Leaked Windows Phone roadmap reveals Tango, Apollo update plans

Indicating yet again that 2012 is going to be a big year for Windows Phone, details have emerged about Microsoft’s plans for its upcoming Tango and Apollo updates.

Tango, an update which will focus on delivering “products with the best price,” will hit sometime in the second quarter, while Apollo, a major update meant for superphones, will land in the fourth quarter, according to a leaked roadmap uncovered by WMPoweruser.

The roadmap is up to … Continue Reading

Ocean Marketing: How to self-destruct your company with just a few measly emails [update]

Update: A representative for the Avenger Controller (a new one, obviously) has released an official statement regarding Ocean Marketing’s involvement with their product and the actions of Paul Christoforo.

Original story: Strap yourself in, you’re about to witness the most outlandlish PR blunder in video gaming history. And trust me, there have been many…

Starting earlier this morning with a post on Penny Arcade, co-founder Mike “Gabe” Krahulik brought to light a series of emails … Continue Reading

Mainland China gets iPhone 4S in time for Chinese New Year

The iPhone 4S is set to drop in mainland China by or before January 23, the date of the Chinese New Year.

According to People’s Daily, the official news outlet of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the coveted gadget has been approved for distribution and should be available for sale soon.

“After obtaining the network entry permit from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China (MIIT), the iPhone 4S … Continue Reading

Epic Games favored by new ruling in Too Human lawsuit

While still far from over, a court ruling dated December 22 can be seen as a major setback for Silicon Knights in their suit against Epic Games. According to The Escapist website, the motion by Epic Games to exclude key opinion testimony from certified public accountant and financial analyst Terry Lloyd about potential damages in the suit has been upheld by the judge on the case.

The suit, filed by Silicon Knights in 2007, charges … Continue Reading

Google+ reaches 62M users, still not giving Facebook a run for its money

Google+ has reached 62 million registered users and is signing up 625,000 new users per day, according to unofficial Google+ statistician and Ancestry.com founder Paul Allen.

For a social network that was invite-only until July 2011, those numbers are not bad. However, Google+ has a long way to go if it wants to catch up to Facebook’s 800 million users.

Google+ has been adding new users by the tens of millions just about every month … Continue Reading

Top 5 sleeper hits of 2011

We’ve been thoroughly spoiled in 2011. One triple-A title after another has grabbed the headlines and, ultimately, the sales. But what about those in the background, without the budget to match their ambitions? Plenty of lesser-known titles have flaunted tremendous quality, yet may have slipped under the radar.

The games below are not only of a high standard, they are also among the most ambitious, unique, and creative titles to hit the shelves in 2011.… Continue Reading

50,000 apps later, Windows Phone is still in trouble

Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform now has more than 50,000 apps available — a significant milestone, but one that still puts it far behind Apple’s 500,000 iOS apps and Google’s more than 380,000 Android apps.

At least things seem to be picking up for the platform on the app front. It took Microsoft over a year to reach 40,000 apps on Windows Phone, but only 40 days to add another 10,000, reports All About Windows Phone. … Continue Reading

Analysis: Anonymous stole over 9K active credit card numbers in Stratfor hack

A clearer picture of the damage from the Stratfor hacking incident on Christmas Eve is coming into focus, with an independent analysis confirming more than 9,000 active credit card numbers were stolen from the security think tank.

In a high-profile incident that blew up the news on Christmas, the notorious hacker group Anonymous claimed to have stolen credit card data and other client details from Austin-based security think tank Stratfor, with the intent of donating … Continue Reading

Siri now available on jailbroken iOS 5 devices, including iPhone 4

A fully functioning port of the iPhone 4S’s hyped Siri voice assistant is now available for almost all jailbroken Apple mobile devices and huzzah, it’s legal!

The somewhat gimmicky Siri assistant has been the focus of the iPhone 4S’s advertising campaign, and the feature is suspected to be helping fuel major sales for that device. But as the program only officially works on the iPhone 4S, other iPhone owners have been wanting to get in … Continue Reading

Gameloft slashes all app titles to $0.99 for a limited time

Gameloft has announced an upcoming sale for all of its premium game titles on the Android Market. This includes N.O.V.A. 2 HD, Modern Combat 2: Black Pegasus, and Asphalt 6: Adrenaline, each of which usually retail for $6.99.

