never really took off in the way that the iMac or, later, the iPhone did. Nevertheless, the Cube has its followers, and the idea -- a powerful computer put into a form very different than anything else seen at the time -- remains intriguing even today. Perhaps that's why even today, modders are trying to push the limits of what the Cube can be. User Marcelo over at CubeOwner.com is actually building an "All Apple 10th Anniversary Cube" right now, which will rock an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, two 100 GB SSD drives, a dual-layer DVD drive; the finished product will even support Mac OS X 10.7 Lion when it's released. That's a spicy meatball of a computer, all squeezed into that same floating box. We have to be careful not to look back too fondly on the Cube itself -- I used one back in the day and there were some issues with the hardware and the way it all worked, no matter how you felt about the case. But the Cube came right near the end of the Think Different campaign, and in some ways, even before the iAge changed the form of computing completely, the Cube was the last word on what Apple Computers was trying to accomplish with the PC itself. Thanks Laurie D.
The MMO Report: Casey says frak edition
This week's MMO Report is all about Casey's ego. Not one shred of MMO news bullied its way onto the show this week, unless you count a story about Battlestar Galactica Online reaching two million subscribers as news. OK, maybe you can count Age of Conan going free-to-play, or maybe the newest Minecraft update is technically news. Perhaps Perfect World Entertainment buying Cryptic Studios would be considered news, too. But let's not forget: The MMO Report is really about Uncle Casey's Mail Bag. So that is exactly what will fill the rest of this post. The Mail Bag this week is all about love, love, and memes. Fans share their love for each other, love for Casey, and love for Morgan Webb. Yes, she's been gone for two weeks, but apparently Casey's manly smell has not ousted the memory of the time Morgan hosted the MMO Report. One fan has not forgotten; he was so inspired that he created a meme about it just to show how much he cared. Jump past the break if you are interested in catching a glimpse of Casey Schreiner's ego. We have the full video ready to go. Maybe you will catch the news that we missed while staring at Casey's incredible beard.
