Sony To Provide 4K Streaming Content

Along with Sony's latest 4K OLED TV announcement, we can expect to see the very first 4K video distribution service from them as well. This has been a prominent issue for early adopters who are concerned with how much actual content will take advantage of the 4K resolution. 

Think of it as a Netflix for 4K content. This will help sell and promote the 4K market that Sony is trying to create. While this is a dandy idea, take a second and think about your Internet connection. As you can imagine, High Definition that go as high as 4K may not play too nicely with your bandwidth. It is still nonetheless a push from Sony that we will see within the near future. There has yet to be anymore details from Sony but we expect a launch in the US sometime in the summer. 

Samsung Releases Its Newest iPhone Competitor

Samsung revealed their Samsung Galaxy III today to a lot of anticipation. With the success of its predecessor, the Galaxy II, you can expect the bar to be set extremely high for the new and improved version. It seems that it has gained the approval of the masses and Samsung will once again challenge Apple's dominance in the market.

Sporting a crisp and clear 4.8 inch HD Super AMOLED display capable of 720 x 1280 resolution, it comes close to Apple's Retina Display. Taking advantage of this display is a 8MP camera capable of 1080p video recording and a 1.9MP front-facing camera capable of 720p. Opening up the internals of Samsung's superphone, you will find a quad-chip with 1GB of RAM that will improve its overall performance, providing you with a lag-free experience. The large 2100 mAh battery will allow you to spend much more time using the phone while you're on the move without having to worry about battery life. 

With all of these upgrades to hardware, the Galaxy III's software updates and tweaks to Android's Ice Cream Sandwich are just as thrilling. With innovative functions such as :

"Smart Stay, which uses the forward-facing camera to determine if you're looking at the phone. You can set time intervals from as little as 15 seconds, which result in a small flashing eye logo in the Android notification bar. If it recognises that your eyes aren't focused on the phone anymore, the screen dims.

Direct Call, which will auto-dial a contact if you have their contact details or a message open. By moving the phone to your ear, the proximity sensor; accelerometer and gyroscope all kick into use, and automatically dial the contact's number.

Smart Alert, which will make the phone vibrate in your hand and flash an LED if you pick the phone up after a missed call.

S Voice, which is a Siri-like voice recognition feature, that you can use to enquire about the weather; take a photo ("Hi Galaxy, please take a photo" to open the camera app, or "cheese" to snap it), and other tasks such as locking the phone, or controlling music. Each demand can be configured by the user.

Social Tag, which links photos of friends in your photo gallery to their Facebook or Google+ accounts, using facial recognition.

S Beam, which pairs other Galaxy S III phones (and only them, for now) via NFC, shares photos, videos, files or even albums of media over Wi-Fi. If your friend's S III doesn't have Wi-Fi enabled, S Beam will automatically turn that user's Wi-Fi on, and then off.

AllShare Cast, which pairs to TVs, laptops or tablets over Wi-Fi, mirroring whatever's on the S III. You can also use the S III as a game controller.

PopUp Play, which will literally pop a video out of its rendering it in a small thumbnail so you can continue watching while surfing the web or doing other functions on the phone. The thumbnail is movable around the display, even if it's pretty small."

Samsung definitely hopes to continue to dominate the Android market and to gain a stronger foothold in the overall smartphone market with its latest upgrade of the Galaxy line. With the new features and smoother user experience, the refined Galaxy III is set for US release this summer. 

WD's Refreshed My Passport Portable Drive Series Get A Unibody Treatment

Western Digital, also known as WD, has revamped its My Passport and My Passport Studio external portable hard drives for Mac users to boast an ever sleeker, new sturdy all-metal slim enclosures. It's obvious WD is trying to target tech savvy students who are in love with Apple's aluminum fantasy world of quality products with its raw silver on black aluminum designed My Passport drive. The My Passport for Mac is available in 500GB, 750GB and 1TB storage capacities starting at $99, and is compatible with Apple Time Machine and includes WD Security for password protecting and hardware encryption. 

The My Passport Studio on the other hand is targeted towards professionals needing faster transfer speeds, and for that the My Passport Studio has dual FireWire 800 ports which are the only thing setting the two drives apart, and of course the price. The My Passport Studio starts its price at $129. Both drives sport a USB port and are also USB powered. Sorry, no Thunderbolt capabilities quite yet. You may want to hold out for a bit longer for thunder speeds.

Iomega Unleashes Mac Companion Desktop Hard Drive

Iomega has released the ultimate desktop hard drive for Mac users called the Mac Companion, the first hard drive to feature a high-powered USB port you can use to charge up that power hungry iPad of yours. You would think Iomega would somehow add a Thunderbolt port to the drive, but instead, the Mac Companion desktop hard drive packs two FireWire 800 and a pair of USB ports that act as a USB hub for your other gadgets. Iomega's Mac Companion is available in a few different flavor capacities including a 2TB 7200RPM version for $195 as well as a massive 3TB 7200RPM version running for $295. To top it all off, an LED capacity gauge on the front lets you know how much space you've got left. Back that Mac up peoples!

Time Warner Cable's New iPad App Lets You Watch Live TV

Time Warner Cable subscribers can now watch live TV on their iPad from anywhere in their home using their WiFi network for free using the new TWCable TV app. No need for extra hookups, you can instantly start streaming channels on your iPad including Time Warner Cable's HD lineup. More features will be added soon like a Remote DVR Manager and a Remote Tuner which lets you use your iPad as a remote to control live programming, Video On Demand and set your DVR when you're on the go. You also need to have Time Warner's internet services in addition to having their cable services. My hopes were high until I remembered I use AT&T as my ISP. 

Battlefield 3 Episode 1 Gameplay

After a short but very exciting teaser trailer of Battlefield 3 debuting the first in-game footage for all to see, comes even more gameplay footage in the video above. Prepare to want Battlefield 3 even more after watching this.