The holiday sale begins this Thursday, December 29 at 10am PST, and runs for exactly one week until Thursday, January 5. Gameloft’s most recent release, Modern Combat 3, will only be on sale for a single day.… Continue Reading

YouTube Slam pits viral videos against each other

Google is attempting to remedy the dispute between which viral videos are the most entertaining with a new experiment called YouTube Slam.

According to the YouTube official blog, YouTube Slam is a video discovery experiment it created in partnership with Google Research. Every week the staff will pick a new crop of videos in several categories (including Comedy, Cute, Music, Bizarre and Dance) that users can vote on. The winning videos get featured on a … Continue Reading

Foxconn invests $1.1B for world’s largest smartphone production plant

Foxconn plans to invest $1.1 billion in its Henan, China smartphone manufacturing plant in order to build the world’s largest smartphone production facility, reports China Daily. The company is the world’s largest electronic component contractor and is Apple’s principal parts supplier.

The money will go towards expanding the Foxconn Science Park plant, which opened in Zhengzhou, Henan earlier this year. The facility will grow to operate 95 production lines and is expected to bring the … Continue Reading

Jailbreak! iOS 5.0.1 gets untethered exploits for non-A5 chip devices

Hackers have just taken the wraps off some handy new jailbreaking tools for iOS devices.

The wares will work for any iOS devices running the 5.0.1 version of the operating system and will work for all of Apple’s mobile hardware lineup except the iPhone 4S and the iPad 2.

Thanks to iOS hacker pod2g, whose exploits form the basis of the jailbreak package, non-A5 devices can be jailbroken while untethered.

The fine folks at the … Continue Reading

3DS sells over 4M units in Japan, first premium downloadable content title announced

Despite a rough start both critically and financially, the Nintendo 3DS has now surpassed four million sales in Japan alone.

It has been an odd year for Nintendo. July brought plummeting stocks for the game company after the lukewarm reaction to the 3DS. Nintendo responded swiftly with a price cut in July, making its new handheld much more affordable. Back in September we learned the $80 price cut had increased sales threefold for Nintendo’s struggling … Continue Reading

LCD display makers to pay $553M in price-fixing conspiracy case

Seven major LCD display makers have agreed to pay more than $553 million for illegally conspiring to fix prices of thin film transistor (LFT) LCD panels used in television, computer and laptop screens. Samsung Electronics, Sharp and Chimei Innolux are paying the largest portion of the proposed multi-state antitrust settlement, which still requires court approval.

The companies are accused of colluding to artificially inflate the prices of LFT LCD panel prices for seven years, starting … Continue Reading

Christmas marks record high for Android and iOS activiations, app downloads

Christmas is a time for giving, and for many the gift this year was gadgets. Android and iOS devices saw a year-over-year 140 percent jump in activations this Christmas, with application downloads sailing past the historical norm.

Smartphones and tablets have surpassed the luxury phase, and are proliferating the market as every day household items. Though they still haven’t taken over feature phones, which own around 60 percent of the market, smartphones are widely adopted. … Continue Reading

AOL media talent loss continues: Joystiq editor departing for Vox

AOL is losing another top employee from its media division — this time it’s video-game blog Joystiq’s Editor, Chris Grant, who made the announcement in a post today.

The exodus, which was first announced in a personal blog post by Engadget Managing Editor Darren Murph, also includes two other Joystiq staffers. Together, the former employees plan to launch a video game vertical for Vox Media, which is known for producing Sports-minded SB Nation and technology-focused … Continue Reading

NameCheap offers you a discount to leave SOPA-supporting domain hosting services

Following GoDaddy’s recanted support for SOPA, domain hosting site NameCheap is looking to lure in domain owners who no longer want anything to do with GoDaddy or SOPA supporting services.

NameCheap has annouced MoveYourDomainDay, which aims to get customers from SOPA-supporting domain hosting services to defect. The company isn’t naming names; it’s only saying it is offering a discount to customers who “wish to leave service providers who support SOPA.” On December 29th, for $6.99 … Continue Reading

How to get a programming job at a startup (infographic)

We have only a few days before the new year ball drops and 2012 is upon us. Many will hope for good health, good fortune and good friends, but in this economy, even more may hope for jobs.

If you’re a programmer, here’s an infographic of tips to help you get that job you’re looking for.

Silicon Valley has a number of resources for programmers looking to stretch their digital fingers into the startup world. … Continue Reading