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Samsung debuts its first Galaxy S5 ad during the Oscars and turns sponsorship dollars into all-star selfies
In case you hadn't heard, Samsung's newest phone is coming. At the Oscars, the Galaxy S5 just got a huge shot of publicity, both in a 30-second ad segment and the not-so-casual presence of its big bro, the Note 3, throughout the award ceremony. We hope you like Hollywood stars and selfies, because Ellen's going to be tweeting a whole lot of them. That's your sponsorship dollars at work, Samsung, even if DeGeneres apparently switched back to an iPhone backstage. Update: Oh, and that ensemble picture being taken in the shot above? The real thing is now the most-retweeted post, ever. [Picture via @Buzzfeed]
'Selfie' beats bitcoins, lab meat, twerking and a tiny mammal for word of the year
The good news: we're apparently a little less obsessed with acronyms than we have been in past years. The bad news? It seems we're still addicted to taking photographs in bathroom mirrors for posting on social networks. According to the Oxford Dictionary, use of the word "selfie" has increased by leaps and bounds over the past year, up some 12,000-percent. That's enough to earn it the honor of becoming the academic reference book's word of the year. And, this being the Oxford Dictionary, there's naturally a nice etymology involved, tracing the word's usage to a self-reportedly drunken poster on an Australian messageboard who smashed their lip on a flight of stairs. So...congrats? Also on the shortlist: binge-watch, bitcoin, schmeat (synthetic meat, naturally), showrooming, twerk and olinguito, an adorable raccoon relative from Colombia. Don't worry, you're all winners in our book.
Canon's 1080p Legria mini camcorder makes it easy to film... yourself
Though we got tired of the word "selfie" in about 1/8000th of a second, it's true that snapping yourself can be tricky, especially on video. Canon wants to aid and abet such vanity with the Legria mini, a 1080p camcorder with an ultra-wide angle lens, flipscreen and built-in stand. To make sure that we, er, you look as good as possible, Canon's equipped it with a 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor, DIGIC DV 4 processor, 12.8-megapixel still shooter, stereo audio and 160 degree wide lens (170 degrees for stills). You'll also get built-in WiFi, an iOS app, DLNA support, time-lapse, slow motion and mirror image recording and playback. There's even a decidedly HTC Zoe-like feature which takes a four second video when you snap a photo, and assembles them together when you're ready. All of that should help keep your Vine, Video on Instagram and other filmic pipelines full. Check the PR and video after the break for more.
THL's W11 'Monkey King' phone packs a 13MP camera on both sides
THL is a name that makes us cringe whenever we come across it, not only because its logo is clearly "inspired" by HTC's older counterpart, but more so because it's been shamelessly cloning designs from the likes of HTC, LG and Samsung. Alas, these KIRF phones sell well in China, thus letting THL rapidly expand its retail business in recent years -- there are now a handful of THL stores in Shenzhen alone. But today, the company finally has something worth writing about: the Android 4.2.2-powered W11, also known as "Monkey King" (a main character from the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West).
