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GTA V – 2 weeks until PC release

March 31, 2015 By Roxanne Briean Leave a Comment

Grand Theft Auto V, or for short GTA V, will be released for the PC on 14th of April 2015. You can pre-order it via Steam for 59,99$ right now!

GTA V is an open-world, action adventure game created by Rockstar North, and published by Rockstar Games. Grand Theft Auto isn’t a term created specially for the game, but it stands in US law as –  a felony crime defined as the theft of objects exceeding a certain monetary value, as set by statute or court ruling. It is usually distinguished from petty theft where the value of the item taken is substantially lower in value. Theft of an automobile is usually considered Grand theft even if the vehicle is a salvage or scrap vehicle having no value or a very small value. The value necessary for a crime to rise from Petty to Grand theft can be as low as $100 depending on the jurisdiction, but is usually $200 or $1000.

featured image

 

GTA V is a behemoth!

It was released in September of 2013 for the PS3, and Xbox 360, and September of 2014 for the PS4, and Xbox One. Although it had received positive reviews regarding the last gen title, it still felt lackluster, and awkward looking sometimes – with walktrough breaking bugs that would put a dent in the enjoyment of the game, graphical glitches that appeared randomly while you played, and the on-line experience with its poor server stability that sometimes would lead to frustration of the highest degree.

GTA V is a behemoth in the video-game industry, and each title sells millions of copies – engaging its audience in a world full of violence, crime, sex, drugs, and just mindless fun.

Almost two weeks ago Rockstar patched the game without stating exactly what it fixed ” Fixes for GTA Online to improve stability, and other minor fixes for both GTA Online and Story Mode.” Not much to go on. They definitely didn’t change the architecture of the game, but they did something. And we hope that the  something they fixed on last gen consoles doesn’t suddenly break for PC users. But seriously, it is the most useless patch notes I have ever read – ” We fixed some stuff, we hope that the stuff we fixed will remain fixed.”

After two years of waiting, the Heists DLC Pack has finally been released, and it has crippled the on-line enjoyment of it due to the high user load that hugged the servers to death. The Heists DLC adds to the immense world that is GTA V – with a new mode called cooperative heists. It teams you with other 3 players, each having different tasks, to take on a heist. It will test your helmet to the metal – flying, combat, stealth and driving skills must be practised thoroughly. Or if you want to make the gang a fool of themselves, then by all means don’t get a hold of the frying pan before jumping in the kitchen.

Take control of 3 characters

 

Take control of 3 characters! 

GTA V’s storyline is one that we are accustomed to – superb narrative, exciting plot twists. The game is set in Los Santos where the people of the city, and the country alike, are on the brink of dividing even more due to the wake of the global financial crisis. In this new installment you will take control of three characters Michael, Trevor, and Franklin. They form an unique bond over their abilities to perform a clean, and quick heist. Their criminal fraternity is fuelled by their sense of crime, and not always, but sometimes, hatred towards the establishment.

The player can switch between each of the characters. Unlocking the main story, and different side quests, by playing with each and every one of the main protagonists –  but you can do so only when you are not in a mission!

Switching between characters is a great way to see how well thought the game is. Each individual is independent, and sees the team as something more than a bunch of guys robbing a bank – only if they work together they can reach their goals. It’s like when the villains of a cartoon realise they have a chance of defeating the super-heroes if they team up, but alas, they end up divided due to their humongous egos, and hidden motives.

Heist missions are the pillars of the game that make GTA V an unique team-work experience. A player needs to prepare for a heist – and that preparation require reconnaissance, staking out the place, acquiring certain weapons and ammunition and executing the plan in a certain style. Well, a certain style is a too loose of a term. The game offers you the possibility of going the subtle way, or heads first, aggressiveness to the max. While I do recommend to have fun while playing a game, and more so an open-world action adventure like GTA V deserves every bit of violence that you can put into, I would let you think twice before going into a bank and setting off the alarms in 5 seconds flat.

 first person perspective

 

GTA V for PC will be a one of a kind experience!

GTA V PC fans will have the time of their lives. Not only that the game has gone through after-release patches, and content has been added, but the hardware capabilities of a PC are vastly superior that of any console available at the time. Of course, it’s a ton more expensive than a PS4 that is about 400$, or an Xbox One that stands at almost the same price. But you’ll notice how the traffic, and people that roam the street, is much more denser, and the little details like how the wind blows and the trees move, how tall-grass interacts while you move through it – makes the game an unique experience.

