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Apple Watch announced, available early 2015 for $349

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Wearables, Corporate News,

Apple Watch

After months of rumors, the iWatch has been made official, and it’s called the Apple Watch. For the first time since the death of Steve Jobs, Tim Cook mentioned that he had “One more thing…” to talk about after unveiling the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Introducing the device as a precise and customizable timepiece that is also a comprehensive health and fitness device, the Apple Watch was unveiled with pride.

A video, narrated by Jony Ive, explained how the watch works. Users navigate using the touch display, as well as a Digital Crown on the side (similar to dials you find on analog watches) that allows you to navigate, zoom, and scroll without covering up the display with your fingers. The Apple Watch display can sense touch and swipes, as well as force.

Click to continue reading Apple Watch announced, available early 2015 for $349


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How to watch today’s Apple iPhone & iWatch event live

Apple event live stream

Today, Apple will be holding its We Wish We Could Say More event where it’s expected to reveal the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iWatch, and a new mobile payment processing system. Some are also expecting an update to the iPad Air, and the Apple TV set-top box. This is shaping up to be one of the biggest Apple keynote events in company history—certainly the biggest yet for Steve Jobs successor, Tim Cook—and the company wants you to see it all go down, live as it happens. Here’s how you can watch today’s Apple Event:

  • If you have an Apple TV, Apple has added a dedicated Apple Events channel. Fire it up at 10:00am PDT (1:00pm EDT), and you’ll be able to tune in. You need to have a second- or third-generation Apple TV running software version 6.2 or later.
  • If you want to live stream the event from your desktop, you’ll need to be running OS X 10.6.8 or later and Safari 5.1.10. From there, just head to the Apple Live page
  • You can also stream the event in the Safari web browser on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch as long as you are running iOS 6.0 or later.

Of course, if you’re somewhere that you aren’t able to live stream video, you can keep it locked right here to Gear Live, where we will be bringing you reports of all the announcements at breakneck speed. Additionally, you can also follow along at The Verge, Recode, and Engadget.

Once things are wrapped up, Apple will make the video of today’s presentation available for on-demand viewing and downloading later today.

So there you have it! How will you be following along?


Get free copy of Destiny for Xbox One or PS4 with last-gen purchase

Bungie has just announced a stellar deal for Destiny buyers--if you pick up the digital version of Destiny for the Xbox 360 or Playstation 3, you get to download the next-gen digital version for Xbox One or Playstation 4 for free. That's two copies of Destiny for the price of one.

The deal applies to all Destiny content, too, so if you buy the Guardian edition of the game, or the Expansion Pass on Xbox 360 or PS3, you'll also get that same content on Xbox One or PS4 as well.

To be clear, those who take advantage of the promotion get to keep and use both versions of Destiny. The downloads will be tied to the same Xbox Live or PSN account, and as a result, you'll have to choose one ecosystem (Xbox or Playstation) for both copies of the game--you can't get it for PS3 and then get the Xbox One version, or vice versa. This is a great deal for those who still have an older console in a spare room and want to have Destiny playable on both.

If the above doesn't apply to you, you can still get a free copy of Destiny (or any other Xbox One game) this week!

Click to continue reading Get free copy of Destiny for Xbox One or PS4 with last-gen purchase

Read More | Destiny Digital Upgrade

iWatch to ship in two sizes with OLED display and NFC says WSJ

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Wearables, Rumors,

iWatch features

One of the big questions about Apple’s upcoming Wish We Could Say More event, taking place next week (which you can watch live,) is whether the company will finally reveal the iWatch, and if it does, what will it do? Today, the Wall Street Journal released a report that Apple will indeed announce the iWatch on Tuesday, and gave details on what we can expect from the mystical wearable.

Click to continue reading iWatch to ship in two sizes with OLED display and NFC says WSJ

Read More | The Wall Street Journal

Apple confirms September 9 iPhone 6 event with invitation

iPhone 6 event invite

Apple has said that it plans to make 2014 a banner year for the company, offering its most impressive product line-up in company history. Well, the year's been relatively quiet, but that's about to change. The company has just sent out invitations for an Apple Event, set to take place on September 9, 2014. We've been pointing to this date for a few months as the day when the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6L will be announced, and it looks like that's exactly what's gonna go down.

Additionally, it's been reported that Apple will also announce the long-awaited iWatch, a wearable device that will sync up with the iPhone and provide both health tracking and home automation features.

