There have been rumours that Amazon is working on a smartphone for some time and a new report, from the Financial Times, has resurrected the speculation by claiming that HTC will be working with Amazon the device – or rather a series of them. There are reportedly three phones in development with one of these “at an advanced stage of development” but the Financial Times report cites a source as saying that the phone that is closest to release may not ever see the light of day. Though unconfirmed, HTC would seem to be a fairly sensible choice for Amazon…
Author: Brett Venter
Apple was previously thought to be hosting its year-end event on 22 October and now the company has sent out the media invitations to confirm it. The event will take place in San Francisco and is expected to feature Apple’s new iPads as well as a few other details. The invitation itself claims that Apple “still have a lot of ground to cover” so it’s likely that the new iPads won’t be the only things on show. The iPad is expected to be refreshed, possibly in line with the iPhone 5s with a fingerprint scanner being added to the tablet.…
Free-to-air satellite offering OpenView HD has officially gone live in South Africa. OpenView HD is a new idea for the country where customers can get their hands on satellite television access without having to pay a monthly fee. All that is required is the decoder and satellite dish, which is being sold for “approximately” R1600 according to Platco Digital, the company behind the free-to-air offering. Installation costs don’t seem to be included in that pricing. Available at launch for OpenView HD are fourteen channels. Four of these are the standard free South African channels; SABC’s trio and eTV but eTV…
Sony’s rumoured full-frame A7 and A7r cameras are turning into less of a rumour by the day. Following a blurred image of the apparent camera came the unearthing of two press shots for the Sony shooter. One of the images seems to show the A7 camera fitted with a Karl Zeiss 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 lens. The A7 is thought to be a 24 megapixel shooter with Phase Detection AF (autofocus) while the A7r, shown with a 35mm f/2.8 Karl Zeiss lens, is supposedly going to be a 36 megapixel camera that will be dropping its anti-aliasing filter. There is a list of other…
BlackBerry has published an open letter to its users, in “major publications around the world” and on its websites, telling their users that they can “…continue to count on BlackBerry.” The aim of the letter is to “set the record straight” for BlackBerry users, outlining the challenges that the company is facing at the moment as well as the advantages that the company holds. As The Verge points out, the letter is an admission that public perception of BlackBerry is not very positive at present and the company’s message to its users is an attempt to dispel the notion that the…
Ubisoft’s local representatives have confirmed the full series of release dates for the next Assassin’s Creed instalment in South Africa. Ubisoft is planning a global release so you’ll be getting access to the game on the same day no matter where you are in the world. First up are the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the nautical-themed Assassin’s Creed IV: BlackFlag. These console titles will be launching on 29 October, followed by the release of the PC and Wii U editions on 22 November. South Africa will be getting the PlayStation 4 version on the same day that…
What appears to be the full specifications of LG and Google’s upcoming Nexus 5 handset have already leaked onto the internet in the form of a repair manual, detailing exactly what will be inside the upcoming phone (think LG’s G2). Joining the on-paper specs now is a video which appears to show a prototype of the upcoming phone. We say prototype because, as Engadget points out, it seems to running an older operating system than it should and the phone looks a little unfinished. Nonetheless, it appears to match an image of the Nexus 5 that Google accidentally leaked recently…
The last time that Stuff checked in on SpaceX’s Grasshopper VTOL rocket it was traversing the skies laterally. The successful test of sideways movement doesn’t mean that Elon Musk’s company has given up aiming for new heights however, the latest test is the reusable rocket’s highest jump to date. Back in July this year, a 325 metre jump by the Grasshopper was the record. The newest vertical launch, captured by hexacopter, has set the bar at 744 metres, almost double its previous best. And yes, touchdown was successful. A reusable rocket out of mid-20th century science fiction might be within…
LG has got flexible displays on the way and Samsung has just announced their Galaxy Round smartphone so it makes sense that LG would want to get visuals of their upcoming handset into the public eye as soon as possible. Technology website Engadget has procured renders of what is claimed to be an upcoming LG handset with a curved display. The phone, called the G Flex, seems to have only showed up in the renders and there are no specifics regarding the phone’s specifications. As can be seen from the image, LG’s apparent handset curves along the length of the…
HTC’s One Max handset has been speculated on and leaked from here to next week, with the most recent revelation being the presence of a fingerprint scanner at the back of the phone. Given all of the information about the phone that was already known, it’s past time for HTC to detail the handset officially. And that’s just what the company has done. The smartphone has been made official overseas and looks to be an oversized version of the HTC One. The One Max features a 5.9-inch display (1080p), edging the smartphone into phablet territory. The fingerprint scanner at the…