With the release of the title on last gen consoles, GTA V has added a new perspective – that of the first person. It substantially immerses the player into the chaotic world of Los Santos, and it adds depth to the tons of detail that the developers have worked so hard on.

With over 3000 new animations made specifically for the new perspective, one could feel madness taking control, and going on a rampage – of course, in the game. You’ll be able to see how Michael is reloading his weapon, throwing punches at unfortunate passers by, and how frustrated he is when he gets stuck in traffic – hitting the steering wheel with the wrath of a thousand suns, or the wrath of not having a drink in the morning.

As if Rockstar has thought of everything, you can preset your camera to change to the third person in particular situations. For example, when combat unfolds, and you need to duck for cover, you can set the camera to automatically change to the third person – the game is meant to be played in third person, and I’m not saying that the first person perspective doesn’t offer the same fun, even more so, but shooting out of a cover, and panning the camera right and left is crucial to the game’s playability. You will be swarmed by enemies trying to out-flank you because the first person perspective doesn’t allow you to pan the camera – it’s like real life, and you’ll die countless of times before getting fed up with it.

landscapes

 

Lost Santos, and Blaine County – beautiful landscapes!

The locations of Los Santos, and Blaine County have a magic in them that will most likely make you wander around the place just visiting shops, parks, forests, beaches  – immersing yourself in the virtual world. And you know how strolling around a Birch Wood forest can get better? Riding your dirt bike through it, while having the option to listen to over 300 tracks, spanned over 15 radio stations – with 2 of them being talk radio. I remember how much fun I had in GTA: Vice City, San Andreas, and GTA IV by just getting into a car and listening to the radio.

GTA V is an icon in the video-game industry, and it revolutionizes how a player embodies an avatar, and has tremendous fun over and over again. It will hit PC stores, both physical copies and digital ones, on the 14th of April 2015. I can hardly wait!

 

Has the Grand Theft Auto franchise marked our childhood with its breakthrough free world? Or has it left you down by taking a more gritty, and dark path?

 

Image Source: 1,2,3,4

 

Filed Under: Headlines Tagged With: grand theft auto 5, grand theft auto v, gta 5, GTA 5 for PC, gta 5 pc, gta v, GTA V for PC, gta v pc

Gorilla Glass 4 makes Galaxy S6 impossible to destroy

March 31, 2015 By Roxanne Briean Leave a Comment

 

Latest tech from Corning

The video in question can be watched right here.

While I do know that the video is too blurry, and we don’t see possible scratch marks, a smartphone resisting that beating and still be able to work afterwards is just plain incredible. I cringed every time I heard that slapping noise – something deep inside of me was prepared to leap into the screen, and save that poor device from its tyrannical overlord.

Samsung is preparing to release its new Galaxy models – S6, and it’s curvier brother the S6 Edge. Besides sporting a beautiful next-gen design its protective shell consists of Corning Gorilla Glass 4. Corning has stated that their new coating can withstand a serious pummelling – as we can clearly see in the video.

Before the release of the iPhone 6, Apple was having seconds thoughts regarding Gorilla Glass 3 – although its an incredible foliage, if an user drops the phone at certain awkward angles, the screen can horribly crack. Apple was looking into another manufacturer that could make glass with sapphire, which is much stronger, more durable. But the deal fell through and the iPhone was released with Corning Glass 3. We are sure that Apple’s next release will most certainly display Gorilla Glass 4.

After watching the video, I think I might be considering wrapping everything that I posses in Gorilla Glass 4 – it would be hard to brush my teeth, but I have to live with my decisions.

Corning doesn’t use sapphire for manufacturing their Gorilla Glass products, but they are seriously tinkering with the possibilities. Corning is experimenting with sapphire on their Project Phire. That can only mean good news for us clumsy fools – no more worries of dropping our smartphones, and having to use a cracked, and heavily scratched phone.

” The sick feeling of dropping a phone and breaking the screen is all too common. Which is why Corning’s top scientists performed thousands of hours of tests to understand how and why glass breaks when dropped.” a Corning representative has stated.

You can rest assured that Gorilla Glass 4 won’t be available only for Apple or Samsung owners – there will be many smartphones that will adopt Corning as their lord and saviour. We just have to wait for the list of future smartphones that will withstand clumsiness’ wrath.

You can check the outdated products list right here.

