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mophie announces mobile battery case for Samsung Galaxy S5

With the demand for different solutions to prolong the battery life of smartphones and tablets, things like mobile chargers, power banks, and mobile battery cases will continue to come up with various products for all kinds of devices. mophie, which claims to be the top mobile battery manufacturer in North America at least, has announced that it now has a juice pack specifically made for the Samsung Galaxy S5.



The battery case packs 3,000mAh power capacity that can actually give your Galaxy S5 up to 100% more juice and you’ll be able to have 21 more hours of talk time (if you’re using the 3G network). If you use your smartphone for media playback, it can give you up to 67 more hours of audio or up to 13 more hours for video. It will also be able to give you up to half a day (12 hours) more if you’re using the Internet.


The battery pack uses the micro USB 3.0 port to have the pass-through charging from your phone to your case. You don’t even need to remove the battery pack from your phone to recharge it once the extra charge has run out. To make sure you don’t run out of juice, there is an embedded LED light indicator which you can check just by pushing a button. Not only does it give your Galaxy S5 a much-needed charge, it can also protect it from unexpected falls through a protective lip around the screen as well as rubberised bumpers that will absorb the shock.


It may not be the most attractive-looking phone case out there, but would you rather have a nicer-looking one but without the battery charge that your Galaxy S5 needs? If your answer is no (battery over design!), then you can purchase the mophie Galaxy S5 battery case for $99.95 (hey, 3,000 mAh doesn’t come cheap!) through their online retail store.


SOURCE: mophie


The Witcher Battle Arena starts closed beta, Android only

If you've had your fill of what is now practically known as the Multiplayer Online Battle Arena or MOBA genre for PCs, wait till they saturate Android as well. The popular RPG franchise The Witcher seems to be eying that particular market and has started accepting closed beta sign-ups for its own MOBA title called what else but The Witcher Battle Arena (henceforth called TWBA for brevity).



TWBA was revealed back in July and seemed to promise to do things a bit differently from the conventional concept of MOBAs. For one, the "Multiplayer Online" part is actually optional, as you can opt to engage in 3v3 assaults or venture off in your own offline solo campaign. Secondly, CD Projekt, creators of The Witcher series, wants to assure players that this will not be a pay-to-win game. You can play everything absolutely for free and won't have to spend an unreasonable amount of time just to unlock certain parts or features of the game. Still, if you are the impatient type, there's an option to save yourself some time for a price.


As the name would suggest, TWBA brings the cast of The Witcher series into your hands, save for protagonist Geralt. As with any MOBA, these "heroes" exhibit their own personalities and powers. The game offers two playing modes. The usual Arena pits you against other characters in the usual death match gameplay. Conquest Mode adds a bit of spice to the competition by dividing players into teams and putting multiple goal posts along the way. TWBA promises an interface and playing style that is designed specifically for mobile devices, though the exact implications of that are yet to be revealed.




Those accepted into the closed beta stage will have access to all 8 characters available from the roster and will be able to dish it out in The Arena and Korath Desert maps. They will also be able to developer their prayer profiles with stats and skills like in many RPGs. Interestingly, the closed beta is available for Android only, when the usual practice prioritizes iOS devices. The reason, according to the press statement, is because of the diversity of Android hardware out in the wild. Nonetheless, the game will launch, presumably simultaneously, on Android, iOS, and even Windows Phone sometime later this year.


SOURCE: The Witcher Batttle Arena


Sony launches expanded Xperia Care services

Sony wants to bring solid technical and customer support to their users, and has rolled out some additions to their customer care and after-purchase services. It stems from the company’s stated vision of bringing more personalized support for their Xperia devices.



The service starts from the Xperia support app which is usually pre-installed in every Xperia device. Of course, owners and users would need to register their device with Sony through the app, but after that, the app becomes the first layer of personalized support for the Xperia user. New additions to the app include the “My support” feature which includes, among others, a detailed history of the user’s interaction with Sony tech and customer support, for easy tracking of issues.


There is also a new “repair service” aimed at users being able to directly hand over their devices which are in need of repair directly to Sony. The repair service includes a step-by-step guide to determine whether the device needs repair, all within the Xperia support app. If a device is confirmed to need repair, they will be guided through the process correspondingly.


Of course, all these repairs that will be happening to your device are trackable within the “My support” feature of the app. This new expanded service was first launched by Sony in Sweden and received glowing reports. Major markets in Europe soon followed and now, the services are being rolled out globally, including the United and Asia.


SOURCE: Sony Mobile Blog





MediaFire offers automatic photo back-up, media streaming

Cloud storage apps have been stepping up their game in order to stand out from the competition, as more and more people are compelled to back up their files on the data storage offers available to them. MediaFire was one of the earliest players in the game, back when cloud was still something you saw in the sky. Their acclaimed Android app’s newest update offers even more features, like automatically backing up photos and streaming your saved content.



MediaFire now offers its users an option to automatically upload in the cloud the photos and videos that you have on your device. There are times when you need to be prompted to back these up, and more often than not, you actually forget to do so. But now, you can rest assured that they are indeed saved on the cloud, if you choose that option.


