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Sonos is rolling out DTS surround sound support
Amazon Music Ultra HD and Dolby Atmos Music spatial audio will soon work on Sonos devices too.
Google-backed TicWatches now have a workout mode for swimming
Mobvoi is upgrading its TicWatch smartwatches for 2019, with a focus on battery life, durability and style. The TicWatch S2 and E2, second-generation versions of the S and E, come packing a 415mAh battery, 30 percent bigger than the original. Similarly, the devices are now waterproof to 5 ATM, compared to the IP67 rating found on the two predecessors. That means, rather than coping just a meter of water, both timepieces will survive in depths of up to 40 meters.
Scientists find evidence of a black hole at our galaxy’s center
Researchers have long suspected that a supermassive black hole lies in the center of our galaxy, and now they have strong evidence to support that suspicion. Using the Very Large Telescope -- an array of four individual telescopes stationed in the Atacama Desert in Chile -- scientists have been observing Sagittarius A* (pronounced Sagittarius A-star), an object in the center of the Milky Way galaxy thought to be a supermassive black hole. During their work, the research team observed three bright flares orbiting around Sagittarius A*, which completed 150-million-mile circuits in just 45 minutes. That's about 30 percent the speed of light.
Sharp's edge-to-edge AQUOS S2 is a glimpse at your next phone
Andy Rubin's Essential Phone may have wowed us with its edge-to-edge display recently, but let's not forget that Sharp has been driving this design with many of its previous Android phones -- 28 of them, to be precise. Today, the Japanese brand unveiled its 29th release dubbed AQUOS S2 which, funnily enough, looks rather familiar. From afar, the S2's screen and the Essential Phone's screen share the same front-camera notch at the top, except the former is a smaller 5.5-inch panel with a slightly lower 2,040 x 1,080 resolution. The more notable difference here is how the corners at the top appear to be hastily trimmed, which is a bit of a letdown, but at least you're still getting a nice 135-percent sRGB gamut plus a handy 550-nit brightness.
Netflix is bringing back 'Fuller House' for a second season
Less than a week after its debut, Netflix already renewed Fuller House for a second season. The Full House reboot arrived last Friday to less than stellar reviews, but it caused plenty of nostalgic chatter on the interwebs. The streaming service typically brings back its original series for a second run, and it couldn't have been easy to reunite the cast for this particular show. It's still early for any concrete streaming numbers, but Netflix's decision to act fast could be evidence Fuller House has been a popular choice over the last week.
PAX Prime 2014: Strife learns from the past
S2 Games is a big believer in learning from the past. Whereas many other MOBA developers are creating their very first such title, S2 already has a MOBA -- Heroes of Newerth -- under its belt. Taking key lessons from that experience, the devs are creating what they call the next generation of MOBA: Strife. Strife was definitely in full force around PAX Prime this weekend. The team had not only a prime spot by the show doors (complete with a mechanical dragon that players could ride) but a spot at a local grill where prizes and cosplay repairs took place. My key question for the devs was, "What makes Strife any different from the dozens of other MOBAs on the market?" This question led into a discussion of how the team has been pulling the best elements from the genre while discarding what didn't work -- denying, for example, is not a part of Strife in the least, nor is the commonplace "last hit" mechanic. Instead, Strife seeks to be enjoyable both as a MOBA and as a single-player experience. The solo content was put in to flesh out the story of the world (MOBAs have story?) and give players a different kind of experience between matches. I was also interested in the pets that characters can acquire and wield for their special abilities. Strife went into open beta this past weekend, so give it a whirl and let us know what you think! Massively's on the ground in Seattle during the weekend of August 29th to September 1st, bringing you all the best news from PAX Prime 2014. Whether you're dying to know more about Warlords of Draenor, The Elder Scrolls Online, Landmark, or any MMO in between, you can bet we'll have it covered!