Image Source: 1

Filed Under: Headlines Tagged With: Corning Gorilla Glass 4, Gorilla Glass 4, S6 impossible to destroy, S6 video destroy

Legend of Zelda – delayed by a year for the Wii U

March 31, 2015 By Roxanne Briean Leave a Comment

Delayed

Not only will Legend of Zelda not make the 2015 release date, but it won’t even appear at the E3 game expo in June.

Eiji Aonuma, the producer of the game, has announced on Facebook the delay and its motives.

“I must apologize to you all that were expecting the game by year’s end, but we are no longer making a 2015 release our number one priority,” said Aonuma. “Instead, our priority is to make it the most complete and ultimate Zelda game.”

Some will definitely be annoyed by the delay. I, for one, am of strong conviction that if a game resides more in its developing stage, then the end-product will be worth it – we are talking about Nintendo here. Although, history has thought us that it doesn’t matter if a game goes through a longer development period, it still has a chance of being a weak title – I’m looking at you Doom.

“As we have worked to turn these possibilities into reality, new ideas have continued to spring forth, and it now feels like we have the potential to create something that exceeds even my own expectations,” said Aonuma. “As I have watched our development progress, I have come to think that rather than work with meeting a specific schedule as our main objective, and releasing a game that reflects only what we can create within that scheduled time, I feel strongly that our focus should be to bring all these ideas to life in a way that will make The Legend of Zelda on Wii U the best game it can possibly be.”

Not being able to display their game at E3 can hint us to one thing – Nintendo is way behind their schedule. Now, don’t panic. Maybe it means that they are working on every detail of the game. One could only hope…

The Legend of Zelda is expected to make big sales for the Wii U. Nintendo’s expectation have been shattered by the not poor, but mediocre sales of their latest device. More and more fans have issued concerns with Nintendo’s strategies – it’s the time for mobile gaming, whether the Japanese company understands it or not.

Eiji Aonuma’s video message can be seen right here.

Image Source: 1

Filed Under: Headlines Tagged With: Legend of Zelda, Legend of Zelda delayed, Legend of Zelda Wii U, Legend of Zelda Wii U delayed

Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge Coming to Australia this Week

March 30, 2015 By Roxanne Briean Leave a Comment

Samsung Galaxy S6 has been uncovered in Sydney along with precious information regarding the long awaited model and its pricier brother, the Galaxy S6 Edge, at a recent meeting in Australia. The gadgets will be offered for pre-order on the Internet from March 30 and for sales in stores from April 10. The basic version of the 32 GB Galaxy S6 begins at 999 AUD, while the more expensive Galaxy S6 Edge version is costing a rather unaffordable 1449 AUD.

samsung galaxy s6

That less expensive edition is at the same price as the initial iPhone 6 that has only 16 GB of memory space. It is also with 100 AUD less pricy than the Android competitor, the HTC One M9.

However, Australians will be offered only the white and black versions of the product, lacking the possibility to buy the stunning green and blue colors presented by Samsung at its conferences. The Galaxy S6 has an incredibly extremely effective octa core processor, this proving that the smart phone will be quicker and without the frustrating lag.

There is also a larger 2550 mAh battery inside the Galaxy S6 and the 2600 mAh for the S6 Edge. That is more compact than a Galaxy S5’s 2800 mAh, but the improvements in display and power technologies will hopefully show some important differences. The customers will have the occasion to find out about it, when the full evaluation is released soon.

The display is the same size (5.1” wide) as a Galaxy S5, but it comes with the Quad-HD image quality (4x high definition), this making it one of the best screens, if not the best mobile display on smart phone these days. The producer has promised even a few years ago that its series of smart phones are aimed to increase dramatically the quality of the video and pictures taken by the users.

The 16-megapixel back-facing digital camera has the same image quality as the S5, but Samsung has enhanced it in other places and believes it is the best you will find in any smart phone. The front-facing cam is 5-megapixels (in order to capture awesome selfies), while the heart rate monitor is installed into a flash unit, as it was into the S5.

In addition, there is the fingerprint-scanning device that does not require the user to run his hand over it like the old HP laptops. A Galaxy S6 Edge has a couple of shapes along each part of the smart phone, and aside from this, it is the same gadget as the conventional Galaxy S6.

Image source: www.techcrunch.com

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Samsung galaxy s6, samsung galaxy s6 edge

Budget Cutting for Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Mars Rover Opportunity

March 30, 2015 By Roxanne Briean Leave a Comment

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Mars Rover Opportunity are facing a financing cut after the most recent budget discussions for 2016, according to the officials at NASA. Citing the specialists close to these projects, the mass media revealed that some American experts had believed that the orbiter and rover were not in danger because the money for them had been discussed in the complementary budgets to the White House yearly financial tasks, rather than in a budget allocated to the space sciences department.

