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Amazon's making a custom Kindle store for Samsung Galaxy devices
Samsung seems to be on a roll with bagging media partnerships for its Galaxy line of phones and tablets. First music streaming service Deezer, and now it's getting a custom-built Kindle book store in a deal with Amazon. Announced this morning, the service also gives Galaxy owners referred to the service (starting with the GS5, but more to follow) 12 free books a year. Users will get four "prominent" titles a month to choose from, which have been "chosen specifically" for Galaxy owners (whatever that means). Samsung's already laden with bespoke services, such as its Milk internet radio platform, its own custom app store, and there's even an existing Samsung Books app. Of course, let's not forget the existing Kindle app for Android. However, if you want to snag yourself those free libros, Kindle for Samsung launches in the next two weeks.
UK chain GAME to close dedicated Xbox store
GAME and Microsoft deemed the UK retailer's Xbox store a success, after confirming to MCV the London outlet closes its doors later this month. As MCV notes, the store opened in June 2013 on a short-term lease and with a focus of boosting Xbox One sales at launch. "The short-term contract location for the dedicated Xbox store has given us real insight into what consumers expect from the next generation of retail," said GAME Stores Director Dave Howard told MCV. "We have implemented Xbox sections in all of our stores - we have taken all the best of the Xbox store into over 320 GAME stores around the UK. Customers really showed an appetite for hands-on experience, interactive displays and a way to digitally access Xbox Live content. We will continue to innovate our stores with Microsoft." Pop-up stores for launches are nothing new in London: Ubisoft trotted one out for a game a few years ago, Q Entertainment's Child of Eden. While that game was arguably good enough to warrant its own store, it really could've done with 100 more. [Image: GAME]
Elder Scrolls Online downtime prepares for launch day [Updated: The game is back, and we are go for launch]
Early access to Elder Scrolls Online is ending, and as such the team has taken both of the megaservers offline in preparation for launch day tomorrow. The downtime for the game, store, and account services is estimated at a few hours. Once ZeniMax plugs everything back in, players will see a few big changes in the game's store. The updated store will offer subscription billing, upgrades to the Digital Imperial Edition, and the Palomino horse mount. In-game mail will also be restored. [Thanks to Space Cobra for the tip!] [Update: The game is back up and ZeniMax has officially declared it a launch!]
Want a free year of Office 365? Bring your iPad to a Microsoft Store
If you're enamored with Office for iPad but don't want to fork over $70-plus per year for the necessary Office 365 subscription, you'll want to make a beeline to your local Microsoft Store this weekend. Microsoft has launched a promo that will offer a free year of Office 365 to the first 50 people who bring an iPad to a given retail location from March 28th through March 30th. You'll undoubtedly have to hustle if you want to take advantage of the deal, but the trek could be worthwhile if you like the idea of giving Office an extra-long trial run.
Aion's Black Cloud Marketplace celebrates in-game grand opening, deals and freebies ensue
Usually when a store opens in a new location, a grand opening celebration soon follows. Aion's Black Cloud Marketplace is no different. Starting today, players can access the marketplace right from inside the game instead of having to tab out to buy items on the official site. And to celebrate this grand in-game opening, NCsoft is offering a free pet and a special deal! From now until March 12th, players can get a permanent Palmist Acarun pet (a three-headed baby dragon) through the in-game store. Additionally, the winning Shugo Aethertech design by player EMPIREinWAR will become available for purchase; those who grab theirs before the 12th will get 20% off the purchase price. Check out the new Aethertech in the new images below. [Source: NCsoft press release]
Tesla plans European expansion with service centers and showrooms
Tesla has a relatively tiny European presence with just a handful of showrooms, service hubs and Superchargers, but it's about to get a much larger foothold -- the EV maker has revealed that it will open more than 30 stores and service centers across Europe. There's no indication of just when and where these locations will open. It won't be hard to find Superchargers in the near future, however. Tesla still expects to place the fast recharging stations across most of Europe before the end of the year, making it practical to drive cross-continent in a Model S without any lengthy stopovers.
The Summoner's Guidebook: The allure of new LoL champions
Picking new champions in League of Legends is akin to picking a role. There are a few major schools of thought: Either you pick a small number of characters and stand by them or you grab every new character that strikes your fancy. Of course, there's a middle road where you get a lot of characters but you still focus on getting new characters that add something to your roster. There's less of an opportunity cost with picking up a new character than there is with picking a new role. Learning a new champion takes some practice, but many of the things you learn while playing your new character are applicable to every character in the same role.