Nikon's latest high-speed mirrorless cameras come to the US
After a (thankfully brief) wait, Nikon's super-speedy J4 mirrorless camera is coming to the US -- and it's bringing along a low-cost counterpart, the S2. You should see the J4 arrive later this month for $650 with a standard 10-30mm zoom lens, or about $50 more than the outgoing J3. It'll also be available in an $850 kit with a more flexible 10-100mm lens, and a $1,050 bundle is on tap if you want both the 10-30mm glass and a long-range 30-110mm telephoto lens. As you'd expect, the hardware hasn't changed in the few weeks since Nikon first unveiled the J4. You're still getting the new 18.4-megapixel sensor and Expeed 4A image processor that, combined, let you pump out photos at a steady 20 frames per second with advanced autofocusing (171 contrast detection points and 105 phase detection points). You'll also enjoy relative luxuries such as a touchscreen and WiFi photo sharing.
House of Cards S2 Blu-ray goes on sale June 19th for those who prefer a hard copy
House of Cards may be most famous for leading the charge of Netflix's original streaming content, but the show's producer Media Rights Capital is ready for all avenues. Just like the first season, season two will get a release on physical discs this summer from Sony Pictures. Frank Underwood's Washington D.C. escapades are ready for viewing in 1080p, and although that's not 4K, at least your ISP's connection to Netflix can't get in the way. One change this year is that there are a few extras on the discs including a behind the scenes look at a table read and dive into Frank's tendency to directly address the viewer -- we'll have to wait and see if Netflix adds special features to the streaming editions before the next season arrives. There's no pricetag yet, but the first season started off at about $50 before settling in near $30, and we'd expect about the same for this one.
Strife has entered closed beta
S2 Games has announced that its "second generation free-to-play MOBA," Strife, has officially shifted into closed beta. Fans of the genre will recognize S2 as the studio behind Heroes of Newerth, which itself is among the litany of games cast from the original Defense of the Ancients mold. According to the announcement, Strife is "focused on giving players an environment where they're competing with enemies, not their own teammates." S2 claims that existing MOBA issues like in-team toxicity, fighting over shared resources, and drama over designating roles have all been alleviated through the game's design. Strife's closed beta is not region-specific; invites are going out to players across the globe. The game is set for launch some time in 2014, and beta sign-ups are currently live on its official website. For a closer look, check out our hands-on with the game from August. [Source: S2 Games press release]
Developers respond to Riot's streaming restrictions for pro players [Updated]
Riot Games' new contract with professional League of Legends players prevents those players from streaming certain games during the LCS (League Championship Series) season. Banned titles include Dota 2, Hearthstone, Awesomenauts, World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, and many, many more. News of the contract broke earlier this week. Since that time, a couple of developers associated with games on the banned list have responded to Riot's rules in letters to website OnGamers, which broke the original story. Here's a clip of the lengthy response from Awesomenauts co-creator Jasper Koning: We are disappointed to see Riot impose restrictions on the spare time of its LOL Championship Series players. It's understandable Riot as a company wants to protect its interests, but the way they're doing it now is decidedly unsportsmanlike, anti-competitive, and it sets a bad precedent. And here's S2's (Heroes of Newerth) Marc DeForest: We view eSports differently - it is a platform for competition, growth, and the collective celebration of video gaming passion. We do not view it as a leveraging tool for anti-competitive and monopolistic practices. S2 Games will continue to support the eSports idea as a whole, not just our own specific interests in it. Riot has confirmed the terms of the contract but has not responded to further updates or fan criticism. [Update: Riot has announced that it is changing LCS players' contracts due in part to community feedback. Under the new rules, players will be able to stream any games they want as long as they are not accepting sponsorship from other studios to promote those titles.]
Samuel L. Jackson voices the objectively best announcer pack for Heroes of Newerth
You're going to play Heroes of Newerth now. It's the best game of its type, and that's simple fact. No, stop going on about balance or game mechanics or anything else in the world. Heroes of Newerth has an announcer pack in which all of the clips are voiced by Samuel L. Jackson, and if you think there's any other reason to play or not play a game, it's time for you to step back and re-evaluate your life choices to date. Jackson's announcements are... well, pretty much exactly what you'd expect from the terms "Samuel L. Jackson announcer pack." You can check them out past the break, although we should warn you that if your workplace or home has an issue with shouted profanity, you might want to turn down the volume. For everyone else, click past the break and enjoy the new pack.