During a decade of function, Opportunity has surpassed way beyond the initial three-month objective. Along with it, the space probe has sent numerous pictures that have fascinated and even baffled the viewers.Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

In January, a mysterious rock that the researchers have likened to a jam doughnut (light colored around the sides with a red center) appeared in a photo when the Mars Rover had not moved on or in reverse. Scientists determined that the most likely theory was that the probe has “kicked up” the stone when it shifted into position. That move has turned the stone over, revealing a hidden part that had not been exposed for an immeasurable time, maybe billions of years.

The lunar orbiter’s primary job, finished in 2010, was to scan and map possible areas for spaceship pilots to return to the celestial satellite. More lately, it has been programmed to record the modifications produced on the lunar regions.

The plans for the two probes and others, including their future expenses, have been when the NASA Advisory Council Subcommittee met at the NASA main office in California, DC. The conference plan contained up-dates on the Mars discovery, the external planet’s exploration, near-earth things and various other subjects.

There’s challenging information forward for lovers of NASA’s plucky Chance Rover or the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. The most reason price range suggested by Chief

Both Opportunity and the Orbiter have their supporters and adversaries. Currently, the bi-static radar is not functioning due to budgeting deficits, but the radar is still able to check the moon’s area to evaluate the activities on it and the quantities of ice in different crater pouches all over the Moon. Any realistic plans for a long-term human friendly environment would use the lunar ice for consuming it and for development.

Meanwhile, on Mars, Opportunity’s specialists just completed resetting the probe’s flash storage. For the past few years, Opportunity has been functioning with no flash hardware at all, passing the details as they were produced. Getting the rover back to its full working capacity improves the techniques to execute scientific findings and operate various tests.

The latest NASA evaluation of the Mars-based operations for cost-reliability and scientific prospective per money of expenses actually placed the Opportunity and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in top places for the effective use of financial resources per predicted scientific gains. This way, they defeated the bigger and more complex Curiosity that has been much more under public attention since landing on Mars four years ago.

The doubts circulating around both Opportunity and Mars Rover is an example of how a short-term objective of political forces can menace the long-term progressive goals. Both the rover and satellite can be used to collect details that are important to a future human base or community on other planets. When we consider the price of developing, examining and releasing a space device (not to mention the major risks of failure), the majority of the expenses of Mars Rover Opportunity and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter have already happened. It is far more cost-effective to discover new ways to work with current devices than to release new components.

Image source: www.mars.nasa.gov

Filed Under: Tech & Science Tagged With: Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, Mars Rover Opportunity

YouTube Presenting its Videos at 4K Resolution and 60 Frames per Second

March 30, 2015 By Roxanne Briean Leave a Comment

Before YouTube 4K resolution, not so long ago, the website has tested new features for its movie clips, such as 360-degree clips and the multi-angle function, but the famous video website is also looking forward to meet the requirements of new technological innovation before they become widely used. YouTube’s latest news show six video clips playing at a 4K resolution at 60 frames per second.

 youtube 4k resolution

The clips, which for now can only be watched on Google Chrome, have a selection of scenes from volcanic eruptions to the fan-made short movie composed of shots from the space game Star Resident. All these clips look wonderful on a complete HD display at 1080p and 60 frames per second, even if some problems appear when you change it to 4K image quality.

The main issues are that the videos will not run successfully, given that most persons do not even own a 4K display system. Moreover, another problem is data transfer usage for the actual quantity of information needed for the 4K video clips, and these might keep the web pages loading for a long time.

As the HDTV device in the recent years, the 4K display needs a period of accommodation to turn into a cost-efficient system in order to become the new norm for watching movies or music clips. To do so, it is gradually integrated into several programs such as Netflix, DirectTV, Amazon Instant Video or the Nvidia Shield. Unfortunately, the 4K devices are, however, an expensive acquisition and only the customers with thick wallets can afford to buy both the gadgets and the appropriate connection that allows an optimum data transfer.

