Hasta La Gadget!

This may very well be the year of new gaming consoles, folks. Sony has a PlayStation event planned for February 20 where we could finally see the PlayStation 4, and it’s also likely that we’ll hear more about Microsoft’s Xbox 720 at E3 2013 in June. Rumors have already been pouring in, but several new rumors have come in just this morning, including the speculation that the next Xbox may include technology that will block used games from being played.

EDGE Magazine has some juicy details on the Xbox 720, thanks to “sources with first-hand experience of Microsoft’s next generation console.” It’s rumored that the console will require activation codes for games, meaning that used, second-hand games are out of the question and won’t be allowed to play on the new console, meaning that new games that you bought won’t be able to be resold.

While this system could easily be thwarted by just not connecting to the internet on the console, it’s also said that the Xbox 720 will require an always-on connection to the web for just this reason. Having both the activation codes and the internet connection is certainly a great way to prevent piracy, but it may not be completely foolproof, and hackers will no doubt try to find a way around it.

This concept may seem ridiculous, but it’s far from new. Valve’s Steam gaming platform for PC, Mac, and Linux runs in a very similar fashion, where some games require activation codes and are stuck on your account, meaning you can’t trade or sell games that you’ve played through and are done with. Of course, this is all just speculation at this point, but it wouldn’t be absolutely crazy if Microsoft ended up implementing this kind of system in their next console.

[via EDGE Magazine]

Xbox 720 rumored to block used games is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
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There have been persistent rumors surrounding the possibility of Facebook launching an Android smartphone of their own. This is in spite of Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg claiming multiple times that no such phone exists. Well for those who think that a Facebook phone is a good idea, even though previous efforts such as the HTC ChaCha yielded results that left a lot to be desired, here’s a new rumor you might be interested in. According to this particular rumor, a Facebook phone is expected to be made by HTC and is going by the name “Myst” (hence the picture above).

The specs aren’t too impressive and if the rumors are right, this alleged HTC Myst will sport a 1GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Plus processor with 1GB of RAM, 16GB of memory, a 4.3” HD display, a 5MP main camera, a 1.6MP front-facing camera and will run on Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. There was no mention of why it is considered a Facebook phone, but if this device is indeed real, we guess we should know soon! We won’t place too much importance in this rumor for now and will be taking this with massive doses of salt, but we’ll definitely be keeping our eyes and ears peeled for more information – if it exists.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Motorola X Phone Gets Sony Camera, Maxx Battery Life (Rumor), Samsung Rumored To Be Testing New Update Service With The Galaxy S4,

It has long been rumored that Apple might be working on a streaming service for iTunes along the lines of Pandora, but Apple being Apple has kept mum over it. Then again it could just be a groundless rumor for all we know, but the folks at 9to5 Mac have spotted several new “Radio Buy” buttons which was revealed in jailbroken iPads, and interestingly not on iPhones. Considering that the iPad Music app does not have the Radio functionality, it is being speculated that this could be indeed the long rumored streaming service that Apple might be introducing to compete with the likes of Pandora and Spotify.

Back in 2012 it was even “confirmed” by Bloomberg that such a service does exist, and that Apple’s negotiations with the record labels were going well and that such a service could be launched sometime later this year. Assuming these rumors are true, it is unclear as to when exactly this service will launch, but with Apple typically holding a WWDC event in the middle of the year, it might be announced then. Either way we’ll keep our eyes peeled, but what do you guys think? Will you be interested in an iTunes streaming service, or would you rather stick with Pandora or Spotify?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: iPad 5 Expected To Resemble An iPad Mini And Release In October [Rumor], Apple’s Rumored Pandora-equivalent Radio Service Predicted For 2013 Announcement,

On its website, HTC is teasing the fact that it plans to offer up a new “camera experience” when it rolls out its—as yet unannounced—new flagship handset later this month. But while that’s all HTC is saying, rumors suggest that a new three-sensor camera may be in the offing. More »

Twitter is supposedly planning to make logins more secure by adding a two-factor authentication system. More »