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Sky’s NOW TV movies and entertainment offerings land on Xbox One

Jul30
by on July 30, 2014 at 8:23 am
Posted In: Around the Web, NOW TV, Product Updates, UK, xbox one

BSkyB has announced that its NOW TV streaming service, which lets subscribers access movies, entertainment and sports content on-demand, is now available on Microsoft’s Xbox One. This comes just a few days after NOW TV landed on Sony’s PlayStation 4. If you have an active rolling monthly subscription to one of NOW TV’s packages, you will now be able to access the streaming service from Microsoft’s latest-generation console. A Movies pass costs £8.99 per month (after a free 30 day trial), an Entertainment pass costs £4.99 per month and a Sports pass costs £9.99 for 24 hours. NOW TV can currently be accessed…

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Microsoft’s Cortana digital assistant is coming to China, UK, Canada, India and Australia

Jul30
by on July 30, 2014 at 8:17 am
Posted In: Around the Web, Mobile, Product Updates

Cortana

Microsoft has announced its first update to its Windows Phone 8.1 platform, which will most notably see its Cortana digital assistant expand outside of the US for the first time. The company says that the service is being launched as a beta in China (where it is named ‘Xiao Na’) and the UK, while users in Canada, India and Australia will be able to access an alpha version. The new versions will include localized spelling, pronunciation, accent and other data that Microsoft hopes will make Cortana “more locally relevant”. Though Windows Phone accounts for a minority of smartphone sales in China, Microsoft has…

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Popcorn Time shows no sign of slowing, as the ‘Netflix for torrents’ adds support for AirPlay

Jul30
by on July 30, 2014 at 8:07 am
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider

Just a few weeks after Popcorn Time announced expanded support for Google Chromecast, the torrent-streaming platform is introducing support for AirPlay too. To recap, Popcorn Time is a cross-platform movie- and TV-show streaming service that beams out torrents in real-time. It’s like Netflix, except it’s peer-to-peer (P2P), offers much more content, and has questionable legality. While the movie industry has been pushing hard against the rise of torrent sites in recent years, Popcorn Time is showing no signs of slowing in its push to make torrents even more easily accessible. Available for PC, Mac and Android, Popcorn Time is Hollywood’s…

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IDC: Global smartphone shipments hit 295.3m in Q2 2014, but Samsung and Apple lost market share

Jul30
by on July 30, 2014 at 7:39 am
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider

China-smartphone

The worldwide smartphone market is continuing its healthy growth, but the shake-up in smartphone vendors is becoming more apparent, according to latest figures from market research firm IDC. Global smartphone shipments hit a new record of 295.3 million units in the second quarter of 2014, posting a 23.1 percent growth year over year and an increase of 2.6 percent from the previous quarter, data from IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker show. The research firm notes that the growth is “fueled by ongoing demand for mobile computing and an abundance of low-cost smartphones” and it expects smartphone shipments to surpass 300 million…

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