It really is worth noting that even the 4K resolution at 60 frames per second is now on a experimental level, YouTube already offers both the image quality and frame costs independently. The Google owned company announced the 4K support for video clips back in 2011 but it was only in 2014 that short movies could be watched at 60 frames per second. Nevertheless, the mixture of these two options might still take quite a while to be fully applied on all clips uploaded on YouTube. Even so, information regarding a new product soon to be launched is a crucial problem for the early adopters and, despite the fact that there are only six videos running with the 4K resolution and 60 frames per second, it offers users an additional glance of what YouTube will present in future for its audiences.

Image source: www.hdtv.net

Filed Under: Tech & Science Tagged With: 4k resolution, youtube video resolution

Apple Watch will be Bought only by Reservation Only

March 30, 2015 By Roxanne Briean Leave a Comment

As the Apple Watch release date is approaching, details about this revolutionary device have been coming out about how the company will be managing the product sales for this new gadget. According to some confidential data, Apple will not be selling the watches to walk-in clients at the release.

Apple will start by offering on the internet pre-sales of these watches from April 10, having the first supplies delivered on April 24, the day of the official Apple Watch launching. During these couple of weeks, the clients will be able to program hands-on appointments at the company stores and suppliers.

Apple-Watch

But, according to the confidential documents received from anonymous sources, Apple does not allow the any walk-in acquisitions for its watches at launch. The clients must create a “Product Reservation” on the Internet to have a particular model of the Apple Watch at a retail shop. This original “Product Reservation” program is used instead of the company’s “Personal Pickup” option for the Apple Watches. The retail records show if a customer comes in and wishes to buy a watch, he must be offered the possibility to try the watch. Then, he must be guided to place his order in online stores or through Apple Store application.

Apple probably expects low stock for its watches and notices “try-on’ sessions also cannot reserve an Apple Watch for buying it later. Apple wants to permit eventually walk-in acquisitions, but not until the initial wave of demands has passed.

The Apple Watch is probably the most expected wearable yet, since Apple has created the first watch on the highly competitive industry of the smart watches. The organization has presented also the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in autumn last season, while Apple announced that more details about the watch and its purchasing methods will be offered at a conference in the next weeks.

During these main events, Apple revealed the official prices and the launch time frame info, providing us our first look at this wearable to come, and presented also a few of the third-party programs that will be loaded on the watch’s system at launch.

The company also programs to upgrade its shops for April 10, when its Apple Watch will be offered for trying out thanks to pre-booked sessions.

We have gathered up everything we found out so far about this model of watch, including its release date, purchasing option and pricing info. Apple has offered some range prices for the different types of smart watches. The 38 mm Watch Sport might be sold from around 500 dollars, while the bigger 42 mm model can cost up to 650 dollars.

The ‘Watch’ version will be sold from 600 dollars, going up to 1,200 dollars depending on its case and strips combinations. For example, the 38 mm Apple Watch made with the Dark Classic strap might get around 700 dollars out of your pocket, while a 42 mm model can be with 75 dollars more expensive.

Image source: www.apple.com

Filed Under: Tech & Science Tagged With: apple watch, apple watch details

“Halo 5: Guardians” – New Trailers Presented on US Television

March 30, 2015 By Roxanne Briean Leave a Comment

“Halo 5: Guardians”, the Microsoft’s series of games, broadcasted the  live-action teaser for the upcoming game over the main commercial break of the famous TV series “The Walking Dead” showing that the game’s launch day for the first time: October 27 this year. It was an excellent moment to merge TV fiction with gaming sci-fi since the audience is, most of the times, the same.

Halo-5 guardians

The game trailer, that has been running since then on Hunt the Truth, Microsoft’s blog create to advertise the first-person shooters, reveals the new leading character, Jameson Locke, speaking with and about the Master Chief, with a gun pointing at the stalwart’s head. Thanks to the details about “Halo 5” coming from Microsoft, Locke has the main job of tracking and killing the Master Chief, while finding an important secret that is threatening the entire universe.

The second game trailer, broadcasted in the last hour of “The Walking Dead” presented the same scene, but with the roles of Spartan Locke and Master Chief changed. In this game trailer, Chief points his gun at Jameson. The trailer seems to suggest that this duo will fight each other in the missions, with varying views on a still unidentified disastrous event that resulted in their battle.

343 Sectors, a Microsoft-owned graphic studio creating the experience, is predicted to release many more scenes and details about “Halo 5” at a famous game-playing, E3, that will be held in July. The initial in-game preview of the missions and single-player strategies will most likely shown those days to the interested fans.