Oppo N1 CyanogenMod phone launches December 24th with Google's blessing
Oppo's announcement of a CyanogenMod custom Android version of the N1 was great news for performance phone fans, but who wants to sideload apps? Luckily, the new handset and CyanogenMod 10.2 combo has just cleared Google's compatibility test suite (CTS) gauntlet, meaning it'll officially get Google's Play Store to install apps. That's the first time CyanogenMod has been certified by Mountain View on any device, a milestone which entailed "a lot of sleepless nights," according to the group. With that hurdle cleared, Oppo has announced that the CM-equipped handset will be available on December 24th, though there's no word if it'll cost $599 like the standard model. Either way, fans of a more-or-less stock Android experience now have another choice besides Nexus and Google Play Edition handsets.
World of Warcraft in-game store goes live
World of Warcraft has made it even easier to part with your money, as Blizzard has launched an in-game store for the popular MMO. The Battle.net Shop (as it's being called) is primarily focused on selling mounts and pets. The store can be accessed via either browser or an in-game interface, and it ships items directly into your characters' inventories. Purchases can also be gifted to other players. To celebrate the shop's launch, Blizzard is selling eight pets and five mounts for half-off the full price through January 1st, 2014.
Sky opens its movie rental store to everyone in the UK
After dedicating a lot of focus to its streaming subscription services, Sky is finally showing some love for those who like to rent movies. Originally only available to its TV customers, the broadcasting giant has opened the Sky Store to all in the UK, allowing anyone with a browser, Now TV, Roku or YouView box to rent any of its 1,200 movies. While Now TV attempts to conquer the UK streaming market, Sky's Store expansion will provide a firm footing for it to take on Apple's iTunes and Google's Play Store in the fight over à la carte movie downloads. For latest releases, the Sky Store charges £3.49 (around $6) per rental, with older movies available for between 99p and £1.99. You will, of course, still be able to access the Sky Store via your Sky+ box, but if you've decided to cut the cord, today's announcement may help if you've watched everything in your Netflix or Lovefilm queue.
Apple's online store now offering refurbished Late 2013 27" iMac models
Apple has begun offering the newest iMac models as refurbished units on its online store. Three models of the 27-inch iMac are available, including: 3.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 with 8 GB RAM, 1 TB hard drive and NVIDIA GeForce GT 755M graphics for US$1,529.00, a $270 savings versus new/list price for the same model. 3.5GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 with 8 GB RAM, 1 TB hard drive, and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 775M graphics for $1,869.00, a $330 savings. 3.5GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 with 8 GB RAM, 3 TB Fusion drive, and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M graphics for $2,289.00, a $410 savings. Refurbished items Apple sells come with the company's one-year limited warranty and are often a great way for customers to get the latest models at reduced cost.
Xbox One online games store is live
Microsoft's web store for Xbox One is now open for business. The store offers players a means of buying Xbox One games through their PC, which will then download to their console, much like Microsoft's online store in the past. The store features screens and videos for games, a "related games" recommendation system and star-based ratings guide, with a simple listing that spotlights those ratings with each game's cover art. Microsoft's Xbox One web store doesn't outwardly discern between retail and download-only games, though the former retains the same price as their boxed counterparts, $59.99. The Xbox One launches tomorrow, and our review and ongoing coverage should keep you busy while you stand in line for your console tonight.
Apple Store app finally debuts for iPad with clean, tablet-friendly interface
It's hardly show-stopping news out of Cupertino today, but gadget fiends hoping to wrap their holiday tech shopping without leaving home now have one more option in their tablet-friendly arsenal. It's the Apple Store app for iPad, and it's coming soon to a slate near you. The application, designed specifically to take advantage of the iPad's added screen real estate, is a big step up from its iPhone equivalent. There's a bounty of high-res product images with full pinch-to-zoom support, intuitive category links and detailed product info, including explanations for certain device add-ons, like increased storage or wireless connectivity. Curiously, this version lacks the in-store options available with the Apple Store app for iPhone, such as the EasyPay checkout feature that launched way back in 2011. Fire up your iPad and hit up the source link to check it out.
Xiaomi to set up 18 stores in China by end of year, but not for selling phones or TVs
Even though Xiaomi's been doing quite well in mainland China and Taiwan, you still won't be able to find its products in brick-and-mortar stores, except for those of partner carriers and scalpers. This is why we got a bit giddy when we heard the company is now in the process of setting up 18 stores across China. But there's a catch: you won't be able to buy any Xiaomi Phones or Xiaomi TVs in them. Instead, you'll only find accessories there, including the Xiaomi Box, phone cases, batteries, cables, RC toys, clothes and even dolls of the Xiaomi bunny mascot.