We'll be bringing you the news live as it happens on September 9, so you know where to be for all the action! Be sure to check out our video previews of the 4.7-inch iPhone 6, and 5.5-inch iPhone 6L smartphones.


Katie Holmes Almost Landed ‘OITNB’ Role

Katie HolmesKatie Holmes almost took the lead role in Orange is the New Black.

The former Dawson's Creek star was approached by creator Jenji Kohan to play Piper Chapman - the bisexual drug-smuggling prisoner played by Taylor Schilling - in the Netflix drama but turned it down because she had other commitments.

"I'm a big fan of hers. You know, I met with her. [Katie] had other things to do. And also in the beginning, no one knew what this was," Jenji told E! Online.

While she initially turned down the program, the cast of the drama would love Katie to make a guest appearance on the show. When asked who Katie could play, Taylor said, "[Katie] could be friends with Lorna or like Lorna's Boston sister."

And Kate Mulgrew - who plays Red - joked the brunette beauty would have to be careful if she did end up behind bars at Litchfield Prison: "She better watch herself. Pretty girls have to watch out in prison."

Click to continue reading Katie Holmes Almost Landed ‘OITNB’ Role


Lady Gaga Hospitalized

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Music,

Lady GagaLady Gaga has been hospitalized.

The "Born this Way" hitmaker received medical care after suffering from altitude sickness following her gig in Denver, Colorado, last night as part of her ArtRave: The Artpop Ball tour.

The 28-year-old singer shared a photograph of herself with an oxygen mask strapped over her mouth and nose on Twitter today, which she accompanied with the caption, "Altitude Sickness is no Joke! #hitThatHospitalS**t #artRaveDenver many true ravers crowd tonight [sic]."

Click to continue reading Lady Gaga Hospitalized


Apple set to introduce the iPhone 6 on September 9th

iphone 6 September 9

As we have previously speculated, Re/Code is reporting that Apple is set to unveil the iPhone 6 on September 9th at a special event. The next iPhone design has already leaked, and we've already given you a look at both the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 design and the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 design as well. Of course, they lack the fit-and-finish that Apple will undoubtedly put on them (we hope those thick antenna breaks will be eliminated and streamlined!) September 9th is also a few days after Samsung is rumored to introduce the Galaxy Note 4 during IFA. A perfect time for Apple to jump into the phablet game with a 5.5-inch smartphone.

We also guessed that Apple will release iOS 8 on September 16th, and release the iPhone 6 itself on September 19th based on previous timetables. We'll see how our guesses hold up come September 9th.


How Cortana made the leap from Halo to Windows Phone

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Features, Microsoft,

Microsoft Cortana

Curious about how Cortana made her way from assisting Master Chief in Halo over to helping you out on Windows Phone? During a sit-down with Microsoft's Marcus Ash, he spoke to us about what it took to get Cortana just right on Windows Phone and to be seen as a legitimate competitor to Apple's Siri.

First, the Cortana logo was the first thing Microsoft has to get right. Originally, they didn't want a physical representation. The thought was that people could think it was creepy if it is "too human." They also didn't want it to be like Clippy, the infamous character from Microsoft Office that was hated by many. It was also decided that Cortana couldn't be just a voice, since it wouldn't feel the same.

Initially, Microsoft tried to use the Xbox Live avatar idea, but that was odd due to everyone having the female Cortana voice. Then they started playing around with the circle. A circle can stretch, bounce, and transform. They also tried triangles, diamonds, hearts, and the ability of letter the user choose any of these. At the end of the day, the circle next to Metro on the start screen looked good, so that was what Microsoft decided on. The next issue was that a simple circle isn't iconic, and is hard to brand. That's when the Windows Phone team met with the Halo team at 343 Industries.

Click to continue reading How Cortana made the leap from Halo to Windows Phone


10 upcoming games I can’t wait to play

PS4 Xbox One Wii u games

This year, E3 had one of those showing that only happens once every 8-10 years. E3, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, is the biggest video game conference in the world, and it's where game publishers show off what they're working on. E3 2014 was unique because it was the first one after the release of two major consoles--the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4. Developers got to show for the first time full portfolios dedicated to the new hardware, and it was glorious. There was a lot to see during both the Microsoft Xbox and Sony PlayStation media briefings, and Nintendo surprised many with game announcements of its own. I figured I'd whittle things down and share the ten games I was most excited about, in no particular order.

Click to continue reading 10 upcoming games I can’t wait to play


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