Last season Microsoft organized a multi-player try out analyze for Halo 5: Guardians by offering codes through The Master Chief Collection, this being a package of all the significant titles that had Master Chief in them, also named John 117. The set was an improved course for players to understand what was going on with Master Chief and what was predicted to occur in the next missions.

Halo 5 Guardians will, depending on what has been exposed so far, present Locke on the numerous pursuits to find the truth behind Master Chief. Both live-action game trailers presented these days, which could have represented some excellent CGI footage, seem to suggest that Locke is on a mission for revenge against the Chief. In the videos, we can see an injured and apparently dying man with a large gap in his chest area, most probably made by a bullet.

Image source: www.ign.com

Filed Under: Tech & Science Tagged With: halo 5 guardians, new halo trailers

Motorola Moto E 2 (2015) Review

March 30, 2015 By Roxanne Briean Leave a Comment

Motorola Moto E 2

If you’re on a budget, and are planning on buying a new smartphone that has almost all the features of flagship phones, look no further – the Motorola Moto E 2 is only 150$.

Building on top of its predecessor, the new Moto E 2 is elegant and sports a comfortable design, with great battery life, 4G connectivity, and good build quality.

On the downside, you will encounter problems such as limited visibility while out-doors – the display is difficult to read, even with brightness set to max; a mediocre camera that is enough for selfies, or for sharing on Facebook – even if the primary camera has 5 MP, at 2592 х 1944 pixels, you won’t do much photography wise; performance problems – even though it comes with Qualcomm Snapdragon 200, Quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7, Adreno 302 for the 3G model, and Qualcomm Snapdragon 410, Quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A53, Adreno 306 for the LTE model, it feels like it has half of those stats.

Hardware

If you want to see how the smartphone industry is evolving its tech, the best way for you to do so is to buy budget phones. My first smartphone, that I paid more than 500$ at the time, didn’t even have half of the performance capabilities that the Moto E 2 has. Sure, it was not entirely made out of plastic, but the Moto E 2 doesn’t feel like a toy, it feels like a high-end phone – although it doesn’t act like it. It’s one of the most inexpensive smartphones around, but in all fairness it offers what you pay.

Motorola Moto E 2 size

Even though the LTE model sports a Qualcomm Snapdragon 410, Quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A53, Adreno 306  the tech doesn’t seem to shine in any way. That’s a bad point for Motorola, because a smartphone user requires a fast paced device – playing a game on your morning commute doesn’t have to be stressful, nor infuriating when you try to answer a message. You end up waiting 5 minutes for it to acknowledge a task you have given, and hope it does not freeze due to high RAM usage. It has 1 GB of RAM, but it seems like its running on 256 mb trying to reach the moon – if you try to teach a fish to climb a tree, it will live its whole life thinking it is stupid.

The Moto E 2 comes with 8GB of internal memory, and you can add a microSD card up to 32GB. It’s more than enough for the average Joe.

The screen has been enlarged only by a bit – it’s now 4.5-inches, from 4.3-inches. Although it may seem like a minor change, it feels quite better in your hand now, like a real smartphone should feel. Motorola has removed the smooth edges from it too, so you can properly grip your phone, without worrying that it will slip from your hand.

With the added LTE model, your budget phone can be compared with high-end products regarding downloading and streaming media. But the resolution will not be on the same level – 540 x 960 pixels, qHD, seems off, more so when you try to read an article. Maybe I’m used to devices that offer a higher resolution, subsequently a higher definition. It’s not really a bad point for the Moto E 2, and I’m sure that you can get used to the lower resolution, and more so if it’s your first smartphone, you’ll probably won’t even mind it.

Motorola Moto E 2

The primary camera stands at 5 MP, 2592 х 1944 pixels, and it also has auto-focus. Like I said before, it won’t do you any good if your planning on taking high quality photos. It does well if you want to post on Facebook, or share a picture with a friend, but that’s just it. It also has an added front camera – 0.3 MP VGA. It has been a long time since I read the word VGA – you can’t take proper pictures with the front camera, but you can video chat with your other pixelated friends.

Moto E 2’s display isn’t top notch, but it stands tall, and proud, amongst other devices that can found at the 150$ mark. IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, with 16M colors will work just great in-doors, but if you’re planning on reading the text, or trying to message someone back while you’re outdoors, well, then, you’ll have a bad time. Even with the brightness set to its maximum capacity, you’ll have to squeeze your eyes and make a face if you want to fully understand the text you’re looking at. But it shouldn’t be that much of a problem if you’re already adjusted with smartphones – it’s pretty user friendly, and you can work solely based on intuition. If not, just seek shelter under huge trees that mark the Earth with their shadows.

