gamingtechnews

In short:  Smartphone users have a chance to pick up a brand new OnePlus 6T for free with by just tapping on their device’s screen after signing up for at a recently posted  “Unlock Your Speed” promotional site for the upcoming Android flagship. The contest is fairly straightforward. Users sign up at the contest website from a mobile device and then are tasked with tapping the screen as quickly as possible, with each touch increasing the chances that they’ll win the device once it is unveiled. Furiously clicking through enough times will unlock a personal prize, giving participants access to free items on the OnePlus official store in addition to their contest entry. If enough people participate and rack up enough taps from around the world, the company also hints that it will announce something entirely different for its fans. Background: OnePlus is no stranger to promotions, having begun offering discounts, coupons, buy-one-get-one offers, and celebratory giveaways for nea...

In short: YouTube has now announced the start of a new partnership with live event ticket and management service provider Eventbrite, giving YouTube users a new way to gain entry into shows easily through the YouTube application. That more or less means that ongoing tours or events managed by or available through Eventbrite will be added to the blue ‘Tickets’ button that already exists on YouTube. The button is placed just below official videos from musicians and performing artists, uploaded by YouTube Official Artist Channels, and a click on that redirects straight to the event page from Eventbrite. From there, users can see which tickets are still available and other details as well as purchasing tickets. Background: Prior to this partnership, the ticket purchasing feature was only associated with Ticketmaster’s ticket sales platform. The Google subsidiary formed that particular partnership near the end of last year in a bid to bridge the gap between videos of live performances ...

In short:  Google has now released factory and OTA images for its Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL handsets, allowing users to flash a completely clean stock build to their handsets. Files are available for both the factory unlocked and Verizon variations. The primary difference between the two is that the carrier version comes with a locked bootloader to prevent flashing custom firmware but downloading and installing the wrong variant can cause issues. So Google has clearly marked each Verizon version at the official download page. In the meantime, the Google Pixel 3 can be found on either factory image or OTA image page under the “blueline” designation. The larger Pixel 3 XL can be found under “crosshatch.” Background: The release of factory images isn’t at all uncommon since Google’s handsets are intended to be completely unlocked and have been from when the Nexus branding was first introduced. In effect, the images are there to ensure that if something goes wrong during the flas...

In brief: Verizon is understood to now be in the process of removing the SIM-locking requirement associated with the Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. However, it remains unclear whether this is a temporary change or one which will be in effect permanently going forward with the two new Pixel phones. On the use of SIM-locking in general, Verizon representatives have been quoted saying the carrier is “ assessing where it will be implemented in the future .” The information on this comes from statements from Verizon provided to media outlets, including Droid Life . As a result of this latest information, it now seems as though consumers are once again free to purchase a Pixel 3 or 3 XL from Verizon (or from Best Buy) safe in the knowledge there will be no issues when trying to use either of the new phones on a network other than Verizon’s. This should prove to be reassuring in particular to those who had already placed a pre-order with Verizon or Best Buy and were still waiting for this ...

Woot is currently selling the Sony WH-H800 H.Ear Wireless On-Ear Headphones for just $89.99, and that is down from $229. And this actually marks the all-time lowest price for the WH-H800, as the previous low was around $149, back in February. That is a pretty impressive price drop, especially when you consider the fact that these headphones are new and not certified refurbished models. As usual with Woot, this price isn’t going to last long and it will be gone rather quickly. The Sony WH-H800 is part of its higher-end line of headphones, but also part of the H.Ear lineup. Essentially this means that they are high-end headphones, but don’t have the bass that you’d find in something like the WH-1000X M3 headphones. These do, however, still sport support for Hi-Res audio, so you can still get your great sounding audio. For those that might not be in the know, that means it’ll sound like a CD or a track, and it’s going to sound really good. Of course, audio quality is something that Son...

In brief: Cat owners might be happy to know Petato is working on a new solution which takes much of the manual labor out of cleaning the cat litter box. Footloose, as it’s called, is a cat litter box in itself, but one which comes with a number of smarts to improve the cat (and owner) experience, including the use of a dedicated companion mobile app, and artificial intelligence (AI) . The latter of which is designed to monitor cat toilet behavior with a view to spotting when issues might be surfacing so the cat owner (parent) can get Snuggles checked out before the issues become more serious. Footloose is not quite ready for market yet as this week saw the product launching on Kickstarter , although early indications now suggest this is something that’s clearly in demand. As the crowdfunding project not only reached its goal within a hour of going live, but has since, and in spite of still having 28 days to run, racked up ten times its initial goal amount. Of course, one of the bene...

An Overview of PureVPN PureVPN is counted among the pioneers of the VPN industry. The VPN provider boasts one of the largest networks of servers, and has the reputation of one of the most reliable VPN services out there, trusted for its unbeatable security and the privacy it provides to its users. PureVPN also owns one of the largest networks of VPN servers in the industry. The service has more than 2,000 servers placed in 180 locations worldwide. It covers more than 140 countries in all the continents in the world. The total number of IP addresses exceeds 300,000 IP addresses from around the globe. PureVPN has been known for its security and now it has been complemented with some advanced VPN features, which are specifically integrated to tighten the security of its users on the web.  These advanced security features show the dedication of PureVPN towards the protection of users’ privacy. These advanced security and privacy features include ad-blocker, antivirus, app blocker, I...