PlayStation 4's live launch event begins at 11PM ET, check out the UI first (video)
It's almost time for the PlayStation 4 to arrive. With just a few minutes left before consoles go on sale on the east coast, you should definitely check out our in-depth review if you haven't already. Once you're through with that, take a peek after the break for a nine minute video dive into the system's UI as Sony VP Eric Lempel shows off the system's menus, store, live game broadcasting features, social feeds and much more. Sure it's cutting the timing kind of close, but whether you're still on the fence, waiting for a delivery or sticking it out in line outside a local retailer, this will give a good idea of what the system can offer. Once you're done comparing it to Microsoft's demonstration from last week (and downloading the day one patch and apps), check out the Sony launch event -- the live stream starts at 11PM ET. The Ustream feed is embedded after the break, but you can also watch it on the PS3's Live Events app, DirecTV, or Spike TV.
Humble Store launches, skips the Bundles and flash sales
Man can not live by flash sales alone... or something like that. Humble Bundle, the premier destination for pay-what-you-want bi-weekly packages of indie games knows that. And so today it launched a new store front, appropriately called The Humble Store. Instead predetermined groups of games being offered in one shot, you can buy individual titles at any time. Titles are hand selected by the Humble team, but your choices will be much broader than could possibly fit in a single Bundle. New games will be added every day as the Humble Store builds its library, starting with a number of deeply discounted options, including 'Don't Starve.' As with the Bundles and Weekly Sales, a portion of the proceeds go to charity. However, unlike those chances to set the split, a standard 10 percent of your money is earmarked for groups like the American Red Cross, Child's Play, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Of course, every little bit helps. So, what are you waiting for, hit up the Humble Store and get shopping.
HMV finally understands this 'internet' thing, launches UK music store app
Having filed for bankruptcy and successfully avoided closure just a week later, British high street retailer HMV is hoping a new digital storefront will help it keep the wolves from its door. Under the leadership of Hilco, the retail restructuring business that previously picked up Polaroid's brand, the company today launched a new music store for iOS and Android devices. The apps let smartphone owners listen to or buy tracks by scanning images of CD albums and posters, or by tagging audio tracks thanks to Soundhound's music discovery algorithms. Amazon may have helped put HMV out of business, but the big purple retailer has got one up on Amazon's Cloud Player with some of these features. The company doesn't plan to stop there either: it'll soon integrate its store into a revamped website, letting everyone else get a piece of the action.
Nintendo opens UK web store with free delivery in this, our year of Luigi
If you're a resident of the United Kingdom and would prefer to put your money directly into Luigi's pocket, rather than into the coffers of big business, you now have the option of doing so, as the Nintendo UK Online Store has opened for business. The shop offers the expected range of Wii U bundles, limited-edition Pokemon-themed 3DS units, games and other various sundries. While there don't appear to be any sales or surprises to speak of, other than in-stock New Leaf 3DSes, you do get free shipping on every order and free next-day delivery on orders over £200.
Kaleidescape's digital store adds $2 Blu-ray-to-digital copy upgrades
Kaleidescape arrived at this year's CEDIA event with a couple of fresh news items to accompany its mainstream-adjacent $3,995 Cinema One player. Its online Kaleidescape Store is getting a boost by adding the ability for customers to add digital copies for their existing Blu-ray discs. At launch it only supported DVDs, but now customers can get high quality, discless access to movies they already own HD editions of, just by putting a disc in the player. The price for Ultraviolet access across devices and an excuse to stop getting up from the couch to put the disc in (although, if you'd like to buy an expensive disc changer instead we're sure Kaleidescape won't argue) is $1.99, so choose wisely. Finally, the company is expanding access to the store, which has opened its virtual doors in Canada for the first time, in addition to the US and the UK, where it launched back in May.
Microsoft pushing Xbox 360 update allowing Xbox Live purchases with real money (update: too soon)
Remember when Microsoft said that you could soon buy Xbox Live content using real money? Well, check your Xbox 360: following an update to one of our consoles, we're now seeing content available in local currency. It's unclear at this stage how many gamers are seeing the change, although Microsoft has already mentioned that the next update will flip the switch. We've reached out to the company for confirmation of the rollout. If you get the update as well, don't worry about your account balance -- as Microsoft mentioned before, any existing points will be converted to their cash equivalent. Update: Microsoft says that real money purchases are still limited to beta program participants, and you'll have to wait until the fall to see the currency change -- false alarm, folks.