Software

Software-wise it’s better than most other smartphones. No, it doesn’t come with Android 5.0.2 Lollipop. Some of you may be disheartened by the lack of Lollipop, but don’t fret just yet. You can install it by yourself. The strategy that Motorola has had with the Moto X back in 2013 has seemed to please owners. It doesn’t come bundled up with crapware that strain the smartphone. What it does is it adds apps from Plex, Revision3 and Flixster – and you will surely end up using them.

OS

But, of course, you may choose to install Android 5.0.2 Lollipop that already comes bundled with a ton of cool apps, and it will make you forget the price range of your phone.

Having only just 1GB of RAM can put a strain on your gaming experience, or surfing on websites that have been optimized for mid-quality and up phones, but I didn’t encounter any latency problems playing Angry Birds, Into the Dead, checking out photos on Instagram, or just scrolling down on my Facebook news feed – that is, if I do one thing at a time, and wait for them to come up.

The 4G connectivity is arguably the biggest change from the previous model, and in an era where the internet is a part of our lives, and it’s constantly evolving into something more, 4G connectivity is a must!

Battery

The non-removable Li-Ion 2390 mAh battery fits the design perfectly – too bad we can’t change it with a spare. It’s one of Moto E 2‘s strong points, and we can compare it with Samsung Galaxy S5‘s battery – both devices can offer stand-by time up to 390 h, talk time up to 21 h, and music play up to 67 h. For a 150$ smartphone this is sublime. But let’s not get drunk on cold water here – it has an outstanding battery life, but if you crunch hard on apps all day long, it won’t last you more than 8 to 10 hours a day. Still good though.

Other tests show that after looping, continuously, a 720p video, the battery died after 10.5 h – that’s double of what last year’s model could stand.

The Competition

At this price range we can think of only a few that could stand alongside the Motorola Moto E 2. Sharp’s AQUOS Crystal for 149$, Lumia 640 LTE at 70$, and of course the Moto G that is a little bit more expensive that the E – it’s about 180$. Let’s break them down.

Sharp AQUOS Crystal

Sharp AQUOS Crystal

  • 149$
  • TFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
  • 5.0 inches, with a resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels
  • Android OS, v4.4.2 (KitKat)
  • Chipset: Qualcomm MSM8926 Snapdragon 400
  • CPU: Quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7
  • GPU: Adreno 305
  • Internal memory of 8 GB, with the possibility of adding a microSD card up to 128GB, sporting 1.5GB RAM
  • Primary camera stands at 8 MP, 3264 x 2448 pixels
  • Secondary camera stands at 1.2 MP
  • Li-Ion 2040 mAh battery – up to 13 h of talk time

Lumia 640 LTE

Lumia 640 LTE

  • 70$
  • IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
  • 5.0 inches, with a resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels, sporting Corning Gorilla Glass 3, ClearBlack display
  • Microsoft Windows Phone 8.1 with Lumia Denim
  • Chipset: Qualcomm MSM8926 Snapdragon 400
  • CPU: Quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7
  • GPU: Adreno 305
  • Internal memory of 8 GB, with the possibility of adding a microSD card up to 128GB, sporting 1GB RAM
  • Primary camera stands at 8 MP, 3264 x 2448 pixels
  • Secondary camera stands at 1 MP, 720p
  • Li-Ion 2500 mAh battery – up to 864 h standy-by, and up to 26 h 30 min talk-time

Moto G Black Version

Moto G

  • 180$
  • IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
  • 5.0 inches, with a resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels, sporting Corning Gorilla Glass 3
  • Android OS, v4.4.4 (KitKat), upgradable to v5.0 (Lollipop)
  • Chipset: Qualcomm MSM8226 Snapdragon 400
  • CPU: Quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7
  • GPU: Adreno 305
  • Internal memory of 8 GB, with the possibility of adding a microSD card up to 32GB, sporting 1GB RAM
  • Primary camera stands at 8 MP, 3264 x 2448 pixels
  • Secondary camera stands at 2 MP
  • Non-removable Li-Ion 2070 mAh battery

 

The one that seems to stand out is the Lumia 640 LTE. For 70$ it rivals Moto E 2 at everything – it even has a better secondary camera that stands at 1MP, 720p. The only complaint we have is that it runs on Windows Phone 8.1. I, for one, am not a fan of Windows Phone. I had only miserable experiences with Microsoft’s OS, and it will be another 10 years from now until I try it again.

