Hasta La Gadget!

Searching for something to watch on the Sky+ Android app? An update rolling out today might make that easier, with a refreshed design and enhanced search feature. The new — and hopefully improved — search service can scan Sky TV listings by key words and cast names instead of by program title alone. The app will also offer suggestions based on partial queries. For example, typing in “Li” will bring up a number of offerings based on popularity, like Life of Pi, Lincoln and The Lion King (if you’re in the mood for lengthy monologues and daddy issues). Additionally, the update includes on-demand listings and the ability to download programs on the Sky+HD box so long as it shares a WiFi connection with your Android device. Itching to find out more? Mosey on over to the full press release, embedded after the break, or download it from the link below.

Filed under: Software, HD

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Source: Google Play Store, Sky

Looks like Sprint really is prepping a 5-inch Android flagship of its own: the Vital. Thanks to an anonymous source, Engadget’s received a motherlode of details on the upcoming, white-labeled device, giving us a glimpse at everything from renders to a slickly produced promo video. Based on the information at hand, the ZTE-made Vital should rep an HD display (resolution unspecified) of the 5-inch variety, an unnamed dual-core processor clocked at 1.5GHz and paired with 1GB RAM, 13-megapixel rear camera, 8GB of internal storage (expandable via microSD), NFC and a healthy 2,500mAh battery. As you can see from the image above, the Vital will also be running what appears to be an unskinned version of Android Jelly Bean — version 4.1, according to the documents — and will run on Sprint’s 4G LTE network. We’re not so sure the Vital’s going to sway consumer interest away from its more bold-faced rivals (i.e., HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S 4). But competition’s always a good thing and if Sprint can price this one right, it might even have a fighting chance. Hit the break for the promo video.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Sprint

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Source: Honeystreet

Verizon Wireless has had an agreement with the NFL providing streaming access to games since 2010, but a new extension will bring more of the sport than ever to its phones and tablets. Not only will its exclusive access continue, but an updated NFL Mobile app is coming this season with more news, video on-demand and behind the scenes info. In 2014, Verizon will expand streaming beyond the current Thursday, Sunday and Monday night games, adding Sunday afternoon CBS and Fox broadcasts, plus playoffs and the Super Bowl. The NFL held back streaming rights in its recent deals with the networks enabling this new agreement, which along with its partnerships with ESPN and Microsoft should keep the game going whether fans come to the stadium or not. According to the Wall Street Journal the new deal is worth as much as $1 billion, up from the last four year pact which was reported to cost Verizon $720 million.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, Mobile, Verizon

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Source: NFL

In May Netflix let a broad content deal with Viacom (parent company of Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, MTV and more) expire and saw many of the network’s shows disappear from its streaming service, but Amazon will not follow its lead. Today the company announced an extension in its own agreement with Viacom that not only keeps the TV shows (over 250 seasons including more than 3,900 episodes) but includes a provision for a “selection” of exclusives. That means Amazon will stream Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. kids shows like Dora the Explorer, The Backyardigans, Blues Clues and Victorious, with some available as part of the Kindle FreeTime Unlimited package on its tablets and some heading to Lovefilm in Germany and the UK later this summer. Other shows affected by the deal include current and upcoming ones from MTV and Comedy Central like Workaholics, Key and Peele and Awkward.

For its part, Netflix has also expanded a deal with Disney and is even producing an original kids show of its own to follow up on projects like House of Cards and Arrested Development, but so is Amazon. As competition in the subscription streaming market intensifies expect to see more exclusives as studios play the services against each others to drive prices up — as seen here, if one decides to invest more in original content and deals for specific content there will likely be a cost in other areas.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Tablets, HD, Amazon

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Source: Amazon

The tattoo-laden, musically-inclined game developers behind Frequency, Amplitude, Guitar Hero, Rock Band and Dance Central are taking on Disney’s Fantasia, this morning announcing next-gen Kinect game Fantasia: Music Evolved. Like its last game franchise, Harmonix is keeping exclusive to Microsoft game consoles with Kinect — the game is planned for launch some time in 2014 on both Xbox One and Xbox 360.

Fantasia: Music Evolved — which we’re assuming must feature Master Chief somewhere given the naming convention and Microsoft exclusivity — aims to turn gamers into aspiring orchestra conductors. Er … sort of. The game is played by using both your arms to synchronously gesture in a variety of directions, with two on-screen icons indicating how to place your arms and which direction you’ll be gesturing toward. Ostensibly, the game asks players to conduct various pop songs (Bruno Mars’ “Locked Out of Heaven” and Queens’ “Bohemian Rhapsody,” among others), occasionally punctuated with a push, depth-wise, for various auditory flairs (among other things). You are the sorcerer’s apprentice, conducting the heavens (as it were). Moreover, the songs get remixed as you go along, with players choosing one of four musical styles to introduce dynamically as the track continues to play in the background. If it sounds overwhelming, that’s because it is.

Filed under: Gaming, Software, HD, Microsoft

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