Heroes of Newerth's 3.0 update has arrived
Heroes of Newerth's 3.0 update is finally here! As we reported earlier this month, S2 Games hopes its latest mega-patch will make the popular MOBA title "more accessible than ever" by focusing on the new player experience via a revamped walkthrough. There's also an in-game Learnatorium boasting a series of tutorial videos and a new system of player-controlled AI bots that allow new players to ease into the game before tackling a human opponent. S2 has also added a referral program and a new report-a-player system, both with the goal of making HoN's community the best in the MOBA space. Finally, we've embedded the latest HoN dev diary video for you after the break -- and don't forget the exclusive lore trailer we brought you last week! [Source: S2 press release]
Massively Exclusive: Heroes of Newerth lore trailer
There's a lot to be excited about for Heroes of Newerth's 3.0 update -- believe us, we've been there. S2 wants to up the frenzy level a little more, however, which is why the studio delivered a steaming hot cup of trailer for you to savor. The video mostly concerns itself with providing a thematic background to the characters' conflict and a snippet or two of the world's backstory. It then shifts into groovy slow-motion gameplay footage, although it seems over all too soon. Get pumped up for HoN's 3.0 update by watching the trailer after the jump!
A newbie in Heroes of Newerth: How patch 3.0 improves the MOBA experience
My first experiences in the MOBA genre went something like this: "What do you mean last-hitting and how come these towers keep shooting me? I'm a hero, for freak's sake!" to which my teammate would respond, "Quit feeding and die in a fire." It was a confusing and tumultuous time. Thankfully, the genre has taken a turn for the better, adding more in-depth tutorials, bot matches, and various other aids to help new players transition into the game and beef up the competitive numbers. Heroes of Newerth is no exception. S2 Games is preparing to globally launch (yes, everywhere at the same time) patch 3.0 on January 31st, 2013, and it will include a lane full of visual enhancements, bots with customizable AI, and a stronger emphasis on teaching new players the ropes. Could HoN establish itself as the MOBA for new players of the genre? We trekked to a demo in San Francisco last week to find out.
Heroes of Newerth gets hax0red
It's that special time again -- you know the one we're talking about. The time for all of us to think about our behavior and see how we measure up. It's not Santa that's come to town; it's a security breach! Heroes of Newerth's database has been infiltrated, giving someone access to account and login information. According to an announcement on the game's login page, players are "encouraged to change any passwords that were shared with [their] Heroes of Newerth account" and to not change their HoN password at this time. As everybody does at every single security breach, we'd like to reiterate the importance of using strong and unique -- more unique than strong, if you've got to pick between them -- passwords for all of your accounts. Password managers are your friends.
Game of Thrones Season Two Blu-ray set arrives February 19th
While waiting for season three of Game of Thrones to start airing March 31st, fans of HBO's series will be able to snag the second season on Blu-ray February 19th. Even if you've already seen it (whether on TV, via a borrowed HBO login or...other sources) there should be some new elements with Blu-ray exclusive "HBO Select" features including an interactive "War of the 5 Kings" guide to keep track of who is doing what / where / when, animated histories, in-episode guides with more information on characters (like the iPad companion app did) as they appear and "dragon egg" surprises. Check the press release after the break for a full account of features, or hit Amazon to preorder the 7-disc set (w/ digital copies) for $55.99.