 

The Conclusion

If you’re looking for a cheap smartphone just for that long talk-time battery life, that also has some of the capabilities of high-end products, then the Motorola Moto E 2 is the one for you. But if you’re planning on multi-tasking, and having as many apps as possible on the screen, while at the same time sending and receiving text messages, then you should probably look for a different phone that has its strengths in performance, not battery life.

It’s a good phone, and at the end of the day I can give it a score of 7. I will most likely keep using my Samsung Galaxy S5, and I will not change it even for the S6, but if I had to choose between the Motoral Moto E2, Sharp AQUOS Crystal, Lumia 640 LTE, and the Moto G, I would definitely go for the E2. Not only do I love what it can do technically wise, but the design, how the phone feels in your hand just adds a little bit more magic to it.

The only thing that I hate about the device is the horrible camera that they decided to put into the phone. Yes, I can wait for my apps to open, but I can’t stand the VGA camera at all. It’s a major drawback when you see it in action, and deep inside you regret their poor choice. But yet again, for 150$ I can’t wish for HD quality.

Motorola Moto E 2 bands

Motorola has stated that it will come only in: Black or White. But you can change the bands – Golden Yellow, Turquoise, Blue, Raspberry, Purple, Red – and grip shells – Golden Yellow, Charcoal, Turquoise, Blue, Raspberry – they are sold separately.

 

Are you planning on buying the Motorola Moto E2? Or are you going to wait for another option that will rival with Motorola?

 

Image Source: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8

Filed Under: Headlines Tagged With: Moto E 2, Moto E 2015, Motorola Moto 2nd generation, Motorola Moto E 2, Motorola Moto E 2015

Bloodborne hotfix coming soon – What to do until then?

March 30, 2015 By Roxanne Briean Leave a Comment

Bloodborne PS4

Before scrolling down to read about the hotfix, be warned that the entire article is riddled with minor, and to some, major spoilers.

It wasn’t enough that Bloodborne was incredibly hard – on par with the Souls series – but it has a random multiplayer bug that will skip a bossfight.

Bloodborne has been released last week, and it has received praise from critics and fans alike. It’s one of those games that keeps beating you up, but you can’t wait to come back for more – it’s that good!

From Software and Sony Computer Entertainment have been contacted by Polygon.com. The reply was short and sweet – it states that they are aware of the bug, and a hotfix will come soon i.e a weeks time. The patch won’t fix the issues with loading times, or the totally random fps drops.

While we wait for the patch to be available, here’s a workaround for the nasty issue.

The item that creates the problem is the Lunarium Key – it can be found within Byrgenwerth College, but due to the bug, it can’t be found at all for some unfortunate adventurers. Players who don’t have the key can’t proceed to talk with Master Willem, therefore they will not be able to visit the Moonside Lake location, and fight the boss that resides there – Rom the Vacuous Spider.

Gamers are advised not to start the multiplayer event that unfolds battling in the Forbidden Woods area using the items Small Resonant Bell or Sinister Resonant Bell. It’s simple as that – don’t use those items, don’t start the fight, don’t encounter the bug.

From Software has stated that more patches will be coming in the future – some will fix performance issues, while others will add balance to the game. What we won’t be expecting from the creators of Bloodborne is a patch that will reduce the cruel difficulty of the game. Exactly like in Demon Souls, and Dark Souls, you’ll have to focus, and pray to all the gods that you’ll make it out alive from the next area.

Bloodborne is a worthy successor to the Souls series. While the older games would have pinned the player against demonic creatures with only a sword and shield in hand, Bloodborne adds firepower in the mix – making the game even more exciting.

One should not think of Bloodborne as a sequel to the series, but as a standalone project that will mark your gaming experience with its fast paced combat, fascinating mythical stories, and prioritizing offense, instead of defense.

Available only for the PS4, Bloodborne is a action-role playing game that will throw the adventurer into a Gothic city called Yharnam – known around the plateau for remedies. You are a traveller that seeks to cure his afflictions, only to find out that the entire city has been contaminated with some sort of plague that transformed its inhabitants into bloodthirsty monsters. Your goal is to survive to tell the tale.

Image Source: 1

 

Filed Under: Headlines Tagged With: Bloodborne bug fix, Bloodborne game, Bloodborne hotfix, Bloodborne patch fix, Bloodborne PS4

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