Hasta La Gadget!

It is no secret that Zynga, maker of several popular Facebook games, has been having considerable financial trouble over the past months. Earlier this month, Microsoft’s Don Mattrick went on to become the company’s CEO, and following this three top executives have resigned from their position. The information comes from sources said to be familiar with the matter who spoke to Bloomberg.

According to these sources, the executives who retired are Senior Vice President of Games John Osvald, Vice President of Zynga’s Casino Division Jesse Janosov, and Vice President of Games Nathan Etter. As Bloomberg pointed out, Mr. Etter has since updated his LinkedIn profile to show his current job as being with Disney’s interactive division.

If true, this would be the latest in a long line of high-level employees who have left Zynga since late 2011, an unfortunate move for the company that further signifies its various financial trouble. Such is the result of a steady decline in demand for its games, of which includes the not-as-popular-as-they-used-to-be Mafia Wars and FarmVille.

The story of Zynga’s troubles began a bit after it made its initial public offering in December of 2011. At its top, the company was the maker whose games were most in demand on Facebook, something that helped prompt a massive $1 billion IPO. Since that time, other companies have moved in with their own games, of which several are now among the top most played on the social network.

In a somewhat bitter twist of irony, several of the workers who left Zynga have moved on to create their own online game companies that now compete with their former employer, among them being TapZen and JuiceBox Games. It is yet to be seen whether Mattrick will turn the company around, but if the rumor is true, it would seem at least three executives weren’t confident that would happen.

SOURCE: Bloomberg

Zynga reportedly had three top executives resign in July is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

OPPO will take on Samsung’s Galaxy Camera with the new OPPO N-Lens range, the company has confirmed, with what are expected to be new Android-based smart snappers to challenge traditional point-and-shoots. The N-Lens line-up will be the “most important flagship series for Oppo going forward” the Chinese company told Engadget, as well as confirming there’d be cellular connectivity.

Exactly what OS the OPPO cameras will use is unclear, though the most likely option is Android given the company has some experience using Google’s platform. Beyond that, the only other tidbit is chatter of both a high-resolution sensor and strong low-light performance in a previous Android Authority leak.

So-called smart cameras have taken a number of different approaches in recent months. The Samsung Galaxy Camera, for instance, effectively replaced the in-house OS in one of Samsung’s existing cameras with Android and paired it with an LTE radio for data-only use; however, the more recent Galaxy S4 Zoom – which we reviewed earlier this month – attempted to blur the lines a little more between camera and phone, including both an optical zoom and voice call support.

Meanwhile, Samsung’s Galaxy NX interchangeable lens camera sticks to the original Galaxy Camera pattern, though with more ambitious optics.

Right now, it seems OPPO is viewing the N-Lens range as cameras first, which might indicate connectivity limited to getting photos off the device and shared on social networking services. The company has already experimented with high-resolution sensors on phones, putting a 13-megapixel CMOS into the OPPO Find 5 for instance.

Beyond that, we don’t know pricing or availability for the N-Lens, though it’s possible OPPO could aim for an IFA 2013 launch in a few months time.

VIA Android Community

OPPO N-Lens smart cameras to take on Samsung’s Android snappers is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Samsung already has tablets on the market bearing almost any display size that might interest you. If a tweet from @evleaks is to be believed, Sammy has yet more slates in the pipeline, including its biggest one yet. Allegedly, the unannounced SM-P900 tablet carries a 12.2-inch, 2,560 x 1,600 screen (same res as the Nexus 10), an Exynos 5 Octa heart, and an S-Pen that would make it part of the Note family. Another device, known as the SM-P600, is said to cram that same resolution into a 10-inch display, and switches Samsung’s chip for a Snapdragon 800. We’d be more willing to buy the rumor if there were pics to back it up, but it’s rare for the source to be completely off the mark. Could we see these new tablets at IFA alongside a trio of Galaxy Note III models? Join us in a little under a month for the Samsung edition of Mythbusters.

Filed under: Tablets, Samsung

Comments

Via: Mobilegeeks

Source: @evleaks (Twitter)

For months there have been rumors that Apple will release a less expensive version of the iPhone for the masses – especially in parts of the world where the current gen iPhone is considered too expensive. Images have leaked of colorful, possibly plastic-cased iPhone components, and now we have what appears to be a product name – the iPhone 5C.

This tub of plastic packaging clearly labeled “iPhone 5C” and adorned with the Apple logo was spotted in China and posted on the WeiPhone forums. While they definitely could be boxes for some cheap knock-off iPhones, I’m going to go out on a limb and say this looks legit, and the plastic construction of the packaging would go well with the rumored less-expensive iPhone. Now what the “C” stands for is anyone’s guess – perhaps it stands for “cheap” but I don’t think so. It’s more likely to stand for “colors,” IMHO.

Regardless of the veracity of this image, I don’t think we’ll be waiting too much longer to see the next iPhones emerge from Apple. All signs point to a September or October reveal of both an inexpensive model and an updated iPhone 5, rumored to be called the iPhone 5S – though I’d really love for a surprise reveal of an iPhone 6.

[via Ubergizmo]

The MacBook Air has already seen its glory day with a Haswell upgrade last month at WWDC 2013, but the MacBook Pro was disappointingly skipped over and still has yet to get the new chips. However, it’s reported that we may see new MacBook Pros come our way in October during Apple’s annual fall event.

According to a report from the China Times, says that refreshed MacBook Pros will make an appearance in October, based on reports from sources in Apple’s supply chain. Furthermore, the report suggests that prices will remain the same for the upgraded MacBook Pros, which has been an ongoing trend for Apple.

Intel’s new Haswell processors obviously offer faster speeds than the previous generation, but they also provide lower power consumption, which reduces the juice needed from the battery. We’ve already played around with the new Haswell-equipped MacBook Air, and it certainly boasts quite the battery-life improvement. The MacBook Pros should deliver similar results.

The new Haswell chips also come with support for 4K displays, which not come in handy now, seeing as how Apple doesn’t currently have any 4K products, but it certainly could come in handy down the line.

In any case, while today’s report of an October launch is merely just a prediction based on Apple supply-chain status, that seems like a good bet overall. Apple usually holds an event every fall to announce new products, and this coming fall could be a big one, with rumors of a new iPhone(s), iPad(s), and now MacBook Pros.

VIA: 9to5Mac

SOURCE: China Times

MacBook Pro Haswell refresh tipped for October arrival is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.