Lenovo IdeaTab S2110 quietly goes on sale as the Gobots of transforming tablets
Lenovo's 10-inch IdeaTab S2 was one of the belles of its CES ball in offering a distinctly Transformer Pad-like experience for those not beholden to ASUS' view of the world. While there wasn't much attention given to the Android 4.0 tablet outside of the FCC filing we saw last month, it's getting its time to shine at last: the device is now sitting on Lenovo's virtual shelves as the S2110. The 10.1-inch slate's selling point remains its (strictly optional) keyboard dock, which supplies a trackpad, an SD slot, USB and 10 extra hours of battery life to keep that movie marathon going. Even if you have no intention of constructing the Gobot to ASUS' Transformer original, though, the S2110 is still a big leap over the so-so S2109 from the spring. A 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon APQ8060A, a rear 5-megapixel camera and a landscape 1,280 x 800 screen are all incentives to pay the premium over the S2110's budget predecessor. Not that there will be much of a premium to pay -- despite setting a $449 official price, Lenovo is already discounting the S2110 to as little as $343. That's low enough to lure the cost-conscious away from the Transformer Pad elephant in the room, even if it reminds us of relatives that always bought us the cheaper robot toys when we were kids. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
The Soapbox: League of Legends is the new World of Warcraft
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. Every now and then, a game comes out of nowhere with such incredible financial success that it causes the games industry to completely lose perspective. All it takes is one game to start raking in the millions for developers, publishers and investors to stumble around with dollar signs in their eyes for years to come. Innovation grinds to a halt and everyone starts blindly copying whichever game just hit the jackpot. It's like some huge industry-wide superstition takes over and convinces people that if they do the same dance the same way, it'll rain again. World of Warcraft has consistently had this effect since shortly after its launch in 2004. To this day, several studios per year excitedly announce yet another fantasy MMO that lifts its entire feature set and every gameplay mechanic wholesale from World of Warcraft as if it were a model for automatic success. The same thing is happening again in online gaming today, not from MMOs but from MOBAs, a new genre based on the competitive gaming classic DotA. Developers are still chasing the massive money made by yet another hugely successful game, and this time it's League of Legends.
Lenovo's IdeaTab S2 10-inch does tablet transformation, packs a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon (update: hands-on)
This wouldn't be the first time for Lenovo to release a tablet-plus-keyboard combo, though the illusive IdeaPad U1 Hybrid was merely adding Windows to the updated LePad via the keyboard dock. That said, Lenovo's freshly-announced IdeaTab S2 10" is a full package dedicated to Android 4.0, and it sports a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon 8x60A or 8960. Compared to the ASUS Transformer Prime and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, this 10-inch IdeaTab comes close to or even beats them with a 0.34-inch (8.69mm) thickness and a 1.27-pound (580 grams) weight -- certainly much better than its Chinese counterpart, the LePad S2010. Other features include a 1,280 x 800 LED-backlit IPS display, 3G with call support, 1GB LPDDR2 RAM, SSD of up to 64GB, HDMI Micro connection and front (1.3MP) and rear (5MP with autofocus) cameras. As for battery life, the tablet alone can keep cranking for up to 9 hours, and sliding it into the keyboard dock gets you an additional 9 hours plus two USB 2.0 ports, a multitouch trackpad and an SDHC card reader. No word on availability or pricing yet, so we'll keep poking Lenovo until we hear something.Update: We now have hands-on photos and video -- the latter after the break, as usual. Something interesting we spotted was the grid-like LeLauncher, which consists of square-shaped widgets that expand to bigger widgets or launch the relevant apps. Lenovo's folks also mentioned that compared to the ASUS Transformer series, the S2's "clam dock" slot hinge is designed in such a way that makes it easier to snap the tablet onto it, and we agree with them.
Native Instruments Traktor Kontrol S2 review
Native Instruments Maschine Mikro just wants to make the world dance, forget about the price tag T2 is not a cyborg, is the new more colorful Traktor Moldover's limited edition Mojo MIDI controller for serious musicians with seriously deep pockets (video) In the world of DJ'ing there are few certainties, be it the music you play, where you play it, or what you play it on. One thing's for sure, and that is that technology is changing the craft of mixing as we know it. Controllers in particular are responsible for bringing the craft closer to the masses: they're bedroom-friendly, full of gadgetry and they bring the time honored two-decks-and-a-mixer set up into the 21st century. Native Instruments already has offerings in this area in the form of the Kontrol X1 and Kontrol S4, both of which have been hugely popular. How, then, will its latest addition to the family – the Kontrol S2 – hold up against its established elder siblings, along with an increasingly crowded pool of competing models? Is this an evolutionary refinement of its bigger brother – the S4 – or a stripped-down, slightly more economical ($669) controller for those looking to dip a toe into the whole DJ thing? Let's get under the hood and find out. %Gallery-138510%