In short: After announcing that the OnePlus 6T would be officially unveiled on October 30, the company has decided that it needs to change that date, and move it up a day. Now, the OnePlus 6T will be announced on October 29 instead. Why? Well, Apple announced that it was holding an event in Brooklyn, New York on October 30, likely to announce some new iPads. This is actually quite common for Apple, to announce its iPhones in September and then the iPads in October, but announcing it on the same day as the OnePlus 6T means that Apple would get all of the attention, and not OnePlus. So, the company believes that by moving it up a day, it can still get all of the attention it would normally get. Apple does tend to schedule events strategically so that it can take the thunder away from its competitors. Though, Apple does usually announce events during big trade shows. For instance, every year, during CES, Apple announces something during that trade show. Which then takes the attention ...

In short:  Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL pre-orders officially began shipping this week and already complaints about bugs are appearing on the official Google Pixel User Community forums . The message boards aren’t immediately flooding with users filing reports and it is still too early to tell exactly how widespread any given problem might be, but there do seem to be quite a few issues to watch out for. The most common of those appears to be tied to the smartphones’ respective camera features. Specifically, several users have complained that the camera is not saving every photo they take and is, in some case, slow to respond. Beyond that, other users claim that the sound is muffled from the devices’ front-facing stereo speakers, with higher tones being washed out almost entirely. AndroidHeadlines was able to verify the reported issues with high tones in the audio output of the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. That particular problem also extends to the mic, with users reporting that recor...

In short: The Google Pixel 3 officially launched yesterday in a number of countries, including the US where it is being sold at Google Store, Best Buy and Verizon. We found out that the units being sold at Best Buy are actually SIM locked to Verizon. And now we are finding out that some pre-orders are not being delivered just yet. Some users got a delivery estimate of October 18 when they put in their order, the day the device was announced (October 9). But the devices haven’t shipped yet. According to Verizon’s customer service on Twitter , the device is “quite popular” and expects all pre-orders to ship by the end of October. Backorders isn’t a huge surprise when it comes to the Pixel 3, but “end of October” isn’t too bad, seeing as there is less than two weeks left in October right now. It’s also good to see that the Pixel 3 is pretty popular, at least over at Verizon. Google’s Pixel 3 was announced on October 9, and has been getting a ton of hype ever since. It’s not hard to see...

In short:  Sony may be looking to bring the essence of couch co-op multiplayer to room-scale or spatially-aware VR titles at some point in the future, based on a recently spotted patent published with the World Intellectual Property Organization. More specifically, the company seems to be considering a new device that serves to process data from a configuration that includes multiple VR headsets. That would be programmed to allow multiple VR users to view the same object or objects in virtual space from different angles and at different depths. The goal of the patent, according to associated documents, is to recreate a sense of realism via real-time depth perception, positioning, and interaction with in-experience objects. The proposed solution is all-encompassing and includes a data processing device, video processing equipment, devices to reproduce the visual effects, and a way to interconnect those wirelessly. Background: Multiplayer VR is not a new trend but has been chiefly...

A ton of new smartphones have launched in the past few weeks – with two launching yesterday – and Ringke wants to make sure you have a case or two to protect your latest smartphone. So, it is discounting a number of cases via Amazon right now. Bringing these cases down to as low as $3.90, which is an absolute steal. Now, in order to get these cases for the prices mentioned below, you are going to need to select the one that is Ringke Store fulfilled and not fulfilled by Amazon, that means that you do give up the Amazon Prime 2-day shipping unfortunately. There are cases available for the LG V40 ThinQ, Google Pixel 3 and the Samsung Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9+. It’s unclear how long Ringke is going to be discounting these cases for, but it likely won’t be more than a few days, so you’re going to want to pick them up before they are gone. Ringke does generally discount cases like this after all the big fall releases come out, as they know people need cases and spending a few bucks on a new cas...

In short: Microsoft and Dell-backed startup CNEX Labs accused a Huawei unit of stealing its secret semiconductor designs, having filed a lawsuit against the Chinese technology giant with a federal court in Texas earlier this week. Huawei and its American arm Futurewei face charges of organized and perpetual trade secret theft, with the litigation being filed as a countersuit to Huawei’s original claim that it was CNEX who stole its technology and not the other way around. CNEX Engineering VP and co-founder Yiren Huang is a former Futurewei employee, having worked at the unit between 2011 and mid-2013 when he established the San Jose, California-based firm. Mr. Huang alleges that Futurewei attempted to acquire some of his pre-existing SSD patents under an employment agreement after refusing to buy it from him. He declined the offer, with the company’s aggressive approach playing a major part in his decision to leave it, according to the countersuit. Huawei’s subsidiary also ...

In short: The data breach revealed several weeks ago and thought to have affected as many as 29 million Facebook users appears to have been the work of spammers rather than a state-sponsored incident, The Wall Street Journal  reports. That’s according to unnamed individuals said to be close to the ongoing internal investigation. The sources claim that the intention of the attack appears to have been tied to an attempt to spam affected users with malicious advertisements. What’s more, this is reportedly not the first time the bad actors in question have been spotted by Facebook’s security detail. The group has been noted in the past posing as an advertising agency on the social media site and its subsidiary Instagram, although only Facebook appears to have been breached for the time being. Background: Initially, the security breach was thought to have affected as many as 50 million users. Caused by a bug in the site’s “View As” profile features, it effectively allowed easy access...