Another new feature is the ability to stream your music or videos that are saved in the cloud, from wherever you are, as long as you have the app and connection. Since they are in the cloud anyway, why not make use of this content without having to play them from the original source. And if you want to share this content, along with other documents and files stored on MediaFire, you can now do so using SMS/MMS, email or chat apps like Viber, Line, WhatsApp, etc.


MediaFire is also now offering 1TB of extra storage, on top of the free 12 gigs available immediately, for only $24.99 a year (which comes out at $2.50/month). But those who don’t want to avail of that offer can still earn up to 50GB of free space on the cloud just by doing certain tasks asked of you. You can download MediaFire for free from the Google Play Store and then upgrade within the app if you choose to do so.


SOURCE: MediaFire





SNK games now available with KOF anniversary ‘discount’

SNK PLAYMORE has been porting all your nostalgia-ridden 90s arcade fighting games to Android for a time now, and we all love them for it. Now you get the chance to download them all for cheap via the Google Play Store as the 20th anniversary of the “King of Fighters” franchise comes around.



Who doesn’t remember King of Fighters? Most Gen X-ers would probably have memories of getting tired of playing Street Fighter and turning to KOF with its fresh new characters for something different. And then there are those really hardcore who only played KOF exclusively. We all grew up, but SNK PLAYMORE has been giving us a chance to re-live those days on the Android format, even if it is just during lunchtimes, in between corporate meetings, or the downtime going to bed.


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The selection of KOF games on Android is impressive, actually. The 16-bit classic King of Fighters was the first to make it to the mobile platform, and then KOF ’97 soon followed a year after. Just recently, KOF ’98 also debuted on Android as well. Aside from KOF, SNK PLAYMORE has also brought the classic title of “Metal Slug” to Android.


snk-playmore


If you want to go ahead and binge on SNK titles, check their Play Store page here. All paid titles can now be yours for the low, low price of USD$0.99. Good nostalgia hits can be pretty hard to come by. KOF is definitely one of those titles we’ve grown to love over the years.


SOURCE: @SNKPofficial





T-Mobile lures Sprint customers with unlimited LTE offer

It’s tantamount to a declaration of a “network war” as T-Mobile tries to bring over “unsatisfied” Sprint customers over to their fold. And what better way to do so than by enticing its own subscribers to lure friends who are unhappy with Sprint’s latest move by promising both of them unlimited LTE data for a year. This was announced in a no-holds barred press release from T-Mobile in an apparent response to Sprint’s latest offer to subscribers from other networks.



“Sprint’s customers have suffered so much,” is the opening salvo in T-Mobile’s statement about their new offer. Basically, both the T-Mobile subscribers under their Simple Choice plan and the current Sprint subscriber that they have brought over will both receive unlimited LTE data for a year at least, at no additional charge. And if the T-Mobile user has unlimited LTE data already, they will receive a $10 credit each month for a year as well. But lest you think that they are just out on a vendetta against Sprint, this offer is also open for those crossing over from other competitors like AT&T and Verizon.


Sprint earlier this week offered a similar incentive for switchers from the other three carriers, but did not include its own subscribers in the offer. They also launched a new family plan that did not include an unlimited LTE data option while adding a fixed data cap plan. But while T-Mobile has made Sprint out to be the ultimate villain in their press release, the latter hasn’t endeared themselves to the public as well, with their announcement last week that they are cracking down on those tethering their smartphones and using it for P2P downloading.


But if you are a T-Mobile customer who would like to “rescue” subscribers from other networks (or you would want to be saved if you’re from another carrier), all you have to do is sign up for the referral program. You would just need to input your T-Mobile number as well as your friend’s and within 30 days of the activation of your rescued friend’s new T-Mobile account, you will then receive the unlimited LTE data for a year. Just don’t use it for P2P activities or you just might be penalised with data throttling.


SOURCE: T-Mobile





Galaxy Note 4 to feature new ‘side touch’ for easier selfies

We’ve all been there – that point where we also want to be in the picture with a group of people, but are left holding the phone to be used for the picture. The solution is always to use the lower megapixel front-facing camera, but alas, it brings you to awkward hand-positioning and camera shutter-pressing conditions. Well, what we can tell you is that if you buy the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 when it finally comes out, this won’t be a problem anymore. And none of that mono-pod, stick holding thing as well.



The upcoming Galaxy Note 4, reportedly to debut during (or before) IFA 2014 in Berlin this September, will have a new “side touch” feature. This will enable users to tap an area on the side rim of the phone to activate the shutter button, making for easier selfies. Why no one has thought of this – with the proliferation of selfies all over the internet – and why someone would think of a long stick for the solution to this problem is beyond us. Good on you, Samsung.


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This feature was supposed to debut on the Galaxy S5, but decided against it on the last moment. The code is still embedded in the GS5 as well, that’s how long Samsung has been toying around with the idea. Another impending improvement to selfies worldwide is the 3.7MP front-facing camera of the Galaxy Note 4. Usually, Samsung goes with the 2.1MP camera, but this is a definite improvement, allowing users to take selfies in WQHD (2560×1440) resolution.


side_touch1


To cap off our camera-centric information about the Galaxy Note 4, we have heard that the main shooter for the device will be a 16MP Sony IMX240 camera sensor with optical image stabilization (OIS), capable of giving us UHD (3840×2160) video at 30FPS. More and more information will be available as the launch nears, so just watch out for those on our home page.


VIA: Sam Mobile





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